humanity
Mental health is a fundamental right; the future of humanity depends on it.
Lawnmowers are Dragons
What is a lawnmower? You do not need an advanced understanding of engineering to know that a lawnmower is a machine, often gas-powered, that moves on wheels and utilizes a spinning blade to trim the grass. You've likely done this chore at least once, and perhaps you wondered how the littler world, of insects and creatures amid the turf, perceived this event.
By Jared G. Delta5 years ago in Psyche
Geology
My name is Genevieve and I’m currently 28 years old. There’s really no better place to begin than the beginning though forgive me for my less specific time frame as I recently lost 14 + years of my memory and as of now, the past is still like a dream. I had everything I could need. A good family, a fulfilling life, a smart mind, etc. Unfortunately, I have bipolar disorder and suffer from major depression. I’ve always been talented at almost everything I give a try, but life felt like a pressure I didn’t understand and couldn’t handle. A couple of years after high school and some time at a community college, I chose to take a Geology 1 course during the summer that was 5 days a week, 5 hours a day, for 5 weeks. It sounded slightly intriguing and like a challenge I desperately needed. Now, I was most certainly not a straight A student. I often barely passed classes with C’s. One issue was my ADHD and another was the depression, but most of all I struggled with a complete lack of motivation. See, I did anything you could think of as a child. I traveled all over, danced tap and ballet, played the flute, played the viola, participated in multiple clubs like chess, math, etc. My need to explore was being filled. When I got to college, I realized I had absolutely no idea as to what I wanted my path in life to be. At least, until I found Geology.
By Genevieve Armstorff5 years ago in Psyche
Moving to England during Brexit and learning how to sing
As an Afro Italian woman born and raised in Italy, with a mixed ethnic background of both Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo, the last thing I was thinking about was to randomly move to the United Kingdom, more precisely to a small, isolated, ethnocentric English village. I won’t mention the name because it is irrelevant in this story but what you need to know is that the difference between Italy and England is enormous and that there weren’t many choices regarding what subjects you wanted to study. I’d like to debate that the town is very posh, tidy and neat which is something I really adore. The school was of high rank in the county, however, it was the cultural difference between me and the people for me and most importantly the lack of desire most people in the school had to get to know a new person.
By Alessia Mavakala5 years ago in Psyche
Sleeping mats for the homeless
Ten years ago, we found out my stepson was a heroin addict. This came as a complete shock to his father and I. After confronting him, we gave him the option of moving out or going to rehab. He chose rehab, but did not like the rehab and had his mom pick him up. Now he was on the streets, as I was not comfortable having him live here with us. He had od'd in our bathtub on my birthday. We found him in the tub with a needle in his arm. I have small grandchildren, and refused to have them subjected to this behavior.
By elaine gray5 years ago in Psyche
I Am
Where do I begin? I don't really feel I have ever “fit in”. I know I have “fit in” but I never really FELT that I did. I have always had this feeling of being outside of what was going on around me. It feels as though I am staring through a looking glass. Like I am the constant observer of what is going on around me, not the willing participant. I tried for many years to actually feel like I fit into our current society. Ironically enough, the copious amount of drugs I used to attempt to do this only created the opposite effect. I became more of an outcast of modern society. It is only recently that I have accepted the fact that I do not think like the majority of people. And I have become completely okay with that. I spent many long nights researching why I think or act the way I do. I know from studying the MBTI that my personality is the rarest for a female. Maybe that is it? I was determined to be gifted at the age of 11. Maybe that is it? I could come up with theories as to why forever. I do very much like thinking in theory. It quite possibly be a combination of all of the theories I have mulled over back and forth. Frankly, it probably is. However, at the end of all this theorizing and constant back and forth of why am I the way I am, I discovered something truly important. It does not matter why I am the way I am. I just am. It does not matter if it was nature, nurture or a combination of both. It simply does not matter. The only thing that matters is that I am. I am that I am. And I am completely content and happy in that fact.
By Andrea Capitano5 years ago in Psyche
Disordered
Another child is talking to you, But the lights are too bright, the books and shelves and feet and voices are too loud, the colours are too brilliant. It all melds together into one noisy, tyrannical soup, surging towards you and entrapping you in the chaos.
By Elyse Williams5 years ago in Psyche
How a Bad Mental Health Day Sparked My Medium Journey
It was a typical Monday evening. I perched on the window sill with my hands wrapped around my face. I was having a bad day with my OCD — I had managed to stay strong for the entire morning, but I couldn’t take anymore that evening. It is like those Jenga blocks, where one wrong move is enough to tumble down your carefully constructed tower (my tower, in this case, is my resolve to stand up to OCD).
By Lumos Leviosa5 years ago in Psyche
