humanity
Mental health is a fundamental right; the future of humanity depends on it.
WHEN SHE WAS BAD, SHE WAS HORRID
MY NEW FAMILY In February of 1960, at the age of two, this brown-eyed, little girl with curly brown hair, was adopted into a new family. The family included a mom, dad, big brother age five and a twelve-year-old springer spaniel. My new home in the Midwest was a cape cod style, three-bedroom house surrounded by a white picket fence. The perfect American family, right? In a perfect world, it would seem so, but this was not the case in my world.
By Dawn Parish5 years ago in Psyche
Lesson
Life as I had known it had been destroyed. Nature had delivered twin knock-out punches to the island state in quick succession. A devastating earthquake had flattened out every structure, most of them wooden single stories. A couple of hours later, when the survivors were out in the open thanking their gods for sparing their lives, an earthquake induced tsunami, probably the biggest known to man, had struck going right through the island from one side to the other sweeping everything in its path into the ocean. Pacifasia, formerly a heart-shaped island of about 28400 square kilometers with a population of 1.1 million inhabitants was destroyed more effectively by nature than any WMD attack ever could. Symbols of civilization were completely wiped out. Nothing remained but an uneven barrenness –remnant of a once flourishing nation. If you happened to have survived and looked, chances were you would not see any signs of life – human or anything else. Dead fish lay everywhere. The stench would have overpowered you if you had a half-way decent sense of smell. Fortunately, I could not smell anything because I had a nasty cold. It was two days since the apocalyptic event and there had been no apparent rescue attempts from the nearest continent 1700 kilometers to the northwest. I wondered if the whole world had been destroyed.
By Venkat Mani5 years ago in Psyche
Free will
If you start exploring the question of existence of free will, you are caught between an undeniable experience of it and an inability to make sense of the concept intellectually. To make anyone's inquiry into free will concept more fun philosophers use numerous definitions which opens the doors for confusion, talking past each other or dismissal of the free will concept entirely.
By The One Eyed King5 years ago in Psyche
I Met a Woman
I met a woman today. I work in retail, my job isn’t fulfilling, I'm depressed, I'm tired, my bones hurt, my soul is suffering, my passion is gone and I want to die. I feel these things every single day, and I hear poor solutions to my problem. “Just find another job,” “work harder.” This advice doesn't do anything but pile weight on my heart. It's hard to even call it advice. I call it privileged suggestion.
By Oriaxel Knight5 years ago in Psyche
Dear Amy
Dear Amy, Its been four years, and I still keep wondering about your final breaths. Were they deep? Were they shallow? Did you hurt? I'm too scared to ask anyone what exactly happened, even after so much time has passed. I feel like it's more than I'm entitled to know, since I wasn't in your life when you needed it most, but I gathered from the sentiments I saw that it was quite a shock for everyone in your immediate circle. Do you regret it, or was it a relief? Either way, I really do hope that your spirit is sent to us again somehow. We really needs a lot more "Amys" in the world, if you ask me.
By Sydney Chapman5 years ago in Psyche
Quit Trying to Remember Stuff
Recently a friend mentioned that she was frustrated at work by her inability to remember some important details about a key aspect of a project she had been working on for months. She described how she had spent the past few days hunkered down with textbooks and on the computer, but the right connections needed to form a lasting memory of the material had still not materialized. After hearing her out I gave her some (non asked for) advice and said “memorizing stuff is a waste of time.” I quit trying to memorize or even remember most things soon after I got out of the hospital almost three years ago now, and my overall cognitive abilities have never been better (in my estimation). Moreover, my scientific pursuits have not suffered in the least, nor have any personal relationships been strained as a result. In many ways I consider my decision to stop trying to remember or memorize things one of the best decisions I have ever made. It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off my mind and I am able to focus on the parts of my job and life that are important. Things like problem solving, abstract thinking, creative pursuits, and building and improving interpersonal relationships. I can do these things without the fear of forgetting a name or not remembering any particular equation or procedure because I now consider the concomitant tradeoff in efficiency one I am willing to make. In the end no matter how painful or time consuming it might be to have to look something up, the overall benefits far outweigh the negatives.
By Everyday Junglist5 years ago in Psyche
Six
THE LOYALIST: Committed and Security-Oriented. Engaging, responsible - anxious and suspicious I looked up at the world ahead of me and only saw limitations. It was full of twisted knives, deep drop offs, terrible hazards, and tumultuous winds that blew against me in every which way. I clenched my hands in ill anticipation as I witnessed the chaos unfolding before my eyes. In realistic acknowledgment, I knew I could never defeat this on my own. So, with a shaking heart, I frantically built my extravagant forts in a desperate hope that locking myself tightly inside them would somehow ease the insecurity swirling within me. Yet, my mind still felt enslaved to running endless worst-case scenarios that left my sense of wellbeing frazzled and weary. In hopes of finding a well-deserved solution, I kept my nose tightly pressed in the pages of my own history book and blocked out the world. Fear won’t go away, but somehow, I’ll scrounge together a way to keep it at bay.
By Kaitlin Christensen5 years ago in Psyche
Eight
THE CHAALLENGER: Powerful and Dominating. Self-confident, decisive - willful and confrontational I’ve got this. I promised I would long ago. In this world, what I’ve learned to trust the most is my own two feet. I’m not afraid to admit where I stand. I’m not afraid to walk or even charge forward and the footprints I leave behind will be a testament to my determination. They will construct the path that others will walk. Watch. I will cross this bridge and conquer every mountain that stands in front of me and you. I can even take you with me. With me as your guide we will ascend this hill together. Follow me, follow my two feet, and I’ll prove that you can rely on me too. If you struggle or feel faint along the way, do not worry. I will carry you the rest of the way. I’m strong enough. The childhood dreams I’ve forcefully given form to will protect us both. They have to.
By Kaitlin Christensen5 years ago in Psyche
Nine
THE PEACEMAKER: Easygoing and Self-Effacing. Receptive, reassuring - agreeable and complacent I just want to be you, but I have to be me. There are so many things, piling things, that I am unwilling to admit. Not to you, not even to myself at times. I’m scared of what you don’t want to hear, but sometimes I feel like it needs to be said. There are so many things, accumulating things, that I desperately want to admit. I want to yell. I’m boiling with rage just under the surface and I’m simply waiting for it to ignite. But I don’t know how to form the first thought. My words won’t come out right. It’s so much easier to just close my eyes. It’s so much easier to just tuck my head under the covers and let the bitter conflict melt away in the shadows of late nights. It’s harmless that way.
By Kaitlin Christensen5 years ago in Psyche
Seven
THE ENTHUSIAST: Busy and Fun-Loving. Spontaneous, versatile - distractible and scattered Please, let me go. I’ve been dying to leave for a while now. The world beyond my sight is so vast that you can’t tell me it’s not begging to be explored. I’ve already made a list of all I want to do, so let’s begin already. We can start small if you want. We will search the sand to capture the smallest crabs before flying over continents to capture entire mountain ranges. We will experience it all. I’ll take all the good and even some of the bad. Someday we will look back and laugh it all away. You can call me brash, overly sanguine, or naïve, but that would just be a mark of your singlemindedness.
By Kaitlin Christensen5 years ago in Psyche
Four
THE INDIVIDUALIST: Sensitive and withdrawn. Expressive, dramatic - self-absorbed and temperamental I desperately wanted to paint my individuality into one giant blank canvas. I would add deep splashes of indigo, vibrant hues of crimson, streaks of emerald, washes of yellow, smears of faded white, and intricate swirls of violet. I wanted to etch my elysian soul into every stroke of the brush and give physical form to my idiosyncratic worth. I even wanted to capture every smudged blemish, as if imperfection could give way to surreal divinity. Only I would be qualified to capture and unravel it all. If I were to be called an artist, then surely my very soul would be my greatest masterpiece. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I believed that I was worth a thousand more. I chose to believe that. So, I raised my paint splattered hand to the easel with sanguine determination, but inevitably felt paralyzed as I didn’t even know how to begin. It was almost poetically tragic how still my hand became.
By Kaitlin Christensen5 years ago in Psyche
