recovery

Your illness does not define you. It's your resolve to recover that does.

Trapped in Silence: How Writing Freed Me—and My Late Grandmother
She sat beside me at the Thanksgiving table. Her hands reached for the mashed potatoes. She carefully picked out only the white meat from the plate of turkey, laid it neatly on her plate, and poured my mom’s homemade gravy on top. Her white cardigan was buttoned just right. Her hair was curled in the way it had been when I was a child— back when she would get it permed, before she lost her hair to breast cancer. Her body breathed, blinked, swallowed. Everything about her looked like her.
By Hannah Hess9 months ago in Psyche
The Shape of Unbecoming
Blankness. All I felt was a moment of blank, muffled dissociation. Like one of those war scenes in a movie—an explosion goes off, and while the battle rages in chaos around the main character, they stand dumbfounded in shock, hearing only the vague ringing in their head.
By Jesse Struble9 months ago in Psyche
The Room With No Door
Elijah had always known there was something wrong with the room. No matter how many times he sat in its silence, the walls pressed in on him. There were no windows, no doors—nothing to suggest that it was part of anything at all. The air inside always felt thicker, as if it were made of something heavier than just dust. It wasn't a physical weight, but something intangible, something mental, like he was trapped in a space where nothing could change.
By Andra river9 months ago in Psyche
In the Lot. Top Story - April 2025.
In the empty lot across the street from my house, which was a mobile like the other homes on Turner Avenue, Bailey took off her training bra and flung it in a birch tree.
By Jennifer A. G.9 months ago in Psyche
Setting Boundaries Isn’t Mean…It’s Survival. Top Story - April 2025.
I’ve always known how to set boundaries. It’s not something I had to learn from a book or therapy session; it’s something that came naturally to me as a form of self-preservation. From the time I was a quiet two-year-old trying to watch a movie in peace, I knew how to defend my space, even if I wasn’t speaking much yet. My uncle kept pestering me, annoying me with taunts, pushing for a reaction And he finally said, “You look like a pig in the face.” and little two-year-old me, fed up and done, replied: “Well, if I look like a pig in the face, then you look like garbage.”
By Cadma9 months ago in Psyche
Not the Poster Boy of Sobriety
Let me be clear—I love my wife, deeply, and in all the ways I know how. That makes writing this all the more difficult. I’ve spoken before about my struggles with pornography and sex addiction—mostly online, never physical—but sharing it again still knots my stomach.
By Paul Stewart9 months ago in Psyche
I Drowned in Fire and Rose in Smoke
I Drowned in Fire and Rose in Smoke It began in a silence so thunderous it felt like the world had been muted mid-scream. Not the kind of quiet that soothes—but the kind that suffocates. That drips down the walls and seeps into the bones. I was not standing at the edge of a cliff. I was standing at the edge of *myself*.
By Gabriela Tone9 months ago in Psyche
Unconditional Commitement
The Power of Unconditional Commitment: Choosing to Stay the Course In today’s fast-paced, convenience-driven world, commitment can feel like an outdated virtue. People are often encouraged to “follow their feelings,” “move on if it doesn’t serve you,” or “leave if it’s not easy.” And while there is truth in setting boundaries and prioritizing mental health, there is also something deeply transformative—and increasingly rare—about *unconditional commitment*.
By Gabriela Tone9 months ago in Psyche
Many types of Love
Understanding the Types of Love and Their Application in Real-Life Relationships Abstract Love is a multifaceted emotional experience that influences human behavior, social structure, and psychological well-being. This case study examines the different types of love, using classical Greek categorizations alongside modern psychological theory. By applying these concepts to real-life scenarios, we explore how different types of love manifest in relationships and the role they play in human development.
By Gabriela Tone9 months ago in Psyche
where the light faded
I’ve been struggling with the meaning of love, trying to understand its similarity with dependency. Lately, I find myself evading my reality by drowning in thoughts of you—of us. I’ve been struggling to comprehend why it’s only easy to fall asleep when I’m thinking of you and nothing else, why I block out my reality, barricaded by daydreams.
By Andra river9 months ago in Psyche
my demons came back today. Content Warning.
April 13, 2025 Dear Journal, A month ago, I was preaching body love and acceptance. Today, I wish I stayed in bed, safe from the sudden return of the demons residing in the mirror.
By Alexandria Stanwyck9 months ago in Psyche
Help, Hope, & Heal…
I want it to share with you and everyone in the community about my experiences with a transformative moment from my both mental and emotional journey in visualize to make it expressive way. I also wanted to share you something about from lightness to darkness; and then going through the dark to find a light, but finding more brighter. However, my journey has been even more complex than others. Why? Because, I went through from misunderstood and felt like an outsider(it’s like my mind was telling me).
By Meghan LeVaughn 9 months ago in Psyche