Any uplifting success stories here? I’m in need of a pick me up. Some inspiration would be nice.

I spent ten-ish years in a black hole of suicidal depression and anxiety. I couldn’t hold a job, flunked out of university, and spent years living in my parents’ basement, barely able to get out of bed or brush my teeth. I’ve been working on my recovery for a decade and now I’m happily married to an incredible man, with a toddler and a second baby on the way. My home is small but I make it beautiful and cozy, I bake bread and sew my own clothes and I’m kind of brilliant at it. Mental illness is still part of my life, I have to work hard on my health every day and I do have relapses, but I’ve learned to catch them and ask for help before I spiral out of control. I never would have believed I could make it this far, and I’m so, so grateful I stayed alive long enough to get here.

My OCD was what I would consider severe last year. Just completely horrible. I also didn’t know I had OCD at the time, just thought I was being attacked constantly by something. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, whatever I could eat went right through me, couldn’t hang out with friends or anything from so much distress and fear. I was in grad school at the time too and it was very difficult to focus on and complete assignments. I decided to finally see a therapist who was treating me for anxiety, but it was with her that made me think I might have OCD. Went and found NOCD, signed up for their therapy, and got diagnosed. Since then (March 2020), I was going ERP and therapy for OCD. Now it had gotten A LOT better. I not only have my sleep and appetite back, I’m enjoying life, happy with my friends again, doing my interests, and planning for the future. I definitely still deal with OCD, but it’s a lot less frequent and Intense, and if I get a spike, with the tools I’ve learned via ERP/therapy/mindfulness/self-care, I’m able to go through those waves quickly and be on top again. It’s 100% possible to reach recovery, just gotta keep hope and stay pushing