STF

Holodeck 2- Therapy in Unusual Places Day 2, Part 1

Posted Sept. 28, 2021, 9:05 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Daggum Hammor (Chief Operations Officer) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in Holodeck 2- Therapy in Unusual Places Day 2, Part 1

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (CNS) in Holodeck 2- Therapy in Unusual Places Day 2, Part 1

Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in Holodeck 2- Therapy in Unusual Places Day 2, Part 1
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

With her coffee cup still in hand, Viyara wiggled the bare toes of her right foot and said, “Be right back,” before heading out of the room and towards her bedroom.

It was only a couple of minutes later that she reappeared, still in the pleated black, grey and magenta tartan miniskirt and a simple tank top in a darker shade of magenta. But she had left the scarf in her bedroom and her feet were now clad in dark grey sock and a pair of black hiking boots. “Shall we?” she asked a little hesitantly as she put her cup down on the counter.

~Viyara Nazeen

Contrary to the others, Hammor took off his shoes and socks and stood up. “I’m ready.”

Daggum

“Feel free to grab a travel mug from the cupboard and bring your coffee with you,” Janna said, as she did so for herself. All told, this was perhaps the oddest sort of evaluation she’d ever done and the setting was unusual too, but it had worked the way she had hoped and gave Viyara a place to begin. At least once she confirmed her suspicion with Grey, Janna had a good idea about the framework she and Viyara would begin a treatment plan with. Gesturing to the front door fo the cottage, she smiled at Nazeen. “Lead the way, Viyara. We’re with you,” she said simply.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

After a brief moment of thought, Viyara reached for one of the travel mugs, but instead of filling it with coffee, she filled it with cold water from the tap. Once everyone seemed ready to go, she led the way out of the cottage and then a few metres down the main (and almost only) road in this tiny village of Ballintoy on the coast of Northern Ireland. They soon reached a narrow path through the green fields and pastures that led straight to the cliffs ahead of them. Ahead and to their left, apparently very close to the cliffs, they could see a white church with a grey slate roof. There were more sheep in the pastures and people living in the village. And just like the day before there was a light breeze and some clouds, making the temperature and all perfect for a hike.

With the path Viyara had chosen it took them a little less than ten minutes till they reached the cliffs. The ocean, several metres below them, was of a beautiful azure and teal colour. As they looked across the ocean, they could see the white crests of the waves. The air was filled with the sound of the wind and the waves hitting the rocks below them and the cries of seagulls. They could smell the salt and seaweed and the grass around them.

Pointing towards an area about a hundred metres or so to their right, Viyara said, “Down there are more rocks than grass. I think that would be a good place to sit down.” So she turned in that direction and continued to lead the way. As they walked this last bit, they moved slightly down and to their right part of the rocky cliffs seemed to rise up. Quickly they reached a place where they could sit on some of the rocks that seemed to form a circle. Almost as if someone had placed them there on purpose.

~Viyara Nazeen

Janna flashed the gents a grin and followed Viyara, taking up purchase on a rock. “Okay then, before I talk about a way forward, Doctor Grey, can you fill me in on if you found anything physiological of note during the exam?” She wanted to start there and then they could talk about the various things that would need to happen going forward to give Viyara a future she could envision and be excited about.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Before sitting down Benjamin looked towards the ocean and inhaled deeply through his nose then exhaled in a satisfied manner then pointed vaguely north east “Maybe a couple hundred or so kilometers that way give or take a few dozen” He turned back to the group “That’s home” He smiled before walking over to the rock and sitting down next to Kingston. Crossing his legs and folding his arms “I haven’t had a chance to give her neurological readings a thorough look but all in all she’s in perfectly good shape. Exluding an unfortunate tendency for using medical equipment on herself”

Dr. Grey CMO

Kingston nodded. “I’m aware and we’ll be dealing with that,” she said simply.

Blood rushed to her cheeks and Viyara found herself ducking her head, even flinching slightly.

For a moment she just turned to Viyara and gazed at her. “At the very beginning of all of this, I asked you to take a leap and trust me, someone you hardly knew at all. I asked you to trust that I know what I was doing and that I could help you find a way forward. Before we talk about the diagnosis and what comes next, I want you to have something grounding you. So, knowing all you know now, I want you to think maybe five years in the future and tell me what you can see as being possible for yourself. Go big, or small, it doesn’t matter. But I want you to ignore whatever limitations you think my diagnosis might have on those goals, set it all aside and pretend for a moment nothing is in your way. What does an amazing and happy life look like for that Viyara?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Chewing on her lower lip, her gaze fixed on the ground, Viyara thought about that for several long moments. Eventually she said, “I’m still a Science Officer with Starfleet. I’m getting in much less trouble. To the point that I earned a second pip on my collar. I have a few friends and I’m still here.” She didn’t specify what “here” meant. In fact she wasn’t entirely sure herself. The Athena? Alive? Maybe both? She gave a small shrug and briefly glanced up at Janna before dropping her gaze again.

~Viyara Nazeen

“Hey, Viyara,” Janna said, hoping to draw her attention again.

When Janna said her name, Viyara looked at her, but didn’t say anything. Instead she waited for her to continue talking.

“Think of all of this as a turning point. From here on, you have new information with which to make different decisions. You get to decide what wasn’t working before a diagnosis and we can find better ways of handling stressors that work best for you.” Janna swept her gaze to Daggum and Ben for a moment including them once again in the conversation. “Doctor Grey, before you arrived I told Viyara that based on her symptoms and everything she’s spoken about and I’ve witnessed, I am comfortable diagnosing her with Borderline Personality Disorder.” She focused back on Viyara. “Now, treatment usually involves a multi-pronged approach. Given that it’s a complicated disorder and manifests a wide range of symptoms, there is no one medication that will ease all symptoms. You don’t seem to have a history of depression, so I’m not worried about treating that symptom, but many patients with BPD benefit from a mood stabilizer. I’d like to work to find one that works for you, with Doctor Grey’s help, because the goal is to lower the threshold for how intense our emotions are to us and how that in turn can make us overreact to even small stressors. There is a mistake people sometimes make in thinking that people with BPD have no feelings, but the opposite is usually true. We feel things so deeply that it becomes unbearable to manage. So what we’re going to do is calm in the input a little so that we have a chance to work with your mind to develop better coping strategies.”

With her eyes locked on Janna, Viyara had grabbed the hem of her skirt and was twisting it between her fingers. Of course only part of the information was new for her and still it felt like a lot to take in and to wrap her head around.

Janna offered a small smile. “I’m not gong to lie to you Viyara. It’s hard. It will require hard work on your part, and mine, and you will need to rely on your support system as you go through this,” she said, flicking her gaze to Daggum. “We’re going to continue with your sessions and I’m going to shift my approach ever so slightly to use what’s known as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, which has been shown over and over again to be the most successful type of therapy that can give you a sense of control over the situation rather than feeling like you mind if controlling you.” She stopped there to gauge reactions and give an opportunity to ask questions.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

For a moment Viyara closed her eyes tightly while still holding tightly onto the hem of her skirt. Then suddenly she rose to her feet and walked towards the edge of the cliff and stared down at the rocks and the waves below. Letting go of her skirt she instead wrapped both her arms around her middle with the thumb of her right hand digging into the inside of her left elbow.

Without turning around Viyara asked after a few moments, “So the medication would numb my emotions?” Her voice was strangely flat and she felt as if her mind was almost blank.

~Viyara Nazeen

Daggum spoke up and said “No, no V… not numb. But they take some of the… the… intensity of ‘em down a few notches. I used them when I first got to the Academy. Helped me get a handle on my anger management. They won’t stop you from feeling, V… but they’ll help you to not feel lie you are drowning in your feelings.” and he looked at Gray and Kingston to make sure his description was at least moderately accurate.

Daggum


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