“The last thing that the disease will try to take is your life. OCD nearly succeeded in taking mine, yet, through some stroke of good fortune, my story did not end there.”

“I am replacing my unhealthy coping strategies with healthy ones and using my various creative outlets to channel my emotions, and share my stories.”

“Nowadays, my family is very vocal about mental illness and suicide. We reach out when we see a change in behavior in each other and we remind each other that we are not alone. That is all any of us can do now.”

“I’ve come to know that the more I forgive myself and choose to move through my trauma, the more likely I am to experience an inner happiness that is unchanged by that little voice telling me I’m unloved and unworthy.”

“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.”

“You are not your story, you are the author. It takes time to heal and you can not rush the process but trust you are being held even when things come crashing down.”

“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.”

“I’ve survived all of the days I thought I wouldn’t. I can tell you I will be here for another birthday and another Christmas, when a couple weeks ago I couldn’t tell you if I’d be here another minute.”

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

“Beyond all of my pain and heartache, there is a beautiful world out there that I want to be alive to experience.”

“I’m here today thanks to my past self who somehow had the resilience and the bravery to keep going through those countless moments she wished she didn’t have to. If she could see me now, I think she’d agree it was worth it.”

“I didn’t know how to take her into my arms and make her feel like she belonged here, because she did belong here.”

“That is the kind of honesty no one wants to think about. But it is the kind of honesty that will keep me alive.”