Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Psyche.

Nightmare-crushing pill helps alcoholics with PTSD get sober
Editor's note: A previous version of this article appeared on News Break. I never used to have nightmares. I dreamed a lot, especially during my drinking days. Most often, my dreams were funny.
By David Heitz5 years ago in Psyche
Confusion:in words
Distractions. All I want to have. I look and look to find something to occupy my mind. I can’t listen to myself a second longer. My mind is so foggy and every night an inexplicable wave or some may say rush comes over mind. I want to feel, I want to stretch it all out. But it doesn’t work. Stretching it out, clenching my fists together won’t get it to go away. Talking. That isn’t an option. I don’t know how. Every time I waste time trying to seem fine, trying to make sense of things. I say sometimes I think these thoughts but that’s a lie to you, to myself even. I guess I say ‘sometimes’ because saying all the time or every night sounds too much like depression. I have been told that depression never goes away. I’ve also been told that ‘happiness’ is a choice. Then here, I choose happiness! I’m typing it I’m thinking it. I want it. But where is it when I need it. Nowhere. It’s a once in a moon feeling, and I hate that. I dwell on them moments, clinging onto the light they bring me .But that light, it’s burning. It’s out. It’s left the frame of my comical life and comically ill self. I’m smiling. Not because I’m happy but because I put it into words. Something I doubted I would ever be capable of.
By Zainab Rehman5 years ago in Psyche
Schizophrenic stigma
Hello ...To start off im going to tell you a little about my self The names Have change to protect privacy My name is Charlie. Im in my late 50's shhhh. I live in Manitoba Canada. I have lived a life for at least 2 people. My story beggins with my mother My mother was a mentally Ill Parinod Schizophrenic person She would have hallucinations, in which her senses aren’t working right. She would hear voices that make fun of her tell her things to do- harmful things. Or she might see things that aren’t really there.....Paranoid Symptoms Delusions are fixed beliefs that seem real to you, even when there's strong evidence they aren't. Paranoid delusions, also called delusions of persecution, reflect profound fear and anxiety along with the loss of the ability to tell what's real and what's not real. My mothers name was Molly. Small pettie 4 foot 9 inch women Molly was a very beautiful women [not that matters]. But it does. In the sence that people look on the surfaces and not into the intelect. A point of view of what they wanted to see and not what it was Molly had three kids they each were born 2 years part Two girls and a boy. Chalie, trudy, and steve..she also had another son that was taken from her when she was 15 years old, So a total of 4 kids. Molly had a 6 yr grade education. Molly was very well readed. My mom would read almost every day. When she went to write her GED. She scored a grade 11 without studing for it Her life was a living hell ... at 15 she was raped! Molly than had a son she called Dan. When Dan was around 3yrs old my mother went to child family service for help. The reason being my grand father was molesting her. My mother was a minor. So they took Dan and left my mother to fend for herself ...Why! she was a minor too ??? When they took my brother they put him up for adotion Again no efforts were made to get him back home ..I did bring this up to one of my uncles when i was about 24 yrs old. He told me it was the government. How do you fight the government? No one help her, no support. Not until the Government step in. I was always furrious at my relatives for not being there for us kids. There was not one good excusses my relatives could give why they wouldn't help us 3 kids But I too had to except that I was not their responcibility So sad that we didn't matter Little to no efforts were made for us 3 kids on our behalf What gulled me the most The adults would say to me "Charlie you are the oldest You need to take care of my siblings". I was 6years old!... how riducluous is that statement .. I did try ..But running away was easier Molly meet my father Vern. Vern was born in Ireland in about 1942 Vern was sent by ship to live in Canada when he was just a wee baby with a realtive I was told .. He was tall 6'2, dark hair, strong chin good looking Vern had a strong resembled Elvis Presley. Vern was also an alcholic. When Molly got pregnant with me. My grand father litterly got a shot gun found my father and told him he was going to marry my mother [And you thought shot gun weddings didn't exsits LOL] I was born in the fall of 1964. One of my few memories of Vern was a time he was beating up my mom I remember trying to interven But Vern hit me so hard that I litterly flew across the room at 3 years old [Ha.. he was suppose to be the better parent] I think not! Molly was so desturb that my father left -and left for another women. My mother spent a lot of time trying to find him We moved coutless times accross Canada to find Vern. Vancouver, Calgary back to our home town/city The 2nd last time I saw Vern ...he took me to a restaraunt. I dropped a french frie on the floor ...I begged ....him not to leave me! I said I would clean up the french frie off the floor [at 3 years old] ...I totally remember this How could this man look in his own little girls face and not care Well he did a little ...because when I finally got to speak to him the year 2000 he told me he remember the restauraunt french frie memory p [who cares right!] Molly's mind was going deeply into mental illness trying to raise 3 kids trying to stay normal with no help despratley looking for Vern it destroyed her ...I believe her mentall illness was there for years and year attributing from my grand father molesting but the more stress she was under the more she was see things -hear things Mom put towels and blankets on the mirrors t.v ...I even remember her screeming into a mirror. Mom was getting more and more down the rabbit hole I have to back up a little ...A little more from the younger years Just to give you an idea of what we were dealing with.
By Rae Dyck5 years ago in Psyche
Just Chic
Isn’t she lovely? The apple of his eye. His sweet, innocent babygirl. Honest, trusting, and pure. Protected by his warm embrace. Surrounded by his love and grace. Nothing in this world could harm her; as long as she had her dad by her side, walking in perfect stride. Right?
By LaChic-Joy5 years ago in Psyche
1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health issue each year
It is said that the Greeks have four different words to describe love. Germans can select from fifteen words to describe anger[1]. Humans are complex beings, created with multiple diverse elements. A problem or difficulty in one element of the self has the potential to have a negative impact on all elements of our being, be it physical, mental, relational or spiritual[2].
By JoJoBonetto5 years ago in Psyche
Book Review: Brown, Brene — Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice
Rising Strong, is a book about overcoming adversity, but it is much more than that. Brown has an accessible writing style that explains her own detailed research in a way that helps people to make sense of difficult emotions. Brown’s writing style is relaxed, informal, honest and at times, humorous. It is down to earth, with an anecdotal approach but references other peoples work as well as her own studies, in a clever and different way. Priests, screenwriters, and scholars are given equal billing, among others.
By JoJoBonetto5 years ago in Psyche
Book Review: Sane New World: Taming the Mind, Ruby Wax
I remember Ruby Wax from her TV interviews in the 1990s with various celebrities. The Madonna interview was like watching a ship go down. The one with Pamela Anderson doing pelvic floor exercises in her Baywatch swimsuit was not much better. Ruby Wax is a bit like Marmite, you either love her or hate her. I find her funny, but she has a habit of what I would call “over acting” and this book is not really that different in style.
By JoJoBonetto5 years ago in Psyche
Thinking about mental health.
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) common mental health problems include depression and anxiety disorders such as generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (called OCD for short) and post-traumatic stress disorder (called PTSD for short). Other common mental health problems include phobias about a specific thing (such as spiders) or situations (such as being embarrassed in front of other people). These mental health problems are called ‘common’ because combined they affect more people than other mental health problems (up to 15% of people at any one time in the UK). Some people may have more than one mental health problem (such as depression and anxiety).
By JoJoBonetto5 years ago in Psyche
Why mentally ill homeless people don't seek treatment
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article appeared on News Break. I hear it all the time. Why don’t mentally ill homeless people seek treatment?
By David Heitz5 years ago in Psyche
My brain was broken
it’s no secret that a large portion of the American population is suffering from some form of mental illness, whether it’s anxiety, depression, ocd, ptsd etc. A lot of us will experience the moment when our brain turns against reality. For some it starts early, from childhood trauma, some are predisposed due to genetics. Most often the onset of mental illness happens in your early to mid twenties. That was me. I was living a normal non anxious life when the big “A” took a crap on my party. A lot of things invited the monster in. It could have been a friend turning on my, the death of the grandparents that raised me of just hitting the magic age, I still don’t know. But I do know that I was MISERABLE. A huge part of my misery was genuine confusion about the way I was feeling, as it was a new experience. Being so anxious eventually led to being depressed and I tried everything that everyone suggested. I tried rescue remedy herbal drops, magnesium supplements, lemon balm tea, marijuana, cbd, deep breathing, crying, screaming, silence-nothing even made a dent.
By Tiffanie Hudson5 years ago in Psyche
Notes of an Introverted, Isolophiliac HSP
1. You vibe natural ambience and lo-fi chillhop. Mellow sound and soft beat – the cadence of stillness and your present moment. YouTube floods your recommendations with every 24/7 chillhop stream under the sun. Up-tempo anything gives you palpitations now.
By Nagisa K.5 years ago in Psyche
Having a child saved my life
Ever since I was 13, I suffered from mental illness. I remember being absolutely devastated when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression. They prescribed an antidepressant and antipsychotic, but they gave me insomnia. For that reason, I decided not to take them. Things only got worse as time went on.
By Amanda Cermeno5 years ago in Psyche