“What the people at church did to me was beyond what I even knew until MANY years later. I was a good kid. But I look at it differently now. I wasn’t bad; I had an illness.”
‘I got pregnant. I can still hear my mom say, ‘Oh Jennifer!’ when I told her.’: Woman credits husband for ‘saving her life’ and finally receiving bipolar diagnoses
‘I’m fine! I have it figured out!’ I struggled in secret as I hid behind my smile. I woke up in a suicide room.’: Woman shares her ADHD journey to make mental health ‘less secretive and stigmatized’
“My therapist couldn’t fit my hours. I didn’t bother finding a new one because, ‘I’m fine!’ Then, I hoped the floor would open up and I would just disappear. These awful, yellow, smiley hospital socks were staring up at me.”
‘It’s like having a neighbor from hell, but the annoying neighbor is your own brain and they’re never moving out. You’re stuck with them forever.’: Woman advocates for neurodiversity, ‘The hardest battle is the one I fight against myself every day’
“You know you have to be up at 4:15 for work, but the neighbor’s throwing a party again and you can’t get to sleep. You’re constantly frustrated. I wanted to address it. I needed to address it.”
‘I couldn’t explain to my boyfriend why he HAD to keep the light off, why I couldn’t come out of the bathroom.’: Woman embraces acne after hiding it for 10 years, ‘This is the REAL me’
“I waited nervously for the audible gasps. ‘Have you tried washing your face?’ I was the class guinea pig. I always assumed people were laughing at me.’’
‘My card declined at the grocery store. I forgot to bring cash. I stood outside my car door, ready to jump in, when a car pulled up next to me.’: Mom drawn to faith by random acts of kindness, ‘I’ve been getting signs for a long time’
“As he walked by he said, ‘Hey, I’ve been told to tell you to listen to 89.9 FM.’ I cried. Well as best as I could.”
‘I used to judge victims of abuse. ‘Why are you allowing them to hurt you? Just stay away.’ I’ve learned a lot since then.’: Woman credits her dog with helping with her mental health ‘he doesn’t understand, but he doesn’t have to’
“My friends are starting to notice. They’ve asked me what’s wrong. If anyone looks at me, they’ll know. Somehow, they’ll see right through me. It had to be my fault. I provoked you. You’d never hurt me. We’re happy. I’m fine.”
‘I regret this so much. I’ll never see my daughter again.’ My lips turned gray, my skin white. I faded out of consciousness.’: Woman urges ‘it will get better’ after survived suicide attempt, ‘Storms don’t last forever’
“I was always told, ‘You will never be anything.’ My family didn’t believe I was struggling. I was very good at hiding it. When it did show, they called it a ‘phase.’ I convinced myself no one would notice if I was dead. I had made my decision. Nobody could change my mind. In my bedroom, I wrote my goodbyes and I did it. I started going in and out of consciousness. I could see bright colors. My vision went blurry.”
‘Mom, her x-rays are not good. It’s spreading.’ WHAT?! She went from mentioning pain to crying that it ‘hurt so bad.’: Daughter diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, ‘I’ve learned more in 2 years than the 40 I’ve been alive’
“Gabby kept complaining about her left knee. Her brother had just gone through a similar growth spurt and had constant knee pain as well. I thought nothing of it. I took the kids to Target after school one day when I noticed she was limping. ‘Does it really hurt THAT BAD?’ Nothing looked wrong with it. Soon after, I got the call. ‘They will call and tell you where Gabby needs to go.’ WHAT? I paused, no idea what she was talking about.”
‘After my C-section, I heard, ‘Wow! He’s got a big birthmark on his face.’: Baby is born with Port-Wine Stain and Sturge-Weber Syndrome, ‘Never did I think I would have to consider what anti-seizure medication would best keep my child thriving.’
“A bright reddish-purple color covered more than half of my newborn son’s face. ‘Will this birthmark fade? Will it get worse? What will other people think? Can this lead to other health issues?’ Looking back now, those first months of Leo’s life, I was living in fear. I was consumed by anxiety, exhaustion, and confusion.”
‘I begged my parents for help. I showed my mom my cut arms and nothing happened. I was in seventh grade.’: Woman dealing with self-harm, depression since childhood, is ‘hopeful’ for a time where ‘I don’t need medicine to help me anymore’
“I grabbed this object, one of those things used to scrap art or whatever it’s called, and I went crazy. I swore I’d never cut again, never try again. I’m sure you can imagine how that went”
