Beyond the Blues
Understanding depression is difficult; hear from Psyche's community of peers on their experiences with this mood disorder.
Shrouded Clarity
In the morning it hits me like an intense bolt of lightning, that feeling of despair hitting every corner of my weak mind. Every thought pushing into the little optimism I have left, every morsel of hope, shattered by the incoming droves of demons, with their gleeful smirks and power to create such torment. And there’s me standing, looking at the sky, wishing it would swallow me up.
By Mark McConville8 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health: 4 Sept 2017
I have decided to document my mental health journey in an online format so hopefully at least one person can benefit from this. If this helps one person know that they are not alone then I will have achieved something and regardless I will (hopefully) have a fully realized journal of my mental health struggles.
By Jemma Gallagher8 years ago in Psyche
Taming the Void
Now, to begin with, I'm a sufferer of various layers of depression. That dark, sinking illness engulfing you in the unwanted embrace of numbness I like to call"The Void." We could go on forever describing all the possible adjectives associated with that awful sickness but we all know what we really want — coping mechanisms. I'm here to bestow what I've learned about how to tame the beast that I've lived with for many, many years.
By Ricky White8 years ago in Psyche
What My Flashbacks Feel Like...
Like most people, whilst cleaning I get lost in thought. Perhaps unlike most other people, however, one thought is always attached to another. My mind is comparable to a tangled ball of yarn. It's impossible for me to pull one thread loose without tugging out another one along with it.
By Christina Woodcock8 years ago in Psyche
5 Practices That Can Improve Your Mental Health
After being diagnosed with a major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern, my therapist suggested scheduling an appointment with a psychiatrist to explore the possibility of going on medication. I reflected on the struggles of everyone I knew personally who had taken medication for depression and decided to try every possible treatment before embarking on the long and sometimes very difficult journey that is finding the correct antidepressant.
By Leticia Gabbi8 years ago in Psyche
I Failed My Own Assassination Attempt
The day I tried to kill myself was the last of three days living in complete hell unlike any I’d ever known. I’d spent three days in a dissociated state, floating through my day with zombie eyes and a catatonic stride. I was barely able to function. I’d walk into the bathroom and wonder why I was there. I’d stare at the eggs cooking in my frying pan and wonder what I was supposed to do with them. I’d look at the sender of a text message and wonder, Who the hell is Momma Dukes?
By Regina Longwell8 years ago in Psyche
Adult Child of Alcoholics
My honest journey from dysfunctional adult child of alcoholics to functioning adult. Chapter One We live in a world where drinking alcohol is part of our social makeup. You go out with friends, go to social occasions, christenings, weddings or funerals and alcohol is always readily available. It’s human nature. We grow up witnessing our parents drinking socially with friends. Everyone is happy and laughing and you grow up thinking that having an alcoholic drink is fun. As a young child these were certainly sights I witnessed, alcohol to me was just something my parents and relatives did. Every adult I knew drank alcohol. That was the way of our world. I’m sure past generations behaved no differently and I don’t believe at this time my parents behaved any different from a lot of my peers' parents and relatives but what happens if in the blink of an eye if tragedy strikes your family and your once happy social parents don’t drink to have fun anymore? They instead drink to numb the pain of an unbearable tragedy that took them from loving functioning parents to alcoholics.
By Claire dyson8 years ago in Psyche
Challenging Our Negative Thoughts
Our brains can be assholes. When you're suffering from depression or a related illness, your brain is basically stuck in asshole-mode. It defaults to telling you all sorts of lies about how you can't do anything, how you're a failure, this, that, the other thing.
By Princess Sparklefangs8 years ago in Psyche
My First: My First Panic Attack Episode
Hello friend, I hope you are doing well. Before I do any introductions, I thought I’d mention that I am not very different than you — like you and many others I suffer from panic attacks. A journal of Psychopharmacology states that in 2013, there were 8.2 million cases of reported of anxiety in the UK alone. You are not alone because I was one of those 8.2 million people who had anxiety attacks. I understand what you are going through. I understand what you mean when you say, "I don’t feel good" and you have your panic face on. I think when you have been suffering from panic attacks, you can see other people who are going through it — like when a toddler has an I-am-pooing face; we have a panic-attack-under-progress face. It is a glamorous face, just like a toddler’s I-am-pooing face.
By Linu George8 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health Issues
Mental health, where to begin? Many people assume mental health issues are so easy to deal with. In reality? They're not. For me personally, it took me a long time to accept that I had a problem and that there was something not right with the way I was thinking, seeing the world, and behaving.
By Tabitha Porter8 years ago in Psyche
