Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Normy and the Drug Test
I am the Mother of an Addict learning more about addiction and recovery every day. One of my adult children is an Addict who thankfully is in Recovery (a Rehab program) right now. My daughter came into her addiction via a broken bone that had to have surgery and pins put in it. The surgeon gave her a “lovely”pain management prescription for Norcos. She got a 90 Day supply given to her by the surgeon, and then when she had taken all of them within the first month, the doctor authorized a refill… TWICE in that same 90 day time period.
By Sarah Seas6 years ago in Psyche
Eating Disorders: Living in Secret Shame
There are two people inside of me. The smart, level-headed, sensible one that loves herself. She takes care of herself with positive vibes, good food, time to herself, friends, family, and outside time to be with nature.
By All’s Fair in Love & Writing6 years ago in Psyche
Healing
Lately, I have been having a lot of things weighing heavy on my mind. Weighing in on the scale at one million pounds is my childhood trauma. When this weight takes over, I begin to think about how life never really gave me the chance to dwell on my pain because it does what it’s good at doing, “it moved on.” I started to think about how my sisters went through a lot of traumatizing things as well, and they never got the chance to dwell on the pain, we never got to heal. After other thoughts, I began to think about how people go through so many things in their lives. Whether it’s from your childhood or adulthood, and they never get the chance to heal from it. The process of healing takes time, whether you are improving alone or with a support system. Regardless healing must happen; one of the reasons I feel like it is hard to heal is because of life. Many different versions of life happen for people; some people’s trauma is distracted by moving away, new job, new additions to the family, new friends, or even new relationships. When all these things happen, the trauma is pushed back, and the wound is still open. In my situation, after my trauma was acknowledged a big move occurred for my family and me, then at the age of 16 only two years after my ordeal ended, I was pregnant with my son. All the horrific things I had gone through were pushed back, and although it was still affecting me every day, I was so busy I was never able to bring it up again. Another reason I feel like people push back their trauma is that other people aren’t supportive of their healing. Both family and friends have a role in the healing process. Being supportive starts with communication, reaching out to someone and asking them how they’ve been doing after various situations is a start. There are adults now that have been through things as children, and they never healed from it because family members or friends weren’t supportive of their healing. Their mother, father, grandma, or uncle, etc. never talked to them about things they’ve been through, so they felt like it didn’t matter. The process is even worse when you’re an adult because you’ve been carrying the pain forever and other’s might not take what you’ve been through as traumatizing as it was then because it happened so long ago. As an adult, I can honestly say if I would’ve got the acknowledgment of what I went through in my past from a healthy support system I would be more healed at this point in my life. It is not okay to hold in the things you’ve been through because you feel like it is a waste of time talking about it or it happened so long ago that it doesn’t matter. It does matter, any pain that you’ve experienced matters when you haven’t healed from it. Whether it’s trauma from abuse, neglect, losing a job, finances, being robbed, it matters. A lot of people push their mental health to the side based on how people react to what they’ve been through.
By Maelyn Jeffers6 years ago in Psyche
How to Strengthen Your Motivation When Dealing with Addictions
Struggling with addictions is a stressful situation, since drugs expose you to health, social, and economic risks. Health-wise, for example, alcohol abuse poses risks such as hypertension, liver cirrhosis, as well as impotence. Socially, drugs tend to create a wall between you and your loved ones, thus affecting your relationships. Economically, you will require money to sustain a drug habit.
By Jessica Smith6 years ago in Psyche
Self-Harm
Their Perception vs My Reality Harming myself was part of my life from a young age, despite what my mother believed. I remember cutting myself with a piece of glass to feel the blood running down my arm. They tell me stories of riding a big wheel through the house and off the porch, into rose bushes full of thorns. Yet, my mom blamed everyone else for my self-harm during middle school. My friends, my music, the shows I watched, and pretty much anything I did or liked was another reason for blame.
By Cierra Hartmann6 years ago in Psyche
Mentally Ill? Or Perhaps...
I’m on a mission... This mission started about 17 years ago when I first got diagnosed with depression. And now at 25 years old, I’m just recently recognizing that I’m on this mission. And with a clearer sight of it, I realize it has only just begun.
By Brendan Styles6 years ago in Psyche
