“I never thought I’d make it this far. I never thought I’d be able to write the words ‘I feel safe’ and mean it. I have come so far from the broken, hollow girl who sat in the corner and rarely spoke.”
‘Every night for 3 years, I prayed someone would see my pain and advocate for me.’: Human trafficking survivor ‘repurposing pain’ to help other victims
‘They took away the light within me, and I had no support from my school.’: Teen bullying victim with autism shares heartbreaking plea for change
“The bullies made an album of inappropriate images and comments about me. Too embarrassed to show my parents, the school kept it a secret. We were told we had to be ‘tolerant towards other children.’ I just want to venture outdoors and live my dreams without being targeted.”
‘Nobody commented on my bathing suit. Not only that. My butt. I’m sad now, you see. I was never a bikini kind of girl.’: Woman struggling with body positivity says ‘the world isn’t judging you like you think it is’
“I breathed in deep, walked down the hallway. ‘Oh, there she is.’ I can look at this picture and tell you ten thousand ways I hate it. I disrobed to jump in the hot tub with a bunch of friends.”
‘You’re too intense.’ My heart beat out of my chest; there wasn’t enough air. I became addicted to the relief of self-harm.’: Young woman diagnosed with OCD after years, ‘I learned so much about myself’
“Someone honked their horn. Was I just involved in a hit-and-run and didn’t even know? I had hallucinations of objects flashing before me.”
‘I was ‘crazy’ for buying disposable diapers. The foods I fed my daughter were ‘wrong.’ I told myself she was just strong-willed.’: Woman urges ‘if they don’t raise you up, they are NOT your people’
“She started screenshotting my texts and making fun of me. Our friendship went south. Then, her friends and family started contacting me. Looking back, I realize every time I ignored the red flags, I was setting myself up for how things ended between us.”
‘Why bother with contraception? You’ll never have children anyway.’ I wanted to give up.’: Young woman overcomes depression from PCOS, acne, ‘I keep blooming every day’
“I remember the distress I felt. ‘Why is my hard work not paying off?’ I just wanted to give up and hide from the world. I thought I wasn’t worthy of love. I mean, who could possibly love such an ugly face? At my lowest point, I met a boy. He made me realize I was so much more.”
‘Look, she’s eating something!’ I hear the whisper. I feel the cold gnawing at the bottom of my stomach. I hate it and I love it.’: After 12 years battling anorexia, ED survivor learns to accept new plus-size body
“My brother makes me a sandwich when he sees I didn’t eat lunch. My bones poke up under my skin. ‘Please eat it,’ he begs. ‘You need to eat.’ It is so sweet of him, so I eat a few bites. But when he leaves, I give the rest to the dogs. They leave no evidence. Nothing in the trash for my dad to find when he empties it, nothing to clog the toilet. I have become clever in the ways of secret self-destruction.”
‘His scheme to butter me up to lose his virginity worked. ‘Wow, he really cares about me.’: Domestic violence survivor reveals she’s been ‘scared to speak my truth’ for years, but finally realizes ‘I’m stronger for what I’ve been through’
“I was sitting in my room doing homework. His ex-girlfriend called. He was caught red handed. He drove to my house with flowers and sobbed. ‘I’m so sorry. I’m just so insecure because you’re so out of my league – I got nervous and cheated.’ I was so angry. My relationship was destroying my family. Nevertheless, I went to Disney with him anyway. I stood in the middle of Magic Kingdom crying, alone and terrified.”
‘He said, ‘Hey, I have herpes. Did you give it to me?’ Just like that. I played my part of ‘perfect girlfriend.’: Woman urges others to ‘listen to that voice inside’ after finally leaving abusive relationship
“The day of the funeral came. I smiled when people asked, ‘When are you guys going to get married?’ I cringed at the thought. I checked his phone. Him: ‘My mom left me a lot of money.’ Her: ‘So?’ Him: ‘Now we can be together.’ Her: ‘What about HER (me), you’re lying.’ Him: ‘Let’s run away together.’ I woke him up and asked him, ‘What the hell is this?'”
‘I’d cash my check for thousands, cry-jerk alone in bed, hop in my Rolls-Royce, and pretend it never happened.’: 26-year-old woman ditches deceivingly ‘glamorous’ lifestyle, now living life ‘truly, unapologetically’
“I was making 6 figures, had 3 cars. My ‘friends’ would come for parties in my huge house. But the second I was blackout drunk, not a single soul noticed or cared to ask where I was. In my OWN house. I’d wake in the bathroom, wipe off the vomit, then scroll through photos of me looking perfect, side by side girls with shots in hand, with captions like, ‘best friends forever.’ It literally made me sick.”
