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This article originally appeared on 11.21.16


Photographer Katie Joy Crawford had been battling anxiety for 10 years when she decided to face it straight on by turning the camera lens on herself.

In 2015, Upworthy shared Crawford's self-portraits and our readers responded with tons of empathy. One person said, "What a wonderful way to express what words cannot." Another reader added, "I think she hit the nail right on the head. It's like a constant battle with yourself. I often feel my emotions battling each other."

So we wanted to go back and talk to the photographer directly about this soul-baring project.

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Warning: Suicide is discussed in this article.

Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Hearst.

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Family

Before she became a Broadway great, Audra McDonald survived a suicide attempt.

Content warning: discussion of suicidal thoughts and actions.

Audra McDonald is one of the greatest performers of our time. Full stop.

A venerated actress, spellbinding singer, and consummate performer, McDonald is a six-time Tony Award winner, the most of any individual, and the only person to earn the coveted trophy in all four acting categories. To say nothing of her television and film roles and her resistance-ready Twitter account, this is a woman with some serious talent.

But like many great performers, McDonald's path to success wasn't easy.

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Most Shared

Last year, Sia's manager did something really brave. It inspired her new video.

On June 8, Sia released the video for "Feel Me," an emotional new song with a powerful message in support of a great cause.

Sia is known for unique, visually captivating music videos. Her latest, for a new song called "Feel Me" is all that and important too.

Starring Zoe Saldana with narration by Julianne Moore, the video follows the impassioned journey of a mother-to-be who's just found out that she's HIV-positive.

The video — which was choreographed by Ryan Heffington (who also choreographed videos for "Chandelier," "Cheap Thrills," and "The Greatest") — is the stunning work of art the world has come to expect from Sia. But "Feel Me," and the cause it was made to support, has an important backstory.

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