Healing Through Resilience

 

This story was submitted by: Anonymous

This story ends well, I promise.

 

I remember coming to, with extreme chest pain and difficulty breathing. I had tried to take my life for the second time but couldn’t stand the physical repercussions, so I called out to my parents, writhing in pain on the floor and barely having a voice. I remember my parents screaming. Paramedics picked me up off my bedroom floor and brought me to the hospital where I was kept for a week in the mental health unit. I remember besides my parents only one person visited--it was a lady I had met about a month ago who ran a Christian-based recovery group.

 

See, the reason I was in an extreme depression and had so much suicidal ideation was because I lost a major license that I worked very hard for; and it was for a very stupid mistake I made in the past. It was my life’s passion. After being released from the hospital I continued going to this recovery group and eventually gained the resilience to continue my life and push forward. I had so much support through different means and began to believe life was worth living. I was slowly learning a hard learned lesson that past mistakes don’t define who you are. I also learned that no hurt is ever wasted. When we are recovering from our hurts, we can use them to become better versions of ourselves; and there will always be opportunities to use our experiences to help others.

 

Even though I went through so much trauma mentally, I came out a way better person. My past self was immature, naïve, extremely self-conscious, and I didn’t care about future consequences to my decisions. I had very understanding employers and parents, and great access to different means of mental health resources that turned me into the stronger and empathetic person I am today.  (Side note, I’ve been completely bulimia-free for almost a year too--that’s another story in itself). I’m of course not completely perfect or healed, but instead of wanting to call it quits on life I continue with motivation to move forward, work on my recovery, and help others through my experiences.

 

Thank you for listening to my story.