Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Smile like You Mean It
Catharsis. Someone recently asked me what it felt like to be Bipolar. If I'm honest, I was shocked—it felt like a fundamentally basic question that no one had asked me before. Manic Depression, Bipolar, whatever you want to call it—it’s something I live with, but rarely admit to people. I suppose "live" is the operative word in that sentence; I prefer it to suffer, affected, or handicapped. Those words always make me feel like I should be ill with a temperature, or worse. However, in a way I do suffer, am affected, and when I'm in a depressive swing—handicapped.
By Oliver Raczek7 years ago in Psyche
Daily Life with Mental Illness
What is mental illness? Let's get one thing straight; as per the dictionary definition, a mental illness is a medical problem and it should be treated as seriously as a heart attack would be. The side effects include but are not limited to, crippling depression, anxiety, thoughts of paranoia, lose or increase of appetite, hallucinations, insomnia, and even suicide. Having a mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. In the following paragraphs, I will be describing the hardest parts of living with a mental illness, how it is to be controlled by a mental illness, whether society as a whole truly understands what it's like to suffer with a mental illness on a daily basis, and question if a person can ever begin to be at ease with their mental illness.
By Waverleigh Rose Garlington7 years ago in Psyche
Living with Real Emotions in a Virtual World
Mental health typically lives as a topic of quiet discussion. It also leaves its victims feeling alone and like no one understands. Help is usually not far away, but people have reason to be scared. To keep up appearances they often downplay or hide their own emotions and keep their pain to themselves. Other people, are not afraid to tell everyone what they are going through, whether it is genuine or not.
By Indigo DeAllah7 years ago in Psyche
Yoga for Depression
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (AADA), 21,000,000 Americans suffer from some form of depression. For these people, no coping mechanism is out of the ordinary. From medications and treatments to dietary changes and supplements, proposed cures for depression have continued to evolve as the illness continues to affect more individuals, including students on Boise State’s campus.
By Celina Van Hyning7 years ago in Psyche
Surviving Mental Illness
I was born this way. It may not have shown immediately, but it did show over time. My mom had it first. She had a horrific childhood and when she grew up she became mentally ill. Perhaps, like me, she was ill all along and didn't know it. She would heard voices, and see hallucinations. The difference was she didn't know it wasn't real, I did.
By Cecilia Papke7 years ago in Psyche
The Truth Behind Trauma
It’s okay to talk about trauma. In a world that is advancing so quickly, and everything is available at the click of a button, things like mental health can get swept right under the rug. It’s hard to try and keep up with an ever-growing society without losing some part of your identity and self-care. I didn’t openly talk about my trauma because it never fit into the topics that were spoken about. My trauma did not fit into sexy celebrities on vacation or what the Kardashians are up to now. It’s so easy for us to talk about murderers and rapists, but never about the victims who were unfortunate to come across those people. It’s so easy for us to want to kill Brock Turner, the rapist from college, but never stop to think about how his victim is doing. For women it has become even harder for us to bring up our trauma, because people will assume that we are lying or exaggerating for attention. The problem is that there are people who have exaggerated or lied for their personal gain, and ended up hurting many people in the process. That made things extremely difficult and unfair for those who deal with real emotional, mental, or physical trauma. There are so many forms of it, and while some may seem worse than others, it all feels very similar. Everyone processes things differently, but there are two main similarity between trauma victims. They feel scared and they feel hurt. There becomes a time when you lose a lot of yourself in what happened to you.
By Hannah Livingston7 years ago in Psyche
Freshman Year Depression Is Real
The first year at a college or university is difficult for everyone. Students walk onto a busy campus leaving their friends and families at home, while bringing their worst insecurities and fears with them. For the first time, kids are responsible for their own meals, doctor appointments, class and homework schedules, and most difficult of all, their mental health.
By Shelby Thomas7 years ago in Psyche
