In celebration of one year of Serotonin Says Monthly!
A Year of Working hard Celebration Anniversary, Team of writers, artists, Editors and designers Coming together as one unit Making new friends, building a safe home Happy birthday Serotonin monthly!
Screams Internally
What isn’t truth?
Happiness and peace
Society through echos lie
Angels powerful
Creating rules
Beaten, punished, harassed, and tried
Rainbows of streaks
Bleed out
Pride in sense
~Despair~
Sense in pride,
Out bleed
Streaks of rainbows
Tried and Harassed, Punished, Beaten
Rules creating
Powerful angels
Lie echos through society
Peace and happiness
Truth isn’t what
Internally screams
mask cloth covering your face protecting the surrounding people the feeling of safety cover quarantine being in isolation locked up feeling lonely separation epidemic loads of sickness spreading of disease causing worriedness infectious
Love
From empty hearts
Long through beating breaths
Hoping, wishing, dreaming
Someone special that
Stirs imagination throughout
Merging visions
~hurts~
Visions merging
Throughout imagination stirs
That special someone
Dreaming, wishing, hoping
Breaths beating through long
Hearts empty from
Love
When a new year begins Your inner angel flies The heart pins A new goal lies Underneath the skins As one can see, through the eyes It is never too late Just don’t wait ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Waiting for it Reaching out Must not quit Cannot pout Have some whit I will sprout Until my dream starts shining There won’t be any undermining
The First Thanksgiving Two Unlikely Groups Gathered Around a Great Feast Sharing, Loving, Having Fun Girls Holding Corn Dolls Young Boys Playing with Their Sticks A Strong Peaceful Neighborhood Parade Loud Noises, Big Crowds Dancers Twirl Through Manhattan Actors Rehearsing for Weeks Big Giant Snoopy Floats By in Front of Macys The World United As One Thanksgiving Dinner With the Snow Falling The Fire Bright, Warm, and Cozy Surrounded by Family Turkey in Oven The Table Filled with Goodies Our Blessings in Abundance
Help I need it I can’t live this Confusing, harsh, and big world I see the easy way out Solving all my problems Leaving none Here Can I do this Can I climb out of This trench six feet underneath Reaching out and looking up For when I go wish- Ing on a Star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Shining star Filled with hope and love The ability to turn Off those loud voices in my head A balancing act A tightrope Wire The Future un- Limited with high hopes Although the past, a dark cave The future, an airplane, where I can be soaring Above the Rest
Jumps of happiness
With great smiles like the sun
A reunion of fun
The sighs of relief
Steady pulses beating as one
A calmness spreading
The warmth in your heart
Feeling electricity
Powering throughout
In almost every TV show or movie, there is one character who’s obsessed with cleaning or has to have things arranged in a particular way. Some of us might have heard our friends say, “that’s so OCD” or “I’m OCD” in relation to them cleaning something or being a perfectionist. But is that really what OCD is?
According to the American Psychiatric Association, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is “an anxiety disorder in which time people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively (compulsions).” These behaviors are not infrequent quirks, as is portrayed on TV. Instead, these are time consuming behaviors that can interfere with a person’s life. To be diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, you must be having obsessions and/or compulsions for one hour or more per day, and they must cause distress and impair functioning in work and/or social settings. Approximately 1.2% of the American population suffers from OCD, and the disorder often begins in childhood or adolescence, and increases with time. (American Psychiatric Association) OCD is diagnosed and treated based on its two components: obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions are intrusive, persistent thoughts that can be upsetting and sometimes disturbing. According to the International OCD Foundation, common obsessions include fears of contamination and losing control, fears of being responsible for harm done to others, obsessions related to perfectionism, unwanted thoughts, religious obsessions and other obsessions such as those related to getting a physical illness or those related to superstitions.* Because OCD is a subset of anxiety, these obsessions can trigger panic attacks and physical responses as well as compulsions.
Compulsions are repeated behaviors or mental acts which are performed to try to counter the obsessions. Compulsions are carried out to try and make the person who is experiencing obsessions feel more in control and usually not performing them causes them great stress, but unfortunately, performing them does not usually relieve obsessions. People with OCD have described knowing that the compulsions they’re performing are unreasonable and impractical, but not having control of the compulsions. Common compulsions include excessive washing and cleaning, checking (ex. retracing a driving route to make sure one hasn’t hit any pedestrians), repeating, mental compulsions, and other compulsions such as rearranging and asking for reassurance.*
OCD may seem like a harmless perfectionism on the surface, but obsessions can be seriously taxing on one’s mental health, and compulsions take up large amounts of time and usually inhibit people from living their lives, due to fear or just how time-consuming the obsessions are. While perfectionists pride themselves on their impeccable work, OCD sufferers despair in having to perform tasks, and to say the least, would rather not have to do them. OCD sufferers can go through a variety of different treatments, but ultimately, it is a life-altering disorder. One OCD sufferer was once told that they were lucky to have OCD because it meant that they would be thorough in their work and would have an advantage over their peers, but this is a statement made out of true misunderstanding and inconsiderateness. Though this may seem like a redundant statement, people with OCD do not want to have OCD.
Although OCD is life-altering, there are new treatments which slowly can help patients heal. If you have OCD and you don’t know what to do, you can get help from therapists, clinics and support groups (there are resources at the bottom of the article). You will be able to get guidance and support, and you should know that there will always be people rooting for you.
People who suffer from OCD can experience either obsessions or compulsions or both, and in most cases would rather not have to do these tiring acts. People experience OCD in many different ways and forms, and are not necessarily uber-clean or perfectionists. So, next time you hear a friend joking that they have OCD, maybe let them know that the disorder is life-altering and can have serious consequences. If you or a loved one suffers from OCD, know that there is hope for healing, and there are many success stories for treating OCD.
Click Here to Find Help Using the OCD Foundation’s Directory
Click Here for Information and Resources on OCD (OCD Foundation)
Click Here for Help Guide’s Page on OCD
IF YOU ARE HAVING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS OR ARE IN EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, PLEASE CALL HERE FOR FREE 24 HOUR HELP AND GUIDANCE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH:
*DISCLAIMER: this article is not intended as medical advice, and if you think you might have OCD, please contact a mental health professional.
“What Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?” American Psychiatric Association, 2020, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ocd/what-is-obsessive-compulsive-disorder#:~:text=Obsessive%2Dcompulsive%20disorder%20(OCD)%20is%20an%20anxiety%20disorder%20in,do%20something%20repetitively%20(compulsions). Accessed 1 Aug. 2020.
“What Is OCD?” International OCD Foundation, iocdf.org/about-ocd/. Accessed 1 Aug. 2020.
Rooms Kept well In quiet A blessed country Full of gold treasure My father longs to earn Their new world is my same old A long to be one and fit in Pressure grows higher than the mountains With music, sports, grades, chores, and Sunday school Everyone says "be better like her" Always compared to other girls A not passionate winner Suffering in silence Less light inside me Quiet Violence Longing for The same Life
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