Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Session #2
Interviewer: Can you remember when you first saw yourself as ugly? BBB: Actually, some of my earliest memories were of me being told how beautiful I was. Mostly by people in my immediate family. I remember posing for the camera when I was 5 and 6. I looked straight into the lens, struck a pose, smiled. She’s the cutest little thing, they would say. My teen aged aunties would take me places with them. Their friends would treat me like a doll. By the time I was 8 or 9, I was becoming “a big girl.” I was starting to pick up weight. My plump midsection warranted some light teasing from my play mates, but I still had my little childhood boyfriend, a funny-looking skinny boy a half foot shorter than I was who didn’t care that everyone thought I was bigger than the other little girls.
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
What Is C-PTSD?
Complex trauma disorder is something I deal with daily. It is a source of constant stress for me. I have no idea if I’m ever going to be able to find treatment for it. I know how to live with my symptoms. My medication helps a lot, and nobody wants an out-of-control psychic with C-PTSD and schizoaffective with rapid cycling bipolar 1 features losing it. My trauma becomes known to other people should I lose control of myself. You can only hear so much about trauma anyway since some people can’t hear about it besides.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Words Will Never Hurt Me?
Remember that little saying growing up, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?" We all use to say it as a way to comfort ourselves from bullies. It was a way of saying "Haha! Do you really think that hurt my feelings?" Somewhere, deep down, I think it truly did help some of us.
By Alyssa Holley7 years ago in Psyche
Interviews with a Big Black Broad: Session #1
Interviewer: When were you diagnosed with BDD? BBB: I was twenty-eight years old. Only after suffering several bouts of debilitating depression did I succumb to the idea of being honest about the cause. I had no other choice. My depressive episodes where becoming a little manic. Scary. Unpredictable. Unacceptable. I saw several therapists for a few years up until that point. Honestly, I didn’t trust that any of them would understand if I were honest with them about what my problem really was. They would never be able to conceive of it. You see, I had mentioned my issues with self-image to a few people I knew, and they all laughed at me. They were used to me saying awful things about myself since I was a kid. They couldn’t fathom what it really meant. Neither could I. So, I told a forth therapist that I’d seen two weeks after my twenty-eighth birthday what I felt about myself, and he asked me if I knew what Body Dysmorphic Disorder was. I shook my head and told him that I was never an anorexic, bulimic, that I would never sit and stare at myself in any reflective surface for any longer than I had to. That I was too scared to go under the knife for plastic surgery because I was afraid I’d never be able to stop. I shook my head “no” at him when he suggested that this was my problem. Any other reason? He asked. “I’m Black.” I said without hesitation, “Black people don’t suffer from body dysmorphia.”
By Anarda Nashai7 years ago in Psyche
Do More of What Makes Your Soul Happy
Happy HallowThankMas. If you remotely know me, you would understand that when the calendar hits October first, I am in full holiday swing. With my spooky decorations in the dorm, Thanksgiving drawings planned out, and half of my Christmas shopping done, I am in the spirit.
By Michaela Switzer7 years ago in Psyche
Searching for Hope
“What brought you in today?” There it is. The question I wasn’t sure how to answer but I knew was going to be asked. “I’m having anxiety attacks that lead to me thinking about killing myself.” Those where the worlds I chose to say even though it went deeper than that and the therapist who sits across from me would find out soon enough. Today is March 3rd, 2018, and my life is about to explode without my knowledge. But first, “what are some things that cause your anxiety attacks?”
By Janice Page7 years ago in Psyche
When Your Chest Feels Like It’s Going to Explode from Anxiety. Top Story - October 2018.
On days like this it’s a battle to get anything done, make decisions, focus and not lose your temper. Your body is taking you on a ride that you didn’t ask to go on, all because your faulty alarm system has been triggered; and you never have the code to turn it off.
By Alicia Brunskill7 years ago in Psyche
Psychological Observation Report
Observation Report Experience This observation took place in a very lovely home off Summit Avenue. Even though the house is rather large, the family strives to make their home comfortable and low key. I was fortunate enough to start this nannying job three weeks ago for 10-year-old, twin boys. They are unique because they are both high functioning autistic. Really, this session takes place every Monday-Friday from 7:30 am to 9:30 am. But, for the purposes of this assignment, I will say that it took place Monday morning on March 13, 2018. For the purposes of keeping the boy’s identity confidential, when talking about them, I will refer to them as A and C. My observation most likely will not be like the normal ones that you see. Rather than setting up a game or an activity, I wanted to observe a typical morning before school with A and C. Below is my observations from the morning of March 13, 2018.
By Abigail Teff7 years ago in Psyche
Therapy
I work in the mental health field as a Behavioral Health Technician (BHT). Full discloser, I am not a therapist and I am not a licensed counselor. However, I do eventually want to go back to go and start my own practice. Part of my role as a BHT includes assisting clients with understanding their treatment and helping them reach their treatment goals. Our ultimate goal is to see every client become successful, in their terms. In other words, one clients’ success could mean just the average day for another. If there is some improvement, even a little it can be a success story to share.
By Marissa Hall7 years ago in Psyche
Living with Anxiety
Hi, my name is Jaime-Leigh & I have been suffering with anxiety for four years now. First Experience of a Panic Attack Now when I first experienced a panic attack, I was under the influence of drugs and alcohol mixed... safe to say I ‘popped.’ I had this feeling of pure panic all of a sudden, my hands went red hot, heart pounding like it was coming out of my chest, a tingly sensation in the back of my neck and arms... I genuinely thought I was going to die. I looked at my girlfriend and told her I loved her thinking this was it so I best tell her quick. I explained to her what was happening as well as my friends who were sitting there laughing about it at the time.
By Jaime-Leigh Arcaini7 years ago in Psyche
