Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Swimsuits and Lingerie for Mental Health Awareness
Last year I had the absolute pleasure of being part of the UK Calendar Girls competition, rasing funds for Mental Health Awareness and The Chestnut Appeal for Prostate Cancer, two charities I find particularly important in our current times. My gorgeous and always supportive husband Stephen drove me to the photoshoot and later on did all he could do so I got a lot of visibility, furthering my modelling career at the same time as promoting the two charities. It was overall a hugely enjoyable and worthwhile experience!
By Sandra Tena6 years ago in Psyche
Many Good Reasons to Read One Good Reason
Séan McCann, a founding member of Great Big Sea, bravely opened up about the clerical sexual abuse he encountered in his youth and the addictions he employed in attempting to drown the pain and trauma it caused. In 2013, he broke away from the band and pursued a course of truth, using music as his therapy. His new purpose landed on sharing his stories and songs of hope and recovery with those who needed it most.
By Heather Down6 years ago in Psyche
Adjusting to Mental Health Treatment Via Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic
I’ve been seeing my counselor for three years. Every week. I have worked very hard with her to build a safe place in her office. A place outside of my everyday life that I can go to get away; a place dedicated to just me and the healing that I need to do for that one appointment slot each week.
By Surviving Childhood Trauma6 years ago in Psyche
I Thought I Knew
IDENTIFYING WITH MY CHILDHOOD I didn’t know much until now. I found myself in a world of self discovery far beyond the textbook definition that I had expectations of. Unfair expectations that when I became a woman someday I would be stable, all knowing like my parents. But I’ve come to figure out what every adult in the world has had a taste of and that’s that my parents are not made out of iron. If you’ve already come to this discovery, you’re probably thinking, “welcome to the club,” but I’m just shell shocked.
By McKy Sillitoe6 years ago in Psyche
hearing the birdsong in the storm
I once read about a young girl who told her parents she needed to go to a doctor because she heard what she thought to be an unsettling voice in her head. She thought something was wrong and that all that noise couldn’t be normal. Turns out she was hearing her own thoughts and that it was simply her own brain that had felt foreign to her.
By Alice Bryant6 years ago in Psyche
Leroy ain’t no punk
Leroy Johnson was not a punk, and he could prove it. Leroy grew up in North Philadelphia, in one of the poorest, grimiest, crime-riddled neighborhoods imaginable. He had stared down more cops, case workers, drug dealers, crack addicts, and tough guys than anyone on his block, even more than Tyrone. He looked in the eyes of grammas without flinching. You could say that Leroy was a poster child for “anti-punk.”
By Antonio Jacobs6 years ago in Psyche
The Pandemic vs. My Eating Disorder
I swore to myself I wouldn’t talk about having an eating disorder. Especially after I ‘recovered’ (aka – I gained weight so nobody could tell anymore). I tried to shake it off of me as if it was some embarrassing phase where photos were the only evidence that it existed – to get rid of it like it wasn’t apart of me. But it’s a mental illness – you don’t recover from it, it doesn’t just leave – things just become more muted? Throughout the years I’ve tried to keep it away from lovers and friends but I love to drink and eventually, I tell someone and then the closer I get to them the harder it is to hide it. The bad habits start to emerge, the weird relationship with food, the nasty comments about myself, and the endless cycle of dieting.
By Madison Brooke6 years ago in Psyche
The Paradox of Quarantine as an Introvert
When I first heard that I had to move back in with my parents and finish the semester online, I was hit with a wave of conflicting emotions. I was in the midst of the busiest, most stressful semester of college, with days full of social outings, studying, club meetings, working multiple jobs, and preparing my scientific research for conferences. On the one hand, I was immensely saddened to leave behind my friends, professors, and research; on the other hand, the part of me that had barely been holding on throughout spring semester was relieved to get a "break" from all of the social and academic obligations.
By Mlana Lore6 years ago in Psyche
