byakkoyagirl | ✯ Seventh Session ✯ [Voice]

[Through the weeks Paprika has been noticing more people coming through, signalling another cycle. It seems that most of the arrivals have already come and still no Atsuko. Well, that's probably for the best anyway. She can't say she would be happy to see the woman stuck here. For some reason she's been thinking about it. Probably because of the rain. The cold, dim demeanor reminded her of her creator. Kind of sad actually.

In the morning, she flips open the journal and begins. She has something she wants to address and given the rain, more people will probably be inside reading to see it.]

So, I see we got some new arrivals in the village. I'm sorry that you all got stuck here. ...Well, only half-sorry. If you actually want to be here, that's fine too. [A small smile.]

My name is Paprika and I'm a psychotherapist. For anyone who doesn't have 'people doctors' in their world, psychotherapists help people cope with certain issues they feel they can't resolve on their own. Like mental stress or the like. Specifically, my specialty is dream therapy. Psychotherapists are known for having interpersonal relationships, so it's like getting to know the person inside and out and not just talking to them for an hour a week.

I'll get to the point: if any of you have things you want to talk about, but don't feel like you have anyone who will listen or want to keep a matter private from others, I'm willing to lend an ear. Everything we speak about is confidential between us and I won't force it on you. I already learned to make unhackable filters on this system. Or, if you prefer, we can talk in person.

It's just an offer I'm willing to give to anyone who needs it. We have plenty of medical doctors, but sometimes the deepest wounds come from within the psyche. This goes for current residents too. Luceti can be a stressing environment and no one would blame you for getting stressed to a point where you need help, if you can acknowledge you need it. I'll be here all day to answer in.

[ooc: replies come when I wake up.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What about someone who lives in the present and moves on but is still haunted by the past despite realizing that?

[He doesn't want to forget... But he would like to be able to stop feeling haunted at times. It makes him feel weak.]

That depends. Do they want to be haunted by their past, or not? If they willingly cling on to things they know would hurt them, I can't really help. I can only help those willing to accept that help.

There's a difference between not forgetting something completely and be haunted by it. I don't think anyone would want that.

If you're haunted by something, it means you want to forget it. At least a part of you does. Why else would you feel haunted?

I suppose you're right, but in that case it may be better to be haunted after all. Forgetting would only lead to commit the same mistakes again.

Forgetting a memory is different from forgetting a life lesson. If you touch a hot stove you'll remember not to touch it again, but you don't necessarily remember the pain that came from it.

I don't think that just remembering that would suffice, if you forget that pain you'll end underestimating it.

You can really remember pain once it's gone as a memory. Your body, on the other hand, would remember the effect and subconsciously you would be wary of something that could cause the pain. You don't remember what it feels like, but you remember that it caused you pain.

Maybe, but not remembering the exact amount of pain that it caused you may lead you to think that you can deal with it if it happens again and commit the same error because the only other option you have is something that would also cause you pain.

Like having to choose between falling into almost friezed water or into fire, you remember that the fire burned you and caused you pain, but not how much pain it caused. So you choose that, because the water is cold and would hurt too and you could down, you think you can handle the fire, but at the end you should have chosen the water because that pain wasn't as bad as what fire did to you.

It's not a matter of not wanting to remember or pushing aside that memory however - remembering a feeling of pain to it's exact amount is practically impossible. You might remember certain sensations regarding the pain, like smells or visual sights, but generating the same feelings are impossible even if you remember how much pain you were in.

Like, getting a paper cut. You know it hurt when you got it, but remembering exactly how you felt is impossible. All you remember is that there was pain involved in it, so you would naturally want to avoid getting cut again.

✯ Seventh Session ✯ [Voice]

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[Voice] oops didn't see this earlier, my bad.