In the end, you must believe in yourself and your abilities before anyone else can.
Column: Community Stories
We believe through sharing stories we can break down stigma, end secrecy and shame, and discover we aren’t alone. If you would like to share your story with the Libero community, visit liberomagazine.com/share!
While I can’t say I am free of my disorders, I can say that I am free of hopelessness. My future is filled with hope for growth, relief, contentment, and...
I am proud of my story and how far I have come.
I believe there is hope out there for all of us. We will get where we want to be and defeat the demons in our heads.
My struggles with eating disorders and food guilt have made me the strong and compassionate person I am today and I can actually say that I love myself. I...
I have always been a very quiet person. As far back as I can remember, teachers have told me I had to speak up more, but it was always very difficult for me to...
Stereotypically, when you think of alcoholics, you think of homeless people on the streets drinking out of a brown paper bag. Alcoholics lose their jobs...
Freeing myself from bulimia by following the guide (not rigid rules!) of Intuitive Eating was only the first step in my journey. Now, I know that I am enough.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a very self-conscious person. It’s possible it was caused by society, or maybe by my critical father (whom I...
Food has always had control over my life. Whether it has been eating too much or not enough, I have always been consumed by food-related thoughts. In the past...
Since recognizing my eating disorder, I became free from self-hatred, body-shaming, and society's beauty standards. I let myself dress how I want, and not how...
My mental health issues and the shame that once surrounded them no longer control my life. I will graduate college in December 2013 and I can’t wait to see...
Hi, my name is Heather and I would like to share my story with you in hopes that it will inspire you to get help for yourself or someone you know. It all...
I am free from darkness. “Courage to Change: It takes great courage and inner strength to change from that which is known and comfortable to...
For so long, I had resigned myself to this somber way of life, completely devoid of self-love while faking my smiles to the world. I thought this was just the...
A few years ago, if you had asked me to list my weaknesses, I most likely would have responded with something along the lines of everything. I could not...
I remember the day it happened, the day it clicked in my head. Finally, something within my control. In 2008, my world was beyond chaotic. Facing false child...
I became a victim of an eating disorder during my college years. I decided to become “healthier” by watching what foods I ate, but this lead to a downward...
I know myself, my goals, my thoughts, my opinions, and I have an identity now that isn’t tied to anorexia. I have a real future. Three years ago today, I...
I can choose to love myself because, in spite of what any numbers or person tells me, God chooses to love me. This will always be enough to keep me going on my...
A long time, I thought that if I had the body I wanted, I would have the life I wanted. It took years of starving, binging, purging, lying, fights with my...
As the thoughts finally fell to, "this is the end", something changed and I realized my words were lies, nowhere close to true: People will miss me, people do...
By breaking my silence, I finally understood how I was not “unique” by being the thinnest, nor was I special because of my suffering. I was just human.
I can look back and see the ways my battle with depression has allowed me to reach out to others. I can look at myself now and recognize how I have changed and...
Over time, my desire to binge eat died down. Still, I struggled with eating in unfamiliar situations and continued the cycle of overeating/undereating for...
I am no longer ashamed of my anxiety and depression because they do not define me! I am so much more than a disorder, and it is time I start treating myself as...
Although my recovery is far from over, I feel confident that I will continue to progress and eventually get to the point where I am complete “ED” free...
It wasn't until September 2013 that I found freedom, Freedom from my negative body image and from my negative controlling thoughts. I am free from the world's...
Four years on, I can say that I am the most stable I have ever been in my life in relation to anxiety, depression and irrational thoughts. I am not afraid...
As a child, I always felt as though I was under a ton of pressure to be perfect. I loved to read, write, and learn. But I also loved to smile, to play, to...