Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Longevity.

First Things First
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having anxiety and depression, it’s that life…well, life isn’t always beautiful. There will always be struggles. Some days I can hardly get out of bed. Sometimes the only thing I want is to be held by one specific person, and absolutely nothing else. I can’t remember what day of the week it is, or what dream I had last night, but I know it was bad.
By Baylee Ence9 years ago in Longevity
Who Am I? Am I Who I Want To Be?
Who am I? Am I who I want to be? I was only 4 years old when I lost my parents. What I mean by lost is that I was taken from my parents.
By Julianne Collins9 years ago in Longevity
After The Cure
I grew up with a heart condition. From the ages 12 to 17 I spent my time in waiting rooms, emergency rooms, and laying on my bed unable to speak because of the amount of pain I was in. I was the kid in your grade who you never saw, who was constantly missing class because of doctor’s appointments or because I simply didn’t feel well. I was the teenager who was depressed, who didn’t eat, who had anxiety attacks on top of the heart palpitations. Heart palpitations can be a side effect of panic attacks, making my cardiologist skeptical that there was something physically wrong with my heart, and that what I was experiencing wasn’t just puberty, and therefore something I would grow out of. I knew it wasn’t something that would simply go away, but due to lack of proof, I had heart palpitations that made my heart beat over 200 beats a minute for 5 years. But I was very lucky.
By Lovin9 years ago in Longevity
Dear Tummy;
I wish we had a better relationship. I have been trying since I was a teenager to feel better about you but our negative relationship still haunts me every single day. I have tried everything to hide you. Extreme corsets, tummy-slimming undies, control top pantyhose, baggy shirts, those horribly uncomfortable tummy-tucking Lycra shorts thingies that just end up rolling down and creating a weird lump under my clothing... you name it, I've tried it. And still, there you are like a creepy stalker following me everywhere I go.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity
Chronic Stress: Cortisol and Oxytocin
Stress, in today’s modern technological cultures, runs ramped, the medical effects of chronic stress on the human body can be devastating. Acute (sudden stress) is normal, it is part of the fight or flight process that all animals have including humans. It provides the sudden short-term biological mechanisms to respond and act in the face of sudden dangers. Chronic and prolonged stress is a state of existence that is contrary to how the body is designed to cope with stress. Cronic stress can lead to heart attack, stroke, depression, immune deficiency, impaired memory, diabetes, and mid-torso fat storage which is unrelated to eating habits and diet.
By M.J. Green9 years ago in Longevity
Self-Mutilation
This entry is going to stray into some very personal and fairly painful material for me. I am going to come out publicly as a self-mutilator in an attempt to make other people understand what it means. Self-mutilators are pretty darn misunderstood.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity
Addiction
We meet thousands of people in life and without fail, when you meet someone new they'll say, “So tell me about yourself,” and you'll awkwardly respond by mentioning a few recent things about yourself and ask them the same in return. I usually hate this question because I say something about how old I am, that I lived in New Zealand for a year or about how I moved across the country for school. This doesn’t really reveal anything about me, but it leaves people stuck on whatever I decided to share.
By Zak Awry9 years ago in Longevity
The Silent Killer: Quiet BPD
From a young age I knew something was odd about me. I could never quite deal with emotions or distinguish one from another. They all always felt like too much for me to handle. I never expressed this issue and as I got older, I started to notice that I would take everything out on myself. Whenever things go wrong or become too much I slip away in my mind. To an outsider, I'm zoning out but on the inside, I'm picking on every little aspect of myself and cutting myself down more and more. A few years ago I finally spoke up, however that just resulted in tests and misdiagnoses over and over until finally it was figured out. I am living life with borderline personality disorder but mine is just quiet. As opposed to the way BPD typically presents itself, I lash in and not out, making my symptoms harder to detect and treat.
By Katlynn landry9 years ago in Longevity
Nine Years
When I was around 12 years old, I began experiencing some back pain. Nothing serious, but deep aches and soreness that would hang around for a few hours before disappearing. Always in my lower back, but never on the same side. I told my mom about this, and she told me it was probably nothing and to just deal with it.
By J.C. Marie9 years ago in Longevity
S.T.A.R.T
Pat Benatar would have us believe ‘Love is a Battlefield’. Though that may be true, I believe the greatest battle each of us faces every day is in our mind.
By Martha Chown9 years ago in Longevity
Just Keep Swimming
For years I have struggled with an unnamed illness that just didn't seem to have a cause. My test results would come back clear. There was no diabetes, Lupus, STDs or arthritis. I'd been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, IBS, gastro-reflux, severe sleep apnea, depression, and anxiety. Even with treatment for all these other conditions, I still felt constantly sick, achy and fatigued to the extreme. Finally, after a barrage of not so great doctors (who treated me like I was stupid, lying or didn't know my own body), I found an amazing clinic with doctor's who would actually listen to me. I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
By Sarah Sparks9 years ago in Longevity
My Story: Diagnosis and Battle
It was by pure chance that I went to the emergency room one day in May. I had packed my work bag thinking I would be in and out within two hours, but that wasn’t the case. Who knew what I thought was “gas pain” would change my life forever.
By Khushbu Kheti9 years ago in Longevity