Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Anxiety Disorders — Types, Causes and Symptoms
What are Anxiety Disorders? Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. You might feel anxious when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or making an important decision. Anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. These feelings can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships.There are a variety of anxiety disorders. Collectively they are among the most common mental disorders.
By Nick Davies5 years ago in Psyche
My Journey with Panic Disorder/Anxiety
From a very young age I had problems sleeping, concentrating and keeping calm. I was an anxious child growing up but as an adult, now, my anxiety feels uncontrollable. I had troubles expressing my emotions in a correct manner and I tended to keep everything bottled in until it was too late and I exploded on everyone. I had a range of emotional and mental issues when I was younger. I never fitted in at school and was always trying to be someone who I wasn't just to be "cool". I had unstable relationships with the closest people around me and overall I just doubted and hated myself for a very long time but those feelings I had about myself I never wanted to speak about because I was embarrassed to express myself, I just wanted to be considered as a normal human being, I didn't like the fact I had a mental illness.
By Hannah Douglas5 years ago in Psyche
I Wanted to Scream
Hear me scream! This is me after a long peaceful quiet walk on a beautiful midwestern fall day. The weather could not have been more perfect. The sky was clear, the air was fresh and crisp, the temperature was cool, the sun was warm, the colors were vibrant. It was a "perfect" fall day by most people's standards.
By Kris Neilson5 years ago in Psyche
How I didn't commit Suicide and how it can help you
Chapter one My life story Don’t ask questions I don’t have answers for them. All I ask is for someone to listen to me and hear me out and hopefully understand why I'm writing this. I'll start from the beginning when my mom was still around.
By Alexis Ashe5 years ago in Psyche
Paint
The next part was to pick up the paintbrush. But she was nervous. What was new? She always seemed to be nervous. She would shake when she had to do something important. Her lip would quiver when speaking in front of groups of people. She would feel a bitter cold when having to do anything that required even just the tiniest amount of courage.
By GOREMAC Channel5 years ago in Psyche
Battling Anxiety
Given that my first story was about the bad day I was having, telling you and myself that it was ok to have a bad day and trying to give you an idea of the way I try to talk to myself when I have these days, I thought I would try to put down some of the way that I use to cope when I'm having a bad spell.
By Lauren Meek5 years ago in Psyche
My Quarantine Hobby
I’m sure the day will come when we are all telling our children, grandchildren, nieces & nephews not to take SH*T for granted. We’ll be talking to them about COVID-19 until we go blue in the face. How people lost their minds but also found themselves and forgot how to act human or be the most human they’d ever been in their lives.
By Andrea Bonder5 years ago in Psyche
House Without A Home
“You’re my property. I own you, and I have government papers to prove it.” These words I think about everyday. I see her red, splotchy complexion. I hear her slurred words and dragging steps. I hear her slamming herself repeatedly into my bedroom door, BANG BANG BANG, consequently breaking the lock mechanism. I feel my bed shaking as she bursts in, clutching the door to keep herself upright. I can smell the sweat and oil on her face, and I can smell the alcohol.
By Laurelin K. Hardin-Pietri5 years ago in Psyche
Pitch Black
Even though I was surrounded by people, I was still alone in the world. It’s a strange feeling to be in a crowd, a jostling society, mingling with other humans and still feel disconnected. I sense an underlying fear that tugs at us all. Pulling our ankle, our sock our leg, nagging us for attention. I see fear as a little demonoid child who is feeling neglected and wishes for validation. Giving fear the validation and attention it needs allows it to be calmed, recognised, reassured, comforted, and validated. Just like in co-dependant and unbalanced relationship dynamics you must communicate with your fear before it becomes a bigger problem. It’s also known as shadow work. Dr Carl Gustav Jung speaks of the collective unconscious as our individual fears and elements of ourselves; personalities and characters etc, which we have suppressed, denied and shunned. These are parts of us that exist whether we like it or not. We all have parts of ourselves that we don’t like, whether they are tortured memories which we want to forget, or trauma’s that have broken us and altered our reality, making us who we are today. Collectively suppressed we make a union of communal shadows, manifesting in anxiety, depression, paranoia, illness and unease. I feel as though we are in a time of hiding. Hibernating and fatigue. There’s an electricity that runs on a low frequency within society, signalling that another lockdown is not welcome. Perhaps I am more anxious than I thought I was. Now having seen others and felt their energy wondering town I see fear is under the surface for most people, simmering. An anxiety of isolation and control. The uncertainty of our future is a weight looming, oppressive, grey and muggy. The crisp clear blue skies, the clouds dramatically half shadowed, and half brilliantly highlighted from the radiant low hanging sun. These are the days that bring light, smiles, and optimism to the air, even when it rains. We do what we have to do. I bought what I needed today before the “non essential” shops shut tomorrow. I’m sure that Preserve would be classified as an “essential shop”, that way I can still get my vanoffee cashews ;) #yum. Wandering town my energy and concentration levels were low so I got my essentials and only made a few detours before home. 1. Charity shop, looking for winter boots, and a fur coat, preferably leopard print. 2. MacDonalds, where I got a takeaway double cheeseburger, large fries and a chocolate milkshake. #noregrets. Perhaps I was comfort and panic eating. 3. Simply Pleasure to see Gem and get Kat’s current number. On the bus home were two young school girls sat at the front of the bus talking enthusiastically with one another. One of them was talking about the darkest day of the year, saying that “soon it will be dark by 3:30pm.” “Really?!” says the other with exclamation. “Yeah like pitch black!” she replies. “Not pitch black surely, aren’t there lights?” “No! Pitch black everywhere!” They were the only ones talking on the top floor of the double decker. It was as if everyone was silently witnessing their innocent conversation bubble. I felt like a member of audience for a reality TV show. One of the girls gets off and they say bye. Now silence. The girl remaining gets off at the stop before mine. She’s strawberry blonde long hair down to her back, she’s very small, perhaps 4ft”something, Caucasian with a bountiful meadow of freckles across her cheeks, she’s in a school uniform, trousers, blazer, and a gigantic rucksack, it's square and half her size. She holds onto the bus rail waiting for the vehicle to stop. Then off she bounces into the world. I watch the leaves fall from the tree as we pull away to our next destination on route.
By Heather Naomi5 years ago in Psyche
Releasing The Idea Of Stability
As the warm days move towards the darker season ahead, I find myself becoming sad. Sad that the days will no longer be beaconing me to go outside, shoes off, sitting next to a tree, barefoot and enjoying the sun's warmth on my body. This past year has been very challenging for many, however, it has been a blessing in disguise for me.
By Chrystal Higgins5 years ago in Psyche
The Time I Experienced a Perfect Miracle
I find that there is so much beauty in the world and I love my life. I have not always felt this way but after a long string of both unfavorable and favorable experiences in my life, I have concluded that I live a very beautiful life. Every day is really a miracle for me and I am always in a perpetual state of awe, appreciation, and grace. I remember being very depressed as a young child until I was about 21 years old. My life seemed so bleak and nothing seemed to have any real meaning to me. My favorite part of the day was sleeping and I could not wait for the day to be over so that I could sleep for 9 hours. I hated my waking life and much preferred my dream life. I was terrified of the future and where I would end up. I could not find any sort of silver lining and I would recurrently wish that my life was over.
By Dream Silas5 years ago in Psyche
