Sydney Stanford

height: 5’8

waist: 26.5”

bust: 32”

shoes: 9

I never thought it would be me…sitting on the 405 gasping for air as I cried uncontrollably in 5pm traffic. As drivers passed me by, honking and yelling I heard nothing, but my heart beat, sounding so loud as if it were audible to the world.

What was happening? Why was I crying? Why can’t I move? That was the moment I realized I was having an anxiety attack.

My panic/anxiety attacks continued from that day and were in response to PTSD from a rape, and 4 month long stint in the hospital I never processed.

When I finally went to my doctor to seek help for my PTSD, depression and anxiety attacks I was thrown Xanax. I didn’t want to take mood altering drugs every day, so I researched and found so many alternatives that worked for me.

After this I realized, there is no one stop shop where you can go find all the information you need to be in charge of your own mental health journey, nor is there a proper community that discusses everyday mental health struggles, which is why I decided to become a mental health advocate.

I now actively work to educate others on the importance of having emotions, and everyday mental health battles such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders and others that get so easily dismissed in every day life. My goal is to create a safe space where we can all openly heal together.

You can follow my journey, health tips and more on my Youtube.