Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
The Grief Method
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance: Stage of the Kubler Ross Model for Grief. I’ve experienced horrible in my life, awful and degrading things. I’ve dealt with people who spit in my face, and maybe I imagined what they would look like on a spit roast. Out of all the terrible things I wish upon people who’ve wronged me, the loss of a loved one is not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.
By Mae McCreery6 years ago in Psyche
De Profundis: A Visual & Poetic Story
“This is not how your story ends…” The thought seemed to float in from across the veil. I was dangerously close to the edge; the place between life and death; one decision away. Sitting cross-legged, hunched over on the disgusting mattress on my living room floor, I was allowing utter defeat to wash over me; praying it would consume me and this would all be over soon.
By Victoria Lynn6 years ago in Psyche
Supplements for Depression that Work
Some people claim that vitamins and minerals can cure serious mental illness. That's not what I'm talking about here. While in general, there's not a ton of research funding for supplements and herbal products, there are a number of supplements that do have some research evidence to support their effectiveness in depression.
By Ashley L. Peterson6 years ago in Psyche
THE COVID PARADIGM
I was caught with my pants down. Not literally, you understand. Though it has been known. But that's another tale. Battling mental health is a chore within itself, but keeping the demons at bay while in self isolation is another battle altogether. Just when you thought you were doing okay, some pandemic decides to interfere with your life. Now, this is the crux, a paradigm in itself. As much as the thing has been ghastly and cost a great many lives, torn heartstrings and shaken families to the core, some of us, a select minority have enjoyed the time to ourselves.
By Dom Watson 6 years ago in Psyche
Here’s what I, a sufferer of a mental illness, want to tell you
I’m angry. I feel deserted by society, and I’m angry. People keep claiming they don’t understand mental illness until a designated day of the year, or until some pretty celebrity writes something on Instagram. So here, I plan to make you understand it, once and for all:
By Remy Dhami6 years ago in Psyche
Tina has a split personality — and says: “I am healthy.”
Tina plans her daily routine meticulously. She tells of a day when her plan was like this: 11:30 cooking, 12:00 eating, later jogging. She cleared all the ingredients, prepared the pot and pan, lit the gas flames on the stove. Tina cut onions, switched to autopilot in her head.
By AddictiveWritings6 years ago in Psyche
Will is a Thread
My will isn't strong. It isn't powerful. It's just always there. My will is a thread. Barely keeping me alive. But that's all that's needed. There's no celebration when you beat depression. There's no medal. No reward. You just go back to living. All you get from fighting depression is pain and scars. There isn't a silver lining. You don't come out stronger. You come out different. Broken, damaged, weakened. You might heal. You might not. No one cares except, sometimes, those close to you. There's no fame or glory for winning. You just get to live. But that doesn't change the fact that willpower isn't a cable. It's a thread. Unbreakable. Invincible thread.
By Krysta Minor6 years ago in Psyche
To men in suits who mock mentally ill women.
This message is for you Mr. J**** It's obvious you are misogynistic. You belittle and trash women. Is it possible your significant other is a victim of domestic violence? Yes, it is certainly possible. And if not. In the sporadic chance you do have a heart. You should know every single mean word you say counts. And unfortunately for you could have severe consequences. Because one thing you should never do is kick a mentally ill person when they are down. Because like you stated, I am sick. You do not know me. Or understand why I was hurting. Or why I was triggered. So to answer your question yes I am crazy. Well in the clinical sense. Because we do demonize people with mental illnesses. And call them “crazy” instead of understanding like any person that is ill, we are sick. So you know Mr. J****, the person who inserted himself under posts of the unfair treatment I was receiving by a fellow colleague. The story is, The colleague said to me “If we were dating, I would’ve felt more comfortable doing business with you.” Now since this is a safe space for writers I know you will all sympathize with me and see the issue here. Because as writers we are sensitive people and have deep, pure souls. Now I am not crazy for my beliefs on this. As it is true to the fact the romantic nature of these messages only pertained to me because I am a woman, it would have not been sent to another man. If that is not enough of a reason for you to see why I am upset then let me give you more reasons. I was let go by two brokerages. Not just for my mood dysregulation, which was very mild. It is a part of my illnesses. But by the simple fact that a woman of my age and stature should be meek, submissive and not stand up to her broker. Even if he is off base. And I don’t mean stand up in the terms of cursing. I mean standing up in an assertive, dignified way. Explaining it is wrong. However that can’t be done. As I am not a man. So I need to always remain submissive. Because if my voice is ever louder than theres their man hood feels insulted. My years in male dominated industries have been exhausting. As the way I am treated doesn't let up. A sales manager constantly hit on me. And the general manager let me go because I am a “distraction” to the men around me. However all this being said, I’d like to answer the remarks you have made. Firstly I am in noway seeking attention as I just wish my voice could be heard. Because it always feels like the men are yelling through mega phones and my words are being quieted and muffled. Nobody hears my voice, because I am a small majority. There is nobody to stand up for me. Nobody who understand or relates. And nobody who cares to. I mean there are a few here and there. And if they don’t agree they put it nicely. But not you Mr. J**** your intentions were to hurt me. You wanted to feel powerful. The question is, you said I was an attention seeker and mentally unstable. Do you know what mentally unstable means? It means, well at least for me, since I have border line personality disorder. That I am in the midst of a very powerful depressive episode. That my suicidal ideation is at an all time high. That I’m questioning my life. That I believe I have ruined the lives of people around me because I am sick. That I believe my family would be better off without me. That I feel so empty that my chest hurts. Feelings of emptiness and hopelessness surround me. And the pain doesn’t stop. It won’t go away. I can’t leave my bed. I just need to continue closing my eyes and sleeping because the second I open them the pain floods back into my body. Now my depressive episodes, my BPD, have nothing to do with feeling wrongfully singled out in the sales industry. But if you want to correlate the two you can go ahead. Although I have all the factual evidence. Nothing has been made up or imagined. Now to go back to what you said. If you feel I am mentally unstable. As I just explained to you what mentally unstable is. Why would you try to push me off the edge? It’s like seeing somebody in a coma on a feeding tube and saying “This person’s sick”, then ripping out their feeding tube and oxygen. You seem intelligent you should know when it comes to mental illness, it’s words that hurt us mentally ill people the most. The sexual and physical abuse always remains a apart of us. But it’s the verbal abuse that molds us into who we are. And usually makes us sicker. Words effect us deeply. As we have warped views on ourselves. And when somebody validates a warped view it makes us spiral. We typically need people around us who spread nothing but positivity. Because even the slightest insult can be a trigger. You have used my illness to insult me which seems very small. Would you make fun of somebody with cancer? Probably not. But I am also sick, just like them. It is you that seeks attention. Needing to be validated by the pompous men around you. It’s like the mega phone metaphor. All the men on my post were yelling. But you needed to pick up the loudest mega phone and scream out your lungs into it. Because weren’t your words speaking the loudest? Because you are the one who metaphorically took out a coma patients feeding tube and oxygen. It was clear I was speaking the softest, because as I said my words are always muffled. It’s always me thats wrong. And the men around me high five each other and give thumbs up as they all take shots at me. So Mr. J**** maybe you should be more careful with the way you speak to women. It would be a real shame if you were ever to be faced with the consequences.
By Tracy Rose 6 years ago in Psyche
I'm Not Dying...
Just An Anxious Kid When I was in 5th grade, I had my first major panic attack. It was around the time I'd be going to bed, and I was just sitting in my room. The heart palpitations came first. Next was the shortness of breath, followed by lightheadedness. Shortly after came the internal shutdown. My stomach dropped. My entire body went numb. I couldn't feel a single thing. Finally, there was a massive burst of adrenaline. The fight or flight kicked in. I sprung out of bed and did a few laps around the house. This continued until my mom finally found me and calmed me down. I remember wanting to get up and move so I could bring some feeling back to my body. Anything just to keep myself alive. I seriously thought I was going to have a heart attack and die. This was a fear I've never felt before. It was the first time I remember completely losing control of my body.
By Mary Molluso6 years ago in Psyche
