Jade you are a beautiful inspiration to us all. I think you are so wise you e joy movement at any size and to care for yourself. We women should follow your lead regardless of our body types.

Pease get help. Call the police when he hits you. It is a crime. You don't love this man- this is who he really is. The loving man isn't coming back because the never really existed. Tell your close friends and family what is going on even if you can't handle calling the police yet  Call Life Line or other services for support. I understand leaving would be a huge change you may not be ready for yet. But please keep taking small steps like writing this to help you build confidence and resources to get out. If you cannot do it for yourself do it for your kids 

Love this article. She has great attitudes to herself and dressing. I like that fact that she is focussed on her needs and desires not just being paid by a small number of brands. A genuinely helpful blog I now want to read.

I love the inclusivity of this. It is nice to see Mamamia thinking about all women These dresses are all beautiful as well as modest and would look great on any woman who chose to wear them.  Now how about fashion for women with disabilities or medical situations which mean certain styles of dressing wouldn't work for them?  These dresses would be great for anyone with skin cancer risks as well for example.

Your photos are deceiving because the lighting is darker in the before. Frankly I see little improvement or change except brighter lighting on your face. However you wrote article well with a lot of detail about what actually happens and the risks.

@snorks , that is what he alleges. Are their any other witnesses to the kids?trespassing? If he was that worried why hasn't he reported the problem before to the police? Or asked the kids who their parents are and then had a word? He is not even the owner if the property. I would be more worried about the kids drowning due to no supervision.

@draculasgirlfriend  yes but that doesn't mean the conclusion should be drawn that insulting someone by including a reference to skin colour or ethnic group is OKfor ANYONE. I get why she would do it. I get that taking her to court seems like an over reaction. If I were living in Japan again and some one called me gaijin ( foreigner) bastard I would be pretty upset at their racism. If they just called me bastard I would want to know what I had done wrong and be willing to make amends.

@laura__palmer that doesn't mean that he as an individual police officer has acted immorally at any time. We don't know. We also don't know why she said what she did. Might come out in court. 

Burnout also happens to people not perceived as high achieving. Mums and Dads living in tents in public parks trying to take care of their families, work and find housing. Those who do have housing but are sandwiched between work, children and aging parents.  People pleasing is toxic so why do so many of us women feel we have to do and get abused if we don't?

You are a fantastic human being and warrior for your Mum's welfare. I am now caring for my lovely elderly Mum who suffers Lewey's body dementia. My path has Bern a bit easier than yours, but I do understand what a challenging battle it can be to care for someone who cannot care for themselves.

Good article. I do not do most social media and my husband and I chose never to post our kids photos there. Largely for the reasons you mentioned plus fear of others using and abusing those images. I think for some even just 5 or 10 yrs younger than me not engaging with social media is unthinkable. Thus I really appreciated your article. As a business owner you have no choice but to engage.

I hope you enjoyed acts as well as the cash!

I am someone who completed a mental first aid course at work. This article is excellent. I am going to share it with staff at work. The RU OK system isn't enough, especially as most of the time as educators we are running to or from classes, and are trying to keep an eye on our vulnerable students as well. (Both checking in with them and alerting the welfare teams).

Let's face it- these performers know one another. The only people they need to apologise to is each other, if thy cause offence with a social faux pas. Do they really care if someone in the Twitterverse has a crack at them? Only if sales of tickets and albums drop.

Mate you are a beautiful woman. Let it go every night. Their problem not yours. 

I think you are feeling the grief of his rejection. He refused to do the necessary work to build a healthy relationship with you. In that sense he was rejecting the new real you. However you are doing the best thing for you. Learning from thus so your next partner will appreciate and live the strong good person you are  

I don't think you appreciate the gift Ellie gave you. She must have been exhausted by taking care of you. Yet you immediately turned to her right after she had spent days in your home caring for you. Why didn't you call a grief counsellor? Or just accept that you and your child needed to cry it out? The fact that your neighbours and another friend found it too much makes it clear that others have needs you should respect too.

You are a brilliant writer. I hope your therapy continues to help you.

MATE!You forgot about macchiato! Or in my case 2 shot macchiato with a dash of cold milk. Froth optional.