Ensign Sival: Changes

[James Scott Schumann]

(( Begin Flashback ))

(( Stardate 239207.03, Around six years ago, Sally Bellero Psychiatric Institute, University Hospital, Mars ))

Sival sat patiently at his desk as he allowed his patient to get seated comfortably.

Sival: Thank you for returning for your second appointment. Even that is a big step. You demonstrate that you trust the process.

The woman seated across from him nodded slightly. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to say anything.

Sival: Have you given thought to the discussion we had last time about ‘Radical Acceptance’?

Sival worked with his patients to fully accept and embrace their present reality. This meant completely accepting the past as finished and unchangeable - He believed much of his patient’s suffering was due to their struggle against their own past. Radical Acceptance was a way to reverse their habit of living at war with their intense experiences and neglecting the present moment. Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves as we are and our lives as it is - with kindness and compassion.

Radical Acceptance is a moment of genuine freedom.

Patient: I have, Doctor. And you’re so right! I feel completely liberated! I’ve started joining clubs and social events again - four new ones just last week. I’ve started dating, also. I’m thinking about going back to school and re-enlisting in Starfleet again. I’m so done with the trauma of my past! In fact, now that I have this Radical Acceptance, things have been great. I haven’t dealt with any trauma recently. It's quite a change!

Sival raised an eyebrow.

Sival: It sounds like you are denying your trauma, not accepting it.

Patient: No, Doctor. I really have accepted it. The pain is gone.

Sival: When you say, “the pain is gone,” does it feel like you are being honest with yourself?

Patient: I’m fine, Doctor. I really am.

(( End Flashback ))



(( Main Medical, Deck 7, USS Juneau ))


Tito: My apologies for my lack of courtesy. I am not a social person as you both might have realized. To answer your question, Ensign there hasn't been any change or recent trauma. Besides my recent transfer.


oO Thank you. Oo


Sival was happy that the Lieutenant had chosen to cooperate. Not even an hour after reporting to sickbay, his boss had already asked him to perform a task. He wanted his first ‘test’, if it even were anything like that, and there was no reason to think it was, to go smoothly. He didn’t want it to be ruined by someone’s bad attitude. That was a variable beyond his control - and variable’s beyond one’s control should at least be reserved for the second test.

Still, Sival found himself raising an eyebrow when he heard “there hasn’t been any change or recent trauma.” The answer did not ring as completely honest. And it also sounded all too familiar to what he had heard from his PTSD patients. People wanted to report that they have been doing well, and that is a good thing. So they qualify their answers with words or phrases like “not recently,” even when that wasn’t what was being asked for. But the problem with trauma is even though it may have happened years or decades ago, they are still experiencing it and often reliving it today. Thus the trauma is very recent indeed.


Sival decided he would make a note of this in the Lieutenant’s write-up, and he would recommend his CO share it with the ship’s counsellor.


Indobri: Response


Sival: And, if I may add, did you not being ‘a social person’ contribute to your transfer? Did you make friends easily?


Tito: The ship and crew were efficient. I left many friends there. It’s a joke, Ensign. I don’t make friends.


oO Right. Oo


The change in Lt. Tito’s demeanor was striking. He had gone from aggressive and brusque to now slightly disarmed and more interactive.


Sival. Joking aside, I do believe you have the ability to make friends, Lieutenant. As you are Human, you require social interaction and personal connection. Any issues with forming relationships or intimacy may account for the chemical imbalance I am detecting now.


As Sival said this, it was apparent that Tito wasn’t listening or only half-listening. His gaze and attention seemed almost fixated on Dr. Indobri.


Indobri: Response

 

Tito: Anything else?


Sival had much to say. This was an officer who would be controlling the ship’s weapons, afterall. However, he was not the Chief Medical Officer. All he could do was report the results of the physical, and hope Dr. Indobi was satisfied with his examination.


Sival: ::Addressing Dr. Indobri:: Lieutenant Tito has no condition that would currently impair him from performing his duties, Doctor. However, I would recommend he be required to follow-up with Ensign Tierney for a psychological evaluation.


Indobri: Response


Tito: Then if I am cleared I will be out of your way.


The Lieutenant got up to leave, and as he was walking away, he turned and smiled - leered, as it seemed to Sival - at Dr. Indobri, then he left the room.


Sival: Fascinating individual. So, did I pass your inspection, Doctor?


Indobri: Response


Sival: I see. As we are on shore leave, I would ask your permission to explore some projects independently. Would you be amenable to me using the office in the Secondary Sickbay as I organize my research?


Indobri: Response


Sival: I am interested in the comparative effects of stress on the amygdala in different species. I was planning on requesting permission from Captain Aria to transport to Lightside Station to begin data collection…. Assuming my duties for today are finished here, of course.


Sival actually was not sure if he would be able to find an opportunity to study how different species process threatening stimuli and fear. Most ideal scenarios are, by nature, too dangerous to instigate solely for the purposes of conducting research. Holodecks, on the other hand, were not effective because people knew they were not real. If only there were a middle option.


Indobri: Response


So that was the Captain that he saw in the cargo bay. Yes, a race would have all the necessary elements, and it has a certain element of risk and danger that heightens the reality for the participant. Yes, Sival would pursue this option.


Sival: An interesting suggestion, Doctor. A race of this nature may provide some interesting data. I shall go there at once.


Sival was not sure what his role would be, but even if he had none, hopefully it would be an opportunity for him to meet the Captain. Perhaps his initiative and taking an interest in her project would make a good impression as well.


Indobri: Response


Satisfied by his turn of luck, if Sival believed in such a concept, he thanked the doctor and made his way to Deck 24. If anything, it would be a nice change of activity to round out his first day.


TAG / END

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Ensign Sival
Medical Officer
USS Juneau, NX-99801
J239808S11

https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Sival