family
Family can be our support system. Or they can be part of the problem. All about the complicated, loving, and difficult relationship with us and the ones who love us.
You can't make someone get help
My whole family is filled with people who are addicts. Addicted to drugs, to pain, to being unhealthy, to a lot of things. For as long as I can remember there has always been someone in my life that I was trying to save, trying to make better, sometimes the same people. I think I have tried to help my sister so many times, hoping that she gets better, hoping that she realizes just how great a life that she could have. It has taken me a long time to realize that you can't make someone be better, you can't make them want to have a better life.
By Talara Nolan5 years ago in Psyche
Outburst
The door behind me shakes with every blow, sending shock waves through the dressing table and my back. Tears of fear and hatred run down my face while near-silent sobs wrack my body. Every blow is accompanied by an order OPEN THIS DOOR, or an insult WORTHLESS USELESS NO-GOOD FAT LAZY UNGRATEFUL, or a threat of what will happen once the door is open, when there is nothing between me and my assailant. My fingers dig into my skin, I'm staring at the window across the small room. Promising myself this is the last time. When it's over, I'll run away. Open the window, take off the screen, climb out and never come back. I rake my fingernails down my face, wanting to rip the flesh from my bones, drain my body of blood...her blood. My mother. The cause of my pain and fear. When I was younger I had reprieves from her moods. I stayed with grandparents, aunts, my younger sister's dad... Now I'm a teenager. We live further away from family, my sister's dad scared me away with his own temper, I am trapped. I hate going out, my weight draws cruel attention from others and my self-esteem is low from a lifetime of harsh words and almost no emotional support.
By RandomEllie15 years ago in Psyche
Broken
My daughter would be dead. The alarm goes off. I wake up. I get dressed. Instead of heading into work like I usually would, I head towards the make-shift dining room office. I boot up my computer. The low glow of the logo illuminates as it loads up for the day.
By Erick Ian Gael5 years ago in Psyche
Child Development
To understand how someone becomes who they are, one must be able to observe the way they develop their social interactions. Looking back on my own social development creates a realization that without the social interactions and my own reactions I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Humans are social beings, that is why the individuals that make up their social groups, whether it is their parents, siblings, teachers, or school mates, helps create who they become and why they become that. I remember when everything was new and I also remember when I began testing the limitations with my parents and teachers to determine what I could get away with and what I can realistically do. As a toddler I only took the amount of cookies given to me by my mom but as I reached the age of six or so, I began getting my own cookies as a snack after school. Though I knew I was only allowed three, I began taking four or five because I realized I could sneak the extras when my parents weren’t home or not paying attention. I did this until I was caught and I received a punishment. This set a limitation in my mind that I can only take cookies I’m allowed to or else suffer the consequences.
By Katelind Sky5 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health Mama
Mental health, something so widely talked about yet so hushed. Combine motherhood with mental health and you'll really turn some heads. I'm a 26 year old single mom to a six year old little boy and I've struggled with mental health for many years. As a teenager I was diagnosed with ADHD, depression, PTSD, anxiety and OCD. Later on in my life, after I had my son I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that was the biggest blessing of my life. Everything made so much more sense of my life. They tried diagnosing me as a teenager with bipolar but it was brushed off as a teenage drama queen (which was also true) but I wasn't able to start being me and living my life until my bipolar diagnosis. I was able to get on the proper medications (highly reccommend talking to your doctor about Rexulti if you're looking for the right fit for you) and was able start researching my mental health and making sense of things like manic episodes. Being a mom and being bipolar is hard, somedays it feels impossible but I just want you to remember you're not alone. There are plenty of other parents out there trying to manage both and somehow succeeding. Somedays are better than others, somedays I can't get out of bed. Otherdays I find myself in a manic episode obsessively cleaning until everything is perfect. I know my son knows something is off with mommy but he doesn't love me any less, and your kiddos don't love you any differently either. I encourage anyone struggling with their mental health, parent or not, to get help. Don't be too afraid to seek support. Here in Colorado Springs we have a facility called Mentally Strong that I wish everyone knew about. They're a group of people who genuinely care about their clients and focus on empowering YOU to choose to be mentally strong despite the hard times you might be going through. I've been utilizing mentally strong for the last year and a half and I'm finding it's easier to be a mama with support. Find other parents that are struggling and partner up, be there for each other. It may take a village to raise a kiddo but it can also take a village to keep ourselves together at times. Don't be afraid to find your voice and seek support so you can be the best you!
By Tatiana Rainey5 years ago in Psyche
A Chill in the House
I have never fully known why it is that he does it. How he is able to be so two-faced. Nobody else would believe me. I don't know why but I wasn't able to do anything about it. The things he would do while nobody else was home. Occasionally, I imagine what it would have been like if he hadn't been in the picture. What if I had just been without a father? I didn’t tell my mother because I didn’t want her to have to make such a difficult decision. Whether she should leave him. Now, I realize that it was something I shouldn't have been thinking about. I agree with that, I really do, but every time it’s on my mind I wonder. I do it all the time really. It’s something that can drive someone insane.
By Andrew Walters5 years ago in Psyche
off my damn chest
So this is my first story or i guess first time telling a descriptive story about me. Id like to say first thank you for clicking my damn story. i know these are hard times even more now because of the virus and our financial situations. this story is about my life and im taking us back to the earliest memory i have .
By MrBake Wave6 years ago in Psyche
Psychological whiplash
psychologists, psychiatrists, councillors, are all the same when it comes to mental illness. When it comes to mental disorders in children and teens, the only way to deal with it is to drug them up and hope for the best.... there are more natural options out there that have no side affects nor do the kids have to go through withdrawal symptoms if the parents can’t afford to keep up with the cost of the medication. My daughter suffers from depression and anxiety (among other things) and I’m trying to tell her dad that there are other things out there that can help her that will keep her healthy at the same time.... of course, they want proof or reading material for while their in the bathroom, that will convince them that what I’m saying is actually true. I told my ex to take our daughter off the medication, give her charcoal capsules to help her detox and I will send her what I know will help her better than that toxic crap that she was on. The problem with this whole situation is that poisons are better to push than natural remedies because there’s no money in natural remedies as there is in the pills that are being pushed. My daughter is only one of hundreds of teens out there that suffer with mental illness, what causes it, well, Trauma is a big thing, and that could mean anything from being physically hurt by someone to the divorce of parents especially when it happens while they’re still young. Forget genetics, that doesn’t always explain why these things happen, and psychologists and psychiatrists only know what they know because even they were only taught, not what they needed to know but, what others thought they should know, with the same restrictions that our children face, without even knowing it, when they go to school. Thank goodness it isn’t like the 1800’s when people were put in assylums for things like PMS or postpartum depression or just because you talked about something that scared someone and because it can’t be explained And it scared someone then you must be nuts so.... LOCK EM UP! I would have ran away with my daughter and helped her get better safely than see her go in a place like that. Not everything can be explained easily and when it comes to mental illness, there are no perfect answers but, using our children as guinnea pigs for profit is wrong in more ways than one, I’m turning 50 this year, I’m not on any medication for anything and that is how I want it to be for my children. I take a lot of health advice from my oldest daughter, why? Because she had done her research and I have no reason to doubt her, I have done some of my own as far as what will help my daughter be healthy in her mind , body and soul. I have even looked into bhuddism because I do a lot of meditation and I think all my kids would benefit greatly from that, and the study on feng shui is also another helpful tool. I know, you think “what does any of that have to do with mental health and your daughter” well, I will tell you.... when your home is not supportive or happy, mentally you start to wither, also, when your not being treated good, everything in your life will feel out of control so... get back in control, I tell her that she is the one in control and the only way I can help her is if she really wants my help. To feel better, we need to want to, not for anyone else but for ourselves. These “professionals” out there, think they know how to handle all kinds of mental health problems but the problem is they handle it the same for everyone, doesn’t matter what their age or background, the push the pills and let the families deal with the consequences or side effects of the drugs given. There is very little actual understanding when it comes to this and I’m not subjecting my daughter to it anymore.... especially when I know there are alternatives.
By Kathleen McGillis6 years ago in Psyche
Home Between Worlds
A TCK, or third culture kid is described as a child who spent a big portion of their developmental years in a culture other than their parents' culture. While there are many benefits of growing and learning in another culture, there are some unique challenges. A common theme in the life of TCKs is the feeling of being out of place and not knowing which country to call home. Many times a TCKs life is celebrated as privileged and very real mental health issues are not addressed or not taken seriously.
By Madeline Keys6 years ago in Psyche
