ā from a friend when I referred to myself as lil olā me š„¹ recency bias this was a couple of weeks agoā¦
Jan 3, 2025
Related Recs
š³
Who, me? :*)
May 18, 2024
š¤
i know this is kind of a polarizing compliment to receive for some people but it's my personal favorite. I'm chill with the "you look healthier", "you look beautiful", etc etc but being told i look happier actually makes my whole week. this might just be a commonality among people in remission from mental health disorders but it feels so affirming. i like to think that when I'm happy, i radiate it from my smile, my eyes, and my skin. when I'm actually having a good day i can feel my joy touch the people around me and i can see it everywhere i go. i love being told i look happier because i really did previously radiate despair and anxiety. your emotions are laid out plainly in your expressions, the way you move, and even in your eyes. i don't believe in the whole "aura" thing but i think that might be the only comparison that makes sense in this context. i battled with my mental health since i was a toddler. I've been in therapy for 9 years and have been in active, intensive recovery for 5. i was in and out of the hospital and treatment facilities through all 4 years of high school. I've been unhappy for most of my life and it reflected easily in the way i carried myself and even the people i surrounded myself with. i look at pictures of myself when i was in high school, at my very lowest, and i can see the grief in my own eyes. now that I'm in college and am in remission for borderline personality disorder, i have begun to forge my own hopes, dreams, and sense of identity. it's a feeling that can't really be compared to anything but freedom. and when i look at pictures of myself now, i can see the warmth and hope in my eyes and the joy in my smile. people have told me i glow, but I've also been told i look happier. i ran into one of my high school counselors a while back on my college campus because he was there for an alumni event. he smiled at me and told me i looked happier, and i gave him a smile back. there was a consensus there that we reached, and i felt like we both understood the massive weight that was lifted off of my shoulders when i heard that compliment. it's a mutual understanding that despite everything, and even though he has no idea exactly what I've done to get here, he can sense a great shift in me that speaks much louder than words. i hold every one of those compliments very, very close to my heart.
Apr 18, 2025
Ā®ļø
This director-level employee left the company that I work at and when we were saying our goodbyes she said i was so talented and amazing to work with.
That or once these older college girls said i looked like a young mick jagger i think that was a compliment and not a jab
Jul 15, 2024
Top Recs from @taterhole
āLife shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.ā
ā AnaĆÆs Nin
This is uncharacteristically raw and personal, even for me, and pretty heavy! I know many of you have seen me posting through it and I feel safe to talk about it openly now that Iāve safely landed at the start of my new life. Itās honestly even a little bit embarrassing but I think itās important to share.
Iāve never publicly mentioned it on here, but I have a husband; as of Friday, weād have been together for 11 years, and weāve been married for 3 years as of 2/22. I realize now that I wanted to explore what I looked like outside of my relationship with him because I had lost that. This is why PI.FYI has been so meaningful to me as a space to express myself and connect with peopleāto rediscover my voice.
I had been living a lie this entire time, to others but worst of all to myself. Heās been verbally and emotionally abusive, physically but without touching me, to the point that every day I spent with him I was in danger. Iāve been shrinking myself and walking on eggshells to avoid making him insecure and provoking his casual put-downs and fits of rage, while hanging on for dear life to the threads of good I could see.
Iāve wanted so badly to leave, more than anything, but I felt like there was no way out and that this was just something I would need to endure indefinitelyābut someone who is so very dear to me helped me see that I have wings to fly, not by acting as my savior but by reminding me of my own power. The emotional safety they built and the gentle care they showed me made me feel like I could open up to them. With their encouragement I was brave enough to tell the truth to my friends, my family, my boss, and they have received me with warm, loving and open arms and rallied to support and protect me. The financial andĀ logistical aspects were the most intimidating to me and itās going to be tough for a while but Iām going to be better than okay!
Now Iām opening up to you. This isnāt the only abuse Iāve suffered in my life, and my old therapist told me she believed it was my mission to share my strength and light with others to inspire them and show them that change is possible.
I hope that by sharing this, I can reach even just one person who is going through something similar and show that they are not alone, and they are not weak. People with certain backgrounds may be more vulnerable to abuse, but it can happen to anyone. It thrives in darkness, shame, and isolationāand breaking that silence is the first step toward freedom.
Leaving is the scariest thing I have ever done but I have so many angels around me, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here with me š
Mar 16, 2025
My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebodyābe it a relative or one of my best friendsāwas to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too š
Feb 23, 2025
Schedule sent my resignation email for the morning, effective immediately ā
š
Feb 27, 2025