Top Stories

Stories in Psyche that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.

What Is It Like To Be Mentally Ill?
To be mentally ill is to be physically ill. The organ that houses your soul fails you. The most complex biological structure in the animal kingdom succumbs to rampant dysfunction. It is a part of the human body that can never be transplanted, never truly repaired, never understood adequately. Your personality and perceptions fluctuate with its chemical changes. Crippling imbalances in neurotransmitters and life-altering abnormalities in structure indicate disease, but are referred to as mere issues- a vague, nondescript, near-demeaning phrase. The behavior associated with brain tumors and diabetic crises is understood to be a result of a natural disease process, but “mental health issues” scare those lucky enough to enjoy sanity out of any sympathy. A sacred few try to offer compassion, they try nobly, yet they cower in fear as you step close to them and shift their weight awkwardly in your presence. You’re frightening. You’re weird. It’d be more comfortable for them if you’d go away.
By Samantha Marin5 years ago in Psyche
Laugh It Off: Depression Awareness Through Memes and Humour
Hello, and welcome to a compilation of depression memes and depression quotes to educate, entertain, or inspire. It’s winter and still pandemic times, so today’s digest will include validation of our collective rage, as well as a reminder that life is ridiculous, through the combination of science and the word “butt-hole”.
By Erica Ball5 years ago in Psyche
Life by Numbers
There are three cracks in the plaster of her bedroom ceiling, each thinner and more twisted than the next. She has three pillows in her bed, which he thinks is odd, and sleeps with two blankets. None of this bothers him. The Bad Numbers don’t exist in the appropriately shabby confines of her dorm room and he counts more out of habit than necessity.
By Edith (yesterday4)5 years ago in Psyche
Walking Away
As someone who has suffered from separation anxiety for most of their life, one of the hardest things for me has always been letting go of people, even when they're not good for me. The constant fear of being alone keeps me holding on, even when it hurts me. Because somehow I've convinced myself that the pain is worth it, even if it means losing myself in the process.
By Lita5 years ago in Psyche
Quitting Instagram and Facebook for 21 days. Second Place in Fresh Start Challenge.
Taking a hiatus from social media is no revolutionary idea at the start of the New Year. A survey of 2,000 people by the Wexner Medical Center finds Americans are making adjustments to social media usage. More than half have changed their social media habits over time, and 1 in 5 make it a point of taking social media breaks.
By Katie Manning5 years ago in Psyche
Code-Switching: On Having Two Linguistic Personalities
Code-switching, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "The action of shifting between two or more languages, or between dialects or registers of a language, within a discourse, especially in response to a change in social context". Growing up, I was always accused of "talking white". Spoiler alert, I am not white. I did, however, attend a somewhat prestigious secondary school and there's a pervasive trend in my country of mocking the accent of students from said school. We were posh, "hoity-toity" (their words, not mine) and we spoke with an accent that gave off an air of superiority.
By Laquesha Bailey5 years ago in Psyche
Depression is a Ten Letter Word
New year’s resolutions can be a tricky thing to stick with, especially since good habits...and bad ones, I suppose, can take about thirty days to develop. With perseverance and grit, continuing that resolution of hitting the gym, eating healthier, or even just spending less time on social medias can become second nature. And each year our society has us conditioned to set up some overarching goal to challenge the best within ourselves. Last year, quarantine left my friends on their own with workout challenges, binge-watching The Outer Banks (no, I haven't seen it yet, John B.), and learning how to fail at becoming Tiktok famous. I watched strangers across the internet pick up new hobbies and recreate themselves in truly unique ways.
By Rachel5 years ago in Psyche
In-Jeong: A Fresh Start
2020, the terrible year that it was, came with an ending that I can only describe as a beginning- a new chapter. I've started an intensive therapy schedule, been diagnosed with bipolar (to my not-so-but-kind-of surprise), and started medication. To be honest, I always thought that no matter how messed up I was, I would never end up in therapy. It always seemed rather ridiculous to me to talk to someone about your problems. I felt like I lost, and I felt a little ridiculous myself for deciding to do it. However, it has been done and I've been going for about three or four months now, even though it feels like forever.
By Anna Williams5 years ago in Psyche
Why Does My Phone Think I Have ADHD?
My TikTok feed suggested the first signs this past summer. My For You Page, a personalized home feed filled with mysteriously hyper-targeted videos, started showing me dancy videos with women who were diagnosed with ADHD later in life. This diagnosis changed their lives, was the missing piece they were looking for, and now they had to spread the word.
By Vasi Best5 years ago in Psyche
Celebrity Worship
There's something really nice about being a part of a fandom. Personally, I am a part of the Bob Dylan fan culture (the Bobcats), the Michael Jackson fan culture (the Moonwalkers), the 50s Rockabilly fan culture and various movie and literature fan cultures. It is a lovely place to make friends online with people who are interested in the same things as you. This is why I hardly ever really feel lonely because it is like I always have at least one person to talk to out of all of these. But when I'm on social media, I also engage with these cultures in a healthy manner, we simply talk about the theories of songs, or book and film recommendations - apart from that, it doesn't go much further.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Psyche
Stop Normalizing Gaslighting
It’s good to mold your beliefs into something better, taking advice from an experienced person about anything helps you change your thought process, and you should take plenty of advice from people. Parents help their kids understand things that the kids misunderstand, which involves healthy advisory sessions and seldom involves scolding if their kids don’t obey. This process of molding the wrong belief into something better involves reinforcement and punishment psychology.
By Saral Verma5 years ago in Psyche
ADHD In Women
Saturday night, early Sunday morning I had a meltdown and a major ah-hah! moment. Now I want to tell what I realized, the article that hit home, and how I am taking the first step to help myself.
By Greta Frusha5 years ago in Psyche