“I was tired of the fast lane, the parties, and the men. After holding on for dear life to a complete set of emotional baggage, I finally had to surrender it ALL.”
‘If only he’d ask me to dance!’ He was addicted to drugs, and I was addicted to him.’: Woman marries after divorce, ‘Love is ALL that matters’
‘Something feels off.’ I was deeply unhappy and didn’t understand why. I was sick of not feeling good in my skin.’: Woman shares mental health journey, ‘I’m choosing happiness’
“I’d never taken the time to learn about myself. I had the mindset of ‘I’ll be happy when…’ But I wasn’t. I felt like my soul was dying. Everything came crashing down around me.”
‘I used to avoid social gatherings because I was so scared to be seen in a swimsuit. I would sit outside the pool, fully clothed, as my kids begged me to have fun with them.’: Woman urges ‘you are more than what you look like in a swimsuit’
“I missed out on so much. I missed out on moments I can never get back. Finally, I realized enough is enough. My kids, my family, my (true) friends absolutely DO NOT care how I look in a swimsuit, and I will bet you my next paycheck yours don’t either.”
‘These new dates aren’t what I had.’ Phoning a friend at 3:22 a.m. after 27 glasses of wine is impractical.’: Widower and single dad urges ‘YOU are in charge of YOUR happiness’
‘DO NOT try to fill that void with another person. DO NOT assume for one second someone else in your life right now is going to replace what you had and wish to have again.”
‘If I’m so smart, why aren’t I a success yet?’ I was so hung up on this idea of what success was, I didn’t care if I was happy.’: Woman urges ‘you are a success in your own right’
“If your childhood was anything like mine, you grew up with your parents saying you were going to ‘be something’ one day. I was so hung up on this idea of what ‘success’ was. A 9-5 Monday through Friday gig, making more than $70,000 a year. I didn’t care if I was happy, as long as the job matched those criteria.”
‘My husband divorced me after my baby was born. At 28, I had to move back in with my parents as a single, special needs mom.’: Mom to daughter with Cerebral Palsy finds new perspective on ‘true happiness’
“Emily was only 2 pounds. She was so small my husband’s wedding band fit around her tiny wrist. She was crying, but I could not hear her. It didn’t seem real. Quickly, I was told by nurses, ‘You cannot touch her.’ I felt helpless. With each day, it became more and more evident my marriage was not going to survive this horrific ordeal.”
