Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Psyche.

The Emotional Impact of Growing Up Unloved
Nina was thirty-four when someone asked her what she needed, and she realized she didn't know how to answer. Her friend had noticed she looked exhausted—working sixty-hour weeks, managing everyone's problems, never saying no to anyone. "What do you need right now, Nina? How can I help?" Nina opened her mouth. Closed it. Felt panic rising. "I'm fine. I don't need anything." But that wasn't true. She was drowning. She just had no idea what she needed because no one had ever asked before. And more fundamentally, she'd learned by age seven that her needs didn't matter.
By Ameer Moavia12 days ago in Psyche
Everyone's Pro-Mental Health Until... . Content Warning.
Welcome to the unpopular opinions realm of my articles. As I've said, I'm going to try and keep these short but of course, if it's something I've been researching then be prepared for me to go on a bit. I won't keep you here for too long. Remember: there's no set schedule for these, they'll pop up if and when I'm into writing one.
By Annie Kapur12 days ago in Psyche
Society Often Teaches Us to Suppress Our Sad Feelings, Branding Them as Negative.. Top Story - January 2026. Content Warning.
Allow yourself the time to feel, process, and let go. What a journey we’ve traveled together. You can relate to that pain that appears out of nowhere and wants to linger in our minds. Once fear moves in, it takes root—spreading doubt, loneliness, and confusion It’s that kind of pain that overtakes your mental health, gradually making a home within you. Your thoughts can create a space filled with fear, a feeling that we often cling to because it’s the one our minds use against us—leading to a fierce battle between your thoughts and your feelings. It’s a struggle no one wants to lose, yet losing yourself feels like an ever-present threat. Isn’t that a trick life plays on us?
By Johana Torres12 days ago in Psyche
The Last Whistle
The platform wind bit at Arthur’s exposed neck, a cold, wet dog nosing for a weakness. It was a miserable hour past midnight, and the only light came from a single, stuttering lantern hanging precariously from a rusted iron beam. His breath plumed in front of him, thick and heavy, like the fog that usually hugged the river on nights like these. He adjusted the strap of his worn duffel bag, the weight on his shoulder nothing compared to the one pressing behind his ribs, a dull, constant ache that had become his only real companion.
By HAADI12 days ago in Psyche
The Speed Of Life. Top Story - January 2026.
Let the races begin... As today is January 1st... We all know that a significant number of people are going to start their New Years Resolutions.
By Dr. Cody Dakota Wooten, DFM, DHM, DAS (hc)13 days ago in Psyche
PAPER THIN. Content Warning. AI-Generated.
Raffaelo learned the rhythm of cruelty before she learned its intention. It arrived dressed as humor, wrapped in familiarity, passed hand to hand at family gatherings like a shared inheritance. Buffalo. A word chosen not for meaning but for sound, because it rhymed, because it landed easily, because no one had to think before saying it. Her parents said it with smiles, squeezing her cheeks, proud of how unbothered they believed she was. They never noticed how her laughter came a second too late, how she began standing at the edges of rooms as if apologizing for occupying them.
By Designed by Romaisa13 days ago in Psyche
When You Heal, You Grieve the Life You Tolerated. AI-Generated.
Healing is often sold as a sunrise. A bright thing. A moment where pain loosens its grip and the world feels newly possible. But no one talks enough about the quiet mourning that follows. The unexpected grief. Because when you heal, you don’t just feel better—you finally see what you survived. And that realization can ache in a way you never expected.
By luna hart13 days ago in Psyche
What’s Wrong With Me?
For most of my life, my first instinct was accusation. Why can’t I focus like everyone else? Why am I so tired when I haven’t “earned” it? Why do small things feel so heavy?
By Jhon smith13 days ago in Psyche
Neon Bruises
The rain came down in sheets, a cold, indifferent curtain between Leo and everything else. His cheap jacket, already waterlogged, clung to his shoulders like a shroud. Each step splashed, sending icy sprays up his ankles, but he barely registered the cold anymore. It was just a dull throb, a constant companion to the ache in his chest that had settled in weeks ago and refused to leave.
By HAADI13 days ago in Psyche
A Distant Memory. Content Warning.
**Editor's Note** This article was previously posted on Medium. You can read the original blog here: https://medium.com/@klarakabelik/a-distant-memory-e7500de4d1dc
By Klara Kabelik13 days ago in Psyche
When Love Feels Like Anxiety
Caleb loved Iris so much he couldn't sleep. Not in the romantic, staying-up-talking-all-night way. In the lying-awake-at-3-a.m.-heart-racing-mind-spiraling way. In the checking-his-phone-every-five-minutes-when-she-didn't-text-back way. In the can't-eat-can't-focus-can't-function-unless-he-knew-she-still-loved-him way. People said he was in love. And maybe he was. But it didn't feel like the love depicted in movies or described in songs. It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff, constantly terrified of falling. It felt like his entire nervous system was wired to one person, and if she withdrew even slightly, his whole world collapsed. It felt, more than anything, like anxiety. They'd been dating for eight months, and Caleb had never felt this way about anyone. He thought about Iris constantly. Needed to know where she was, who she was with, whether she was thinking about him. When they were together, he felt euphoric. When they were apart, he felt like he was suffocating. "You're so intense," Iris said one evening after he'd texted her fourteen times because she hadn't responded for two hours. "I was just at dinner with my sister. I'm allowed to not text you for a few hours." "I know. I'm sorry. I just... I worry when I don't hear from you." "Worry about what?" Caleb couldn't articulate it. That he worried she'd realize he wasn't enough. That she'd meet someone better. That she'd wake up one day and wonder why she was with him. That every moment she wasn't actively choosing him felt like she might be about to leave. "I don't know," he said instead. "I just love you a lot." But it didn't feel like love. It felt like drowning while pretending to swim.
By Ameer Moavia13 days ago in Psyche
The Last Article of 2025
As the year is coming to an end, I find myself in a reflective space, thinking about the past 365 days, as well as where I’m at in this current point in time.
By Klara Kabelik14 days ago in Psyche