“I bought a dog. I bought a house. Everyone thought I was doing great. But I had bottles of alcohol all around my house. I would wake up with full resolve to never drink again, and would find myself with a bottle in my hand by the evening. Things got really dark, really fast.”
‘I’ll deal with it when I graduate.’ I was drinking daily, but had NO CLUE how to ask for help. I was always reaching for the next drink.’: Woman overcomes alcohol addiction, ‘I’m healing’
‘Can I go camping with my friend?’ Where did this fear come from? Mother Bear instincts? I HAVE to give her the chance to spread her wings.’: Mom details struggles with anxiety, ‘The fear never truly goes away’
“I see a narrow spot on the road and suddenly I see myself losing control and our vehicle rolling over and over. I wonder if we would survive or if I would have to live with causing an accident that took my children’s lives. It keeps me up at night, makes me a wreck all day.”
‘You’re a survivor, not a victim.’ BOTH CAN BE TRUE. The mixed messages surrounding this are dizzying.’: Woman advocates for mental health awareness, ‘It took YEARS to rebuild my trust’
“Before Casey left the state with me, before he promised me forever and before we said ‘I do,’ I explained the mental weight I carried. Somehow I knew it would be an added challenge. I wasn’t wrong.”
‘The phone rang. ‘Hello, Police Service. We’re on the side of the Broadway Bridge. I’m sorry. We answered because it said ‘Mom.’: Mom loses 15-year-old to suicide; ‘I choose to honor Ethan’
“He told me, ‘I started seeing the counselor when dad was being really mean to me about football.’ The more time Ethan spent with his father, the more my role became to be there to pick up the pieces. He confessed, ‘I thought about killing myself.’”
‘I tried to forget my career dreams when I became a mom, but I was lost. Women are spread so thin.’: ‘Mompreneur’ encourages others to chase their goals, ‘It can be done’
“We, as women, always feel like we must do EVERYTHING. And we’re run-down, exhausted, and obviously can’t do it all. I stay up late working every night. But I’m fulfilled.”
‘This is an end-of-my-rope, shouting from my darkest, most cob-webby places, cry for help. I can’t do it anymore.’: Mom says ‘refuse to feel guilty for having basic human needs’
“Part of this is my fault. Yesterday, I threw a birthday party for our child with extra needs. I can’t seem to be honest when I need help or when I need a break. Sometimes I just need a day.”
‘I didn’t know that about you,’ said a patient at work. I was embarrassed to be placed in the same category.’: Widow shares why she carries late fiancé’s Narcotics Anonymous key chains
“My first reaction was to be defensive; my second was the opposite. The second reaction came when I realized why I carry these key chains. Jamie was 5 years sober when he bought a pill he didn’t know was fentanyl, and he died. Jamie was 29 years old. He was a dad to five kids.”
‘Just get the babies in the car.’ I stood there for too long, wondering how to let a stranger clean up my mess. It was way harder than I wanted it to be.’: Mom thanks Trader Joe’s employee for showing her ‘the beauty in the mess’
“I believe I told you ‘just shove it in, and pray,’ which I immediately wanted to follow-up with, ‘That’s what she said.’ I heard the bag filled with grapes, strawberries, and blueberries tumble to the ground. Without hesitation, you told me to let you clean it up and you would be right back out with fresh replacements. I didn’t want to accept the help, but I knew I needed it.”
‘To Whom It May Concern: I’m suicidal, and no, it’s not what you think.’
“People with mental illness live in dark places and grey areas. It’s not something that shuts off and on, it comes in waves, it peaks, and it fades.”
Woman beautifully documents importance of self-care: ‘You asked me why I was crying and I said, ‘Because I’m proud of myself.”
“You told me I was courageous all along, but I didn’t believe you until now – until I felt that courage deep in my bones.”
