Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Psyche.

Anxiety, its a Big One
In this day and age over 40 million people suffer from anxiety, approximately 18.1 percent of young adults of the ages 18 and over suffer themselves from anxiety. So how come with more than half the population feeling the same, people feel so along. Approximately only 36 percent of people seek out treatment.
By Allison5 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety
10. Grounding exercise: This exercise is super simple! Just think of your sense and find five things you can feel, four things you can see, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This will help bring you back to reality and ground you. If need be do it more than once changing the order of the sense each time. Example: five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can taste, and one thing you can smell.
By Morgan Wolff5 years ago in Psyche
A Wonderful Fantasy to My Intrusive Reality
I always had an "overactive imagination" growing up. I loved playing pretend, I loved daydreaming land being someone else, being someplace else; life just seemed more fun that way. Except I never really grew out of playing "pretend". It took over my life up until was I was twenty-two, for fourteen years.
By Billie-Jules5 years ago in Psyche
A Nobody's guide to Stoicism
The life of the ancient Stoics stands marred in pain, suffering, exile, slavery, and sickness. Even for those stoics such as Marcus Aurelius whom history remembers as the philosopher emperor of Rome. Many today may never face the tribulations that these ancient philosophers did, why then is true stoic thought so difficult to achieve and so rarely sought after in modern times?
By Andrew Harris5 years ago in Psyche
My First Month On Lexapro
My doctor prescribed me 5 mg of Lexapro for my anxiety and depression. This dose is extremely low and a child’s dose. I had had bad reactions to different SSRIs in the past, so to avoid that happening this time, my doctor started me on a very low dose.
By Kate Rose5 years ago in Psyche
Time to Dispel the Myths About Mental Health
It is very important that we commit to getting rid of the myths that are associated with mental health. Can you pinpoint the difference between a myth or fact about mental health? One of the biggest myths about mental health is, “It does not affect me.” This is false. Mental Health can affect anyone; it doesn’t matter your race, gender, rich or poor. According to MentalHealth.gov, suicide accounts for the loss of more than 40,000 American lives each year, which is more than double the number of lives that are lost to homicide.
By Ernest Waith5 years ago in Psyche
Chasing Stability
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in May of 2016. I can barely count on one hand the number of times my meds have been tweaked, increased, decreased, or swapped out since then. Sometimes, they're not strong enough, sometimes they're too strong, sometimes the side effects are too much, and sometimes the cosmos don't align properly and something just screams out, "Nope, not this one. Next!" I am, at this very moment in time, in the middle of an important med change. We are completely swapping out one med for another, which is the worst kind of change because it means I get to be worried about withdrawals and new side effects at the same exact time. But it was necessary, so I'm trying to be patient and gentle with myself while I wait for things to settle in.
By Jennifer McGrail5 years ago in Psyche
The Cave
Lively walked into the cave, flicked her shoes off and flopped onto the couch. Calling into the darkness to signal her arrival home she told Skel she'd be a couple of minutes and she would start dinner. She heard him indistinctly grunt in return. He hadn't had a good day then. She was tired and listing in her head all that she wanted done, she told herself she was not going to be able to relax for another few hours at least. Looking into a mirror she saw her skin had become transparent again, the coloured patterns and etchings on her cheek and jaw bones visible. She picked up her pot of “function” and dabbed it on smoothing the colour over the opaque skin, hiding her skull underneath. She had a pot of “content” to conceal the hollows of her eyes better than only using “function”, but she was too tired to apply it just now. She felt her head for a worn patch, and felt it start above her right ear and extend round to the nape of her skull. Sighing, she picked up a fine spool of brown thread and a small needle. Threading it, she raised it to the edge of the bald area and pushed it through the skin. She knew she wouldn't be able to sew all the missing hair this evening but two or three strands would do for now. Start covering what stressing out and pushing herself too much had done to her.
By Kat Fairhurst5 years ago in Psyche
Uvajed
And here I was, speeding up my breaths. As I m lying here on my back, watching my vision grow hazy and I feel my breaths shorten. I know what's coming, I know what is inevitable, yet I can't fathom myself feeling everything as it happens. I squeeze the spine and rims of the book. I still feel, at least I still have some feeling left in my rapidly chilling body. Blood started to stain the book's bottom and top edge—a slick yet warm goo from my fingers. I feel my heartbeat pick up and drop as soon as it gains in rhythm. My toes are cold, and my legs are numb. I try to quickly change the thoughts going through my head. My mind goes back to the day I went to Sherman hill with my two cousins during a blizzard.
By Genee5 years ago in Psyche
Untitled
I was new at school. My first day of high school and I didn't know anyone. I sat in the back of all my classes while everyone else sat with their friends. In my first hour I saw this girl sitting alone in the corner of the class room. I didn't move I just sat there and looked at her. She messed with her fingers and occasionally looked at her phone.
By Brigid Miller5 years ago in Psyche
You don’t ever get over it, you get through it!!!
CHAPTER ONE It’s like I’m falling, but there is nothing at the bottom. I feel like someone shot me with a shotgun. I wake up almost everyday with this constant sadness that I can’t explain to even myself. Like a bad dream, you can’t wake up from no matter how hard you try. I try to be strong. But sometimes you can’t hold the weight. Sometimes you just have to let it fall and let go? Do you ever feel like you don’t mean anything in the world? Like you are dust? Well. I have. Ever feel like you’re alone but you’re surrounded by people? Me? Everyday. I don’t understand myself or my own feelings. How can you make someone understand how you feel when you don’t even know what these are yourself? I feel like I’ve lost myself. A void that can’t be filled because you don’t understand what is missing? I feel like that everyday. I love my life and my kids, I love my family more then anything! Anything in this world. Some I wish they would have kept me in their hearts but honestly they can’t imagine what I went through and how I feel. And I’ve learned a hard lesson in life. No matter how badly you want someone to stay, if they don’t want to, no matter what you say or do they will do what their heart wants, not yours. And that is one of the hardest things to accept.
By hoststacey5 years ago in Psyche
Depression
Depression has been something I've struggles with since I was young and sometimes the depression would win and I'd lay in bed all day. However, as I got older that became less and less of an option if I wanted to keep a roof over my head. The thoughts sometimes still become to much and the things I list below help me get out of a funk. It can be hard to start doing them, to get that motivation to get up but once you do it only gets easier. Just keep telling yourself you can! Because you can even when it seems like the whole world is crushing you.
By Morgan Wolff5 years ago in Psyche