Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
When I Figured out What It's Called
I've never been a brave person. As a small child I was terrified of the dark. I'm told that's normal. As I grew into a teenager and young adult, I hit a growth spurt. I was 17 years old and 6'2" tall. I had the weight to match and not a whole lot of enemies either. My best friends protectors, I never saw what happened coming. Now, being as large as I am, you can imagine I'm not a fan of small spaces or not being able to move. You'd be right. When I was 16, I discovered I have a huge phobia of being restrained or unable to defend myself. My senior year of high school I had kind of let this fear get out of hand. I'd have bad dreams, be unable to watch horror movies, etc. Again, I'm not a brave person. I confided in my best friend, who we'll call Emily, and she tried to help me deal with it. Little did I know? She'd gone to our other best friend, we'll call her Lucy...and the two of them dragged my third best friend, Mary, into their plan to get me for April Fools. April Fools came and went though and nothing happened...three days later I was on my lunch period and went to meet them at our usual spot. An empty classroom. I got there first, set my stuff down and waited. Now this was 2008, so smartphones and texting/Facebook were not the thing. When they arrived...I could immediately tell something wasn't right. There were two doors in/out of this classroom, both of which they blocked. Lucy at one, Mary at the other. Emily had stepped towards me, and in her hands? A roll of duct tape...Now that set me on edge, so I stood up. "What are you doing with that?" I'd asked trying to not sound afraid. "Oh this? Nothing, just spinning it around see?" She replied putting it down. Meanwhile, Lucy and Mary had moved closer. So the three of them had encircled me. Now, this was a physics teacher's classroom so it was honestly no big deal that there was rope on the back counter. Emily grabbed it. Before I knew what was happening, they'd backed me into the other corner. Lucy grabbed one arm, Mary the other. Emily had managed to tie my legs together now. I began to struggle against them but had a hard time balancing. They drove me spine first into the sharp edge of a table and now I was on my back unable to move. Both arms pinned down, legs tied together, and they weren't done yet. Lucy switched places with Emily who'd been holding down my left arm. Lucy was now standing over me, Duct tape in hand. "Guys we need to hold her down better and shut her up so no one downstairs hears her!" Lucy laughed. So did the other two. I however was not laughing. Lucy began to play with the tape. Ripping it off the roll over and over. Finally, she ripped off a giant piece and I had this sinking sick feeling wash over me...I began struggling again. Begging and pleading with them. "Come on guys this isn't funny. Please you're hurting me! Let me go come on!" I was on the verge of crying. I could hear the panic in my voice. "Enough. Shut up, we don't want to hear your whining!" Lucy shouted at me. And her face made me shiver. She then attempted to tape my mouth shut but I moved and she punched me in the face. Ever been punched in the face? It sends this shockwave through you. But it worked. I had been subdued and Lucy was able to put the tape over my mouth. So now I was completely helpless. Voiceless too. They were all laughing while I was crying and bleeding. It set off this indescribable fire in me. Suddenly, one of our younger friends came in and said "Hey! What the hell is going on?!" I dug my fingernails into Mary's hand, drawing blood and she released my right arm. She took off running. I now had a free hand. Lucy fled, a look of "Oh crap" on her face. Emily, however, was still latched onto my left forearm. She's 5'6" and 90 pounds soaking wet. But she'd been hanging off the table, nearly pulling my shoulder out of it's socket. I started beating on her and finally she let go and ran out of the room. The younger friend began playing 20 questions with me. I was freaking out! I was shaking so bad I could not untie my legs. So she helped. The second I was free I took off after those three bitches. They ended up back upstairs. They claimed they were not aware of my phobia and it was a joke. I was covered in bruises. Had a bloody nose, and was trembling uncontrollably. The rest of my senior year I suffered from intense nightmares. Vivid dreams that would rip me from a dead sleep. At the young age of 17? No, I did not tell the principal. Because I didn't want my "best friends" in trouble. I also had no idea that it would be affecting me ten years later.
By Aimee Brown8 years ago in Psyche
Thoughtful Gifts for People with ADHD
Choosing a gift for someone with ADHD can be tough. You don't want to give them something that they don't like or need. Instead, you want to gift that person a really thoughtful present that they would love and constantly use. Something that can even help them with their constant fidgeting, lack of concentration, or can be a form of calming down.
By Rachel Blanchard8 years ago in Psyche
Dating a Narcissist? Let Me Help
As children, we all dream of the fairytale life. We dream of Prince Charming that’s going to sweep us off of our feet. For innocent souls, we had it all planned out; Dating, marriage, kids, growing old together, etc. But, unfortunately, life doesn’t happen that way for some, and those it does happen to are actually pretty lucky!
By Holly Rice8 years ago in Psyche
5 AM City Lights
She belonged to the city. Her heart burned for the city lights and for her nothing was prettier than empty streets and cold wind and lights shining over her skin at 5 AM. Walking until her feet hurt, discovering new coffee shops and just sitting down at a bench and watching people get lost in their busy lives when she just let her mind wonder. Her world was a mess, so she lost herself in a wonderland of madness. Madness that was put together with skyscrapers, high heels and brief cases clinging and swinging as free spirits protested with their shirts off. She was a wanderer.
By Zeynep Kivanc8 years ago in Psyche
Escape Room
Everybody has their own exit door to reality, a place where nobody can find us, a place that not a soul knows about. This place might create itself while someone might play video games, sometimes it might be when a person listens to music and well, why not when someone’s writing?
By Catherine Savard8 years ago in Psyche
The Truth About PPD
The feeling you have during pregnancy, of fullness and joy, doesn't always stick after the baby is born. When I was pregnant with my son, it was the happiest time in my life. After having multiple miscarriages, all I could think about was what a miracle this was. I couldn't believe I was finally going to have the baby I had always wanted. I had longed so long to be a mother and share a special bond with a tiny human I had created. All this joy just filled my body and soul. Even though my pregnancy wasn't the easiest, I was still so engulfed with joy. Feeling him kick me and have the hiccups was the best thing in the world. I couldn't wait to finally kiss and hug and hold this little boy that I had waited nine long months to meet.
By jade hewes8 years ago in Psyche
'You're Fine'
As a child, I grew up in a suburban town north of Atlanta. This town was affluent, high achieving, and expected a lot from the people that lived there. It was always a constant struggle to always be the best and have to constantly compete with everyone else. Showing vulnerability and weakness was not something that was widely accepted, especially when judgement was always being passed around. As a child, many concerns of mine were overlooked until I had made them so adamant to take them upon myself to get them dealt with. For all my family knew, I was your average white suburban boy just going through the motions of life. Little did they know, I was a severely anxious homosexual with trust issues, and in need of attention. I had a rocky relationship with my father after he had cheated on my mother with my current stepmother and was a perpetual liar. I never knew whether I could count on the things he would say or if they were going to come to fruition. He loved promising things that he knew he could never deliver, which was the worst part. As I had gotten older, the animosity between my older sister and my father had started to seep into my life as well. I became less naïve when it came to believing things that he had said. His grand ideas of taking us on cruises and beach vacations were never going to come true and I finally had to realize that.
By Jack Peterson8 years ago in Psyche
Pursuit of Happiness Manifested From Sadness
Growing up, my idea of happiness was not what I thought at all. For me, happiness was surrounding myself with a crowd; it was hanging out with people so I wouldn't be bored. It was spending money on things I didn't need because I felt like I would fit in.
By Jillian deegan8 years ago in Psyche
