How Private Parts healed me from the inside out
At the time I launched the online community Private Parts, I had just had my longest bout of being bedridden, I had just had a miscarrige, was about to start hormone treatment for IVF, was prepping for my 5th operation and had split up with the person I had hoped I would spend my life with.
My body was exhausted, and I felt completely alone in my experiences.
My body may have appeared much the same to the outside world, but the things that were happening inside, and the guilt and grief I was carrying meant all I could see in my reflection was pain.
I realised I had been searching for a community where we could speak openly about what we were going through, support one another through the trials and triumphs of life and share our experiences, and together, help each other feel less alone and heal.
My mission was to break the silence on my experiences knowing that I was not alone and needed community.
But I had no idea what would blossom the day I posted that first video.
Yes we were bringing together people who had shared the same experiences but there were so many people coming to join the conversations who just wanted to learn, to support, to listen.
The connections that have been made both online and real life have been astonishing.
Interviewing people from the community who ultimately have faced some of life's biggest challenges and hearing their take on life has been so inspiring.
And every time we hold an interview, every time a new connection is made, or we hear that someone has finally found the space they feel welcome in, something inside me glows again.
The deterioration of my health slowly took my life away from me, and this community has brought it back in a quarter of the time.
To share, feel heard, connect and help others is so important for our survival.
In this time, community is needed more than ever.
And I feel so lucky to be a tiny part of such a healing one.
Come and join the conversations, all are welcome.
Private Parts is a web series and online community facilitating conversation around the ‘private parts’ of our lives and society. It is an inherently collaborative space to converse, question, share knowledge and support one another. This space removes the stigma of shaming people into silence about their struggles with sexual and mental health.
Although Private Parts’ name is a cheeky nod to society’s prudishness, the conversations on Private Parts are anything but. The aim is to challenge the idea that we must keep certain things to ourselves.