Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Psyche.

Struggling Every Day with Anxiety and Depression!
Every morning I fight myself to wake up. I fight myself to get out of bed. My bed is my only safe place. It’s the only place where my anxiety is at ease. My bed is also my enemy; it’s where my thoughts start racing and my depression kicks in. It’s where I cry and fight my emotions about what people think or say about me. The blankets act as arms and cuddle me with their embrace. How can I leave such a soothing yet destructive place? When I finally pull myself up out of bed, I slowly find myself in my bathroom in front of my mirror where I stare into what depression and anxiety looks like. Tired, bloodshot eyes; messy hair; a face that’s breaking out from the stress. I stare into my own eyes, which tell so many stories of emotion and how I feel. I see the hurt and the pain that I cover up every day with a fake smile. I struggle to get ready and try to convince myself to lay back in bed. The world is a scary place; just go back to bed where you’re truly safe. Yet I fight to continue on, and I slowly make it outside, the sun making my eyes squint, because my blacked-out shades in my bedroom hide my eyes from the sun. I cover my eyes trying to hide my emotions from the world. My clothes still say a lot about me; black is my color. Black to hide my emotions, to hide who I really am—or is it to express what I really feel? I meet my friends, putting on that fake smile; they know what I’m covering up. They question and push till I break and tell them what I’m really feeling. It feels good to tell them that it’s truly difficult to actually leave my bed. For that little moment in life spent with my friends, I actually feel happy. I feel complete, like I never struggled at all. That’s until reality hits, when I step foot into my house. Everything hits again, a whirl wind of anxiety and depression all at once. How can I have such a great time, yet feel so sad? It’s this sickness I struggle with, it’s an illness that will forever be with me. No matter how good of a day I have, I struggle at the end of the day. It’s the little moments that keeps my feet on the ground. I can have the best day of my life and still feel like I’m not good enough for this world. I truly drown myself with emotions when I walk through the front door of my house. I create my own loneliness and destructive behavior. I have to remember that no matter how much I’m struggling, I have people that love me whom I can just call if I need to. I’m a lucky one; I have that outlet. My illnesses push me to be that person for anyone that needs someone. I know what it’s like to be at the end of your rope and someone saves my life. Don’t give up on who you are, live for the little happy moments. Push yourself; I promise when living life it’s truly beautiful. It’s hard reaching out for help when you think the world is out to get you. I have so many outlets to help me forget who I am or my life, music being the main one. I shove the earbuds as far as they’ll go into my ears. I turn the music up loud, and I hold on to every lyric that is being sung to me. Find a positive outlet to release yourself, find yourself in something positive. Hold onto it and don’t let go, and don’t be afraid to talk or ask for help.
By Jennifer Ortega8 years ago in Psyche
A Tale for the Anxious
Inside of my mind is a whole other world, of course how cliché. A whirlwind of colors and swirls, hues that the human eye cannot comprehend. My fears lie nestled within rocky cliffs and unforeseen storms on the sea. My head is a world that contains all that is. All that an individual learns, interprets, understands, etc. There's a quiet menace that likes to haunt my thoughts, a gang of demons that entangle themselves in my mind’s forests like poisonous vines cutting off a tree’s circulation. The human brain has a funny way of dealing with trauma, doesn't it?
By Allyson Radford8 years ago in Psyche
Self-Esteem in Our Generation
In our society, in this extremely turbulent time, everybody seems to be polarized to a "side," whether it be politics, religion, or even something as simple as what foods we should be eating. However, in my opinion, I don't think anything could be more detrimental to our psyches as the polarization we can experience in our own minds. We can get lost in a struggle of not knowing how to feel about ourselves. Now, this may not apply to everyone. Maybe I can make it easier to understand for the people that don't suffer from self-esteem issues. Maybe I can give a little hope to those of us that suffer from such turmoil in our minds and hearts.
By Ashley Pellegrino8 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety and Depression Ruined My Life, Now I'm Taking It Back
It is something that has taken me a long time to fully acknowledge, I had always tried to play it down or shrug it off. I've often mentioned in passing my struggles with anxiety and my depressive moods, but I cannot recall a scenario where I went into great detail about it. More often than not, I just brushed it off with the admirable, if sometimes misguided, stoicism society tends to encourage. Even in 2017, talking about mental health still appears to be a stigma. It's hard to admit you're struggling, let alone tell another human being or a group about it, putting yourself out there, allowing yourself to be vulnerable is extremely daunting. Also, people generally do not want to hear anything other than "positive vibes only," it's less of a hassle to say you're okay and put a brave face on things, even if it's just for show.
By Michael Jones8 years ago in Psyche
Ophelia's Plights in 'Hamlet'
There is no doubt that one’s external environmental situation has a considerable sway on one’s emotional and mental health. This is all too true for Ophelia, who unfortunately was negatively affected by her situation. In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the readers are exposed to love, loss, revenge, and insanity in this devastating tragedy. Ophelia is a particularly sorry character; she is ensnared in Hamlet’s plans of feigning insanity, and therefore has her love ripped away from her after stating he never loved her at all and belittling her character. In addition to this, Ophelia’s already battered mental state is pushed over the precipice when Hamlet kills her father, Polonius. Ophelia is therefore driven to a woeful, inconsolable insanity. Through Ophelia’s journey of relationships and loss, Shakespeare demonstrates how the corrosive power of love and demise leads to insanity, and, in Ophelia’s case, her suicide.
By Leo Misislyan8 years ago in Psyche
My Own Personal Nightmare
Some days I wake up and I feel like there is this weight on me, and I have a sinking feeling in my stomach as if I am about to throw up. I realize that the monsters have come back for a visit, and I prepare to go through the day with their constant nagging and whispering in my ears. At some point during the day they leave me, as if going on a slight break so we don't get sick of each other or to go home and rest for a while, but they always come back to bother me... usually when I am in a great mood.
By aureliablood8 years ago in Psyche
Little Boy From Little Town Part 2
Hi, again. So, last time we kind of ended on a dark note and, sadly, it did not stop there. My next memory of it all is a few years later. By that time, my mother had left the guy that was beating her and found a new boyfriend, who is a great man. He isn't violent. He's rather laid back, which brought a calmer air into the household, which is great but the substance abuse was still very present. School wasn't great for me either, even if I did meet some of my best friends that, to this day, I still speak to on a daily basis. As for the rest of my life, at that age, it wasn't great.
By Frank Fox8 years ago in Psyche
With Friends Like These
Life is hard man. It's just like—where do people get their energy to keep going? Not physical energy you can get from like coffee or energy drinks, but more of
By Lane Vaughn8 years ago in Psyche
Empathy and How It Can Kill You
Hey, so I'm an empath living in a very emotional household and I realised something just recently. Whenever I have trouble with my own body, mind and spirit, it's usually to do with other people's issues and drama that I have absorbed.
By Charlemagne Griffin - Anker8 years ago in Psyche
Losing My Independence
Following my graduation from University, I moved back in with my parents for the summer. After countless job applications, I was struggling to find a job which presented itself as interesting to me. I quickly accepted an unpaid internship which I had little desire in but was told would direct me into a promising career within a government organization. Initially, I had turned down an opportunity with a tech-startup in a different province, for this unpaid opportunity which I was told would be the better choice of the two. Two days into the internship I quickly came to the realization that this wasn't for me and proceeded to quit once I arrived home from the lengthy commute.
By erin8 years ago in Psyche
You Won't Believe What I'm Doing to Myself!
I have this habit that has been controlling my life since I was in kindergarten. I used to believe I was all alone. I believed I was the only person in this world that could not stop pulling out my hair, from everywhere! Hair from my head, eyebrows, eyelashes, and even leg hairs when I don't shave. For years, I would do everything I could to hide my bald spots. Then, one day, I had enough of feeling alone. So I went to this trusty sight called Google, and found out I have something called trichotillomania: trich, for short. Turns out, hundreds of thousands of other men and women suffer from this!
By Gabriella robles8 years ago in Psyche
Little Boy from Little Town
I don't have an image or a video to put on this. All I have are my memories and even then I don't know how much of it is reliable... You'll understand in a minute.
By Frank Fox8 years ago in Psyche