Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
When Your Brain Is Your Own Worst Enemy
There are times when it feels like your mind is your own worst enemy, and there are times when it is. As well as many others, I want people who feel like this to know that they're not alone, and also to know that they are not going mad.
By Sophia Merici8 years ago in Psyche
To Mom
I love you. I know I never tell you that enough but I do. I love you with all of my being. You're the one that carried me inside of you for 9 months. You kept me safe, warm, and loved. You sacrificed your dreams for mine. I wasn't planned and you had to do it alone but you went ahead and brought me into your life anyway and for that I thank you.
By Melinda Lane8 years ago in Psyche
People of Colour and Mental Illness: Stigma and Culture
**This is a paper I did for a college course.**Introduction In the current society, mental illnesses are not viewed in a positive light. There are stigmas for each diagnosis. These stigmas, defined as “a mark of shame or discredit, or an identifying mark or characteristic” (Merriam-Webster), affect many people, and depending on a person’s identity, the stigmas may be more intrusive. When it comes to people of colour who suffer from mental illness, the layers of how difficult it is to live a decent life become deeper and more complex. People of colour have to learn to navigate what it means to be non-white and struggling with their mental health. To break this down even more into gender, those who identify as men and those who have to identify as women have different levels of acceptability. In comparison to white people of either gender who are more likely to be accepted and more likely to be able to access professional help, the struggles that mentally ill people of colour are also tied into cultures. The research will define mental illness as “any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning” (Merriam-Webster). This paper will not only explore how people of colour address their mental illnesses, it will also address how non-people of colour and people of colour without mental illnesses perceive them.
By Elizabeth Marx8 years ago in Psyche
To the Girl Who Didn't Eat Today
To the girl who didn’t eat today, I know it’s hard. I’ve been there. I know how it feels. I know what it’s like to go to bed so hungry but so angry at yourself, because how dare you be hungry. You’ve had an apple today. That’s enough, right?
By hannah irelan8 years ago in Psyche
Cruel Anxiety
Sometimes I find myself thinking why, why me? I bet if you suffer from anxiety you're constantly thinking the same thing. Why me? Why won't this just go away? Why can't I control this? You almost start to think your body and mind has betrayed you.
By Brittany Kennedy8 years ago in Psyche
10 Memes Only People With Anxiety Will Understand
There are so many people across the globe who deal with anxiety on a day to day basis. I, myself, deal with anxiety every now and then. And the sad part is that most of us don't even know the main reason for having it. While a nerve-racking incident can cause nearly anyone to have anxiety, there are multiple people who have anxiety out of nowhere. There usually isn't a solid reason for it. It shows up like an unwanted "friend" showing up to your house and wanting to chill. That's how we feel about anxiety, that one friend who does nothing but put you down.
By Penny Newton8 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety
Growing up I worried a lot about everything, but it was normal to me and I was often labeled the worrywart. I never thought much of my fears as I kept very active in sports from a young age. My parents were school teachers, as well as active members with the Elks Club so I was always surrounded by people. We traveled out of town, often camping with friends or watching my dad play in his over 40 mush-ball league. I remember having stomach aches in new situations especially if the attention was centered around me; I remember getting so nauseous the day of my baptism, everyone touching and fussing over me—we had to leave early. As a teen I obsessed over what other people thought of me to the point I rarely missed school even when sick for fear I would be talked about. Looking back, the paranoia was insane and I lost sleep over irrational thoughts like this often—almost nightly. I had no idea what anxiety was and I was really good at hiding how I felt so there were never any red flags my parents could have caught on to.
By JoDawn Hicks8 years ago in Psyche
Awaken by Memories
My hand pushes down on the bleached out mattress, and I watch it recoil back to me. I flutter as I feel an arctic chill hit my naked back; fluorescent lights flicker with the annoyance of loci flying around on a summer night. My patience is wearing off as I continue to stare at the hands skipping around the clock. I tell myself to wait a few more minutes, and remember that things could be a lot worse. I scratch at the tape itching over my arm; the IV has been carefully placed inside the left arm, fluids dripping slowly into my veins. Memories start flashing before my eyes one after another. My homelessness had turned into an enduring life experience that which made me into the grateful person I am today.
By Katrina Gifford8 years ago in Psyche
The Little Girl Who Was Never Loved
From a very young age, the little girl had to learn how to be a survivor. No one ever taught her how to love. Her mother was nothing but a disappointment. She couldn't cry to her mother, or ask for a bandage for her boo-boos. Her mother drowned herself in a world of drugs, and violence. She was never mentally present in the girl's life. The little girl would go to sleep at night with no food or water. She would cry herself to sleep every night. The only thing that kept the girl going, was her little sister. She knew she had to care for her. The young girl was only two years old. She fed, and changed her baby sister. She didn't know what she was doing. The young girl protected her baby sister from the bad men. She protected her from the beatings. The little girl would lay her body over her baby sister's and tell the man, "Hit me." The tears suddenly became no more, and her heart became hardened. She wouldn't let anyone in her heart. The little girl learned to shut everything out. Anything bad that happened was locked away. It was never reopened.
By Caitlin Adkins8 years ago in Psyche
The Crazy in Me
“Don’t tell anyone that.” My dad said when I told him I like to talk to myself while daydreaming and, after I attempting to once again describe the chaos in my head. I failed another test in school and he kept telling me I wasn’t focused enough. Well how can you focus when you have a million thoughts running through your head and most of them aren’t even yours?
By Miracle Davis8 years ago in Psyche
