text: In the dimly lit apartment, where shadows lurked in the corners, and the flickering light cast eerie shapes on the walls, she wandered aimlessly, lost in the labyrinth of her own mind. Her spectral figure moved like a ghost, haunting the space she inhabited, as the beguiling ballet of shadows ensnared her thoughts and distorted her grip on reality. Haunted by the conviction that unseen eyes watched her every move, judging the frailty of her mortal body, she found herself trapped in a relentless cycle of self-doubt and despair. Getting dressed for work became an insurmountable feat, a Herculean effort fraught with anxiety and dread as she forced herself out of her apartment and onto the streets, the weight of her existence bearing down on her like a boulder. As days turned into weeks, she languished in the suffocating cacophony of her own mind, a prisoner to the invisible venom that corroded her psyche, poisoning every facet of her being with its insidious influence. Her bewildered parents watched in helpless anguish as their once-vibrant daughter succumbed to the ravages of her unseen tormentor, unaware of the depths of her suffering. Eventually, she was transported to the sterile confines of the mental hospital, where she wandered the labyrinthine corridors like a lost soul, her fractured mind a mosaic of shattered dreams and fragmented memories. ‘‘She isn’t like herself, stern and rigid, silent, and frail,’’ her mother wept to the doctor. ‘‘We will keep her for the night for observation,’’ said the white-coated professional. The mental hospital was a place of stark contrasts, where bare white walls echoed the muted sounds of suffering. From the moment one stepped through its doors, the scent of antiseptic hung heavy in the air, mingling with the faint aroma of sweat and fear. The corridors stretched out endlessly, narrow and suffocating, lined with doors that hid the broken souls within. The constant hum of activity reverberated through the building, punctuated by the occasional cry, or scream that echoed down the halls. Doctors and nurses incessantly typed on their computers behind a glass window, refraining from mingling with the patients. There was to be no conversation without an appointment. In the common areas, patients shuffled aimlessly, their eyes vacant and haunted, lost in the spiral of their own minds. Some muttered to themselves, their words a disjointed symphony of madness, while others sat in silence, staring blankly into the void. Amidst it all, there was a sense of unreality, as if the world outside had ceased to exist and time had lost all meaning. It was a place of extremes, where hope and despair waged an eternal battle for dominance, and the line between reality and madness merged into nothingness. She wandered the narrow corridors of the hospital, a ghost among the living, shackled to the demons that tormented her. In the depths of her despair, she renounced all semblance of humanity and starved her body as her soul withered away. Instead of opening herself and asking for help and guidance, she closed myself off deeper in silence and isolation. ‘‘It is too scary for my family and friends to know the insides of my vulnerability,’’ she thought. As doctors murmured their diagnoses, schizophrenia, their words fell on deaf ears as she retreated further into the abyss that enveloped her. The darkness within consumed her, drowning her in a sea of madness and paranoia. Without understanding what was happening, she refused medication and grew victim to the cacophony of voices that taunted her relentlessly. ‘‘It is poisonous, you are not sick’’, the voices commanded. Alone and adrift in her torment, she reached out to the one she once loved, a plea for understanding in a world gone mad. But the mirage of connection shattered; the light of her beloved, the source of awe and joy, disappeared completely, leaving her more isolated than ever, a stranger even to herself. Weeks turned into months, each day a battle against the relentless tide of darkness that threatened to engulf her. She fought, clawing her way back from the brink of oblivion, but the scars of her descent remained etched upon her soul. With each passing day, she descended further into illness, her grip on reality slipping ever further from her grasp as the darkness closed around her like a suffocating shroud. Yet, even in the depths of her psychosis, a flicker of hope remained--a distant light that promised salvation from the abyss that threatened to consume her whole. With shaking hands, she reached for the lifeline that dangled within her grasp, determined to reclaim her lost humanity from the clutches of the darkness that threatened to engulf her. One day, out of despair, she embraced the promise of the medication. Her doctor prescribed antipsychotics, anxiolytics, antiparkinsonians, and antidepressants. Orange pills, yellow pills, green pills. The list continued as the professional tried different concoctions to repair her fragile psyche. It was small at first, barely noticeable amid the chaos of her mind, but the medication helped her grow steadily brighter with each passing day. The drugs helped to manage symptoms of her psychosis and reduce her hallucinations and her disorganized thinking by acting on the dopamine and serotonin pathways. So, she welcomed the light, the connection to other human beings, and her remedy, which attenuated the existential angst that gripped her. For she knew that though the shadows may linger, and the demons may whisper their insidious lies, she was not alone in her struggle. Though the scars of her ordeal would always remain, they served as a testament to her resilience, a reminder of the strength that lay within her heart. And now, three months later, after what felt like an eternity trapped within the confines of her own mind, she stood at the threshold of freedom once more. With a heart heavy with anticipation, she bid farewell to the sterile confines of the hospital, leaving behind the ghosts of her past and stepping out into the world beyond. She would later be glad to fall into her friends and family's arms, well-surrounded to begin a new life journey.