Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
WHO? WHO? WHO?
“Hoo, hoo, hoo.” “Who? Are you asking who I am?” the young woman asked the mysterious voice. Her body trembled as her hands fumbled with the bag of powder. She knew it was poison to her body, but she also knew how it made her feel for just those few brief hours.
By Malia Hebert5 years ago in Psyche
The Magic of Therapy
Do you believe in magic? I do. I had my first encounter with therapy about 4 and-a-half years ago when I was going through a very turbulent time in my life. Up until then, I'd never experienced any form of therapy - unless retail therapy counts...
By Janine Agombar5 years ago in Psyche
Why does my shadow keep following me?
Why does my shadow keep following me? No matter where I go, it's always by my side. It was fun as a child, having my shadow there so I didn't feel so alone, but as an adult, my shadow appeared to be much more difficult to "have around".
By Anastasia M. Lindsey5 years ago in Psyche
The Cycle
Ever since I was little, I've been chasing the wrong things. The wrong dreams and goals. Never having any real direction or idea of what I really wanted from life. The last ten to fifteen years, I think I've just been on autopilot, not really going with the flow, but not really going my own way either. I've been lost and out of my mind with depression and anxiety so long, I don't know who I am outside of that. What do I really want? From myself and my life. Do I want to continue the way that I am, not really living?
By Tabitha White5 years ago in Psyche
Gideon.
Twenty Seventeen. I had always felt not quite right… When I was eleven I was diagnosed with Anxiety. That's something I had learnt to live but 2017 felt different. The anxiety began to suffocate me and I was feeling more sad then stressed. The world around me started to feel different, I didn’t feel apart of it anymore. I felt like I was watching my body from afar and had little to no control of it. I was sixteen and in my tenth year of schooling, I had started to slowly disappear from my friends. Instead of going five days a week like I was supposed to, I was only going three or four. I couldn’t get out of bed some mornings but I was still keeping up with work, so no one really noticed how bad I was getting. It wasn’t until the end of 2017 when I had little to no friends left and was only attending one to two days a week… I was no longer keeping up with my work and was at risk of failing the entire year. My friends and I never had a falling out or anything, I just wasn’t present enough in our friendship and they eventually gave up on me. My mother took me to a doctor early December of that year, three days before my seventeen birthday… that's when I was diagnosed with depression. They started me on a low dose of antidepressants but they weren’t really helping, I was told to give it three months before they looked at different options.
By Gemma Walsh 5 years ago in Psyche
To have and to hold
The other side of addiction? Addiction.... a dirty word in society unless you have experience with it of course. When people think of addiction / addicts, they see a dirty, unclean, thief, criminal and have a very low opinion of anyone who suffers from addiction. However addiction becomes reality for all walks of life. Even Solicitors, Barristers, Judges, Police officers, Builders etc etc. In fact it is widely known to become a problem for celebs that struggle to handle the pressure of being in the lime light.
By Michelle Phoenix5 years ago in Psyche
Self Diagnosing
Self diagnosing via google is a normality for millions of us, including myself. I find myself wondering if I have bipolar or Borderline Personality Disorder like my beautiful mum, I could have ADHD? Who knows, but what I do know on paper, is that I have depression and anxiety. But why isn`t it any of the above too?
By David Sullivan5 years ago in Psyche
My memories as a kidnap victim
I spent the majority of my childhood through young adulthood looking over my shoulders in paranoia. I spent most of my youth fearful that I would be kidnapped again. My worst fear was that barbaric thought experiment that my bio mom's husband attempted on me. I remember the fear and hatred I felt as being whisked away from my dad, who loved me, and did his best to protect me.
By L.D. Malachite 5 years ago in Psyche
The Wellness Plan
In 2019, I was diagnosed with a mental health issue known as anxiety and depression. I refused medication and treatment because of two reasons, not being sure if my healthcare insurance would cover the costs and my assumption of the illness going away on its own. In my opinion, I did not take the diagnosis seriously and I went on with my life. At this time, I was experiencing my last year at Middlesex Community College in my associate’s degree program for liberal arts and a concentration in psychology. I did not want to think that I could become emotionally compromised. Over time, I withdrew from socializing with friends, family, and career opportunities. Here, I started to feel intense episodes of worry, low self-esteem, and sadness and I wasn’t sure if it was from being socially withdrawn, the diagnosis being poorly treated, or a mixture of both. But, when people asked about my wellness I began to blame my emotional patterns on my menstrual cycle or the weather. I had many people fooled, believing that my mental health was not at any kind of potential risk. However, karma does come around and I found myself to be the fool, curling into a ball on my grandma’s kitchen floor and wailing about my life. I had an episode in front of my family. It was scary, ugly, and also the truth. But, this is where I realized that my mental health should be taken seriously and psychological attention was needed as soon as possible. Within a week, I found free counseling sessions through my college resources and signed myself up. It was the first step that changed my life forever.
By Claudi Brown5 years ago in Psyche
