Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
An Open Letter to Lady Gaga. Top Story - January 2020.
An Open Letter to Lady Gaga - I am going to start this letter to you as I do all the other similar open letters I have written. I realize that the chance of you reading this is slim to none; however, I am discouraged by a statement you recently made, and I strongly feel a correction to this is necessary. Proud of the voice you have for women around the world, I never thought in a million years that I would be writing one of these to you, and for this, I am saddened.
By Dr. Megan Babb6 years ago in Psyche
Alcoholism
More than 15 million people struggle with an alcohol use disorder in the United States, but less than eight percent of those receive treatment. More than 65 million Americans report binge drinking in the past month, which is more than 40 percent of the total of current alcohol users. These are the facts when it comes to alcohol.
By Jenna Lynn6 years ago in Psyche
THREE WAYS TO ELIMINATE THE STIMGA REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS
Please allow me to be open and honest. I am an African American male in my 40s, and I suffer from a mental health illness. I have depression, anxiety, and at one point in my life, I tried to commit suicide.
By Carlin Hertz6 years ago in Psyche
I Finally Gave In To Anxiety Meds: This Is What Happened
We all seem to be in agreement: 2019 was a rough year. Despite my best efforts to fight back against it, last year saw me surrender to the shadowy black clouds of fear, overwhelm and general unease that had been filling my soul for what was probably a lot longer than I realised. My anxiety (mixed in with what I think was a bit of depression) was finally identified, and once I’d opened those gates, I was flooded with more of it than I ever thought possible.
By Alex Eynstone6 years ago in Psyche
Six Steps to Light: Overcoming Acute Panic Disorder
My dog, KOKO, is very well-behaved and lovable but also anti-social. When she sees another dog on a leash, her light brown hair from neck to tail stands on end, giving the appearance of turning dark. She becomes highly-agitated and begins to bark.
By Joel Eisenberg6 years ago in Psyche
The arduous but sweet journey.
So it all started with a bit of curiosity that me as a good kid began following through my instincts in something I could not ignore. I found a love that I knew I couldn’t pass up. I was in high school with my mind geared towards a bunch of political and historical interests. In a time where history was being made it was hard for me to keep my feet on the ground. I was growing up with two siblings (one brother and one sister) in a 3 bedroom house. I carried throughout my days with what I could say was a very active mind. You could imagine late nights with hardly any sleep to carry myself with the next day. I remember it took me hours in the morning to wake up before I was fully awake. A funny habit I kept through my high school years that I found later to actually be taking adverse effects on my grades and body altogether. I was a quirky individual who liked to dress to impress. I had braces and as you could imagine and was very prone to falling into different scenes. I was a dancer who took to nightclubs and parties to show off my moves. The realities around me slowly began colliding and as you know I began experimenting with drugs as a young teenager.Not the healthiest choice but the funny thing about is that I always told myself I would never fall to this type of negativity. But my thoughts then were somewhere along the lines of; hey what do I got to lose? Except a few brain cells. But anyways the point is that I myself could not believe that I somehow fell into these drugs that were pretty mad now that I think of it. I was taking MDMA/ecstasy about every month with major events. As a side note I always kept the strange truth floating in my head that MDMA was the first drug I ever tried and it being one of the strongest too. (Talk about a leap into the deep, BIG.) Carrying on, I was big into the EDM scene. I had caught a fever for the music and dancing altogether. Along with it the drugs followed. I and my friends had gathered a group of dancers who surprisingly became internet famous through our dancing aka shuffling. That was rare back then and boy was I happy to know we had caught steam. Our videos were gathering thousands of subscribers and even more viewers from all over. But the beautiful thing about it was the fame itself opened my eyes to what was truly happening. In my heart I knew I had to be responsible about what was taking place. It was drugs, music, and a whole lot of temptation that I luckily had caught onto. I wasn’t a heavy user at all in fact I was the least subject of focus amongst my friends. Altruistically, I became the leader of our dance crew sort of the eyes of the group and what we called the “Main Head” of EIU. One of the most talented crews in all of OC. You can even look us up on YouTube our videos are still there. Everyone called me Acidoser which is funny because I never tried acid in my life and still to this day I haven’t touched the substance. Moving through the years from where this started to when it ended between the years of 2011-2014 now aged 17 at the beginning of 2011.I found myself in one of the happiest state of minds I had ever been. I made a ton of friends and met tons of people through my days and everyone knew my name. It was strange times for me. Imagine walking out in public and having dudes and girls alike calling your name out. This was very striking to a humble person like me. It was like the world was screaming for me to break out of my shell. One side would scream dancing and drugs and the other half of me still trapped would say no stay down. Guess which one I chose? It payed itself in respect down the line but further down that road I started trying other drugs to go along with what I called “experimenting”.
By Gabriel Nieto6 years ago in Psyche
Is that body language an example of cute aggression?
When you do this work learning never stops. Today I learned a new concept called cute aggression that is worth sharing. Cute aggression is superficially aggressive behavior caused by seeing something cute, such as a human baby or young animal. Cute aggression is something that people of every culture experience. People experiencing cute aggression may grit their teeth, clench their fists, or feel the urge to pinch and squeeze something they consider cute, while not actually causing or intending to cause any harm. When people feel this way it's not accompanied by a desire or intention to cause harm. The observed behavior is an involuntary response to being overwhelmed by a positive emotion.
By Joseph Crown6 years ago in Psyche
Normy and Not the Truth
December 18th Normy and Not the Truth It’s Tuesday and I’m trying to figure out my monthly budget and how to pay childcare plus figure out how to buy a few gifts along with all our regular bills. It suddenly comes to me that oh yeah, my daughter, Catalina, has a job now that she is out of the "Rehab Riviera" (the media's term referring to the huge number of private Rehab and Sober Living Houses dotting the coast in Southern California) where her days were spent going to group meetings, occasional massages, and “experimential therapy” which included kick boxing classes, yoga, rock climbing, a paddling out in the Pacific Ocean with a group to have weekly meetings floating in the ocean under the warm sun). Almost anyone could be jealous of days spent that way.
By Sarah Seas6 years ago in Psyche
