Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Psyche.
A Beast With No Spine
I grew up just like most of the kids around me grew up. I went to school, I played basketball, I got presents on Christmas morning, I went on vacations to the beach with the family, I got into fights with my brothers. We lived in modestly nice houses in safe neighborhoods. We went trick-or-treating on Halloween. Anybody could look at a snapshot of my childhood and have no reason to assume that I would end up doing the things I did and that I would find myself wandering down the road that I so painstakingly trudged along. My brothers and I never wanted for anything. We had everything we needed, and then some. Dad brought in plenty of money from his job and made sure that our wants and needs were taken care of. So how did I end up being the person that was stealing things, and lying to the people I loved, in order to chase an elusive high? Why was it that I turned into that person that woke up covered in sweat, shaking and writhing in pain every morning until that next hit was in me? What was it inside of me that brought me to a place where I was so obsessed with the dope that I left my grandfathers house while he was on his death bed just to scheme up some money for another bag? These aren’t questions that beg for answers necessarily. The only reason I ask them is because you may know somebody who turned out to be this same type of person, and you have no idea what happened or where anybody went wrong. I don’t believe there’s any blame to be put on anyone particularly In these situations. The reality is, this kind of thing happens to people. Not just bad people, not just unfortunate people, and not just foolish people — but just people. Some of these people never make it out. Some of them lose their lives to this tragedy. Some people have the nearly fortuitous experience of seeing what life can be after a drug addiction is arrested. That’s my story today, and this experience has shaped me into the human that I am currently.
By Hogan England3 years ago in Psyche
The Frog Monster
Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Rose. Everywhere she walked, she brought joy to people. Children and animals loved her, and the flowers in the castle’s garden bloomed at every step she took. One day, she walked to the lake that was placed on the grounds of her castle. As she dipped a toe in the water, admiring the fish, a creature was lurking at the bottom of the murky, brown water. It swam up to her and grabbed onto her toe. When Princess Rose saw the massive bull frog, startled, she shrilled in terror and fell backwards onto the ground. The creature crawled to her side and stared down into her petrified eyes. It stated, “Quiet flower, no need for words. Kiss me now, my sweet conquer.” After a moment of being paralyzed in fear, the timorous princess shot up off the ground and ran back to her castle, her supposed safe haven, but the sadistic varmint locked his gaze on her. Later that night, after Princess Rose completed her nightly tasks and was sound asleep in her bed, the bull frog found his way into her bedroom window. He crept onto the girl’s bed, leapt onto her pillow, and kissed her on the lips. As the unconscious princess had no clue of her surroundings, her dreams took over her actions, and she slowly started to kiss him back. The joyous frog happily stepped away from his princess and awaited his transformation. He was ready to become hers. He was ready to take her, to own her, and to have all of her love and respect, but his satisfaction never came. So, he kissed her again hoping she would allow him to be hers, but she awoke at once and hit him, causing him to be flung out the window and fall to his death.
By Heather Foreman3 years ago in Psyche
How Rape Changed My Life
I always knew, as a teenager, that men liked my body. I was a good girl, for the most part, but living in Hawaii, I wore bikinis a lot and I saw the looks and stares from grown men even though I was only 15 or 16. It made me uncomfortable to say the least but what can you do? I was 5'9" tall and weighted 124 lbs. My figure was a perfect 36/24/36 and I couldn't change that. It was who I was. I was ignorant at that point in my life. I wore clothes that showed off my figure and thought nothing of it. And why should I have, what I wore should not have defined what could happen to me. It was the mid 70's and life and love was wild and free, or so I thought.
By deborah bradley3 years ago in Psyche
Mirror Moment
She opened the door. A woman stood there smiling, and staring in her eyes as if she known her in another life. She entered the room, and from the bedroom behind, he asked “who is it baby?” She answered with large eyes on the woman, “I don’t know, but she’s here now.”
By Chelsie Monet3 years ago in Psyche
Fawning: Another Fight, Flight, Freeze Trauma Response
What Is Fawning? With trauma responses we often think of Fight, Flight. Where in the face of threat our bodies gear up for a fight or to run away and flee. It then became popularly understood that there was another response, Freeze. Where we just freeze and can’t fight or run away. Often times there can be shame around this response because it’s not a very active way to respond, even if it’s our brain’s response and not our conscious choice.
By Kate Strong3 years ago in Psyche
Self Empathy — The Healing Power of Witnessing
In many healing modalities witnessing what is happening on the inner level is the healing. The changes happen on the inner planes, we see the changes in our minds eye, or feel or hear them, which helps create the transformation.
By Kate Strong3 years ago in Psyche
Toxic Self-Reliance and How It Can Affect Your Mental Health
Identifying Dispositions of Toxic Self-Reliance Toxic self-reliance is a defense mechanism that people use to protect themselves from the fear of being abandoned or rejected. It is often characterised by a belief that there are no needs outside those which can be met by the person himself. This type of behavior may intensify in response to traumatic events or other types of major life changes, such as loss or conflict, and typically manifests in the form of anger, withdrawal, and isolation.
By Kate Strong3 years ago in Psyche