“When my post-traumatic stress (PTS) started to develop, I felt something that I’d never felt before in my life. I started having vivid nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and flashbacks that were constantly bringing back the trauma.”
Struggled with:
Abuse
Anxiety
Childhood
Depression
PTSD
“I remember moments of feeling completely hopeless like I had no identity outside of my dysfunctional relationships. At my lowest, I numbed feelings with unhealthy habits. With support and inner work, I’ve realized my worth comes from within. Now I know approving of myself is what matters most.”
“After a very emotionally taxing month for me and my fiance, I had an actual mental breakdown. Unable to stop crying, I voluntarily admitted myself to my local psych ward and stayed for a couple of days, ultimately being released after assessment. I realized that I didn’t want to die, I just didn’t want to feel the way I was feeling.”
“Do you know how hard it is to be friends with a person who wants to kill themselves then 5 minutes later they’re ok? It’s draining. Well, I am that person. The struggle impacts me daily, however, last Saturday I had an epiphany that I’ve been working on and the days seem to be getting better.”
“Shortly after the trauma, I started to isolate myself from the world. Experiencing anger with just about everything and everyone. Those closest to me sensed something was wrong. I knew something was wrong. But I was not able to identify what it was. Nor could anyone else. I continued to spiral out of control.”
Helped by:
Reinventing yourself
“When I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, I was elated to finally have a label for my issues. After suffering through the symptoms for my entire life, there was finally an answer as to why I had experienced them.”
Struggled with:
Abuse
Borderline Personality Disorder
Helped by:
Exercise
Journaling
“At 16, I found my drug of choice, methamphetamine, which I began shooting up at 17. I had a few years of somewhat reduced drug use for the first years of college, then slid back due to a multi-assailant rape and abusive boyfriend. I lived in increasing misery until I was 32.”