reclaim your voice.
A sensible guy would simply reverse his car if he needs to pick up his right-next-door neighbour. But I don’t ever do that. I prefer to play it safe and drive around my block to pick her up daily for campus. None of my snooping and take-it-or-leave-it advice-giving Indian neighbours have noticed this peculiar habit…
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Of all the women I’ve known and loved, there is an underlying effort that is, for the most part, unsaid. Among the bravest of us, a few voices on body-image dissatisfaction have started to ring in the air and find their place in the research and literature around the pressure for women to be thin.…
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Never did I ever think of my fragility as somewhat of a quiet superpower until recently. I’ve been sensitive my entire life, resulting in me labeling myself as an emotional wreck. Growing up, I was always chastised by adults for being so easily disturbed, and other children would use it against me because they got…
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A short story revolving around sensory sensitivity for Autism Awareness Month: The ticking of the clock is too loud. I look around the classroom. Does no one notice it? Their heads are bent, sleeping on the desk. Some pay attention to the teacher that is drawing scribbles on the board. Do they not notice the…
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Read the prologue here. As I walked back to the grandstand after winning the first round of our traditional Saturday afternoon game of squash against Moe, I could sense its return and presence not so far away. At this point, I should make it clear that I have been diagnosed with OCD and anxiety, and…
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The Monologue of a Young Indian Man Struggling with Mental Health Issues is a fictional story of Daniyal: a 20-year-old young Indian man struggling with mental health, OCD in particular. Written by Mohammed Arai, this story is narrated in different parts, with each part focusing on various aspects of Daniyal’s life. The author, through…
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Spiritually. Emotionally. Physically. Life has been very interesting these days. I find myself in the midst of myself. I didn’t know it was possible to get deeper in tune with myself, but here I am. It has been quite an interesting experience for me. I find myself not how I once was. And I can…
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I don’t really like to think or talk about my greatest fear. Why discuss something I’ll never know? I’d rather talk about anything else, honestly. Like the time I ran to my grandmother in tears, Because my mother took the training wheels off my bike. Or the time my brother popped the heads off my…
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I have anxiety, probably as a result of experiences that will haunt me forever. At times, I still have panic attacks — moments where I feel like I can’t breathe, it’s getting hot, and I’m overthinking but can’t think at the same time. For a long time, I didn’t know how to get past these moments,…
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