PNPC Provisional Crewman Vhysa'lia - Good Talk? Good Talk.
Lich
((Counselor’s Office - Deck 7, USS Artemis-A))
One thing that they liked to do, for all patients, even those back home with the Kobali, was give little “homeworks”. Something for the patient to take with them into their downtime, and to make sure that they weren’t only thinking about their mental state while sitting across from her.
Vhysa’lia: ::nodding:: If you’d like, I can give you a few “homework” exercises, things to practice between now and the next time we meet, that might be helpful? ::beat:: They’re predominantly focused on helping you to recognize situations that cause you distress, and then strategizing healthier ways to react to said situations.
Imril: I can only hope they help. Because it’s not going to stop, is it?
Those words were a tad worrisome, they thought. If Imril was meaning their outbreaks, that wasn’t a good mindset to have going forth… She needed a bit of clarification, but didn’t want to call them out outright with her worry.
Vhysa’lia: I hope they do too. ::tilting their head:: And what do you mean, “it’s not going to stop”?
Imril: I ‘ve read up on enough Starfleet ships and stations to know that getting kidnapped, hijacked, and thrown into alien prisons on phony charges is a pretty regular occurrence in this line of work. For a start.
Vhysa’lia’s shoulders relaxed minutely. Even if she tried not to show emotional reactions past a brief smile or a nod to her patients, sometimes her body betrayed her.
Vhysa’lia: Ah yes, I see. Starfleet does seem to be an extremely risk-heavy career path.
Imril: After I left Bactrica, I told myself I’d neve let myself be caged like that again. But then Frontier Day happened. And then the Meirashi. And now Evreste. Feeling that vice closing in around me, it’s just a matter of when not if it happens again. Next time, it could be Vulcan logic extremists, or Mirror Universe psychos, or a couple of petty thieves who need hostages. Or roll the dice and see what happens. ::Hands shaking:: There’s a Q who likes to suck members of this crew specifically into petty games. How crazy is that? ::Points a finger to an imaginary ticket booth:: Go get in line to bother Admiral Picard and leave the rest of us alone!
She joined them in laughing politely at the joke that they made. It was good that they felt comfortable enough to joke, even just a little. The tears on their cheeks were… not a great sign, but at least they were getting their emotions out on her and not a colleague. That was what Vhysa’lia had signed on to help with, of course.
It was still a bit of an outburst, which was the habit that they were trying to break, but it felt a bit needlessly harsh to point that out right at this moment. This was a learning process, and they’d hopefully soon be able to better understand and counteract the impulse.
Vhysa’lia: ::pausing, to take all of that in:: I can see how you feel like it’s an unceasing barrage.
Imril: It’s not ever going to stop. So I have to change how I respond to it.
Vhysa’lia: ::nodding:: I agree, changing your response is the best bet. That’s why I think we can end this session by going over some ways that perhaps you can try and better deal with these stresses.
The new Kobali sometimes struggled with similar outbursts, triggered by memories from their kyn’steya that they might not even have been fully aware of. So there was a whole gamut of techniques that they and others that worked with the new Kobali had developed, ways to make the newcomers better aware of their emotions so that they could respond in a more appropriate manner. Just like Imril had suggested.
Imril: Response
Vhysa’lia: First, as you’re going about your daily life, I’d like you to try and keep track of how you’re feeling. It doesn’t need to be really granular, just perhaps noting at the end of each day what sort of emotions you were feeling. What we're trying to do with this is give you better awareness of your emotions and help you pick up on patterns.
By keeping track of what they felt and when, even if it wasn’t a constant conscious effort, it forced the patient into being more aware as the habit built. Their earliest entries were often crude, barely touching upon more than a few lightly described feelings, but she’d seen patients progress over time into being significantly more mindful and in tune with how their bodies carried emotion.
Imril: Response
Vhysa’lia: I’d also like for you to try and link each emotion to the situation that’s caused it, and physical feelings you have, when you’re keeping track of what you’ve felt. I hope that this might help you have a better idea of what triggers your anger and fear, so that when you see situations developing where you might get overwhelmed with those emotions, you’re better prepared.
With hope, Imril would be able to start to put together those warning signs on their own, as from their record and this short conversation, she could tell they were quite intelligent. They just needed a bit of a kick in the right direction, and some guidance on how to start.
Imril: Response
Vhysa’lia: If you’d like, I can send you some more resources to read during your downtime… ::getting up, with a little nod:: I think that concludes our session, I think we’ve made some progress already. I’ll see you next session, then?
They gestured to the door, signaling that the time was at a close, and hoping that Imril felt as good about the session as they did.
Imril: Response
As they left Vhysa’lia sat back down at her desk, pulling out a PADD to note down what they’d gone over today, and to summarize the future plans she had for treatment.
Tags/End scene for Vhy’salia :)