“I felt stupid because no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop. I would spend an hour straightening my shoes, trying to get them ‘just right.’ My dad had to sleep on the floor next to my bed and I had to wear adult diapers. I was left with my self-esteem in shatters. I believed I was a naughty kid.”
‘I had to wear adult diapers. ‘Do you realize how stupid you look?’ He was mimicking my tics in front of the class.’: Young woman with Tourette’s Syndrome finally finds help, ‘I got my quality of life back’
‘You are on the highest dose I can legally prescribe.’ I sat in the doctor’s office, ashamed of who I’d turned into.’: Young woman with OCD/anxiety gets off medication, finally finds she ‘has the tools to power through any obstacles’
“I walked out of the office and something just clicked. I didn’t want to rely on medication anymore to be happy. I didn’t want to live my life this way any longer. I knew in my heart there had to be some other option.”
‘It’s NOT postpartum depression. You aren’t suicidal.’ She said to buy essential oils. I feared the worst.:’ Mom’s postpartum depression dismissed for years, ‘I finally have the right people behind me’
“I smashed the window of our door while holding my child. I knew something wasn’t right. She told me, ‘You should calm down because stress can pass to your breast milk and upset your baby’s stomach.’ I had all these terrifying thoughts of what could happen to him. I said, ‘This is why we lose SO MANY women during the postpartum period. We get ignored.'”
‘I struggled with the thought of being in a hit and run. I’d have panic attacks. I was convinced any bump I hit was a person.’: Woman’s emotional battle with OCD, feeling ‘defeated,’ and how she’s calmed her anxieties
“I realized my issues were bigger than I could handle alone. I reached out for help. I found the therapist to be unprofessional and insensitive. I left the session crying and not wanting to go through that again. It’s extremely difficult opening up to a stranger and telling them the most vulnerable experiences you’ve had in your life. I felt defeated and overwhelmed.”
‘I was a single mom, had 3 fatherless WILD boys, and major baggage. But my daughter is destined for great purpose.’: Mom finally ‘blessed’ with baby girl after 3 boys as a single mother, teen pregnancy
“Single motherhood was rough. The judgement was hard, and I lost friends. Having 3 children while unmarried is frowned upon, especially here in the south. People never took the time to find out why I had 3 children this way, because they had their own assumptions. I didn’t think I’d find someone who’d want to marry me. Then I met Josey. 5 months later, we were married. The emotion was too much. Finally, a daughter.”
‘Jack, you were a child. You don’t need to punish yourself.’ In that moment, everything changed.’: Child sexual abuse survivor battles OCD and addiction, woman’s compassion helps him heal
“‘Prepare for the worst. He’s not going to make it to the weekend.’ My mom was right. The next day, her friend walked in on me in the bathroom. I’d been washing my hands for 2 hours straight. They were cracked open, bleeding. ‘Can we talk?’ For the first time in my life, I opened up about my trauma. I spared no detail as I scoured my brain for buried memories. ‘You don’t need to live like this,’ she said. We both burst into tears.”
‘Are you thinking about killing yourself?’ He became scared of his own brain. The pain was too great. I keep trying to be mad at him. I can’t manage it, though.’
“He got this weird look about him. I didn’t think too much of it. Pretty normal for Mark. Later, he told me that after our time together, he had made a noose, and driven out of town with the intention of hanging himself. He said he wanted to make sure it was perfect before he died.”
‘Her pupils became dilated and dark. She started wetting the bed, baby talking. My once happy daughter became angry and rude.’: Girl diagnosed with PANDAS after months of turmoil, ‘No one knows your child better than you do’
“Her eyes turned dead and hateful, and she began laughing at things that weren’t funny. If she was forced to make a decision as simple as what shirt to wear, she would rage and scream, ‘I DON’T KNOW!!!’ I had to explain to her 5-year-old sister why her sibling didn’t want to play with her anymore. ‘She’s very sick right now.’ It started as the flu, but my insticts knew better. My daughter morphed into someone else. I had to fix this.”
‘I was 17, in love with a dad twice my age, and preparing my son’s autopsy.’: Teen mom loses son to SIDS, re-discovers herself after ‘flailing through life in destruction mode’ for decades
“The clock reads 5:36. I hear him yell. Blood is trickling from his mouth. Shock. Fear. Confusion. Put him in the car. Stop. No time. He’s not breathing. Cry. Scream. Beg him to breathe. The police are here to question us. Why aren’t they doing anything? It’s too late. We have to plan a funeral. Shortly after, my relationship ends. The burden of a dead baby is too much. I fall asleep crying on my son’s grave frequently. I cannot breathe. I am a disaster trying to maintain normalcy.”
‘I ran away and spent the entire day in agony, waiting to go home and shower. I became the girl known for never showing up and sleeping all the time.’
“I didn’t feel comfortable telling my friends about the weird things I did. I was constantly thinking about how to rid my brain of this mental contamination. I can’t just turn it off like a light switch.”
