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

Chapter 476 Comforting Landing

When a person is startled, the excited sympathetic nervous system will cause the pupils to dilate to their maximum extent in less than a second.

During the core startle response period, this extreme pupil dilation lasts for 1-5 seconds, a phase in which the body is in a state of high alert, preparing to deal with potential threats.

Even after the initial shock subsides, the pupils may not immediately return to baseline. If the source of shock persists, or if the individual remains in a state of sustained tension or anxiety, the pupils may remain dilated for tens of seconds or even minutes.

In Nan Zhuren's view, the visitor was in a state of constant fear at that moment.

After the visitor's pupils dilated to an extreme degree, they did not return to the baseline for a long time. Accompanied by staring, fixed gaze, and stiff, trembling body, the visitor sat motionless on the sofa, panting heavily.

It's as if the source of the fright, which only existed in the past, is still around us.

"Alright, Zhihao, let's stop here for a bit." Nan Zhuren noticed that the other person had once again fallen into the [memory flashback] scene.

The visitor looked up, raised his eyebrows sharply, and squeezed out clear forehead wrinkles, using this exaggerated movement to focus his attention on the present moment.

"Teacher, all I can think about right now are those two videos, um..."

The visitor slammed one hand heavily on his chest, making a dull thud.

Then cover it tightly:

"I feel a little nauseous..."

Nan Zhuren revealed a slight, empathetic sadness: "Do you remember the process of our [grounding technology] just now?"

"Hiss—whoosh." The visitor took a deep breath. "I remember."

Nan Zhuren said, "Let's practice again now. This time I will reduce my instructions and let you practice independently as much as possible."

"However, in this [5-4-3-2-1 exercise], what you see, touch, hear, and smell, don't try to repeat what you felt last time. Let's try to capture what we feel first, okay?"

The visitor nodded, then seemed to mutter to himself, "First, take a deep breath, push off the ground..."

The visitor closed his eyes, then quickly opened them again.

"Then there were five things I saw: yellow sand flowing in the hourglass; a reflection on the coffee table; oil stains and fingerprints on the glass; birds flying by outside the window; and books with red and blue covers on the bookshelf..."

"Then there are four other sensations felt by the skin..."

Nan Zhuren took a slight breath and observed the visitor opposite him.

The other person kept muttering the process of "grounding technology," as if only in this way could their body follow the instructions.

This is perfectly fine.

For people who have difficulty concentrating, using language for self-guidance is a normal behavior.

For beginners who have just learned a technology, the key is to mobilize as many of their cognitive resources as possible to improve the completion rate of their technical tasks.

Nan Zhuren watched quietly.

After the visitor completed the "three auditory tasks," his cognitive resources were finally gradually freed up. Nan Zhihao's attention began to return, he stopped muttering to himself, and was able to continue the sensory task.

Finally, accompanied by a barely perceptible movement of tension and relaxation in the ankle, the visitor looked up and said, "Teacher, I'm all better now."

Nan Zhuren's heart was still pounding with anxiety.

It's okay, but it's not really okay.

After the previous "grounding technique" session ended, the visitor entered a relatively relaxed state;
At present, the visitor is still in a state of deep negative emotions.

—The gap is huge.

Nan Zhuren secretly assessed the situation.

The client's state was different in these two visits. The last time, the negative emotions came on suddenly, were intense, and fluctuated greatly; but they also subsided quickly.

This time, the negative emotions came suddenly, but were relatively low in intensity. However, they lasted longer and were not so easy to resolve.

It's possible that because the client relived painful memories twice in a short period and used grounding techniques twice, they achieved a degree of desensitization. This resulted in a lower intensity of emotions experienced by the client, and a less effective use of techniques to detach themselves from negative emotions.

Of course, it's also possible that because the "grounding technique" was practiced independently by the visitor this time, the effect wasn't as good as when guided by Nan Zhuren.

However, it can also be considered a good opportunity.

The third landing of "grounding technology," the "self-soothing" landing, is applied to the current scenario to solve the immediate problem.

……

After organizing his thoughts, Nan Zhuren guided him, "Very good. You have just independently completed the [Grounding Technique] that we practiced before. How does it feel now?"

The visitor touched his chest and took a breath.

He then whispered, "It seems... I still feel a little panicked. My stomach isn't nauseous anymore, but my chest still feels tight... Is it because I did something wrong in my practice?"

The visitor looked up and gave a wry smile.

Nan Zhuren gently shook his head, offering timely reassurance: "This is the normal procedure for practicing alone. You can now clearly perceive the signals your body is sending, so we can smoothly move on to the next step."

As he spoke, Nan Zhuren pointed to the hourglass he had initially placed on the coffee table: "When you were searching for things you could see, this hourglass was your first choice. You really like it?"

The visitor replied, "Because you brought this over, teacher, I always felt... it must be of great use?"

It is indeed very useful.

Nan Zhuren said, "Okay, now turn the hourglass upside down and let the sand flow to the other end."

The visitor complied, his eyes involuntarily drawn to the slowly flowing sand.

Nan Zhuren said, "Okay, then close your eyes."

Then he asked a rather impractical question: "Can you feel the sand slowly flowing in the hourglass in your hand?"

The visitor frowned and pondered the question for a moment, as if carefully considering it.

"I feel... I'm not really able to..."

But she quickly changed her tune: "But...it seems, there is a little bit."

"It's faint, after all, the sand is very fine and there's not much of it."

Nan Zhuren chuckled inwardly.

Not "very" detailed, not "very" few;