disorder
The spectrum of Mental Health disorders is incredibly vast; we showcase the multitude of conditions that affect mood, thinking and behavior.
A Letter to My Eating Disorder
Dear Ana and Mia, This letter is to say thank you! Now that might seem slightly odd, thanking you for all the tough years you have put me through—17 years to be exact! I don’t thank you for the hurt and pain you put me through. Instead, I thank you for everything you have taught me!
By Dasha Willis8 years ago in Psyche
Overcoming Obsessive Thoughts
Image Retrieved From: The Full Helping https://www.thefullhelping.com/dedication-vs-obsession-personal-reflections/ I went through a period in my life where my thoughts became extremely obsessive. I would repeat certain phrases in my head over and over again until I felt a peace wash over me. I thought the phrases were causing the peace, but they were actually creating an obsession. Later, I found out that I actually had obsessive compulsive disorder.
By Jaquelyn Cannon8 years ago in Psyche
My Secret Compulsion and the Journey to Overcome It
The vast majority of people will never come across the term 'maladaptive daydreaming'. Indeed, until recently, neither had I. By chance, I stumbled across an article online which looked vaguely interesting, so naturally I read on. In short, it changed my life.
By Maladaptive Daydreamer8 years ago in Psyche
My First Dysfunctional Relationship: Anorexia
My story is not a unique one. Almost everyone suffers from some sort of eating disorder in their life. I was anorexic for four years. I'm saying was because I do not consciously continue the practice of starving myself. That said, one should know that these tendencies never really go away.
By Maura Dudas8 years ago in Psyche
Who I Didn’t Want to Be
I’ve been dealing with Trichotillomania (compulsive hair-pulling) my entire life, but it has only been extreme for the last six years. For the first twenty-two years, it was just a weird thing I secretly dealt with because I didn’t know any other way. Then came my senior year of college: I couldn’t handle all the many pressures of that year without pulling huge bald spots on my head that could no longer be hidden.
By Kimberly Alcorn8 years ago in Psyche
The Compulsion to Write
The need to write: It was interesting to discover that the compulsion to write can also be excessive and a disease. It left me wondering if perhaps in my life there have been symptoms which I never took to mind. I’m not really even sure if I have this compulsion even partly, but write I must. Early on in my life, I already started to write and I just couldn’t seem to get enough. I don’t think there are too many children writing poetry at the age of eight, but I certainly was. My dad being a well-known Latvian poet and writer certainly encouraged me. You could say writing ran in the family. I began writing diaries around the age of ten and haven’t stopped yet. I have tried to take a day off from writing and only wind up back at the computer and putting down notes in my journal.
By Rasma Raisters8 years ago in Psyche
Mental Illness and Me
What is there to say? I am going to be writing some sort of a diary or journal for you and the world. I figure it may help me through some of the feelings and emotions that I have every day. I am putting myself out on a ledge. Which iIcan honestly say is not a first time experience for me.
By Heather Buscemi8 years ago in Psyche
Dissociation Disorder
The first time I remember dissociating was when I was 12. This was before I could put a name to it. The only way I could explain it to my mother when I told her I felt weird: "I think I am dreaming. I feel like my body doesn't belong to me." My mother thought it was because there was too much sugar in my diet, so she took away my Cocoa Puffs. I never dissociated again until I reached 16.
By Aimes Israel8 years ago in Psyche
Living with a Diagnosis (or Even More Than One)
When the thought(s) for this little blurb first came to you, I was going to talk specifically about living with more than one diagnosis. Then I began to think that one diagnosis could feel the same way for person A as having six diagnoses can feel to person B. When it all comes down to it, no one diagnosis is greater than another. I am sure right now you may be thinking, “bullshit, many things are far worse than others like a broken leg to fractured leg or terminal diseases, ASDs, stunted mental development, etc.” Truthfully if I was a reader and not the author of this piece that would likely be my first thought(s) as well. But? This is what I mean, a diagnosis in itself (“giving the problem/ailment a name”) does not determine how it feels to each individual that may be given the diagnosis. Susan could have clinical depression but find that she still manages to do pretty well day to day. Then there is Ellen, who also has clinical depression and finds that she can hardly manage to fight herself out of bed every morning. Teresa also has clinical depression but also has “x” other diagnoses as well, and she finds that she has symptoms similar to Susan and Ellen. This could go in for millennia, I am sure, but in hopes of not further muddying the water, I would like to simply move forward and hope that this makes as much sense to you as it does to me.
By Fluffy Morningstarr8 years ago in Psyche
The OCD Itch
I have OCD! Some of you know it, some of you don’t, well now you do! When I say I have OCD, I mean I have Obsessive Compulsive DISORDER! Not that I get a little OCD about cleaning (I don’t by the way). Although I am bad when it comes to food hygiene and touching food. I mean I have a disorder, a disability, something that puts me at a disadvantage to others. I take medication to control this illness and I probably will for the rest of my life.
By Elizabeth Emery8 years ago in Psyche
OCD
Today is not a good day. Pretty much everyday is not a good day but today is one of those days where it just hits you and you break down. I struggle everyday with OCD, anxiety, fear, and stress, but at the same time also feel happiness, excitement, love... It's a constant tug of war in my head. Most days I just live with it because I have become so used to it but then there are other days when I just hide and avoid and I want to cry all day but I can't. I'm a mom and when you're a mom you can't hide, you can't avoid, and you can't cry all day.
By Carmen Loza8 years ago in Psyche
