PTSD: The Illness I Couldn’t See I grew up thinking an “illness” was either fever or croup. Illness was a stuffy nose – a sick-day, an excuse to miss a day of school. At 18 years old, “illness” took on an entirely different meaning. Illness meant waking up from a coma, learning that my stomach [...]
Mania. Depression. Love. Hate. My children were born and my heart was full. My family was complete. The dreams of my husband and I were fulfilled. Snuggling with sweet baby smell. The house exuded hope and promise of new life. Nighttime came along with no sleep, confusing rage, tiny voices squalling in hunger and an [...]
Hello :) My name is David Alberto González. I am a psychologist from Bogotá-Colombia, 22 years old. As soon as I noticed your page on Twitter I felt the impulse to write this right away. Why? Because besides the fact that I'm a psychologist, I have also been a patient, a psychology patient, for a couple -just [...]
Is admitting being a victim of child sexual abuse courageous? There are times I doubt this power as I look at myself in the mirror. I am still remarkably human. The hair fades in color and quantity. The waist still expands as if my stomach had a mind of its own. I still have flaws, [...]
The world was spinning again. It was as though I could hear everything and nothing all at once. A constant buzzing of sound. A voice that I didn’t recognize was trying to explain something, but what was that voice trying to say? It was important, very important. Why didn’t they understand? Why was she looking [...]
This Is What Depression Looks Like Earlier this year, I came off of my antidepressant medication. It was a poorly thought out decision, (I have a pretty difficult history with depression and mental illness), and I did it cold turkey, even though I knew better. Still, I thought I’d be okay. I wasn’t okay. The [...]
Relaxation Became A Foreign Word By Stephanie March I was just a little kid when the term PTSD entered my life. Back then it was something said in hushed tones between my counselor and parents. They talked about me like I wasn’t in the room and about PTSD in terms I couldn’t understand and didn’t [...]
The Delusional Thinking Process: To the Victor Go the Spoils In the old days of war, the winning army pretty much got to loot the countryside and take what they wanted—wealth, crops, women, whatever. These would be the spoils of victory. In a relatively civilized setting, we tend to use this term symbolically or [...]
A trigger warning to those whose lives have been touched by suicide. This is a very raw, honest account of my suicide attempt in mid-2012. These are thoughts and feelings I had in the moments leading up to my suicide attempt. This in no way, shape, or form represents my current state of mind today. [...]
Anxious All Over I’m anxious all over. You can’t know me without seeing it. You don’t really need to know me to see it. I am told frequently to calm down. Strangers reassure me that “everything is okay.” And I know they mean well, but it hurts sometimes. I’ve been guilty of this myself—looking at [...]
