Patient T. J. McAlister
Diagnosis: Anxiety

I go in and explain what it feels like.
Even though they know, they tell me "It's different for everyone."
So I say that I'm tied to her.
She stays in my bed all day and all night and we've got a connection.
A string.
A string that she holds and it's tied to me and everywhere I go this string is left in my path.
When I do something she doesn't like she knows.
It's part of our connection.
She pulls the string back and I don't really notice at first.
But then she gathers the length and it pulls tight and taut and I notice.
And sometimes the string breaks.
And I lose the connection.
And I lose myself.

Patient T. J. McAlister
Diagnosis: Insomnia

I tell them that he joined us recently and the three of us stay in bed a lot.
She doesn't like him though.
And he doesn't like her.
And he stays up late into night and bothers her and pesters her until she pulls the string,
And I say "Stop, I'm tired!"
They don't care.
They argue and fight and it keeps me up.
Eventually I fall asleep.
When I wake up I'm wedged between them and they each have an arm around my waist.
They keep me in bed,
At least for a while.

Patient T. J. McAlister
Diagnosis: Depression

We're the same, me and this one.
It darkens the colour in all of my clothing,
Makes it match my mood.
It holds me tight in the day and makes me too hot
But it leaves me alone at night, with the others and lets me be cold.
It makes me laugh too hard at not funny things because I'm trying too hard.
It sinks into my blood and makes me cold to the touch like I'm just as dead out as I am in.

Patient T. J. McAlister
Diagnosis: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

I tell them He's real.
He's a real person and I haven't seen His true form in a while.
I tell them He's been with me the longest.
Seventeen years.
His form changes though.
I say it's been seven years.
He's the blood in my veins and the neurons in my brain.
He's in every breath I take and every decision I make.
He controls every relationship I have.
And He controls all the others too.
They give me some drugs and tell me that Xanax and Celexa will take care of me.

Well, Xanax and Celexa have been slacking.