Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 2 The Lingering Nightmare
Nan Zhuren has not slept for two days and one night.

I've time-traveled!

The ambiguous environment and the ambiguous physical condition led Nan Zhuren to this idea.

But this thought filled him with immense fear, as a psychological counselor who was extremely sensitive to his profession.

[Am I going crazy? Do I really think I've traveled through time?]

But if that's not the case, then what about the memories in the brain?

[Furthermore, why have I been plagued by the same dream ever since I woke up in this body?]

Did I really time travel, or... am I going crazy? Am my memories getting messed up?

These thoughts kept colliding, rubbing, and clashing in Nan Zhuren's mind.

Nan Zhuren is a professional psychological counselor. Faced with these abnormalities he was experiencing, he immediately went to the hospital's neurology department and physical examination center for a comprehensive examination.

After ruling out any organic lesions, Nan Zhuren decisively pulled out a widely used outpatient examination scale for mental disorders and psychological illnesses in China—the SCL-90 Symptom Checklist. Without hesitation, he began answering the questions.

He needs a quantifiable score to assess his current situation.

However, after Nan Zhuren carefully spent 40 minutes completing the SCL-90 scale, he discovered a very serious problem:
He was so familiar with the scale that he subconsciously began to control the score.

The SCL-90 has nine items. When Nan Zhuren first suspected he was ill, his scores for the four items [Depression], [Anxiety], [Paranoia], and [Psychoticism] were ridiculously high.

However, when Nan Zhuren realized something was wrong and calmed down to do it again, her scores for [depression] and [anxiety] dropped, while her scores for [interpersonal sensitivity] and [hostility] rose again.

The scale was used many times, and each time it was different.

Nan Zhuren then used the Self-Assessment Health Rating Scale (SRHMS), the Clinical Assessment Scale for Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) to test himself.

Unsurprisingly, they all exhibited the same problems as the SCL-90.

Nan Zhuren thus discovered that self-testing with scales was ineffective, and he needed to examine his situation from a different perspective.

"I need to put myself in extreme situations where I can't use my professional knowledge of psychology, and make it impossible for me to think rationally."

Nan Zhuren murmured to himself, looking at the bathroom mirror in front of him: "Then, we'll use another method to conduct a more efficient self-test."

He had dark circles under his eyes in the mirror.

The man in the mirror reeked of coffee.

He stayed up all night, for two whole days and nights.

Thirty-six hours.

It may have been as long as thirty-seven hours by now.

At this moment, Nan Zhuren's mind was in a state of chaos, unable to form normal sentences. His thoughts would jump off to who-knows-where with the slightest shift. In this state, he could no longer use his psychological knowledge to deal with the problem, nor could he allow his professional skills to interfere with the normal assessment.

However, it is obviously impossible to create a scale in this situation.

Nan Zhuren decided to test her condition using another method—sandpit therapy.

……

Nan Zhuren looked at the building in front of him, the six characters "Jiangdu Legal Building" were prominently displayed before his eyes.

This building is located in the city center of Jiangdu, with convenient transportation and a vibrant nightlife scene. Just by looking at it, you can tell that the rent is quite high.

However, this prosperity was not Nan Zhuren's purpose. Nan Zhuren took the elevator and slowly ascended. After exiting and turning left less than ten steps away, a transparent sensor door slowly opened in front of him.

The logo, consisting of the eight large characters "Yan Nuo Psychological Counseling Center," stands there, making it easily visible at a glance.

This is a psychological counseling center that provides psychological counseling services. But Nan Zhuren is not here for counseling; the secret in his heart prevents him from allowing others to pry into his secrets.

He straightened his clothes and quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Hello?"

A young woman in her early twenties was sitting at the reception desk of the consultation center. She had been organizing files and hadn't noticed Nan Zhuren's approach. Startled by the abrupt greeting, she reflexively looked up and flashed a standard professional smile.

"Hello!"

"Welcome to Yannuo Consulting! How can I help you? Do you have a consultation appointment scheduled?"

A series of welcoming words flowed out from her sweet voice.

“I’m not a visitor, I’m a colleague who started working here today.” Nan Zhuren pulled at the corners of her mouth, revealing a gentle smile. “My name is Nan Zhuren.”

Knowing that her momentary lapse in concentration hadn't caused her to neglect greeting the visitor, the receptionist breathed a sigh of relief. Her previously respectful demeanor immediately crumbled, revealing the weariness common to working professionals. Even her form of address changed, no longer using the formal "you": "You're here to report for duty today, right? There should only be one consulting assistant joining in the last few days, and that must be you, you..."

The receptionist suddenly stopped talking, her gaze fixed on Nan Zhuren's face.

"That's me, my name is Nan Zhuren." Nan Zhuren introduced himself again.

The receptionist's tone suddenly softened, but her gaze remained fixed: "Ah... why are you here so early?"

"Today is my first day at the company, and I thought I'd come a little early to get familiar with the work environment."

Nan Zhurenqian said.

After "suspecting" that she had transmigrated, Nan Zhuren not only went to the hospital for a check-up and self-tested her mental state, but also quickly organized the original owner's online information, knowing that today was the original owner's first day of work at her new job.

After careful consideration, Nan Zhuren decided to come and work here: firstly, if she really did time travel, she would definitely need to make a living, and she couldn't do without a job.

Secondly, while scale tests are the most economical and practical psychological tests, more advanced psychological techniques require suitable facilities and equipment for self-testing. Fortunately, this counseling center has a sandplay therapy room, allowing Nan Zhuren to use sandplay therapy to self-test her psychological state.

The receptionist stared intently at Nan Zhuren's face, her gaze somewhat fixed: "But you're way too early. There's still at least an hour before the consultants and assistants start their shifts..."

"Although I joined as an assistant, I still want to review my counseling skills, just in case I need them," Nan Zhuren asked with a smile. "Can we go into the sandplay room now?"

The receptionist arrived so early to memorize the day's schedule for the counseling center. Upon hearing this, she immediately shook her head: "No visitors have used the sandplay therapy this morning. If you want to use it, just go in. Remember to clean it up later..."

"Or, I can help you pack..."

"No need, I know it well," Nan Zhuren said politely. Then his gaze swept around and suddenly pointed to a stack of booklets behind the front desk. "Um—could I have a copy?"

Nan Zhuren's eyes lit up because it was a stack of DSM-V manuals.

The full name of the DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. DSM-V, the fifth edition of the DSM, is a version that classifies, diagnoses, and supports the treatment of mental illnesses according to the spectrum of disorders.

The self-test scales that Nan Zhuren used were all brought from her previous school. More professional manuals, on the other hand, are held by specialized institutions, hospitals, and laboratories due to copyright issues.

Out of caution, Nan Zhuren wanted to test the tool again with this version.

Most importantly, the scales used previously were familiar to Nan Zhuren, while this manual was relatively unfamiliar to him. "Familiarity" is also an important factor that interferes with the validity of scale scores. Retesting with the DSM will yield more reliable results than those scales.

"for you."

"Thank you—" Nan Zhuren glanced at the name tag on the receptionist's badge and politely addressed her, "—Teacher Lu."

In the psychological counseling industry, when you are not very familiar with a colleague, it is generally polite to address them as "teacher" regardless of their position. If there is a younger female colleague who is sensitive about her age, adding "younger" before her name will be safer and also sound more friendly.

Nan Zhuren turned and left, while Lu Jia stood there stunned for a while.

Her exquisite makeup concealed the changes in her complexion, but it was clear that her ears were gradually turning red, resembling delicate pink peach blossoms.

"He's so handsome..."

After a long while, Lu Jia slowly raised her hand to support her chin.

"He's very young. Will we be colleagues with him in the future?"

Lu Jia's face was filled with satisfaction, like a bear that had been hibernating for a whole season finally sucking its beloved honey, her whole being radiating a blissful charm.

"But you have really dark circles under your eyes. Is it because you like to stay up late reading novels? Guys who like to read novels are usually quite handsome. Otherwise, could it be..."

Lu Jia's expression turned serious, revealing the ferocity of a predator: "Is your girlfriend too thirsty?"

……

The inner thoughts of the receptionist are unknown to outsiders.

Nan Zhuren ran towards the miniature garden room without looking back.

Close the door to shut out all the noise.

In front of him were two sandboxes, one large and one small. The smaller one was about 50cm x 70cm x 7cm in size, while the larger one was about twice the length of the smaller one.

Nan Zhuren walked to the smaller sandbox and immersed his hands in the sand.

He felt the fine, soft sand rubbing and sliding in his palm, as if he were being soothed, and his tense and tired heart involuntarily relaxed.

Sandplay therapy (self-test), beginning.

(End of this chapter)