Rachel Berrie is a content discovery intern at Love What Matters based in New York City. She will be graduating from Kennesaw State University at the end of July of 2022, with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a concentration in Criminology. She is passionate about mental health, substance abuse and other behavioral health issues and hopes to become a Substance Abuse Counselor. In her free time outside of work and school, you can find Rachel listening to true crime podcasts, singing her favorite songs, laying out by the pool, or trying out new make-up looks.
‘I was benched and pushed to the side.’: Woman with Treacher Collins Syndrome shares overcoming adversity
“I was often cornered and assaulted during school. I would eat cold, bland school sandwiches soaked with my tears in the bathroom stall. Then the man I wrote about in my journals suddenly surfaced into my reality.”
‘I learned to hide myself behind drugs.’: Child abuse survivor shares addiction recovery journey
“Abuse at home, bullying at school, and the anguish of mental illness are the seeds from which addiction grows. So before you pass judgment on me, let me show you my roots.”
‘My alcoholism successfully destroyed everything I loved.’: Woman achieves 12-year sobriety after prolonged addiction
“Being so desperate to find an excuse to buy vodka at 6 a.m., I picked a fight with my boyfriend, just so I could leave. But by the time I got to the liquor store I was already in full withdrawal.”
Woman Links Depressive Symptoms To Alcohol Use, Creates Safe Sober Community
“I initially set a goal of a 30-day break from alcohol. What I would discover in that 30 days would change my life forever.”
‘He wanted help, and I wanted him to die.’: Domestic violence survivor shares healing, overcoming trauma
“I have learned to not run away from, but to go through the pain, to get to the other side.”
‘The pieces came together, but the puzzle will never be complete.’: Sexual abuse, eating disorder survivor finds clarity after years of deeply rooted trauma
“More than half of my life is blurry due to everything that was happening, but I never stopped digging. I wanted to see and face the truth.”
‘I was convinced I was going to die.’: Woman with epilepsy shares life-changing brain surgery
“I was so sick of having epilepsy run my life, that within .5 seconds of my epileptologist asking me if I was up for brain surgery, I didn’t even blink and told him, ‘YES!!!’”
‘I left in tears, feeling more defeated than ever.’: Chronic illness warrior fighting for answers opens up about ‘medical gaslighting’
“The base of my skull became so sensitive to touch I couldn’t lay on a pillow without being in more pain. My neurologist would tell me he never had a patient have this reaction before and left it at that.”
‘I turned to tanner to ‘get back’ the skin I felt I’d lost.’: Woman with vitiligo shares self love journey, embracing her skin
“When the tan didn’t turn out right, anxiety-ridden meltdowns would result. Tanner had become my security blanket. Without it, I was so scared the world might see the girl I was trying so desperately to hide.”
‘Brushing my teeth felt like climbing a hill.’: Adoptee shares traumatic diagnosis journey of rare autoimmune disorder
“‘Why couldn’t I run without feeling so tired or weak? Why did every single movement make me feel like my body just wanted to shut down?’ I lost a lot of stamina and endurance and was dealing with mental exhaustion from being bullied at school.”