My name, Asha, means hope. It was a name given to me by a close friend, as a spin off of my birth name.
My reason for adopting it: my desire in life is to give hope to those who feel they have none, and improve life for as many as I can.

In my life, I have been through a lot. Dealt with mood and personality disorders, high anxiety and deep depression, self-injury, alcohol, an all-consuming Eating Disorder, and have survived emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. I have helped friends gain the strength to overcome persistant suicidal thoughts, bipolar disorder, depression, and even stood by friends to see them come clean from serious drug addictions.

My hope, in joining the Gaia community, is to provide aid to anyone who may need to talk to someone who understands, to educte those who do not understand, and to help everyone understand and avoid all types of abuse.

My original blog, at http://standinlove.blogspot.com , currently has more information, as well as several links to educational sights, eating disorder treatment centers, drug and alcohol treatment centers, suicide and self-injury help lines, etc. Hopefully these will be of use to someone.