“A boyfriend of years left me for another girl. I grabbed my phone and I wrote while my baby gnawed on my nipples.”
‘I’ve had my accounts hacked. I’ve had my words twisted and changed to reflect me as a horrible person. I feel stronger.’: Woman who was hacked says ‘never give up’
‘I can’t do this another day!’ My hands were rotten, my skin so red and thin I could see my bone through it.’: Teen OCD survivor becomes mental health advocate, ‘There’s light at the end of the tunnel’
“’I found her blue,’ my nurse explained. What? How bad was this? My family watched in horror as I destroyed my body and soul. Then something flipped. I just wanted to go home.”
‘I don’t deserve it.’ That hate you have towards yourself? The harm you directly cause yourself? That’s on you.’: Woman talks ‘world of difference’ gratitude has made
“People will NOT feel sorry for you if you CHOOSE to beat yourself up.”
‘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 explained my past. ‘The man took photographs. He was 57 years old.’ I hated myself and turned to drugs.’: Woman with BPD gets sober, changes life, ‘I love how far I’ve come’
“I struggled to talk to the therapist. I explained what I went through when I was 12. I encountered a child predator. Having my son pushed me to find the answers as to what happened.”
‘I was shut upstairs, locked away. ‘There must be something wrong with me.’ Sex was learned from books. I felt unsafe.’: Woman leaves past life, walks 500 miles, ‘I let others love me’
“At 12, my grandmother looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you want to go to the gym, I’ll pay. I think you need it.’ I was the girl who drank 25 shots in a row and took her clothes off in a room full of people. I felt dead inside.”
‘The baby weight will melt away with breastfeeding.’ When my milk never came in, I was devastated. I hated my body.’: Mom discusses postpartum self-love, ‘You’re worthy at any size’
“I saw all these moms on Instagram, three days after having their babies, in jeans going out for coffee. I had a mom pouch, wider hips, wider thighs, and lots of new stretch marks. I felt like a failure already at one week postpartum.”
‘Oh no… a fat girl in your feed. A bigger girl shouldn’t show her body. It’s gross!’: Woman shares why a ‘fat girl’ should be in your feed more often
“If she does, it must be because she has a message. Maybe it’s about the stretch marks on her butt or boobs, that grew from puberty. Maybe she learned to love her body. Which is odd. Because it IS normal.”
‘You won’t carry a child.’ I never got a period. I’d memorize pill brands, so I wouldn’t flag as ‘not-quite-woman.’: Woman with MRKH Syndrome finds purpose in advocacy
“I was a child learning I would never carry a child. I had the option for treatment. I would be upstairs doing this painful and intrusive act, while my family was desperately pretending I wasn’t. I felt defected and apologetic for not being ‘complete.’”
‘Mom said, ‘You aren’t coming home.’ My sexuality was a sin. I was punished for making eye contact. The chance I’d pull through was slim.’: Woman survives accident, cancer, ‘I’m ALIVE for the first time’
“I was topping the scales at over 650 pounds. I pulled up and asked him if he was okay. A rush of cars started coming and they weren’t slowing down. Then I heard brakes screeching, the glass breaking. I flew through the air. I’d have to have my entire tongue removed.”
