Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Self Harm & Suicide
Self-harm & Suicide is a very evocative subject to both discuss with others and to write about. But nevertheless, it is a topic that MUST be talked about freely and widely at the same time too - with everyone. Self-harm & Suicide if not talked about, and the person feeling suicidal not feeling that he/she is being heard, can all too easily escalate to attempting suicide themselves. Within 2019 alone, it was recorded that a terrifying total of 5,691 suicides were registered in just England and Wales (source, Office for National Statistics (ONS.)) Which is staggering and very disappointing - as it shows many people are 'falling through the loop,' at NOT being heard.
By Jonathan Townend5 years ago in Psyche
Instagram Is a Well-Oiled Machine to Make your Life Worse
As the operator of a touristic hostel in Europe, few times I was mocked for not having an Instagram, neither for me nor for my business. After all, it is commonplace for my fellow competitors to promote their Hostels there and use it to attract backpackers.
By Borba de Souza5 years ago in Psyche
Episode 006 - Who We Truly Are
Episode 006: Who We Truly Are There is a wave in spirituality that starts with the words, “I AM,” It uses the power of convincing the observer behind your eyes to something that you desire. While some would call this delusional brain washing or hypnosis, convincing yourself of things that are not true, something magical starts to happen, it works. We have all heard of the placebo effect and how powerful the mind is to heal the body. This is because the ego is convinced that this pill is going to heal me and therefore the ego lets down its guard and allows the observer, aka your soul or god to work their magic. It works because you are giving up control and you are allowing someone or something else to take over. This works in many applications, but it is important to understand how your mind works to understand why this is possible. So who are we? What are we? and how do we connect with ourselves to become a teamed partnership so that we can obtain the powers to live a more powerful and fulfilled life? Let us try and answer one of the biggest questions a human being can ask, what am I?
By David Longpre5 years ago in Psyche
Book Review: "The Sleeping Beauties" by Suzanne O'Sullivan
I remember when I was at school and university and first started to read the books of Oliver Sachs. I was amazed to see what people were afflicted with and yet, how they managed to still keep in touch with themselves and try their best not to isolate themselves or lose hope. His writings were often narratives with emotional outpourings and stories which resonate with the empathy that one human being has towards another. I cannot say that this is exactly the same type of book but it follows the same guidelines of medical narratives and explorations in science. This book entitled "The Sleeping Beauties" traces one of our more modern ideas concerning health and wellbeing and that is psychological health. The health of the mind in times of chronic stress and/or trauma, the theories surrounding something called 'resignation syndrome' and the way in which the people around the suffering person become confused, riddled and often helpless when having to care for the person with the condition.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Psyche
Episode 004: Revolution
Do you feel it in the air? A tension growing around the world gripped by a virus that promised to take down everything. A virus that according to a CTV News report is ranked fourth in infectiousness compared to 11 other common major diseases well behind the SARs scare. I remember SARs being talked about quite often on TV same with Ebola, which is slightly less infectious than Covid-19. The main difference between then and now? The world did not shut down, so what happened? Why did the world shut down? Well, the answer is quite simple, fear. There has been an ever-growing presence of fear built up in the modern society I would say since the end of the cold war. With a world armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons and the capacity to extinct all life on this planet governments realized that wars would be different going forward. With mutual assured destruction a modern society had to turn inward for a new monster to campaign against. Media companies been all too willing to do an effective job at this creating a so-called culture war where you can no longer stand to even to tolerate people with different opinions. Was it a great Kabul or master plan? No. It was regular human nature, greed, corruption, and other vices that have followed our species for thousands of years. However, these human flaws have worked their way into the very power structures that govern our lives and we as a society are allowing ourselves to be distracted, commoditized and sold for a profit. Our human life is no longer the virtue of our society the dollar is king in this town and it’s causing the greatest tension that is a story as old as time, a story of revolution, and change. We are standing in a moment of history that will define the society for years to come, a fork in the road for humanity. How much more power do we need to give our governments? How much more data do we need to give technology giants which just end up at the governments? How much is your freedom worth for a little security? These are questions worth asking but it saddens me that even asking such questions right now is considered not politically correct, radical and selfish. The media and collective fear of millions have allowed for a situation to arise that should scare every single one of us and that is the rise of a powerful police state. One ruled under public virtues and morals dictated by the ivory elite in their marble palaces of power and hypocrisy.
By David Longpre5 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health Care
All I can offer here is, 'Thank God they do not exist like this anymore.' I began my journey into the realms of mental health nurse training way back in September 1989; after having worked as a care assistant for a year before embarking upon this course, to gain a view of just what looking after vulnerable people was really like. It was to be a career choice for life - or so I imagined for myself. At the time I was living at home with my mum and step-dad.
By Jonathan Townend5 years ago in Psyche
