“I use what little energy I have for my job and my children. By the end of the day, I can’t sleep. I can’t be productive. I want nothing more than to lie in the dark. I give myself a pep talk to finally brush the knots out of my hair. Some days, I look in the mirror and cry. Then comes the mania. Like today, I’ll clean like crazy. Take a nice, long shower. I’ll play extra long with the kids and message all the people my depression kept me from. All while wondering when depression will strike again.”
‘I look at my kids and tell myself, ‘Their life would be better without me.’ I push away my partner. I feel my life spiral away.’: Mom shares candid reality of manic depression, urges ‘you are not alone’
‘I hear you talking to friends. You ‘don’t feel like yourself lately.’ I can see tears in your eyes. You may not love yourself right now, Mama, but I do.’: Mom pens appreciation letter to fellow mothers
“I hear you complain to daddy you have ‘huge bags’ under your eyes. I assume it’s because you’re tired. You were up with me again all last night. I really love the way you cuddle me in the middle of the night while the rest of the world is quiet. You make me feel so safe. You may not love the sleepless nights, Mama, but I do.”
‘I was offered a ‘fashion model’ job. Naive, I took it. It was a false company ran by dead people in other states.’: Human trafficking survivor speaks out, ‘I never thought it would happen to me’
“I was a junior in college who’d just lost my scholarship. I needed money to pay my tuition, so I took the job. I was a small town girl, self-absorbed in my own world. Maybe I was too young, or too naive. I thought it was a ‘black or hispanic problem’ in the urban city. Over the course of a few months, my life came to an abrupt halt. This was anything but a modeling agency.”
‘I don’t answer texts. I don’t make plans, and if I do, I cancel. Sometimes I need a break to figure out what’s going on in my head.’: Woman thankful for friends who stick around despite mental health struggles
“Sometimes, my anxiety and depression can make me a sh*tty friend. For the friends who have stuck around while I cancel plans, go radio silent, and patiently wait until I’m ready to talk, you’re the real ones. I’m lucky to have you.”
‘I missed my daughter’s honor roll assembly so I could go for a walk and burn off anxiety. It’s not selfish, it’s called self-love.’: Woman responds to mom shamers, ‘taking care of ourselves IS taking care of our kids’
“I was struggling deep with anxiety and had a long work day ahead of me. I needed a break. The next day, several moms at school asked me why I wasn’t there with my husband and my mom who was in town visiting. Women were judging me. So much so that they felt the need to privately message me to insult me.”
‘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.”
‘My 4-year-old had a rough week. He’s been acting ‘off.’ Anxiety and depression don’t care if you’re 5, 25, or 65.’: Mom gives son mental health day, ‘kids are never too young to talk about their struggles’
“Today, my son crawled onto my lap and started whining. I told him to use his words. At that exact moment, I realized I haven’t been using mine. This week, I forgot to ask him if he was okay. Instead, I yelled, was less patient. I said ‘I can’t play, mommy’s busy!’ a lot. So, I made him feel special. His smile was instant.”
‘I wear lots of ‘hats.’ I’m a mom, wife, boss. You’re allowed to say F it and throw them up in the air for the day.’: Woman urges us to let our guard down, ‘don’t hold it together for everyone else’s sake’
“I’m a wife that loves and supports her husband in anything he does. A mom who can heal boo boos with a kiss and turn a frown upside down. A boss who has to make the tough calls and not loose her mind when sh*t hits the fan. When life gets overwhelming, it’s okay to let your guard down. Throw one of those ‘hats’ up in the air for the day. Just be sure to catch it and try again tomorrow.”
‘We still have to invite uncle Tommy to Thanksgiving.’ I will not be part of a family who chooses my abuser over me.’: Rape survivor ‘thankful’ for second family who takes her in during the holidays
“For years, my anxiety was high during the holidays, my emotions an all-time low. Nobody knew the cause. After I came out about my sexual assault, my family didn’t know what to believe. My uncle was a ‘great guy.’ When, the shock wore off, my mom hugged me. ‘Everything will be alright.’ Yet, she continues to invite him to every holiday. No one should have to exist in the same room with the one who makes them want to vanish within it.”
‘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.”
