How I Found My Roar, and Gained my Power Back Fear flooded my veins when I ran into an old friend of my mother’s in a clothing store at the age of 13. My trembling body stared into his eyes, and while my head screamed “RUN”, my feet were frozen to the floor. It was [...]
Trigger Warning: Talk of suicide and intrusive thoughts. If you are struggling, please reach out to 800-273-TALK (8255) or online chat at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ It's been 4 years since I first posted publicly that I live with mental illness, 2 days after my dear friend died by suicide at Christmas. A force within me had to [...]
At dinner, my mom turns to my husband and says, as she has many times over the years, “I prayed against all the other boyfriends, you know. Every single one of them. Except you.” She pats his hand. He grins and gives her a fist bump. “Well,” I say, laughing, “I guess it’s not my [...]
My Name is Nicole. I am a mother to two beautiful little girls and I am a survivor, an advocate, and probably a lot like you. I also happen to have a mental illness called Bipolar Disorder. I think if I was a child growing up now rather than in the early eighties, I definitely [...]
Changing Our Tune Why We Need a Choir of Advocates to Fix Mental Health By Liza Long In the spring of 2003, I sank into a deep depression. I was near the end of my third pregnancy’s second trimester, expecting another boy to join my lively five and three year old sons. The psychiatrist who [...]
The Inheritance of Domestic Violence Sometimes, when it’s quiet and I’m alone, I can still hear my mother’s and stepfather’s raging, violent arguments echoing through my head. I see her face; bruised, swollen and bloodied. I feel once again like I’m cowering in the hallway, waiting for a chance to reach the telephone hanging on [...]
I’ve been promising for too long to submit my story to help stop the stigma against mental illness. The reason it has taken me to so long to finally do so is not because I lack passion for the cause. In fact, the opposite is true. Honestly, I have started writing my story for the [...]
Looking back over my nearly 30 years, I’ve struggled with low self esteem and low mood for most of my life. I was bullied as a child, and I think that shaped my future. It made me feel terrible about myself, and I don’t think that deep down, I’ve ever really recovered from it. I [...]
I immediately felt like my life should end. I was 25 years old, and my husband left. He left me with two sons to raise alone. I was left to struggle. What I thought would be forever was over. What my culture, religion and family told me I should fight for was over in a [...]
It’s Not That I Don’t Love You…My Struggle with Attachment Disorder From age three to eleven I was sexually abused. Repeatedly. Horrifically. My abuser was a man who should have been a safe, loving person in my life. He was someone I should have counted on to protect me, rather than a man I needed [...]