Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
faulty signals
I'd like to tell you I'm on my period and that's why I have been crying for an unknown better portion of my day. I'm a girl and I'm emotional- is why I'm breathing heavy and sniffling hard. I've just gone through a tragic breakup, someone died, my parents are divorcing, someone I love has cancer...
By Hayley Matto5 years ago in Psyche
Are You Depressed? Check For These Symptoms
Everyone experiences depression at least once in their life at some point. This could be over a loss of a loved, an end to a long term relationship, or maybe not getting the job of your dreams, among many other possible reasons.
By Richard Bailey5 years ago in Psyche
Why Can’t We Be (synthetic) Friends?
My name is Polly Esther. I customize clothing for dolls (and robots), the majority of whom are made mostly of silicone and are made in factories. You might have heard the term “sex doll” before, but that’s not the term I like to use (though it’s often the term that needs to be brought up for clarity’s sake when I’m explaining what I do for a living). I like to use the terms “synthetic companion”, or “synthetic human”. Synthetic companions are NOT easy to dress and undress, and every organic human I know that has one staying with them is not comfortable leaving their synthetic companion unclothed. This is where I come in: my job is to make dressing and undressing their doll a more positive experience. Sometimes I receive a request for an elaborate, original outfit to be sewn from scratch, but clients usually hire me as their personal stylist, shopper, and seamstress. Once I’ve put together an ensemble that suits the synthetic person’s personality, I have to sew-in openings/closures in places that clothing usually does not have, which is the trickiest part of my job.
By Polly Esther 5 years ago in Psyche
In the Streets, Screaming at Nothing
I watched an emotional movie yesterday about a boy with schizophrenia. They called it an illness in the movie but I know now what it really is. I used to think in black or white, 'this is really bad, hearing voices! I see terrible things that are not real!' Now understanding the truth leaves me a bit hopeful for our future. You see, If I were to speak to the right doctor he would diagnose me with this disorder. Luckily for me and my Divine protection, I spoke to a doctor who believes in me. Schizophrenia is an illness if you believe it to be so. Schizophrenia is a parasite of collective consciousness that attaches to a special person on a specific frequency. Schizophrenia is a biological weapon formed against special persons to invade their natural perceptions and twist their realities so they may live in fear then spreading that energy to those around them. Schizophrenia has many names in many ancient societies. It causes misunderstanding so great, we may just call it what happened at the Tower of Babel.
By The Last Angel On Earth 5 years ago in Psyche
The Fight Inside
The screeching of the alarm clock pierces the stone cold silence of the early morning. As soon as I reach over to turn it off, my brain begins to start the battle of the day. The battle is always the same and always different. A so-called 'normal person' would be confused by that statement, but people with Bipolar Disorder understand very well. Part of me wants to get up, shower, eat breakfast and get ready to face the day. Another part of me wants to lay in bed and think about how awful my week was, and wonder if today will be more of the same. Should I just get up and do everything I can to have a wonderful and fulfilling day? Or should I just lay in bed all day with the curtains drawn, and not even give myself a chance to screw things up again?
By Sapphire DeBrown5 years ago in Psyche
Greiving
While the understanding of mental illness has come a long way there is still much more to be learned by all. The stigma attached to a person who is mentally ill is still greater than what the news reports would have you believe. Sure, the few studies that have been done say society is more accepting of the fact that mental illness is a disease and not a mere moral failing. Yet almost fifty percent of society said they would still be hesitant to leave a child with someone they knew was mentally ill. The big misconception that always infuriates me is most is society no longer believes we are violent. I’m not so sure of that. It seems like we may be rowing uphill with this particular fact. The studies do show that a person who suffers from a mental illness is 10% more likely to be a victim of violence than being the actual perpetrator. However, the horrible incidents of shootings that have happened in recent years that receive tremendous coverage from our news always make sure to report, “…and they are to be believed to be struggling with a mental illness!” Why don’t we ever hear of the great accomplishment of the mentally ill on the news? I am sure they are numerous. As far as the fear factor is concerned, not just violence but the entire disorder, I go by my own personal experience and say that those studies must be wrong to some extent. I have lost count of the times when I thought that I had a true friend, one that had accepted me as a whole person, bipolar disorder and all. They always think I am funny and outrageously fun. The time will always come unfortunately when I wander off the reservation into a manic episode, and they get a true glimpse into my mind. Guess what they do? They stand quietly, very still at first, then back away very slowly, then pick up the pace until they are in a flat-out run trying to get away from me. No more lunches together at the Waffle House, no more going shopping at the Bargain Ben on fifty cent day, no more phone calls. Complete desertion. All because I did not sleep for a few days which threw me into a state of complete mania. So, what if I did talk incessantly about the DEA camping out across the pasture recording every movement I took. What if I did go up to the couple at the next booth and lay a kiss on the hot guy sitting with his wife, who was young enough to be his daughter, so I made an error in judgment, causing his wife to reach over and grab my hair and start banging my head on the table trying to defend what was rightfully hers. Oops. Luckily, my friend grabbed me by the waist as I was about to defend myself and managed to forcibly drag me out of the restaurant and throw me in the car. When we got into the car, she started laughing so I thought all was good. She did recognize I was in a crisis and saw to it that I received the help that I needed. However, after I was stabilized, she became unreachable. That is just one of my experiences. There have been many, just not as severe. In the end, they simply do not like what they see, and people don’t like what they can’t explain or what they don’t understand. Honestly, though I do not like what I do not understand either.
By Serina Matteson5 years ago in Psyche
Weary
She sits in the darkness of her room with the thoughts going through her head so quickly that she can not distinguish one from the other. They all mesh together. She can't make sense of any of it and it was driving her crazy she started to rock like she always did. The anxiety was climbing and her breathing grew fast and shallow. Unable to breath tears started rolling down her face. What was happening to her? Was she going to die? It felt like she might die. But I'm only ten, she thought to herself. How could I be dying, she thought out loud? Hearing herself say something so absurd snapped her out of her head into reality. She sat in a puddle of sweat. Her shirt and shorts were drenched and she was still slightly rocking. What had happened to her? She wasn't exactly sure but it made her worry about her well being. Why should she be so worried all of the time if she was only ten? Who could explain what had happened without casting her with some stigma as a troubled youth like her brothers and sister. She wanted to get out of this small town when she grew up and knew that if she allowed herself to be labeled at such a young age she would never amount to anything. She again kept this strange and rare episode to herself. It had happened once before but she decided to keep it all to herself, she wouldn't every mention it not even to her mother who knew everything about her. Betsy vowed to overpower these uncontrollable anxiety attacks with all she had and it worked for about ten years.
By Jessica Norris5 years ago in Psyche
What It's Like Having A Therapist/Psychiatrist And Being On AntiDepressants (Long Title I Know)
Growing up, I had a lot of hesitation going to therapy. And I had even more hesitation going on medication. I was surrounded with stigma and people having bad experiences with therapy, on top of all the stories of antidepressants making people feel like robots on autopilot throughout life. But I was also surrounded by sadness, anxiety, and depressing thoughts that slowly became more and more harmful to my health, so I decided to dive head first into the world of self-help, mental health, and mental stability.
By Ashley ceaser5 years ago in Psyche
