Better Because Collective

Be inspired by real-life stories of growth after trauma, written by and for people just like you.

Share your own story, with the help of peer editors.

STORIES FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU, BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU

Our collection of stories comes from people who have mental health and substance use experiences.

To read our stories, click here.

To receive new stories every month, sign up here.

DO YOU HAVE A STORY YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

Sharing your own story can be empowering.

It can help you process your experiences in a totally new way, give you clarity and enable you to take new steps in your life.

If you’d like to share your story, or have been thinking about writing about your experiences, get in touch below.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR STORY

All you need to do is write a short summary to give us a feel for your story and one of our professionally trained editors will be in touch with more information.

#submission form
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Full Legal Name^*

First Name

Last Name

Email^*

Message^*

Please write a short summary (at least 300 words) about how you’ve experienced post-traumatic growth. Here are a few ideas to write about in case you're stuck:

1. What did hitting rock-bottom look like for you?
2. Describe a turning point in your life.
3. What have you learned from your mental health experiences?
4. How do you feel you’ve changed for the better?

Pronouns^*

Please enter your social media links you’re comfortable sharing.

Instagram

Facebook

Other social handles

We’d love to tag you in our social media posts when we share your story. If you’re okay with being tagged on our social media, please check this box.

If you want to publish your story anonymously, please check this box

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FROM OUR CONTRIBUTORS

LAURA FOX

Writing about my experiences gave me a way to wrap my head around my experiences, symptoms and suffering. It gave me a chance to offer hope and encouragement to others in a similar situation and that’s very rewarding.

ANTHONY ACAMPORA

I truly believe this organization will go a long way in eliminating the stigma around mental health as well as providing tangible hope and real life experiences that people can and do overcome. I am blessed to have a small part in this mission of hope.

SUSANNA PAGE

Writing unraveled my suffering and made me discover my potential beyond my diagnosis. Putting words to paper is a great way to paint your progress towards recovery. I hope by sharing my story I inspire others, and people will believe it is possible to grow into someone who can love themselves.

FROM OUR FRIEND…

DEQUINCY A. LEZINE, PH.D. CEO, PREVENTION COMMUNITIES

We have all heard stories of doom and gloom where someone is “struggling with” a disorder or perhaps just coping with it. We have longed for something different. We need something that can offer an honest account of pain and struggle with mental health challenges, but also the authentic hope that others have found. There is such hope in reading the story of someone whose experience was remarkably similar to yours, and then read about them finding meaning and purpose from that experience. Better Because Collective is collecting those kinds of hope-giving stories. The more people who share their experience, the better the chance that a reader can find someone ‘just like me.’ The more people who know about our stories, the more likely it is that somebody who needs hope can find it.