It hurts, Ya’ Know by Jacqueline Cioffa The earliest picture I have of me lives in the stories I’ve been told. The image of a sweet, loveable, desired baby girl with sparkly hazel eyes and an infectious, bubbly grin. Can you picture her? In her white crib with pastel yellow and blue painted sheep, beaming [...]
PTSD - My Own Personal Human Bondage I may not have went to war to have the traumatic effects of PTSD, but I do have the emotional capacity to be a bit broken down by them. My life started out dramatically to two parents who never really gave a shit of whether I lived or [...]
Professional Anxiety: Unmedicated, Unapologetic and Successful Hello, my name is Bri Clark and I suffer from anxiety and depression. Because they are like twins. Only they are like ying and yang twins. Moreover, they are totally female because only women can ride someone like these two bitches do me. Beyond that, I have four beautiful [...]
First of all, howdy y'all! My name is Carisa. I'm 38 years old. Before we get too deep into the sludge of shit I constantly weigh through daily, I'd like to tell you how and why I chose to submit this essay to Stigma Fighters. I was asked by a dear friend, whom is also [...]
What I’ve Lost Since Losing It by Nicole Markardt I lost it. What ever it is… That thing that keeps us wrapped and raveled. Before it is lost, we are neat and able to be kept; kept neat and kept contained, so they ( the contained and neat) can be kept comfortable. I was comfortable [...]
ENDING STIGMA ESSAY by Bif Naked I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, to these unceded lands of The Coast Salish Territories, and made my home here in 1991. Vancouver held so much promise, and was rumored to be a great solution for people living in the colder climates of Canada, who may be looking for [...]
For a long time I felt guilty. I felt guilty for having ADHD and needing medication to feel somewhat close to “normal”. I went through elementary school and high-school being labeled “lazy” and being accused of “not applying myself”. I even had a teacher sign my yearbook- where he said I was “a nice girl, [...]
My mother. My beautiful, sweet mother took her last breath on July 31, 2013. My mother, who had loved me more than anything in this world, absolutely unconditionally. She managed to love me when I wasn't always loveable-thru my surly and difficult teenage years. Thru my highs and lows. She was there for me throughout [...]
I grew up in a broken home with an abusive, drug addicted father, and a mother who only held on because she knew nothing else. When she finally found the courage to leave, we were gone for good. I never saw my father past age 6 until I was an adult. Soon after leaving I [...]
Just Another Day: A Look At Life Inside By: Aleccia Lin Shaffer Everything can be summarized with a proper song. Everything. In my living room this morning, earbuds in, dancing like it was the 80's (and no one was looking) to my "Chill Out" song, I realized exactly what I wanted to tell my fellow [...]
