I remember so clearly a question that was asked during one of my speeches. The question that was asked was, “Do you think you’ve won your fight?”. He asked me that question because during my speeches, I always focus on reminding each of us that we are worthy of this fight for our lives. And after sharing my story of …
I’m Meghan and This Is My #iAM1N5 Journey…
Meghan shares her story of living with anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder, and how she has experienced self-harm and suicidal ideation. Meghan explains how college life and being away from home triggered a relapse but seeing a counselor at school helped her work through it.
I’m Jacqui and This Is My #iAM1N5 Journey…
Meet Jacqui, a Cincinnati State student studying Paramedic Science, who’s living with depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder with a history of suicidal thoughts and self-harm. She remembers the feeling of sadness when she was in Junior High without a “real reason” to justify the sadness. Jacqui wants to send the message that mental illness isn’t something you can just …
The Minds Behind ‘You Are Not Alone Murals’ Takeover Our Insta
Samantha Schutz and Annica Lydenberg are the co-creators of the You Are Not Alone Murals which launched across New York City in May 2019, timed to coincide with Mental Health awareness month. Always fierce supporters of each other professionally and personally, Samantha and Annica found an intersection of their creative passions in the murals project, which offers support to anyone who feels misunderstood, …
Children’s Mental Health Advocate, Julia Paxton, Takes Over Our Insta
We were so excited to have Julia Paxton, who’s been featured on the Today Show, take over our insta stories this week. See a small piece of her story below. I am a social work student at Ohio State University and a patient advocate with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I have struggled with mental illness from a very young age, and …
You Have Grown, And Just Like a Flower, You Will Bloom
by Ivy from Beautifully Simply You I’ve been thinking a lot lately about growth. We all grow in so many ways, that we often don’t even acknowledge. You are doing things today, you once thought were impossible, no matter how big or how small. Maybe you always dreamed of getting your college degree, but the journey to accomplishing that …
I’m Kelly and This Is My #iAM1N5 Journey…
Meet Kelly, a student at Mount St. Joseph University, who lives with anorexia, depression, anxiety, and has experienced self harm in the past. Kelly was first hospitalized when she was just 17 years old. And we are so proud of her for seeking help even when those around her doubted the need, she knew something wasn’t right and insisted on getting herself …
Never Forget the Power of Your Voice
My entire life, I didn’t think I had a voice. I didn’t think I could speak my truth, and I didn’t think I could ever speak up about the things I didn’t agree with. I fell victim to the stigma around mental illness. Sometimes I get so perplexed as to why the stigma around mental illness even exists. Our brain …
I’m Emma and This Is My #iAM1N5 Journey…
Meet Emma Benz, a nursing student at Xavier University, who lives with generalized anxiety disorder and depression and has experienced an eating disorder. Emma talks about how struggling with anorexia made her miss out on joining her field hockey team in the state tournament and how DBT therapy finally helped her sustain her recovery. Emma wants to be the psychiatric nurse that …
Local Mom Celebrates Four Years Sober and Takes Over Our Insta
My name is Sarah. I am a mom to the raddest tiny human on planet earth, an artist, and a female who has survived and continues to conquer my battle with mental illness every day. My mental illness reared its ugly head in grade school, that’s when I first began being bullied. It continued in high school, however, I was …