Posted June 14, 2022, 8:59 a.m. by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) (Lindsay B)
Posted by Lieutenant Surra Almikaz (Chief of Psychiatry) in Counselling Suite- Doctors Make the Worst Patients
Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in Counselling Suite- Doctors Make the Worst Patients
(snip)
“Needs versus wants,” Myqian said. “Do I want to do this? No. Do I need to? There is a good argument to be made for going ahead with it. I hear what you’re saying and I actually agree with it. But right now my grief and the situation that triggered it is overwhelming me. And being hyper-aware of everyone, as I am, is only distressing me more at the moment.” The hand resting on the desk tightened into a fist, knuckles paling. “I don’t need to be a telepath to hear the whispers, see the worried glances. The crew is noticing that I’m not myself and that in turn is compounding my distress. I am not the kind of commander that has to appear infallible to the crew, but this is different and I’m not okay with it. And we’ve done a temporary suppressant before in crisis situations where I was overwhelming. Knocking down my abilities actually made me more clear-headed in those situations, not less.”
She sighed. “Séan wanted to do the suppressant for two weeks. That might be a bit excessive. What about three or four days? We ease that stressor and I can fall back on my other self care options and see where I end up.”
Commander Myqian, XO
Surra nodded. “I understand and I respect your decision. I think trying it out for a couple of days is an acceptable compromise.”
She picked up her PADD, displayed a holographic image of the Commander’s brain, and said, “Now Federation doctors have been able to identify the frontal region of the brain, specifically in Betazoids, is the part that controls the telepathy. Little is still known about Haliians but looking at this scan of your brain, from Dr. Iven’s previous research, your activity seems to come from the anterior and middle cingulate areas, precuneus, as well as the frontal regions. You are a powerful telepath, Commander, and I see why it affects you so intensely.”
Dira nodded. Some telepaths saw her inability to fully shield her mind as somehow indicating a weakness in her ability and a lack of mastery. But the opposite was true. She did as much as she could to block others out but at the same time even if she could disconnect herself fully it would be a lonely experience for a psi-positive person. The compromise was that some things leaked through, no matter what she did. She valued connection and so had learned to live in this state and most of the time it added something wonderful to her life.
The holographic image still displayed as she carefully laid her PADD back on her desk, and stood up as a real-time simulation of the medication and its effects of it on her brain ran, targeting the areas she spoke of. “The proposed treatment will consist of a fronto-hippocampal inhibitor that will suppress the interneuron activities in these particular areas of the brain.”
The psychiatrist in her followed this clearly, having had a good look at her own brain in a scan on more than one occasion. “That sounds reasonable.” It was a bit more targeted than the suppressants she was given on the fly recently, and that boded well for this little experiment.
She looked at Dira and said with raised eyebrows, “I am certain you will not experience anything other than minor side effects which might initially include some forgetfulness, blurriness, and a bit of vertigo but these should last no more than a twenty-four or forty-eight hours. Your brain will be trying to adjust to its new state. If you are having these symptoms any longer you will need to immediately let me know. I will be monitoring you but I will be consulting with Dr. Bonner to ensure that we are prepared for any…unexpected circumstances. And of course, you will need to refrain from your command duties until we can assess the full effects of the medication.”
Almikaz, CoP
Myqian shook her head. “Again, we need to compromise. I’ve already been off duty and the longer it takes me to get back to even my admin work, the more stress it will cause me later on. How about, no bridge duty, but I’m allowed light administrative work in my office?”
Commander Myqian, XO
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