“I can see the conversation shift when I walk over. I know you feel awkward talking about taking your kids hiking or going to the park. But there is no need to walk on eggshells around me.”
‘There’s so much I wish others knew. So many incorrect assumptions make life even harder for someone like me.’: Special needs mom clears up biggest misconceptions
‘I am more than any number, and I have more to me than just my body.’: Woman shares journey to overcome anorexia, find self-love
“My eating disorder was my best friend, my confidant, the thing I could turn to when I felt like I was spinning out. I was so attached to this way of coping that it was killing me—literally.”
‘I think there’s something wrong with me. I know I should love her, but I just don’t feel anything.’: First-time mom shares battle with postpartum anxiety, intrusive thoughts
“I was never the woman who saw her baby on the screen and fell rapturously in love. I figured it would come once we met in person. It didn’t. And I felt terrified and ashamed. What mother doesn’t love their child at first sight?!”
‘Your baby girl isn’t growing properly.’ My daughter doesn’t need changing. This world does.’: Mom to daughter with dwarfism advocates for inclusion
“Without much explanation, the doctor headed back to her office to look over the measurements, leaving me to delve into Google. Without enough info, full of fear and armed with nothing but shock and anxiety, I stumbled upon scary statistics, a lack of information and words that seemed jumbled on the page.”
Our Daughter Uses A Gastronomy Tube, And It’s Much Harder Than We Could Have Ever Imagined
“Between medical supplies and equipment, around the clock medications, specialist appointments 2.5 hours away, an in-home nurse three times a week, occupational and physical therapy, and a million phone calls with insurance, we are barely keeping our head above water.”
‘I woke up to my boyfriend panicking on the phone with 911. I had one too many.’: Woman shares sobriety, Epilepsy acceptance journey
“I kept drinking to fit in; I didn’t want to feel left out. I was in denial.”
‘I shoved my newborn into my husband’s arms before violently jumping and screaming, ‘I’m not going to die!’ I hadn’t slept the whole time.’: Mom with bipolar disorder shares journey with postpartum psychosis
“I admitted myself to a psychiatric facility. My husband went back to our newborn by himself, without paternity leave. I want to make sure other bipolar women don’t give birth without being prepared.”
What Social Media Doesn’t Show Us About Eating Disorders
“Eating disorders aren’t glamorous, trendy, a choice, something someone can just ‘get over’…and they’re not just about food.”
‘I wondered every morning, ‘Is today going to be the day I connect with my baby?’: Woman shares motherhood journey through OCD diagnosis, ‘It does not define me’
“I would cover up the fact I felt so disconnected. Everything was ‘great,’ ‘fine,’ ‘I love being a mom.’ I was lying to them and myself.”
To The Kind Stranger Who Gave This Special Needs Mom The Strength To Carry On
“You could’ve judged us. You could’ve given us dirty looks. You could’ve asked us to quiet down, but you didn’t. You had no idea I was holding on by a thread. You had no idea your words that day gave me strength.”