Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
Best Addiction Recovery Gifts for a Former Drug User
There's a fine line between being supportive and being insulting. When you go shopping for one of the best addiction recovery gifts for a former drug user, you want to make sure you don't remind them of their problems in a way that will way them down. Instead, focus on inspiring them, motivating them, and relieving stress from their life.
By Taylor Markarian8 years ago in Psyche
You're Never Alone
Guy: You never know how someone is feeling. You never know if they're close to breaking... You just never know. Girl: For once in my life, I don't want to be invisible. I want someone to finally notice me and not take me for granted like everything else in life.
By josh napper8 years ago in Psyche
Clouds of Smoke
The depressing British weather is becoming my close friend this November. The pitter-patter of the rain droplets hitting the nearest car; the clouds gathering together, forming an array of grey with beams of what could have been a bright, sunny day seeping through. Perfectly preserved beads of rain rolling down my face.
By Natasha Mawo8 years ago in Psyche
PTSD
The truth about PTSD! I suppose I best start with a short introduction. My name is Sam and I served in the British armed forces from 1995 until 2013. During that time I had served in Africa, Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia and a few other locations. So let's begin to talk about that dirty thing known as PTSD. Firstly, it's not something you should be ashamed of. It's completely normal to be the way you are. It's the brains way of somehow coping with trauma, the problem is, is that it changes you, the sufferer, in more ways than you can imagine. For some it starts with resentment or bitterness towards others. For others it could be small lies, or the odd shouting for the smallest thing. I found that I started to lose my temper very easily, I would go mad sometimes thinking about wanting to hurt someone. This then became more and more gradual. My hatred became so bad that I struggled being around almost anybody. Then, other things started happening to me, I was lying all the time; to friends, family and co-workers, it got to the point where even I didn't know the difference between what was the truth and what was a lie. After this the next stage was being mischievous, I mean..... I was taking out bank loans and credit cards that I didn't even need and funny enough the debts started building up fast. People really started to notice a bad change in not only my personality but also in my appearance. I didn't shave, my eyes where dark and sunken, I trembled with either fear or anger. All I ever thought was there was danger just around the corner and I had to be ready at all times no matter what. Every one was my enemy and as such, I had to protect myself at any cost including taking someone's life. Shortly after, I started to notice the change in myself and that's when I started to feel sorry for myself. I mean, between the nightmares, flashbacks and all the other stuff, it just got way, way, way too much. This continued for months and that's when I distanced myself from everyone even those who cared and loved me. You see, what PTSD really does is it wants to get you all alone, it wants YOU! All to itself. It wants you to get rid of all and any help out there so that your so low and I mean low, like way below the bottom of a barrel low. The drinking starts, and gets worse and worse and the moods really get bad. That's when the thoughts in your head start, that little voice starts whispering the unthinkable. Suicide, it wants YOU to pick up the gun or grab the razor blade or find that high bridge or get the whiskey and tablets and just end it all now. You sit there thinking about how you've hurt everyone around you, how no one can bear being anywhere near you. It's doing this over and over and over until finally, the band just snaps and you do it. You just end it there andtThen, you believe that everyone will be so much better with you gone. The actual fact is, this is far from the truth. WHAT you've done is you've just hurt everyone far more than you could possibly imagine. So, how do you stop it? When is it time to say I need help, and I need help now. For me, I asked for help when I failed to take my own life, for others it was when they noticed a change in themselves. But we're all different and to be honest it's not where or when but it's the fact that you need to accept the illness and you need to reach out and get the help you need asap. Treat it as if your life depends upon it because the reality is, it does! When I started getting help, the first thing we did was behavioural therapy helping me to be around people again without wanting to harm them. Once I had received this treatment for eight months, I started to feel much better. I could actually be around people again and I even started to smile again. This is when we also talked about the nightmares and the flashbacks. The treatment was called EMDR. Using sound and eye movement, your focused on the images that come into your head and with the therapy after some time, these memories and images disappear. The nightmares and the flashbacks disappear, but there's a side effect. Memory loss! For me, I lost almost two years of my memory. It was all a complete blank, and depending on the person, this can take years to get back. But no matter what happens, you have to realise that having done all this, you really are on the mend. And with that, you can start with fighting to gaining your life back. The people that care about you will see the difference in time and people will start to have trust in you in good time. You just have to remember that it's down to YOU! You need to be the one to realise that YOU need the help and only YOU can reach out and ask for it. When you do this, then the rest is history and the new beginning of your life will start. I wish you all the very best and hope that some of this is of some help to someone out there. Even if this is able to save one life, then I've done some good. And that's good enough for me. Take care people and all the very best.
By Sammy Freeman8 years ago in Psyche
Break the Silence
What will other people think? Nearly everyone raised in the South Asian community will have heard their parents use this as a variable in their decision process. This constant focus on perception not only hinders progress but also perpetuates low emotional intelligence within the South Asian community.
By Lakshmipriya Arunachalam8 years ago in Psyche
The Thorns
At first, I thought that they were roses, for they appeared as so. I was very young when the vines first arrived. They entered through my bedroom window and I remember waking up with them tangled around my feet. I was confused but unafraid; they weren't a threat to me in the beginning. I could see the flowers that were so intricately laced within the foliage; bright red and brilliant, peeking out at me like tiny stars. Their scent was sweet, so strong that I remember having to blink back a few tears, but I didn't mind. Instead, I smiled to myself. Maybe I didn't have to be lonely. I never thought that something so beautiful would have the potential to do me any harm. I believed that the vines were meant as a gift, so when they began wrapping themselves further and further up my legs, I let them. When I first encountered the empty feeling, I ignored it. I let the vines take over, my denial sending me further into a prison I couldn't escape. I clung to one question that thudded numbly against my skull; how could something that smelled so sweet ever have potential to hurt me?
By Lindsay Harrison8 years ago in Psyche
A Day in My Life with Anxiety
An abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs, by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about ones capacity to cope with it. Also known as anxiety. Well, the Webster definition at least.
By Bryanna Burshnick8 years ago in Psyche
On Abuse, Addiction, and the Need for Acceptance
Scrolling through the Facebook feed looking for my daily dose of family pics, sarcastic memes, and unproductive political debates, I also see articles about abusive relationships. The articles run the gambit of abuse: physical, verbal, emotional, sexual. They are helpful to me. They have one shortcoming, though. They are almost all written about men abusing women. Very rarely are they about women abusing men.
By Jeff Dunegan8 years ago in Psyche
An Open Letter to My Attacker/s
I’m writing this to you, the ones who have forgotten about me, who walk past me on the street & who do not remember who I am or what you did. The hard part being that you had completely forgotten me & 12 years on, I haven’t forgotten a thing. I’m almost certain you’ll never read this but try to remember me...
By Emma Pilgrim8 years ago in Psyche
