“I aspired to be a ‘businesswoman’ and make my family proud. I had no idea I was about to join a small team of all men who were both equally hated and respected by everyone in the department. People in the company started to wish me ‘good luck’ and apologize for ‘what was to come.’ The third stall in the women’s bathroom became my second home.”
‘Bets were made whether I’d last in the ‘boys club,’ or how long until I quit. Things got bad really quickly.’: Woman forced to quit her job after horrendous workplace bullying, ‘I finally put myself first. I am only human’
‘He was terrified he’d watch her leap off the bridge. He pushed forward, to ‘catch her feet’ if she went over the rails.’: Son saves stranger from near suicide attempt, ‘if you hear someone calling out for help, you can’t turn away’
“We couldn’t find our son anywhere. We were stunned to hear what happened in the time he’d been ‘missing.’ As he came upon the bridge, he saw an outline of a person perched on the railing with her body leaning over the top, looking down toward the raging river. Eventually, she looked back at him with a terrifying look in her eyes. ‘How can I help?,’ he asked.”
‘Don’t try to fix me, or tell me it’s in my head. Just show up. Just love. I promise I’ll do the same.’: Woman pens letter to friends explaining anxiety, ‘true friendship is loving each other in ups and downs’
“When anxiety rears its ugly head, everything can look perfect. But all of a sudden, normal things feel like end-of-the-world things. Dirty dishes a mountain, laundry a tsunami, fighting kids a start of the third world war, bills are the crash of the stock market, relationship issues are the end of me having friends. Even though you can CLEARLY see it’s not, for me, that’s what the world feels like. You, my friend, can help me. You can love me in that space.”
‘I know you didn’t want this. You didn’t want this for us. The pain. I miss the way you loved me.’: Woman’s painful recollection of losing husband to suicide, fighting for him to stay, ‘I miss you’
“I want to pretend you’re in the other room, so I’ll even call your name. I want to taste it on my lips again. You fought, though. You fought so hard. But then you got so tired of fighting. The scars on my knees are a painful reminder of how I wouldn’t accept defeat with your last breath.”
‘Let me know if you need anything.’ But a new mom never will.’: Woman’s candid advice on how to help a new mom so they don’t ‘shoulder it alone’
“Bring a meal, but don’t go in. They just had a baby, they need food. They don’t need to put on a bra, clean the house, or entertain.”
‘Why bother? Nothing’s left.’ I was a washed-up, homeless junkie injecting meth into my arm.’: Veteran launches organization to end veteran suicide after battling addiction, ‘your life is worth living’
“When that picture on the left was taken, I was in the height of my meth addiction. My only concern was my next high. It’s how I dealt with the war and the loss of my father. I burned every bridge and friendship I’d ever made. I didn’t think there was anything left of me worth saving, so why bother? I was wrong, so wrong.”
‘Why would she do this?! She’s such a pretty girl.’: Woman recounts suicide attempt after devastating breakup by swallowing bottle of Tylenol
“I’d been dating this guy. He was respectful to me. The kind of guy any mom would be thrilled to see their daughter dating. Then he broke up with me. I had to make the pain go away. I swallowed the entire bottle. I didn’t count, I just took. I called my mom to tell her what I’d just done. By the time she arrived, I was slowly drifting in and out.”
‘This picture was taken 2 hours before I was bullied in front of my entire school. They made a mockery of me.’: Teen stands up against bullying, ‘I cheered in front of them with a smile’
“Friday afternoon, a group of kids decided to embarrass me. It was my senior year pep rally, my senior cheer night. This was the day they decided to put me down. Even after standing up for myself, they continued on with their foolish comments. I couldn’t stop wondering, ‘Why me?’ Then, I realized I was asking the wrong question. ‘Why do it at all?’ It doesn’t matter that it was done to me, it matters that it happened. It’s unacceptable.”
‘Come out tonight! Drink!’ Next thing I remember was a police car coming my way. I hung my head.’: Woman overcomes alcoholism, ‘drinking will not help your depression, put the glass down’
“My husband and I were no longer together. I was drinking every day. A police man stepped out of his vehicle. I could hear his shoes crunching leaves as he walked over to me. He got down to my level and said, ‘Do you need me to take you to the hospital?’ I couldn’t find words. Shame washed over me. I nodded yes.”
‘Why are you home early?’ my husband asks. I haven’t showered in 6 days. He didn’t know. People with depression are great at hiding it.’: Woman candidly shares the reality of mental illness
“I’m smelly. There’s oil and debris gunked on my face. I have knotted hair, armpit hair. Other hair. I’m disgusting right now. There’s no other way of saying it. Mental illness sounds cute when you put it on a post with a person staring in the distance saying they’re ‘depressed.’ But depression is more than just sadness. It’s raw. It’s not showering for 6 days, then collapsing in your bed, exhausted, when you finally do.”
