Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Tourette's: Growing up with the Disorder I Never Knew I Had
In the third grade, my class and I were eating lunch in the cafeteria. One of my classmates, John, sat at the table and brought out a large bag of Airheads: The holy grail of candies to a bunch of nine-year-olds. The craziest part is that he was giving pieces of them away to everyone at the table.
By Jonathan Miciano7 years ago in Psyche
The Recursive Loop of Self-Awareness
One characteristic that separates humans from other species is that we not only have awareness but we have self-awareness, AND the awareness that we are self-aware, AND the awareness of the awareness that we are self-aware…ad infinitum.
By Lori Stephens7 years ago in Psyche
Clouded Vision
** Holly I knew he loved me before he even saw my face. From behind, he was captivated by my shape. Over the past year and a half, it had softened and smoothed to that of any young woman. The dark chiffon of my skirt accentuated my hips, which were still growing wide. The pain in my chest and lower back confirmed my thin, pear figure was blossoming into what would seem a fertile young woman. Quite the contrary. I’d never bear a child of my own, something that still haunted my maternal disposition at the time. A child of the future that would never be. At night, all cats were grey but the feline cultivating in my mind and physicality were simply too black or too white. I couldn’t forget the past, and evening usually spent on the prowl for my generation were a constant reminder to put up a wall more often than not.
By Blaise Terese7 years ago in Psyche
Him
This is a horror story. This is a story about violence, manipulation, monsters, reality, fear, pain, and love. The horror is only in part on my end, manifesting in the PTSD I suffer. The true tragedy of this story is him. His story doesn't end as well as mine. He may never realize what they problem is. That's one of the things about Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and one of the things that makes it an incredibly hard disorder to diagnose; they are not self aware. They don't know anything is wrong with them. He doesn't know anything is wrong with him.
By Donna Quigley7 years ago in Psyche
My Own Personal Hell
I was 20 when it first happened. I had just started my second year of being at a four-year university, living with a few roommates that I had lived with the previous year. I was studying political science and it was mostly going well, minus my first quarter when I had stretched myself too thin after working long hours on a congressional campaign. Midterms were coming up, and I took a weekend and went with some old friends up to Los Angeles to be in the audience of the American Music Awards. That was when something strange began.
By Thomas May7 years ago in Psyche
I'm Done With My Shame Complex
I realize that I’m done with my shame issues. Here I have felt like I need to hide still, away from average people, hiding out my whole life. While because of 22q I have minor anatomical differences, I realize I’m good-looking. Feeling shame leads to feeling angry. Source. I’ve decided not to be as self-destructive anymore as I used to be with my alcoholism and caffeine addiction. I’m done feeling ashamed of myself, just because I think I need a therapist, which I have found, so don’t worry about that.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez7 years ago in Psyche
Singing the Pain Away
Although I only started learning how to play an instrument less than a year ago, I’ve been trying to write songs for years. It was something that I aspired to. Musicians don’t make much, lonely musicians make even less. But poetry and tune came naturally even when I didn’t know how to make them sound quite good. I still struggle with this, but I’m improving slowly.
By Will Jackson7 years ago in Psyche
Freshman Year + Depression
Disclaimer: The following is an edited version of a speech I gave three years ago titled “What Starts Here Changes The World” about my first semester at the University of Texas. It was one of five entries in a themed showcase titled “Firsts.” Some ideas have been elaborated upon or rewritten for clarity and grammatical purposes but nothing has been taken out. There are some topics discussed below that time has given me a new understanding or recollection of. That being said, I wanted to present my truth, whatever it may have been at the time. Enjoy.
By Devon Rooks7 years ago in Psyche
