Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Is the UK Doing Enough for Mental Health?
Recently, the deaths of famed rapper Mac Miller, actor Robin Williams and reality TV star Sophie Gredon shook us all to the core we are most scared of—ourselves. Yet still our fears, and our relationships with our own mortality aren’t a conversation for anyone with an aversion to nihilism. With depression being now at epidemic proportions, the UK has now employed a minister solely for the action of suicide prevention. Is it enough? One in five young people have waited over eighteen weeks for mental health intervention. Is the conversation enough?
By Megan Cowan7 years ago in Psyche
Addiction, and the Paramedic
Addiction is taking its toll. There have been so many overdoses in my district, that not only are we short on Narcan some days, we are also short on responders. I am not one to judge. As a paramedic, I see people at their worst moments in many different situations. I am putting in my two cents today, because I feel not only addicts are suffering, but families, responders, etc. I have to elaborate on my own experiences as a result of addictions of others. This is in no way meant to be judgmental, or to condemn, I am hoping my catharsis can help someone.
By Kathy Roadman7 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety Is Tough, So Are You
Two steps forward, one step back. That has been the motto I’ve been living by as I navigate myself through my mental breakdown. I spend my days with my “emergency anxiety kit” on me. It consists of emergency medicine, a stress ball and lavender oil. This isn’t my first mental breakdown, it is my third. Usually they are rooted in anxiety, but this one is different because it is rooted in depression.
By Juliana Fetherman7 years ago in Psyche
Trapped Inside Myself
I can't breathe. The air is grabbing my throat and I am gasping for air. All my life I have been the quiet girl. The sweet, innocent one that doesn't have a lot to say. Maybe I am a little shy, maybe I am a little socially awkward. However, I have a lot to say. I want to say it, but I can't. I didn't realize it was bad until my sophomore year of high school. I stayed home for two weeks with what I thought was a stomach ache. No. It was my anxiety. For the two weeks, I went to doctor after doctor trying to find the cause. Finally, a doctor told me I was anxious. Seriously? There has to be an ACTUAL cause to this. I found out later, no. That was it. Anxiety has its way of doing that. It can become so severe that it leaves you feeling physically ill. The last two years of high school, I just learned to "deal with it." It was hard. Every time I ate I felt like I was going to get sick. I was scared to go out with friends, scared to go on trips, scared to get into someone's car because every time I felt sick. That made it even worse. Could you image me actually getting sick? I could never show my face again. I spent the whole two years missing out on fun things because my anxiety held me back. Even when I actually went on things, I was so scared of getting sick and dealing with the embarrassment that I couldn't enjoy anything. You know what? I NEVER got sick. It's embarrassing thinking about it now. I missed out on so much.
By Jasmine Mitchell7 years ago in Psyche
Addiction, a Choice or Disease?
Addiction, is it a choice or a disease? This is a controversial question that has plagued the Internet as of late. Although this is not a new debate I am seeing more and more Memes, studies, comments and blogs about this topic. After much thought I decided to address the issue publicly, add my point of view and possibly ruffle some feathers.
By Tiffany Michael7 years ago in Psyche
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Session #5
Interviewer: After college, did you find entering the "real world" difficult while attempting to self-medicate your BDD? BBB: I had no idea what I my was in for when I left college. I would no longer have the distractions I depended on over the past few years while I attended school, and as a result of having no therapeutic support, my twenties were a blur of major psychological breakdowns. Also, I was diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance at 19 that would cause me to pick up even more weight and make me even more susceptible to emotional instability. By age 25, I had ballooned up to 230 lbs. At 5'8", I was slovenly obese. In addition to cystic acne, my face had started to develop cradles that no one could see but me, apparently. My entire body seemed to be covered in stretch marks. I fried my kinky hair into silky submission using straightening chemicals and hot irons and wasn't satisfied until it was bone straight and full of body. Others in my hometown didn't see my weight gain as a big deal. Those who noticed my growing self-consciousness reminded me that there were several girls where we came from who were just as big or even bigger than I was. It didn't matter what anyone else looked like. It didn't matter what they thought I looked like either. All I could focus on what how ugly I was compared to everyone else.
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
The Silent Monster
There comes a time where I have to stop and ask: "is this my anxiety talking?” Day to day, I watch as the world continues to go around me while I sit and ask myself this question. Everyday, I have struggled in every aspect of my life because I never know if this is in fact my anxiety talking. It wasn’t until recently that I realized it was the one guiding my mind for years.
By Kyrsten Wagoner7 years ago in Psyche
The Sociopath Versus the Psychopath
Psychopaths are superficial, glib, and sexually promiscuous (source), which are the traits of most people although having these traits doesn’t make one a sociopath or psychopath. Sociopaths have emotions, they just have trouble accessing them. Fearlessness, dominant behavior, as well as immunity to stress are often traits found in psychopaths. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist screens a person for potential psychopathic traits because psychopaths are 1% of the population. Psychopaths have a grandiose sense of self-worth. Psychopaths cannot endure being down for too long. They need something to perk them up like having a victim to push around. Psychopaths tell lies that most people are conned into believing.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
The Slow Motion Circus
It’s a helpless mind that wanders so completely that it cannot retrace steps or patterns. Events and places from my past seem to be fleeting back and forth between conscious enigma and the reality for which it was at the time. Every brilliant little speck of happiness, every impulse I long for is hiding somewhere out in the open, like a wild beast waiting for its hunter.
By Jordan Holt7 years ago in Psyche
Thoughts During Mental Health Day
When I was six I was diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), among a few other three letter abbreviated thingamabobs that played a background role to the two things above. I’ve always been hesitant to talk about my mental illnesses, not from shame, but from the fear (ha, fear, that’s ironic) that it could be used against me. That some evil doer out there somewhere could use it against me. However, as I got older I came to realize that living in fear, in any way, is a way of living I can’t afford.
By Sierra Hicks7 years ago in Psyche
