Feature Friday: Cori

This is my friend Cori. We have gone to the same school since Elementary, and she has always impressed me with her ability to not care what others think and just own her personality. 

Cori is always good for a laugh and very hard working. She graduated from UVU in Public Relations and has worked for FOX and ABC. She also works part-time for Delta and has been able to travel frequently. I recently learned of her illness and am so amazed at her strength and the way she is open about it. Thank you for your words Cori! Continue reading for her story....

Hello! My name is Cori, I suffer from Anxiety, Depression, and OCD. These are all terms that we hear all the time, and on a light note, but for those who truly deal with this on a daily basis understand the severity that it actually brings to their lives. And for me, it's to the point that physical pain to myself is better than what is going on in my mind, being the only way to make that pain stop is to hurt myself.

I have self-harmed myself multiple times throughout my life due to frustration, anger, and confusion during panic attacks that I can't control. Yes, It is extreme and it scares me, just as much as it is scares you reading this. 

There are many things I do to work on this illness but what helps me most is the Gospel, my favorite scripture I turn to is John 14:18, which reads, "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." 

I know that my Heavenly Father is always there for me, and that my Savior died for me, and He has felt the exact same pain I have felt, and He knows EXACTLY what I am going through... and that is what brings me comfort and I'm grateful I can communicate through prayer my struggles and know that things will work out!

A mental illness isn't always something that you can see with the physical eye, but it's there and we don't always need a black eye to prove it.

BUT.... I'm not insane, and my mental Illness doesn't represent who I am, and at 25-years-old, I'm close to overcoming it, and I WILL overcome it, and in posting this if you or someone you know deals has a mental illness, let's beat it together!