anxiety
A look at anxiety in its many forms and manifestations; what is the nature of this specific pattern of extreme fear and worry?
Just as Beautiful
“Coffee, sir?” Mark jerked his head back and opened his eyes. A quick glance around told him he was in the dining car of a train. The decor, the tables, and the benches were all a bit dated, but still relatively nice. Other than the man standing at the end of his table, the car was empty. The man’s hands were behind his back, his eyes were wide, and he was smiling expectantly.
By Steven Stansfield4 years ago in Psyche
How to Choose the Right Medication for Anxiety?
Anxiety is a common and treatable condition. However, for many people, anxiety can become overwhelming and debilitating. Fortunately, there are medications that can help mitigate the symptoms and keep you living your life to the fullest. The best way to determine which medication is right for you is to ask your doctor or pharmacist detailed questions about your medical history, symptoms, and risk factors for anxiety. Once you understand your specific needs, you’ll be better able to choose the optimal meds for anxiety.
By Sasha Matloob4 years ago in Psyche
People Are Crazy, I’m Not Crazy
When I was sixteen I had an episode of craziness. I was delusional, hearing and seeing things that weren’t there. My mother ask me what was wrong and I blurted out “it’s all in the book, the book that I’m gonna write called people are crazy, I’m not crazy”. I was not diagnosed with anything. I was in the ER and they said I was fine. I felt a drop of liquid drop on my forehead and I thought I was being blessed and called to do something for God. I was so confused and disoriented. The doctor couldn’t see what was going on in my head and my behavior wasn’t a problem. I was sent home and continued to be out of my mind for several days. By the grace of God I returned to my normal self. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 26, they got it wrong. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 61. Since that time I’ve been taking a antipsychotic and I feel better, I function better. Mental illness didn’t make me stupid. I graduated in 1985 as a RN and worked 26 years full time in Palm Beach County. I also raised 2 children by myself. I was in my prime in my 30’s and 40’s. I ended up in hospital about every 2 years with psychosis. I’ve had multiple hospitalizations, too many to count. How could they get it wrong almost all my life? Bipolar and schizophrenia do have some similarities but I wasn’t prescribed an antipsychotic medication which I desperately needed. Thankfully I am doing well. I’m retired and disabled since 2005. I suffered a neck injury when a tall and big man fell on me at work. As a result I became so depressed because I was out of work and depending on my adult son to help me financially. My doctor advised me to go to the hospital so he could “ tweet my meds“. They gave Me a new medication called Seroquel. I ended up with the side effect of neuroleptic malignant syndrome which almost killed me. I was in intensive care, I did not recognize or know my children. I developed short term memory loss after that. I underwent memory testing which revealed it and subsequently my . p ate in. i ater used thevn I suIhsychiatrist forced me on disability. I cried and cried. I begged him to give me time to get better. I never filled out a form or signed anything. It just happened. People are crazy. Just a few years later I passed the exam to sell life insurance, health insurance and annuities on the first try. Most people have to take it 2 or 3 times. I hated the insurance business. I never sold anything and didn’t make any money. I just had to prove that my memory loss wasn’t that bad. (to be continued)
By Tammie Taliaferro4 years ago in Psyche
Capgras
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The Light was a testament to the unknown in Letha Campbell’s life, just as she’d never known where that cabin on her property came from, although it was never a concern for her, her property was worth a fortune. Letha awoke on a Tuesday morning feeling different. Different in a way that she couldn’t put her finger on but knew there was an underlying sense of dread. A sense of despair that wallows beneath the diaphragm and feels like it’s been there her whole life, but she just didn’t notice it until waking up one morning, no pattern or reason as to when or why it was that particular Tuesday. Or maybe it was just forgotten and she’s finally noticing it again, like a trauma that caused her to forget some dreadful thing that happened, so she dissociated but the wheel of time allowed it back into her mind. She couldn’t help but think she’d been reading too much Camus.
By Sims-Houston Collison4 years ago in Psyche
Peanut Gallery
So, I guess it all started in 2019. I did end up finding out something significant because of my chronically online schedule. It all started when I started looking into the “DID community” via YouTube. I found an unnamed YouTuber, because I refuse to give them any more recognition, and I started questioning my whole life. What I found was that most of my life, I had been showing signs of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Now, hang in there, I know this must seem scattered, but I promise it all connects eventually. But back to my symptoms, the most prominent thing in my mind at the time was my unexplainable blackouts. I’d been having them since I was twelve, before I started using substances. I could recall them happening sporadically since I was five, getting rogressively worse as I grew older. The second most prominent thing in my mind was the fact that I heard voices that were not my own occassionally, previously I had thought it was normal and everyone experienced a conscious stream of thoughts that was mixed with your own but definitely weren’t your own thoughts, as they would talk back in response to your thoughts. Kind of complicated, I know. And finally, the third most prominent thing in my mind: I had extreme unexplainable gaps in my memory that had not been created through substances. It led me to think, “hey, maybe something IS wrong with me”. After watching many, many DID-related videos, I decided I’d try to call out and see if there was anybody in my head.
By Peanut TwoFace4 years ago in Psyche
A Letter to My Dad
Dear Dad, It has been almost forty years since you stepped out of my life in the most cliché-ridden manner possible. Not just a bad heart that attacked you; not just on the day that you were to be released from hospital; not just when all the signs were good for you and your health. It was the day itself that stays with me.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Psyche
