When Art Heals

Photo by   Jachan DeVol   on   Unsplash GUEST WRITER SPOTLIGHT.  The psychiatric nurse handed me my patient garb, lead me through the laundry policies, and was showing me to the bathroom where I was going to shower. I got into the bathroom where I nervously finicked with the door for a few minutes to make sure it was locked. It made me nervous. The whole room was covered in blue tiles and looked very lived in.  I stripped down and got into the shower, reflecting on how the day started, and how I ended up here, inside the walls of a mental institution.  The day started off as most of my days use too, with the shrilling voices of my chaotic mind, telling me I wasn't worth loving, that the people I loved were going to abandon me, accompanied by the symphony of other confusing, negative, and irrational thoughts. I texted my sponsor telling her I was in a real crisis, and she called me. After a few minutes of me sobbing, she drove over as fast as she could so sh...

Our Purpose:  Over the course of our lifetimes, whenever we have shared our life's story with someone, the response has generally been the same - "You could write a book!" "You could use your story to help people!" "Wow, you've been through a lot - you should write about it!" etc., which eventually prompted us to team up together to write what you're reading now. We both are finally at a place where we can talk about our trauma, our stories, and how we've overcome all of life's curveballs thus far. Though we've not forgotten the things that happened to us and our experiences have previously been shared in private settings, we think discussing them on a more public platform could have a greater impact. We don't have identical stories, and they won't be the same as yours. But our hope is that sharing them will encourage others to speak up because your voices and your stories matter too. There will be some topics that are...