The Mirror

They look to me for reassurance. They want to know that they are still there. That they exist in the complexity that lies within their body. I portray their imperfections, their hardships, and their persistence at beauty. I show them what they want to see.

When they nod, I nod. If they scrutinize, I scrutinize. When they talk, I talk back, perfecting every movement and judgment that they make.

They stare at me, primping their hair and dotting their eyes with mascara. When they are finished, they smile. I smile. We are a team, but only for a moment. Because when they are done, when they have finished staring, when they have found what they’re looking for, they no longer need me. They close their compact mirrors. They snap their medicine cabinets closed. They turn off the bathroom light.

Who am I without them? A blank mirror has nothing to reflect upon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/narcissism-is-good_us_563aa9a2e4b0411d306fa826

Psychiatric Chart of Objects

Name: The Green Pen

Discharge Diagnosis: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Opening and Closing Date: 8-23-13  –  1-13-14

Reason for Admission: Not able to work. When asked what happens if someone does not click his top, he simple states ”he can not write.”

Allergies: Dry air.

Outcome: Can work sometimes. Will need to be on medication for the rest of his life.

https://awordofsubstance.wordpress.com/2014/01/03/the-green-pen/

Name: The Piano Keys

Discharge Diagnosis: Borderline Personality Disorder.

Opening and Closing date: 3/13/98 – 1/20/14

Reason for Admission: Feeling empty and hollow. Complaints of being out of tune. Insistence that everyone was ”playing her.”  Number one symptom is her insistency that everything is either black or white.  Her relationship with the strings is unsettling.

Allergies: Dust.

Outcome: She will be in therapy for the rest of her life with multiple different therapists.

https://awordofsubstance.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/the-piano-keys/

Name: The Melmac Dish

Discharge Diagnosis: PTSD.

Opening and Closing date: 9-14-13  –  1-22-14

Reason for Admission: Feelings of depression and worthlessness. He talked frequently about how his parents had been smashed in a fit of rage from an alcoholic man. He has reoccurring feelings of abandonment from being left in a cabinet for three years.

Allergies: vegetables.

Outcome: He will need therapy for years to come.

https://awordofsubstance.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/dear-melmac-dish/

Name: The Lightbulbs

Discharge Diagnosis: Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Opening and Closing date: 12-07-13  – 1-12-14

Reason for Admission: The front hallway said they had no use for his light. He consistently believes he is brighter than all other objects.

Allergies: None.

Outcome: He will never get better.

https://awordofsubstance.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/how-to-be-a-successful-light-bulb-in-5-easy-steps/