Author: queentracey1

Photo taken by contributor Captivating Bitter, a woman in her thirties who has struggled with anxiety and depression for most of her life. She has survived emotional abuse, sexual abuse and rape. She has survived suicide attempts and years of self-harm. After wandering her way through life unable to trust and barely feeling alive, she is now fighting to live a healthy life. She has been reading, journaling, blogging and working hard to heal. She is finally taking care of herself and starting to feel better.

About this photo: “Our Red-Bud started blooming… they are so beautiful and so small. It’s easy to overlook them, they are such an understated flower. I enjoy looking at the world this way… through the branches of some tree or other. I love getting lost in the details – in the minute color ranges and textures of bark, petals, leaves… Beauty is incredible…

Please welcome first-time contributor Heidi Spitzig, a 37-year-old woman from the Finger Lakes region of New York. Heidi is a survivor of trauma and lives with anxiety, depression, and Dissociative Identity Disorder. She believes in the healing power of the creative process and uses photography as a way to remain present and connected to the beauty found in the natural world. Heidi also enjoys writing, painting, drawing, and many other forms of creative self-expression.

About this photo: “I took this photo during a week-long escape to the Adirondack Mountains. I was feeling quite lost at that point in my life, and, as I often do, I went to nature to figure out what to do next. This photo has become a symbolic representation of my process with healing from the trauma I have experienced in my life: by entering into the dark, watery depths of my mind, I was able…