“’Where do you think you’re going looking like THAT?’ I didn’t listen to my instincts. He made me think no one loved me. I had to set myself free.”
‘If you don’t leave him, I’ll end up burying you.’ I was like an addict. Then I saw a red positive sign on the doctor’s sheet.’: HIV+ woman escapes abuse, ‘Live out loud and free’
‘I found myself sniffing men’s deodorant in aisle 11, holding back tears. I’m trying not to forget his smell, but it’s fading.’: Widow candidly shares ‘gut-wrenching’ grief journey
“She said, ‘It’s good to see you’re moving on.’ It’s been two years since my husband died. No matter how much time keeps adding onto that calendar day when I last saw him, I’ll never get over it.”
‘There was a long post shared. It was from the niece — her aunt is in hospice. I truly wish all those prayers would work.’: Woman hurts for those struggling with cancer journey, ‘It feels SO unfair’
“I scrolled her page. My tears kept falling.”
‘In the middle of the night, the doctor said, ‘Ma’am, your husband needs emergency surgery right away.’ I was shaking uncontrollably.’: Couple embrace child-free life after near-death infertility surgery
“I was afraid to touch my husband. Nothing could prepare me for seeing my life partner, my love, on a ventilator because of how desperately I wanted to have a baby. This surgery was supposed to ‘help’ us.”
‘Honey, can you come pick me up? I think something is really wrong with me.’ I felt strong vibrations all throughout my body.’: Woman shares tips for managing anxiety, ‘I used to think self-care was mani-pedis and face masks’
“I pulled over. I was sitting on the side of the road, shaking as I held my son’s little hand – completely unaware of what was happening. Cars sounded louder, the sunlight brighter. The back of my neck felt like a claw squeezing me. I could no longer take a deep breath. I was holding on for dear life.”
‘I was sleeping 16 hours a day. I felt someone squeezing my lungs every time I took a breath. ‘You’re fine, just go home and rest.’: Woman battling Lupus urges ‘you’re capable of crushing every obstacle in your path’
“A group of doctors huddled at the end of my bed. I overheard them say, ‘She’s so incredibly sick, we just can’t figure out what’s wrong. She isn’t going to make it.’ I spiked a 104 fever. I was writhing in pain, grunting, moaning, begging for it to stop.”
‘When I walk into a room, I feel like people were talking about me. I’m constantly wondering if so-and-so likes me, or if I’m annoying them.’: Woman urges ‘anxiety doesn’t make you broken’
“You wake up with your own issues, and still get sh*t done. Anxiety doesn’t make you broken. If anything, it makes you resilient.”
‘You’ll never get out of this hole. Just go back to your old friend, heroin.’ I spent the night in jail, tying bedsheets around my neck.’: Man who battled addiction 9 years now owner of state’s largest recovery center
“I put the sheet around my neck and waited. I just couldn’t let go. I could hear the voices in my head saying, ‘You can’t even do this right.’ When I was released from prison, my family wouldn’t take me in. After too many broken promises, they were done with me. I owed $33,000 in child support and $100,000 for my crimes. ‘You’re going to be okay.’ My prisonmates saved my life. They took me in when I was too far gone.”
‘After rehab, I manipulated my mom into dropping me off at a bar. ‘I’m not an alcoholic.’ I got drunk and high that night.’: Woman overcomes heroin and alcohol addiction, ‘God put me on this earth to make an impact’
“I knew nothing about heroin. But I did it. That missing feeling I had inside of me for so long was gone. It felt warm and like I was being hugged. It felt like I had arrived. In my mind, I was a heroin addict, not an alcoholic. I got drunk and got high that night. I would share needles with whoever. I found out I had contracted Hepatitis C. One of my best friends, who I used with, had been sober for 18 months. If she could do it, so could I.”
‘Here, I’ll get rid of it for you,’ he put his fist up to me and my baby belly, filled with rage. I knew this baby would save me.’: Woman breaks cycle of abuse, leaves cheating husband to gain full custody of kids, ‘Let yourself be what you are, a Queen, a warrior’
“He’d been living a double life. I was his girlfriend at church functions, family gatherings and his house. That was strictly it. He brought her camping, to parties. Then, he began bringing her into the house. The first night he brought her back was our anniversary. His phone accidentally ‘pocket dialed’ me while he was in bed with her. I went into panic mode. I couldn’t breathe. But it didn’t stop there. I found out I was pregnant with our daughter.”
