“My road to recovery isn’t over yet, and maybe I’m not even close to completely healing. But I am now strong enough to share my story, something I would’ve never been able to do 5 years ago, or even a month ago.”

“I still battle with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but I have learned healthy ways to cope. I have made friends with these demons — I hold their hands, I know what awakens them, and what calms them.”

“I told her, ‘I am having scary thoughts, and I don’t feel safe by myself.’ Saying those words felt more freeing than anything I had done before.”

“What I’m learning in this new phase of recovery is how much beauty is on the other side of just being alive.”

“Years of covering up my identity to avoid feeling negative emotions and avoid not looking ‘cool’ caused me to never really explore who I was. Now, I am involved in many things I love. And I am comfortable with myself.”

“My greatest mission in life is to remove the scrutiny around mental illness in the church community and in the Black community.”

“I want to spark hope in the hearts of the people I reach, and I want to show them that it IS possible to overcome (what feels like) the impossible.”

“My life has changed. I’ve changed. I’m someone I want to be friends with. I find myself worthy of the care that I so willingly give to others.”

“I gathered the pieces. I tried to run. I came back, I showed up. There is still so much work to do. But I am here, and I didn’t always believe I would be. And I feel more alive today than I ever have.”

“Deep inside of me, I found this strength and determination in myself that I never really knew I had. I had to find that little light inside myself that I thought I had lost forever.”

“I am learning that I am capable of supporting myself through the anxious moments that I still frequently experience. My friends and family are there for me, but I am also there for me.”

“I do not let my anxiety define me. Anxiety is something I have, but it is not who I am.”

“To anyone who is struggling with an eating disorder — you deserve to take up space. Your body has worked its entire life to keep you alive.”

“I have used therapy for different reasons: to process thoughts, to get through difficult times, and to connect things from my childhood that have shaped who I am today.”

“My journey may not be pretty, but it has molded me into the person still standing here today.”

“This is as much me telling my story as it is thanking those who have made it possible for me to have the courage and strength to speak it.”