trauma
At its core, trauma can be thought of as the psychological wounds that persist, even when the physical ones are long gone.
The Seventh Blue Bird
It had been two years since the sides of her mouth curled upward. Natasha had dropped out of school to chase after a boy she had met that summer. She didn’t know what drew her to him, but she was nuts about Travis. They ran away together and, at the time, she truly felt he was the love of her life. Then, a month into the relationship, things began to change. Natasha discovered the true nature of her lover. He was a narcissist and now she was sure of it. He forced her away from close family and friends, fearful they might persuade her to leave him. She became a far removed version of herself. Who she was had withered away into nothing. Now, in the form of a shell, she took demands and mostly kept quiet. She felt like a stranger living in her own body. It was as if she had been brainwashed. Sometimes she felt she had been. Every day she grew increasingly numb to the pain. Eventually, the vacancy of her emotions began to shift. Something stirred inside her and Natasha couldn’t ignore it any longer. She was angry, but not with Travis. Her feelings for him were mostly those of resentment and compassion. Knowing what he had experienced as a child was part of the reason she put up with the abuse. The anger she felt was directed at herself for giving away her control. She had to find a way out of this relationship or it would destroy her if it hadn’t already.
By Antonia Kimball5 years ago in Psyche
The Perfect Place
"We are so lost." Elle was skeptical of the old maps we found in his car. We didn’t have much of a signal out here in the middle of nowhere either, so GPS was hopeless. Had to rely on old school methods like a couple of wandering settlers in search of paradise. In this case a couple of college kids on vacation. Our first cross country road trip. We were on our way to an amusement park in Florida from Chicago for some much-needed relaxation.
By Nick Spivey5 years ago in Psyche
Behind the mind of Olivia
Beyond the vacant mind of Olivia lives a tumultuous past that she bears no recollection of. She knows her name, birthday, social security number and emergency contact but nothing else is present on her release forms from the hospital. At this moment, lying in a hospital gown, connected to an IV and a plethora of machines, Olivia is strangers with her reflection in the mirror. A reflection that she avoids as the thought of leering at the lifeless figure before her sends a repulsive chill through her borrowed body. Olivia is overwhelmed with the looming question that has flooded her mind since she awakened to the fluorescent lighting of the intensive care unit; how do I live a life that doesn’t belong to me? She hasn’t the slightest memory of life before feeling like an entity taking over another’s soul. How does she pick up where her former self left off? The obvious answer is to leave with her mother, Bethany and endur an awkward car ride with a woman whose eyes remain full of heavy tears on the cusps of falling. Bethany’s failed attempts at getting Olivia to converse in the messy minivan, that reeks of cigarette smoke, only makes Olivia feel less connected to this new life of her’s.
By Georgia Monroe5 years ago in Psyche
A Letter to the Boy who Hurt Me
I wish I could have recognized your abuse when we were together; maybe I could have helped you see how harmful it was, for both of us. But I wasn’t meant to play that role for you. I hope you’ve learned something since then, and that you haven’t treated anyone else the way you treated me. But, if you abused another the way you abused me, maybe they needed to learn the same lessons. It’s not an easy role to play, and I thank you for everything I learned from our time together. And, what I learned is how I don’t want to be treated. When I came to my senses, severed our connection, and asked you to leave my life, I had finally become aware of some of the abuse I suffered throughout our three years together; and since then, I’ve recognized even more.
By Maeple Fourest5 years ago in Psyche
What Lies Inside
There it was, the cursed cave. And to Hera’s surprise, the cliff that housed it was eerily captivating. From the entrance, it seemed like a harmless cavity and a decent place for her to take shelter from the pouring rain. She had heard tales about this cave because the ones who entered were never seen again. It was apparent that the locals were fearful of it. Still, she needed to escape the rain to avoid contracting a cold because that would prolong her journey to the village.
By Mariam Sheikh5 years ago in Psyche
The Chosen One
I reached up and touched the side of my nose and thick reddish purple blood began oozing and bubbling out again, mixed in with salty tears. The bathroom in the cheap hotel I was staying in for the night looked like a murder scene, blood had soaked into almost all the white towels that were now in a gruesome I knew that with the amount of blood I was losing that I should go to the hospital, but I was not ever going to do that again. The nurses and doctors digging into my life, looking at me with pity and whispering behind my back about what a complete coward I am. No way was I going back there. The ultimate humiliation. I held a cold cloth on my nose and winced, definitely a couple broken ribs this time. He was going to kill me. We both knew it. His rages were getting worse, he was losing more control day by day, minute by minute, I barely recognized the man I had been married to for 20 years.
By Suzanne Arden 5 years ago in Psyche
