Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
That Was Methamphetamine I Just Smoked?
Methamphetamine is a very dangerous, illegal drug that can cause short and long term problems in the brain and problems with emotions. It is very addictive, and people using this drug can have hallucinations and delusions and become paranoid and violent. The physical aspects of long-term addiction are tooth decay, weight loss, and sores where the meth user has picked at his/herself to get rid of the imaginary bugs crawling on them. When someone is addicted to meth, they only care about getting high.
By Denise Willis6 years ago in Psyche
My Journey through Heartache and Hope Part 1
In all of our lives, we are faced with obstacles that seem to come when we least expect it. I’ve been through a lot during my life, from the time I was a young child. For the most part, I feel as though I have made it through pretty well. That is, I’m still functioning with what I would like to still think of as an optimistic attitude. However, inside I feel what I don’t share with others, and that is the scars that have collected through it all. Many times I hold up a smile to mask the tears behind it. I write to let my feelings out a bit, and now, I share those feelings with you.
By Judith Jascha6 years ago in Psyche
The Suicide
Chapter 1 Joe was going crazy at home, he was having anxiety all day to the point where he had to leave the house and walk to clear his head. Only twenty-four years old and he was already losing his mind. It was 12am on a Saturday so he was going to walk to the bar three miles from his house to the city where he liked to sit and watch people. He’d sit around at the park, chain smoking, looking at all the tourist, locals, and city workers all walk by and sonder. Where do all these people go after work, after the night is over, do they like their jobs? Do they have secrets I cannot see? All these thoughts and questions would wash over him like a tsunami to the point where he would forget what he was worrying about, what was causing his own anxiety.
By Charles Wood6 years ago in Psyche
The truth about me, my mental health, and the topic of sex
So as everyone knows; mental health is something that gets affected constantly by different things every single day with each passing minute. One thing that affects it the most is trauma; especially when it happens during your childhood, and when you've just begun being a teen. Just picture it for a moment. You're a 15 year old, minding your own business, walking to a classroom, and then you suddenly feel something or, rather someone touch you. And where this someone is touching is not your shoulder.
By Jennifer McIntosh6 years ago in Psyche
Cognitive Techniques to Reduce Anxiety
Anxiety and stress are the two most knowledgeable emotions of students proceeding with higher education. This system, with an impartial to mound students, fails to attain its objective. On the contrary, students leave with a dimmed desire for the field and stress-related complaints.
By Martin Moolley6 years ago in Psyche
A Sensitive Story
That girl is strange but special, a most peculiar mademoiselle…that’s a song quote, which any Disney or beauty and the beast fan could tell you is from a song called Belle. It’s the introduction song to a girl who was different from everyone else, and it’s the song that if you were to ask me, would be the one to best describe me. I was, and still am, someone different, and that’s not a bad thing.
By Belle Trevino6 years ago in Psyche
Living with PTSD: Context and The Attack
When I chose to accept my admission to UC Davis after 7 years of working multiple jobs while attending community college, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. Having an insatiable appetite for knowledge, I had always wanted to attend a university, but getting there proved difficult since there was no way to pay for it right out of high school. Finishing my AA in Environmental Studies gave me that opportunity through a special program that guaranteed my transfer entry to at least one UC or CSU, as long as I maintained a certain GPA and completed a few other requirements, and because of my age, I also qualified for a grant that would help me with most of my tuition. While considering potential majors, I found a subject I could be passionate about, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. It was so new that it was only offered at two universities in CA at the time - CSU San Luis Obispo and UC Davis. I was incredibly excited to build upon my existing knowledge of people and the environment and try to make a difference in our world by studying this field, but I wasn't sure where I would feel most at home - SLO or Davis? As I toured the two campuses and towns in early spring with my then-boyfriend, I envisioned my life post-graduation as a children's garden educator with joyful anticipation. Davis had a specific garden education program I felt called to experience, and so ultimately I chose Davis over SLO.
By Tara Bloom6 years ago in Psyche
Borderline Personality Disorder Myths
“We Are Inherently Abusive.” Conflation of Borderline Personality disorder and abusive, toxic behaviours is one of the hardest stigmas to erase. It is unfortunately also the most commonly believed stigma about us. This is because quite often people with borderline personality disorder are portrayed as jealous, controlling, often even physically abusive. The reality is however entirely different to how fictional characters with Borderline personality disorder are portrayed. There is a major disconnect in how the media, movie producers, script writers portray us. This can be a major issue for everyday people like you and me, trying to live our lives with this disorder. It is so pervasive that it has even infected the minds and beliefs of those working in the mental health profession. So even those educated in the disorder sometimes have been found to believe we are abusive in on form or another.
By Erin Shields6 years ago in Psyche
An Anxious Life
My mother told me that the earliest she noticed my anxiety was when I was just four years old. I was so small, yet so irrationally afraid. I do not remember my anxiety back then, but I do remember it in the third grade. The fourth grade. The fifth grade. The sixth grade (where it got completely out of control). The seventh grade, where I couldn't get out of bed. It followed me throughout high school, I switched on and off anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants, had countless doctor's visits, and yet I am in University now and still struggling. Anxiety is not something that magically goes away one day. I know for a fact that I will struggle with anxiety for the rest of my life. It is debilitating, and frustrating, and so painful, but I know I am capable of pushing through. For me, anxiety is not being able to breathe. It is a pounding in my chest and the weight of a thousand pounds on top of me. It is sweaty palms, red skin, bleeding thumbs, picked at skin. It is crying in the bathroom at school, in my car, in public. It is embarrassing, it causes me to miss class, hyperventilate around strangers. I wish there was a cure. I hate that in moments when I should be doing nothing but enjoying myself, I am panicked and anxious and so angry at myself. What bugs me most is that I tend to become anxious in moments I didn't even feel were uncomfortable to me. I am angry that during my time off of school, where nothing should stress me out, that I have crushing anxiety while watching a movie with my family. It makes me feel alone, even when I am in a room of people. I am supported by the people in my life, and they say they understand what I go through, but sometimes I just want to scream. I want to rip my hair out and silence the noise. I have gotten on new medication, which seems to be calming things down a little bit, I have gotten into yoga, I meditate, and I have been trying to get more sleep. It sounds cheesy and annoying, but exercising has started to make my head feel a little clearer. Maybe one day I can run or stretch enough to shake the anxiety straight out of my body. Until then, I am going to breathe, believe in myself, and take one day at a time.
By Lauren Stafford6 years ago in Psyche
