My name is Brie. I'm from California, and I have been sexually abused as a child. It happened when I was very young; I was like six or seven years old. It kind of manifested itself in many different ways. My childhood was very -I felt very alienated all the time. I just felt like gross. I didn't really understand why I felt guilty a lot of the times. I was very moody. I had a lot of problems like socially at school, but at the same time, I never told anybody what had happened to me. So I kept it inside and it would rear up and things -just feeling of inadequacy, self regulation problems; I wasn't able to really handle a lot of situations. I was [prone] to anxiety. When I went to college, I actually became very addicted to drugs as a way of escape and avoidance of the situation. When things started to hit rock bottom for me, I tried to get sober and then that was a good stepping stone to getting some therapy. Human interaction is so key to development and just making yourself happy. You just have to talk to someone and have someone to bounce things off of. I just started taking anti-depressants, and I was really reluctant but then the same thing, I had to just look at it like, it's just something to help you. You don't have to do it if you don't like it, but just give it a try. And I'm on a very low dose, and I'm pretty even keeled and things -I feel really good actually. I feel really good. Just don't be afraid to ask for help because you're never alone. You're never, ever alone. We're all unique, but we're not that unique in terms of -stuff happens and it's just life. You've got to keep on going because it's the only one you've got.