Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Psyche.

The Empty Chair:. AI-Generated.
The waiting room looked ordinary at first glance rows of plastic chairs, a merchandising system buzzing in the corner, fluorescent lighting fixtures buzzing overhead. people came and went, shuffling papers, checking phones, whispering to each other in hushed tones. but one chair always stood out.
By The Writer...A_Awan2 months ago in Psyche
The Unknown Passenger:. AI-Generated.
It became close to midnight after I boarded the closing bus home. The metropolis outdoor become drenched in rain, the streets shimmering beneath the faint glow of flickering lamps. inside the bus, the air smelled faintly of damp fabric and tiredness. A handful of passengers sat scattered throughout the seats—students with headphones, office people staring blankly at their telephones, and some strangers whose faces I didn’t trouble to observe.
By The Writer...A_Awan2 months ago in Psyche
The Reverse Tick
Mr. Elias Thorne’s classroom always smelled of chalk dust and resignation. He was a history teacher, fifty-six years old, and had the kind of slump in his shoulders that suggested the weight of all recorded human folly rested squarely there. The fluorescent lights hummed a low, constant complaint above his head. His tweed jacket, a permanent fixture, had frayed cuffs that seemed to unravel with each passing year, much like his own enthusiasm.
By HAADI2 months ago in Psyche
Malicious Liars Or Something Else?
Have you ever been listening to someone... Especially someone in some position of power... A C-Suite Executive... A Politician...
By Dr. Cody Dakota Wooten, DFM, DHM, DAS (hc)2 months ago in Psyche
The Gift of Detachment
For most of my life, I believed that holding on tightly was a sign of love, commitment, and responsibility. I held on to plans, to expectations, to people, and to outcomes. I told myself that if I cared enough, worried enough, and tried hard enough, things would turn out the way I hoped.
By Fazal Hadi2 months ago in Psyche
The Roots No One Ever Saw
When people look at my life now, they see the branches. They see progress, confidence, and someone who seems grounded. They see results—career steps, emotional control, the ability to stand on my own. What they don’t see are the roots. The parts of me that grew quietly underground, shaped by silence, pressure, and lessons I never consciously chose.
By Zohaib Khan2 months ago in Psyche
The Simple Science of Self-Love
For a long time, self-love felt like a mystery I couldn’t solve. I saw people talk about it online—loving yourself, choosing yourself, accepting yourself—and I wondered what they were doing that I wasn’t. I assumed self-love was a feeling you woke up with one day, like confidence or happiness.
By Fazal Hadi2 months ago in Psyche
When Stress Becomes the Background Noise of Life
Many people describe stress as something that comes and goes — a difficult week at work, a conflict in a relationship, a looming deadline. But for others, stress isn’t an event. It’s a constant presence. It becomes the background noise of daily life, so familiar that it’s barely noticed until something finally breaks the silence.
By Whitman Drake2 months ago in Psyche
The Elmira Falls Express
The ticket, creased and clammy in his palm, felt like a warrant for his own vanishing. Elmira Falls, it read, in faded black ink. Elmira Falls. He didn’t know anyone there. Hadn't even looked it up. Just saw the name on a crumpled map tacked to a bulletin board in the station, a name small enough, forgotten enough, to promise nothing. Nothing was what he was after, or maybe, everything he had left to offer.
By HAADI2 months ago in Psyche
The Last Stop
The ticket, a flimsy rectangle of cardstock, felt like a branding iron in Arthur's palm. Midnight Express to Oakhaven, it read, in faded, almost apologetic print. But Arthur knew better. This wasn't Oakhaven, not really. This was the last train to nowhere, a clanking coffin on rails destined for the deepest pits of his own making. The station, a forgotten relic of brick and soot, offered no comfort. Just a cold, biting wind that tasted of rust and stale promises, gnawing at his coat, digging into the hollows of his bones.
By HAADI2 months ago in Psyche
The Science of Solitude: Why Being Alone Is Beneficial for the Mind
Introduction Being alone in the modern world carries a subtle stigma. We are in an age of hyperconnectivity: smartphones chirp constantly, social media beckons continually, and the cadence of life rarely permits meditative quiet. Being alone is mistakenly equated by many with loneliness, a sense of isolation and disconnection. Solitude and loneliness are quite different. While loneliness is painful and involuntary, solitude is voluntary behavior—a conscious stepping away from external stimuli to re-engage with oneself, reflect, and regenerate.
By The Chaos Cabinet2 months ago in Psyche
Build Better Habits in 21 Days
For a long time, I thought habits were something you either had or didn’t. Some people just did things every day—woke up early, exercised, journaled, stayed organized—while people like me tried, failed, and quietly felt ashamed for not sticking to anything.
By Fazal Hadi2 months ago in Psyche