“I was scared people were going to think less of me. I kept saying to Ben, ‘I don’t know how these are going to turn out,’ over and over. Eventually, Ben cut me off. ‘You know I don’t care if these cookies are good, right? You know I’m not going to like you any less?’ And then it hit me. Find your Ben. Because I have mine.”
‘Ben was there for me. He picked me up off of the ground when I felt like my legs didn’t work anymore.’: Woman credits boyfriend for helping ‘calm’ her anxiety
‘The tech printed the ultrasound photos. I IMMEDIATELY saw a second form. A little guardian angel was over our rainbow baby, giving him a kiss!’: Couple in tears after ‘guardian angel’ shows up on ultrasound in wake of miscarriage
“After the positive pregnancy test, we were both overjoyed, but the worrying really started. What if I miscarried? It took Troy a long time to discuss the loss of his previous baby with anyone. He went into a depression for months. We agreed to wait to announce the news. The next morning, I followed up for the ultrasound. Everything looked great. Then, I saw it. I texted my boyfriend the photos. We smiled through tears.”
‘I was single, broken, and had no money. I didn’t plan on loving anybody. Then, I met ‘her.’ I froze.’: Man shares happy ending with wife after chance meeting, ‘she is my greatest gift’
“When I met her, I froze. I felt like I’d known her forever, how could I have? I was broken, with nothing to offer any woman. I prayed fervently, ‘Please, get her OUT of my life.’ I was afraid. Collectively, we drove over 50,000 miles to get to one another. I rented cars, took a bus, borrowed cars, and even tried to take the train. She chiseled me out of myself, out of my hurt, out of my fear.”
‘You’re stupid, and you’re worthless, and you’re a failure, and you should just die.’: College graduate discusses battles with Depression and PTSD
“My own self-worth was now completely dependent on how well I was doing in school. I turned to binge drinking and partying on the weekends to cope with the immense pressure I felt throughout the week. I did not know how to express my pain or ask for help, I only knew to bottle things up and press on, and so I did. I felt dead inside already, I’d hit my rock bottom. I decided I was going to get serious help.”
‘If you want to kill yourself I’ll help you pull the trigger,’ my dad told me. ‘You’ll sit here and eat.’: Woman fights obesity, undergoes weight loss surgery at husband’s demand, ‘my soul is healing with each bout of laughter’
“I met my first husband at 19. We married at 21. He loved how I was plus-sized and enjoyed giving me unhealthy foods as ‘treats.’ He joined the Air Force. ‘There’s a woman in my unit who reminds me of you, but she’s a lot thinner. I have a crush on her.’ We went out to dinner. ‘Enjoy eating like this now because this stops when we get on base.’ I found out he’d been talking to other women while I was in the hospital.”
‘I see you,’ he’d text me. We rode the same bus. The stop was in front of my house, so he knew where I lived.’: Woman recalls 3 stalking encounters that still leave her in fear, ‘I constantly look for the closest object I could use to hit them if they were to attack me’
“Growing up, I always heard, ‘it’s the quiet ones you have to look out for,’ when it comes to people stalking you or committing gruesome crimes. While I’m sure this isn’t always the case, it was the case for me. My mom always told me to be nice to everyone, even if other people are being mean, so that’s what I did. I felt bad no one ever talked to him, so I made an effort to be nice to him.”
‘Do you mind if we pray together?’ He voted for Trump, I voted for Hilary. He grabbed my hands. Tears started to flow.’: Woman loses son to ‘senseless murder,’ shares co-worker’s act of kindness despite differences
“I was having a tough time yesterday missing my son. He was senselessly murdered this summer during college. I usually hide it behind a smile, but on this day, I just couldn’t. Zach and I work together at the Ford truck plant. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. Like many, he said ‘sorry.’ We went back to work. Minutes later, he came back. Tears started to flow. Who knew 2 people with so little in common could share something so big and beautiful?”
‘6 weeks pregnant with our surprise third baby, my husband of 7 years packed his bags and left me.’: Woman empowered to embrace single parenting after husband leaves her during pregnancy, ‘You are worthy. I finally believed it.’
“My face was red and my eyes were swollen from sobbing. When we were good, we were great. When we were bad, we were absolutely volatile. She dropped the inevitable bombshell. ‘Where do you think this is coming from?’ ‘What he put me through,’ I replied. ‘Deeper, Amber.’ It hit me. There was no miracle. Our marriage was over.”
‘Well… It’s complicated…’ An old friend asked me if I was happy.’: Man who suffers from depression explains the difficult balancing act it can be
“I have a good marriage, a good family, a nice home, and a stable career. I went to college and I’ve published books. But that’s the thing with depression. It doesn’t care how good your life is. I think that’s one of the hardest things to explain.”
‘Anxiety is just in your head.’ ‘It’s not as bad as you make it out to be.’ This is what anxiety looks like. My raw, scratched up face and chest.’: Woman candidly shares the reality of anxiety
“It’s not just feeling worried, or feeling your heart race. It’s picking your skin until it bleeds. It’s walking into the mall, feeling your hands turn to jello, and looking for the closest exit. It’s always feeling like you’re about to throw up, constant headaches from clenching your teeth together from worry, and needing to remind yourself it’s okay to leave the party.”
