“If it wasn’t for my mental illness, I might still be in a loveless marriage, stuck working on the same old nursing unit, without any aspirations of becoming a best-selling author one day.”
‘I was unable to rest or sleep. I didn’t realize how sick I was until I could no longer take care of myself.’: Woman with acute mania, bipolar urges, ‘You are so much more than your diagnosis’
‘The world needs you. Not despite the darkness, but maybe because of it.’: An Open Letter To Those Considering Suicide
“I had a plan to die once. I knew exactly how I was going to do it. The darkness crept in until it nearly took over everything. But here I am, writing to you, telling you the darkness doesn’t last forever.”
‘You’re too SEXY to be depressed.’: Woman with bipolar disorder urges ‘don’t be afraid to ask for help’
“I became homeless, left my husband, and was incarcerated 3 times. Many people thought I was going to die because of my reckless behavior. I easily could have.”
‘He raged, ‘Just STOP eating.’ Shocked and embarrassed, I did. I learned to eat quietly or not at all.’: Woman seeks recovery from eating disorder, trauma, ‘I’m reclaiming my joy’
“‘STOP scraping your teeth on your fork!’ he yelled. I feared family meals. I became strong when skinny and untouchable when numb.”
‘We’re being secretly recorded for a reality show!’ There was something wrong with me. I was completely paranoid.’: Woman with Bipolar Disorder becomes advocate, ‘It’s a constant battle’
“I was in a shoe store with my mom, talking to strangers in what I thought was Spanish. I’m not bilingual, but in my mind, I thought I knew the language. I’d been off my whole life, but I never knew why.”
‘Something happened,’ I sobbed. ‘We had a fight and she called the police. I’m going to the hospital.’ I was convinced my boyfriend would break up with me on the spot.’: Woman with Bipolar Disorder details eye-opening journey to acceptance
“I was so afraid of being ‘crazy’ I couldn’t admit I needed help when I was literally in the hospital for psych evaluation. Today, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been in my life. But it came at a price. I lost my best friend. My soul sister. I live every day in fear of the monster who lives within me.”
‘You don’t deserve better than him.’ I saw texts with a girl we both knew. My thoughts ate me alive.’: Woman diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder shares mental health journey, urges others to ‘accept help’
“‘How could I let this happen to me?’ My family looked so hurt. My mother, holding back tears, and my father, who is one of the bravest people I know, both looked terrified. My thoughts were eating me alive.”
‘I went on Tinder to find a snowboarding buddy. ‘May I ask you on a real date?’ My Visa was about to expire, we didn’t speak the same language, and I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend!’: Long-distance couple tie the knot, ‘Never give up on love’
“We both didn’t believe in marriage. But here I was, before my flight back to Germany, talking marriage to a guy from the other side of the world I’d only known a little over a year. I couldn’t picture life without him. I couldn’t ask myself in 10 years, ‘What would have happened?'”
‘I explained my past. ‘The man took photographs. He was 57 years old.’ I hated myself and turned to drugs.’: Woman with BPD gets sober, changes life, ‘I love how far I’ve come’
“I struggled to talk to the therapist. I explained what I went through when I was 12. I encountered a child predator. Having my son pushed me to find the answers as to what happened.”
‘I just want you to know, we are the family who adopted your son.’ She hadn’t gone a single day without thinking about him. ‘Can you be here in 2 weeks?!’: Adopted boy surprised with biological mom, now part of beautiful open adoption
“I told my son, ‘Your present is in the van, you can go get it.’ He stopped dead in his tracks and exhaled, ‘Mom?’ He took off sprinting into her arms, sobbing.”
