“I felt perpetually punished for existing. I was barred from running, then from even walking. I realized if I stayed this way, I would die.”
‘You don’t have to punish yourself’ Blood dripped out of my nose and mouth. I believed I my misery.’: Woman shares recovery journey with anorexia
‘With every inch of hair gone, I was HAPPIER. Can you imagine how it feels to come into yourself? ‘That’s me!’: Trans man comes out at 29, ‘You are enough, whether you realize it at 10, 30 or 60’
“When I was 10 years old, in full Harry Potter mania, dressed up like him, with glasses and scar and cape – I started menstruating. To this day, I can’t describe what that did to me.”
‘If you can empathize with others, you’re not autistic.’ I wondered if I was an alien.’: Nonbinary person shares long journey to autism diagnosis, urges ‘knowledge about autism can save lives’
“‘You’re not trying enough.’ They gave me even more diagnoses, so I worked on them a lot. But nothing helped. It made me hopeless. Now, I know I was working on the wrong disorders.”
‘I survived off of cigarettes and energy drinks.’: Woman battling eating disorder urges ‘you deserve recovery’
“I choked down an orange while holding back tears. I felt so weak for getting help, for eating an ORANGE. It was one of the bravest steps I’ve ever taken for myself.”
‘She’s out of CONTROL.’ Mom refused to take me to the hospital, despite being covered in blood.’: Autistic woman learns self acceptance after years of abuse
“By the time I was 10, I’d been banned from swimming lessons, a children’s club, and multiple play groups. They told my dad to bring me back once I could ‘behave like other girls.’”
‘She’d set a bowl of fat-free yogurt in front of me, hand my sister ice cream. ‘No one wants a fat daughter.’: Woman details battle with binge eating disorder, depression
“When my mom and siblings were asleep, I shoveled crackers in my mouth in the bathroom. I ate snack cakes on the kitchen floor. Food didn’t care I was depressed and anxious.”
‘My brother pointed out, ‘It’s common for siblings to have it.’ A lightbulb went off in my head.’: Woman with autism raises awareness for neurodiversity
“I always knew in my gut my brother was different, so the diagnosis wasn’t shocking. I didn’t see myself in that image, but I began to research. Boy, did I research!”
‘I looked in the mirror. ‘There’s no way I have anorexia. I’m not thin enough.’: Woman recovers from eating disorders, ‘I finally feel at home in my body
“In fourth grade, I remember looking over at the girl sitting next to me. ‘Why don’t I look like her?’ Her stomach was flat, not round like mine.”
‘There’s NO WAY you’re that thick and still a virgin.’ I wanted to hide.’: Woman talks body positivity, ‘I love the body God gave me’
I’ve allowed society, doctors, ignorant therapists, rude family members, and childish men to define my body.”
‘I’m living proof things can and do get better.’: Woman returns to place of suicide attempt with notes of hope for others
“I was very nearly just another statistic.”
