“My husband and son felt like they always had to walk on eggshells around me to prevent one of them from triggering me.”
‘I told my doctor I was starting to hate my husband. I said things to him and my son that will always haunt me.’: Young mom shares healing journey through postpartum anxiety, rage
‘I’m no longer that angry little girl who was hurt. With my mom, it’s like it never happened.’: Abuse survivor adopted as adult finally has loving mother relationship
“In my mind, I accepted I was born to grow up as an adult without parents. But in my heart, I was broken holiday after holiday needing them. I was torn on my children’s birthdays, when they had no grandparents there. I cried for years trying to fill the void.”
‘You’re not in a morgue. Girls get raped and murdered every day, you’re not dying!’ I had to get out.’: Adoptee opens up about mishandling of her child sex abuse case, escaping home at 18
“‘What happens in this house STAYS in this house.’ I lived in a world where not only my adoptive mother would cover this up, but my own biological sisters AND our assistant pastor. The minute I turned 18, I was escaping.”
‘Mom, believe me! I didn’t do it!’ he cried. ‘All 3 of them can’t be lying!’ It scared me hearing him try to manipulate his way out.’: Adoptee opens up about years of sexual abuse from older brother
“My heart sank, a lump formed in my throat, and I was frozen in hell. I knew what she was going to say. I knew why my sisters were crying, and before my mouth could form any words at all, the tears began pouring down my face.”
‘It was like a bomb went off inside my mind. But I just plastered on a smile and tried to carry on.’: Sexual assault survivor shares journey with BPD
“Finally, everything started to make sense. There was a reason behind all my ‘ways.’”
‘I spent half the day in the bathroom, desperately wanting to flush my dope down the toilet but being completely powerless.’: Former heroin, meth addict shares her incredible recovery
“When I tried heroin for the first time, I felt what I imagined the love of a mother must feel like, like a warm hug from the inside out. I believed I had finally found security and love.”
‘My husband said, ‘It’s a girl!’ I was terrified. How could I connect with such a huge mother wound?’: Girl mom, child trauma survivor urges ‘you can break generational patterns’
“Finding out I was pregnant was an initial shock. I had vowed I would never have children. How could I mother children if I didn’t have a mother example to rely on? After the initial shock, I became ecstatic about the possibilities – until I realized I had a 50-50 chance of having a daughter!”
‘Your aunt’s house burned to the ground last night. Andrew didn’t make it out.’ For the first time in my life, I felt free.’: Sexual abuse survivor shares healing journey through sobriety and motherhood
“I was six years old the first time it happened. He asked if I wanted to play a game called ‘Truth or Dare.’ By the time I was in middle school, I understood drinking. Suddenly, nothing seemed awful anymore.”
‘After the abuse stopped, I looked at myself in the mirror and hated what I had done to my body. So I started to hurt it even more.’: Woman shares body positivity journey after abuse, eating disorders
“I needed to go into this journey for HEALTH, not because I wanted to look like this person or that person. It has changed my whole perspective. I am happy with my body again, and I am confident again.”
‘I hated my life, hated being different. I’d hit rock bottom, to the point where I didn’t want to live anymore.’: Mom survives sexual assault, toxic marriage to find self-love
“This little baby woke up a dormant side of me I had been too afraid to show to the world. I knew then that I couldn’t be the best mom to my child by living in fear. It was time for me to learn to live authentically.”