Evolving from a Traumatic Past Into a Beautiful Life

This featured podcast episode is brought to you by "The Grass Gets Greener". In this episode the podcast creator Melissa is joined by guest Annie Kim who is the author of A Beautiful Evolution: Overcoming Adversity Through Art. Annie was depressed and suicidal growing up, but she was able to wriggle free from her abusive environment to create a beautiful life for herself.

After giving birth to her youngest son, Annie experienced postpartum depression having flashbacks in her sleep of things she experienced as a child that she had kept bottled up. Annie is no stranger to tragedy in her family. She was raised in a strict religious environment where she wasn't allowed to socialize with people outside of her religion. Annie had also been physically and sexually abused by her step-grandfather for a few years when she was a child.

As a result of Annie's circumstances growing up, she felt she had no other choice but to take her own life when the depression was at its worst. Shortly after her suicide attempt Annie was also diagnosed with PTSD from her past experiences.

Once Annie broke free from her toxic upbringing, she turned to the things she loved in order to start healing. Therapy, art, writing, yoga, and being social with like-minded people are some of the things that helped her overcome her trauma. Having a strong support system of friends and family was also crucial in Annie's recovery.

The core of Annie's recovery story was to find the things she loved doing while surrounding herself with supportive people. With time, and some counseling, she was able to overcome her adversity and thrive.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, hopefully you are inspired by Annie's story that there is hope for you too. She closed with one final piece of advice for you to remember when you're thinking of throwing in the towel:

"Never give up, because it always gets better." - Annie Kim