“I realized my issues were bigger than I could handle alone. I reached out for help. I found the therapist to be unprofessional and insensitive. I left the session crying and not wanting to go through that again. It’s extremely difficult opening up to a stranger and telling them the most vulnerable experiences you’ve had in your life. I felt defeated and overwhelmed.”
‘I struggled with the thought of being in a hit and run. I’d have panic attacks. I was convinced any bump I hit was a person.’: Woman’s emotional battle with OCD, feeling ‘defeated,’ and how she’s calmed her anxieties
‘I found a welt on my son’s forehead, bruising. Throughout the attack, this little boy laughed, smiled.’: Mom ‘enraged’ after her son attacked in locker room at school
“My son was attacked. In a violent, malicious manner. As one student repeatedly hit him over and over again, others not only held my son down so the student could hit him, but encouraged the attack. Not one school administrator contacted me on the way to the school.”
‘You’ve been lying to me.’ My frantic husband was pacing the room. ‘What’s really going on? Tell the truth.’: Wife admits her own infidelity, promises your marriage is ‘worth fighting for’
“My phone was in his hand. I was half asleep. He’d found a thread of messages to a friend of mine. I’d been telling her I felt like the other guy was the one for me. Not my husband. As you can imagine, he was blindsided. ‘Tell me what happened,’ he kept repeating. Tears streamed down my face. If I said it, then that made it more real.”
‘What happened, buddy? What happened?’ I laid down next to him, held his hand. An eerie calm came over me.’: Father pleads ‘hug your kids, don’t work too late’ after regretting ‘missing out on things’ with twin son who suddenly died in his sleep
“The evening before was normal. He was healthy and engaged. We had kids over for dinner. We all jumped on the giant trampoline. He got bossy with the other kids and started telling everyone they were playing the game wrong. I pulled him aside. I was stern with him. Too stern in hindsight. And I made him cry. It’s one of the last interactions we had, and I’ve beaten myself up for it. I can still see the tears rolling down his face. ‘But you’re not listening to me. No one listens to me.’”
‘I can’t see him like this, Mom. Take me home.’ I laid my head on his chest, sobbing. ‘Chase, I love you so much.’: Wife’s ‘life altering’ journey since husband suddenly died in his sleep
“I remember walking in the house at 4:15 a.m. with the most empty feeling I had ever felt. I knew our son would be waking in a few short hours and I wasn’t ready to face reality so soon. I went to our bathroom, filled up the tub, and sat in a hot bath as I cried the little tears I had left. Then I went to Chase’s closet, pulled out his favorite sweats and a big oversized sweater and crawled into bed with his pillow. The sheets and everything smelled like him, and right then and there, I didn’t want to wake up.”
‘Last night, my soul left my body. Yes, I pooped out my soul and went to heaven. And now I’m a brand new man.’: Man hilariously shares Magnesium Citrate ‘near-death experience’ after eating 20 ‘nuclear wings’
“Until last night, I didn’t understand the term ‘shiz storm.’ I was looking down on myself from the sky, watching all of my internal organs liquefy and spray out like someone jumped on a balloon full of Nutella. After 4 straight hours of pooping, I passed out on the bathroom floor for 2 hours only to be awoken by my dog licking me to see if I was dead.”
‘Holy crap! Babe! They want us to adopt the baby! They want us to be parents!,’ I screamed. ‘Wait! REALLY?!’: Couple adopts child unexpectedly, says ‘families DON’T have to match! They are built on LOVE!’
“I raced to my mom’s house. They’d just gotten back from the cruise so I could finally share the good news. ‘YOU’RE GOING TO BE A GRANDMA! My husband and I went to the hospital to meet our son for the very first time. We were greeted by security. ‘I need your ID’s. Where are you folks headed?,’ he asked. ‘We’re going to the NICU to see our son!,’ Jarvis said proudly. We literally became parents overnight. Families DON’T have to match! They are built on LOVE!”
‘I received a message on Facebook. ‘I’m sorry to hear about your brother. God bless you guys.’ I had no idea what he was talking about.’: Woman loses little brother to Fentanyl-laced heroin overdose
“He spoke with a friend about how sad he was, how he felt like a loser, and how badly he wanted to stop using. He just needed LOVE.”
‘Man. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this.’ I was scared. I didn’t want this life. I didn’t want to be ‘chosen’ for this.’: Mom embraces son’s Down syndrome after admitting fear made her consider abortion
“I’ll never forget the way my heart dropped when someone said, ‘I’m not pro-termination. But in complex situations like these, sometimes it is appropriate.’ With heartbreaking honesty that rips my insides apart now, I’ll tell you – I went home and googled abortion procedures. A Christian woman who loves Him with all of her heart — I googled it.”
‘5 kids? You know how this happens, don’t you? Did you have all 5 on purpose?’: Mother of 5 children says despite the struggles, ‘these kids still run to hug me when I get home’
“Having many kids makes parenting into a super long marathon. And that is no joke when you may no longer be in your 30’s. But the blessings? They are no joke either.”
‘Never in a million years did I think I’d get cancer, much less BREAST cancer.’: Male breast cancer survivor urges men to ‘get checked out’ if they notice ‘something out of the ordinary’
“One night after I got home from the gym, I felt a tiny lump the size of a dime on my right nipple. Like most men, I assumed it was a cyst or ingrown hair. My wife pushed to get it checked out. Lo and behold, I was drinking my morning cup of coffee, still in my PJs and trying to wake up, when I got a call. ‘Michael, our biopsy results came back and you have cancer.’ I went to work that day looking like someone walked over my grave.”
‘Can you believe her?,’ I exclaimed. I was so appalled. I’m not ready to say goodbye.’: Widow urges you to ‘be prepared for the unexpected’ after mom catches her off guard preparing for her death
“When I woke up, I noticed I had an email from my mom. Usually, those entail some kind of funny joke or forwarded message, but this time, she needed information. Specifically, my kids’ social security numbers so she can set up accounts for them to be ‘transferable upon (her) death.’ Wait, what?”
‘You promised you’d never leave us. We had plans THAT day. Our son, at 10 years old, had to call 911.’: Wife says although her late husband’s suffering is done, theirs has ‘only just begun’ after his suicide
“Do you remember how I told you this would utterly destroy me? How our kids needed every ounce of you? You knew how much we needed and loved you. I reminded you every single day. But you didn’t plan that moment, did you? Because if you did, you would have known how it killed us too. You wouldn’t have done it.”
‘Meg, it’s not good. Travis has been in a bad accident.’ A wave of heat flushed through my body. I should’ve never left.’: Wife recalls ‘total accident’ that took husband’s life after good Samaritan tried to help in blizzard
“I had gotten a cold and he told me, ‘I need you to take care of yourself sweetheart, I need you for this adventure.’ Shortly after we hung up I sent him a text, which I found out was moments before the accident. I asked him, ‘Do you know how much I love you?’ He never got to read it.”
‘You know this isn’t a bad boob job, right?’ They saw my cancer scars and erupted in laughter.’: Woman beats breast cancer, new symptoms dismissed as ‘overreacting’ turn out to be colon cancer
“I felt so embarrassed. I started putting makeup on my scars and wearing only tube top bikinis. I started wearing a bra all the time and wouldn’t remove it during intimate times with my husband. I went from cancer free and ecstatic about the surgery results, to mortified to even show my breasts.”
‘An older gentleman proclaimed, ‘Wow lady, you sure have your hands full.’ My blood started to boil.’: Stranger helps widowed mom gain new perspective on rude comments about her many children
“I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I looked around embarrassed, hoping no one else heard him. This was it—I was going to let him have it. All those years of pretending people’s comments didn’t hurt me were going to come to an end. But then he looked at me with a warm glow, ‘We never could have kids.’”
‘Must be nice to have a vacation from your baby every day.’ Tears welled up in my eyes. I know she didn’t see it.’: Mom’s emotional encounter with woman after son endures open heart surgery
“I was in line for the fitting room when the lady in front of me commented she really liked the pants I was holding. ‘Thanks, I’ve really been needing to buy some post-pregnancy work pants,’ I said. ‘Oh, where is your baby while you work?,’ she asked. Nonchalantly, I replied, ‘He goes to daycare and really loves it.’ As she walked away, she mumbled it. When she said it, I knew she just didn’t know.”
‘We begged her to let go. She kept fighting to stay with us. ‘We’ll be together soon. You need to go home,’ we said.’: Mom says daughter suffering from CHD ‘passed peacefully in my arms,’ is ‘finally at peace’
“We went to see Cora for the last time. I washed her hair and gently cleaned her body with a washcloth. I dressed her in our favorite headband and swaddled her tightly. Her sister gave Cora a kiss on her forehead. We told her to say goodbye. ‘Bye bye, Baby Cora.’ My mom took our eldest away so she could pass with my husband and I alone. She was so beautiful, looking at us with such deep love in her eyes.”
‘Yes, I post photos of my kids online. As a mom, there’s bigger things to worry about than some hacker using them.’: Mom defends showcasing children on social media, says photos are ‘meant to make people smile’
“‘Is that me? I’m a baby?!,’ my 3-year-old asks as we swipe through a photo album on social media. ‘That’s you when you weren’t even 1 yet!’ He’s intrigued. Growing up, my mom took pictures of us only at special events. Over the years, those photo prints became scarce. The existing ones lived in a box somewhere, lost or damaged. I want something different for my children.”
‘I had been on Adderall close to 15 years. When I woke up in ICU, I knew I had a problem.’: Mom of 3 now ‘clean, happy, full of hope’ after being addicted to prescription pills
“My dad found me. I was covered in bruises, rug burns and cuts head to toe. He called 911, immediately searched for those pills and found both bottles were empty. I have no recollection of taking any pills. I woke up to my best friend standing over me. ‘Why are you looking at me like I died? Where am I?’ They were my prescriptions from MY doctor. I wasn’t getting them off the streets, so I couldn’t possibly have a problem.”
‘My marriage reared it’s ugly head. I was at a fork in the road. I could leave and save myself heartbreak, or I could stay.’: Woman finds ‘strength’ to divorce abusive husband, admits there’s ‘beauty in vulnerability’
“I never planned on writing my story. While I was more fearful of the future than I care to admit, I remember leaving the courthouse the day I filed for divorce feeling like I could breathe for the first time in years. It was the feeling of freedom. For years, I allowed the world to wash over me, resigned to the lies I’d been told about who I was, who I wasn’t, and who I could never be. On the hard days, I have to remind myself to call these thoughts what they are: lies.”
‘Are you kidding me, mom?! Help me!’ It’s an explosion of epic proportions. Do we salvage this outfit? Heck. NO!’: Mom hilariously recounts every mother’s worst nightmare, the diaper blowout
“It’s so goopy. It’s E V E R Y W H E R E! In crevasses you didn’t know existed. It’s up the back, and down the legs. More creeps onto your hand with every wipe. You’re gagging. You pick baby up and hold him Lion King style, praying that none splatters onto the floor as you shuffle towards the sink. ‘This isn’t that bad… this isn’t… that… bad…’ You’re trying not to be dramatic. But you’re totally being dramatic.”
‘I used to be a bully. I was awful, and I wanted so badly to be liked.’: Woman admits to feeling ‘pang of guilt, shame’ at being childhood bully, proud of her ‘efforts to better herself’
“I was terrified my classmates wouldn’t see my worth. So, I threw rocks, said ‘bad words,’ and acted tough. The worst, though, is that I befriended kids I knew would let me get away with treating them terribly. I took advantage of them and their effortless kindness. I never want to be the cause of pain for anyone. It’s one of the worst things in the world to feel worthless. I know because I’ve been a bully to myself as well.”
‘I’d always drank too much. I never thought it would get worse when I had children.’: Mom admits ‘wine o’clock’ was always on her mind, when she turned to alcohol to cope, she ‘never saw it coming’
“Having breastfed my little one for 18 months in a sleep deprived haze, the day after I stopped, I quickly went back to bad habits. All of a sudden I was ‘allowed’ to drink in excess again. I thought this was what I deserved. It was my time. ‘Wine o’clock’ was always on my mind. When 5 p.m. came, I took that as my cue for freedom. I started to drink myself into a state of numbness.”
‘He would count, look up, then scream ‘GO!’ The officer was helping us avoid the falling bodies.’: Woman describes feeling like a ‘walking zombie’ after surviving 9/11 attack in World Trade Center
“What looked like ash started falling from the sky, followed by a HUGE fireball. I was on the 32nd floor in the stairwell when the second plane hit. The force of the impact threw me up against the wall. Once we got across the street, I stopped, looked up and saw the buildings with huge flaming holes. I swear to you I looked at my friend and said, ‘Do you think we’ll have class tomorrow?’”