reclaim your voice.
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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The problems the food industry faces seem to have no end in sight. It often times makes you wonder — what can be done to fix this faucet with a poorly patched leak? Why does an industry regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and which is backed by such huge food companies like…
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I was sixteen-years-old when my body decided it was ready to complete its transition into womanhood. My face was slick and shiny with oil, uterus irritatingly contorting but I had a stockpile of pads — I was ready! Or so I thought. There is only so much they taught us during the awkwardness of Sexual…
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When I first saw you experience anxiety and depression, you could not name it. Maybe you thought if you didn’t talk about it, it wouldn’t be real. Maybe you thought you had to be strong for us, to pretend that things were okay, that you weren’t hurting inside. You never had to say it out…
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