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Jul. 5th, 2007 09:25 pm"Guppy? Did something happen?"
Guppy tries to keep his facial expressions level. His very patient counsellor sits down on the sofa next to him.
"I know you don't really trust me, and I don't really see what more we can achieve here if you won't talk to me. Is it me personally? Would you like me to help you find a different counsellor?"
Guppy looks up.
"Dan... it's not you, and you have helped me. But I don't want to give you the wrong idea and end up losing my job."
"Guppy, look. We've been having sessions for a couple of months now. And whilst I am concerned about you, I haven't seen anything that would make you a danger to yourself or your patients. You've assured me that you're not suicidal, and I believe you. You've assured me you aren't using drugs, and given your total exhaustion every time I see you I believe you there too. You have given me no reason to think that you are hiding anything from me that would affect your work. You have nothing to worry about in that direction. All I'm trying to do is help you work through the experiences that have been causing you anxiety and sleep disturbances. Okay?"
Guppy nods.
"Right. So what's wrong? You were doing a bit better last week. You said you'd been a good few hours every night, even with your shift work."
"I know. I had."
Dan tilts his head and looks at Guppy. Sometimes this job is like dragging blood from a stone. Little does he know it's often because Guppy is trying to unravel which universe various events happened in.
"Are the nightmares getting worse Guppy?"
Guppy nods.
"Which ones? The latest assault?"
"Yes."
"Are you having panic attacks again?"
"Yes. Sort of. I... I had one this morning."
"What time?"
"About seven. I was late for work."
Dan looks at his notepad for a second.
"This is new for you, isn't it? I mean, not just because it's the first you've had in a while, but apart from the very early ones, all your other ones were at night, after your nightmares."
"Does this mean I'm getting worse?" Guppy asks in alarm.
"Not necessarily, but it suggests to me your anxiety is coming from a different direction. We established that you fear the dreams because they stop you sleeping and affect your work. Your fear of the dreams exacerbates their frightening effect, despite the fact that you have grown more used to their actual content. To be honest, it looks like part of the reason why you've been having panic attacks is because you're frightened of the effect the attacks themselves have on you.
Once you start having them, they come on more easily. Which may explain why you had one in response to something else." Peering at Guppy. "What was it? What were you frightened of?"
"I can't tell you."
Guppy tries to keep his facial expressions level. His very patient counsellor sits down on the sofa next to him.
"I know you don't really trust me, and I don't really see what more we can achieve here if you won't talk to me. Is it me personally? Would you like me to help you find a different counsellor?"
Guppy looks up.
"Dan... it's not you, and you have helped me. But I don't want to give you the wrong idea and end up losing my job."
"Guppy, look. We've been having sessions for a couple of months now. And whilst I am concerned about you, I haven't seen anything that would make you a danger to yourself or your patients. You've assured me that you're not suicidal, and I believe you. You've assured me you aren't using drugs, and given your total exhaustion every time I see you I believe you there too. You have given me no reason to think that you are hiding anything from me that would affect your work. You have nothing to worry about in that direction. All I'm trying to do is help you work through the experiences that have been causing you anxiety and sleep disturbances. Okay?"
Guppy nods.
"Right. So what's wrong? You were doing a bit better last week. You said you'd been a good few hours every night, even with your shift work."
"I know. I had."
Dan tilts his head and looks at Guppy. Sometimes this job is like dragging blood from a stone. Little does he know it's often because Guppy is trying to unravel which universe various events happened in.
"Are the nightmares getting worse Guppy?"
Guppy nods.
"Which ones? The latest assault?"
"Yes."
"Are you having panic attacks again?"
"Yes. Sort of. I... I had one this morning."
"What time?"
"About seven. I was late for work."
Dan looks at his notepad for a second.
"This is new for you, isn't it? I mean, not just because it's the first you've had in a while, but apart from the very early ones, all your other ones were at night, after your nightmares."
"Does this mean I'm getting worse?" Guppy asks in alarm.
"Not necessarily, but it suggests to me your anxiety is coming from a different direction. We established that you fear the dreams because they stop you sleeping and affect your work. Your fear of the dreams exacerbates their frightening effect, despite the fact that you have grown more used to their actual content. To be honest, it looks like part of the reason why you've been having panic attacks is because you're frightened of the effect the attacks themselves have on you.
Once you start having them, they come on more easily. Which may explain why you had one in response to something else." Peering at Guppy. "What was it? What were you frightened of?"
"I can't tell you."
