“I wanted to share this for anyone who can resonate with any bit of what I wrote, because the stories of others have actually been the reason I asked for help.”

“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.”

“My own experience tells me that old ideas of masculinity are changing and in fact, talking about your emotions is now deemed a strength.”

“I am not bipolar. I have bipolar. I am not my diagnosis. I don’t need your sympathy. I need your advocacy.”

“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.”

“Today, I have found hope through the right dosage of medication, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), writing, blogging, running, yoga, and love.”

“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 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.”

“I believe recovery is about being present, authentic, and intuitive. There is no final destination.”

“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.”

“My anxiety has taken away a lot of things, but it has given me so much more.”

“My youngest son, Benjamin, died by suicide in 2010, which catapulted me a million miles away into a strange new existence.”

“The biggest thing that has helped is just having a clear sense of what works for me, and what doesn’t. Being surrounded by nature. Making deep, personal connections with people.”