My siblings and I grew up in an emotionally abusive environment and continue to deal with the effects of that trauma. Part of my sister’s journey to health included an inpatient hospitalization last fall. Below is an interview during which she shares her story. Can you describe how you were feeling in the months leading […]
“Sometimes when you’re depressed, the things you don’t want to do are the very things you need to do in order to feel better,” my therapist told me. Great, I thought, for just once could there be an easy answer? “As you start doing things, it gets easier,” she continued, “and you begin to have […]
[Content Warning: The effects of sexual assault on mental health] I think for a long time I’ve strived to be normal or to “pass” for normal. I’ve tried to hide my past and my continued struggles, but my past is a part of me. And those struggles? Well, they are too. Today, I feel stronger […]
Sitting on the grey couch in my therapist’s office, I remember telling her that I didn’t feel safe. At the end of the session, I had asked, “What am I supposed to do? This is the only thing I can think of.” That’s when she brought up the Box Method. “Picture a box. It can […]
Second semester of my freshman year of college, the counseling center sent a friend of mine to the hospital. The counselor was concerned that she was suicidal and both she and my friend thought it best that she sought outside treatment. While the choice was difficult, it was in the best interest of her safety […]
Hi! My name is Lizzie Bayles, I am 22 years old, from Athens, Georgia, and currently in school for my social work degree, eventually graduating with my Masters in clinical social work. Some of my hobbies and interests include dance, reading, journaling, painting/crafting, calligraphy, and anything outside, especially hiking. I also love coffee and spending […]
“So, what now?” my therapist asks expectedly. “I don’t know; I wasn’t planning on still being alive right now,” I respond, fidgeting in my seat. I left my therapist’s office a little over two weeks prior to this session with a plan. I had just turned 25 and I felt completely defeated, like my mental […]
“Do you have a plan?” The words make me wince. I shift uncomfortably in my seat because I don’t know the answer. I wait for him to change the subject, but when I look back up my therapist is looking intently at me, his hands folded in front of him, patiently. A year ago, when […]
I watched the summer tumble into autumn from the window of my hospital room. The colors seemed to burst, all at once, like a firework. Autumn was always my favorite season and always the best time of year for my mental health. Every year, with the falling of the leaves came the lifting of my […]
My own personal story with self-harm began in ninth grade. I can remember sitting in my room feeling overwhelmed and confused. I didn’t know what to do so I turned to self-harm. I had remembered that a friend of mine in seventh grade had struggled with self-harm. I knew how hard it was for her […]
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