“I found myself missing school daily. I’d wake up, feel a little sick, and have a full-blown panic attack. Panic attacks made me hate every second of my life. I wanted to end it all.”
‘Am I going to get sick?’ I lived in fear of myself and what people thought of me. I started ripping my hair out.’: Woman shares struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder, ‘It gets so much better’
‘You’re just an attention-seeker!’ Kids pushed me. ‘I can’t carry on.’ I felt hopeless.’: Woman with Borderline Personality Disorder finds self-love, ‘I’m capable of amazing things’
“‘It’s just a teenage phase, she’ll grow out of it,’ doctors said. I didn’t see a future for myself. I was just a label.”
‘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 felt waves of heat and a tingling as I fell to the ground. ‘I think I’m dying!’ Something inside me hurt badly.’: Woman details journey with Borderline Personality Disorder
“My mom had to peel me off the side of the road in front of our home. I don’t think they understood it hurt, like my heart was being slashed to bits. Alcohol and mental illness don’t mix.”
‘He was cheating. ‘How will we break it to the kids?’ I waddled through bankruptcy. Divorce was the lifesaver I needed.’: Divorcee details journey to self-love
“A dear friend mentioned therapy, very casually over delicious avocado toast and latte. I finally bit the bullet and gave in. I cried so hard I could feel the ghosts of all my unspoken terrors lifting off my shoulders.”
‘My parents broke the news. ‘You were adopted at age 2.’ For the first time, I understood my parents had left me behind, forever.’: Adoptee overcomes addiction, ‘I needed to fall in love with myself again’
“I felt unloved. I tried to prove my worth and acted out to get attention from loved ones. At 14, I started experimenting with drugs. I continued on a rampage until I found heroin at age 15 with the help of an older boyfriend. ‘Please let me come home,’ I begged. I tried to stop many times. Then, one day, I found out I was pregnant. That little heartbeat was the sound of a chapter of my life closing forever.”
‘Will I look like him?’ The plane landed. Instant panic struck. My parents never wanted me to find out about him.’: Woman ‘finally complete’ after emotional reunion with biological father, ‘He’s the piece I’ve always been missing’
“I lost my adoptive father and mother only 2 weeks before. Between all the madness, I finally found my biological father. I was told he was ‘the town drunk.’ I was never supposed to know he existed. I heard the plane fly over the dark sky. My stomach suddenly dropped. ‘Please remain seated,’ the pilot announced. I took a deep breath and turned my teary eyes. An average height man locked his blue eyes on mine. Both our smiles began to rise. This was the moment I’d dreamt of my entire life.”
‘I wouldn’t mind if I didn’t wake up.’ I was starving for love, I wanted to be someone’s whole universe.:’ Young woman with Borderline Personality Disorder describes issues with love and boundaries, says she is fighting and working on ME’
“I started crying a lot and cutting myself. I began smoking cigarettes and drinking. I was stoned all the time. I still missed my father. Every time I saw him in town, he walked away. He ignored me, pretending I didn’t exist. And he still does, and has for 11 years.”
‘Yes, I attempted suicide 1 year ago. No, I am not ‘selfish’ or ‘crazy.’ I just wanted the pain to end.’: Young woman finds ‘light in the dark,’ says ‘angel in Starbucks’ gave her ‘glimmer of hope’
“After I was released from the hospital, I questioned how I would tell anyone, who I would tell. I questioned whether or not they were going to love me for the person I was, or if the attempt was going to define me. I was terrified. The first person I told was my thesis adviser. When we met up, she hugged me and said, ‘I am so glad you’re here to give a hug to.’ I was in tears. She was my saving grace.”
‘I no longer speak to my mom. Every day, I wonder about her. I look in the mirror and see her staring back. But I have to choose me over her.’
“Every day, I’m reminded that I’ve never felt the love of a mom. I know if I open the door to her, she’ll destroy me and all the progress I’ve made. I’m hurt and sad, but I’m also better off. You do not need to have a toxic person in your life just because you share DNA.”
