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

Chapter 566 Why do all the visitors I met today seem so familiar?

This is a personality disorder.

Even Bai Qinghua frowned at this moment.

First, the causes of personality disorders are multifaceted and longitudinal.

For example, borderline personality disorder. It has a genetic predisposition. Medical research has found that the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and other structures in the brain related to anger, fear, emotion regulation, and memory in individuals with borderline personality disorder differ from those in other people.
In terms of nurture, family environment, childhood experiences, school education, and so on, definitely play a role.

At the same time, psychologically, under unfavorable biological and environmental circumstances, individuals may develop maladaptive coping mechanisms (such as self-harm, substance abuse, and dissociation) to cope with unbearable suffering.

In other words, borderline personality disorder is a condition where a child who is born emotionally sensitive grows up in an environment that denies their emotional experiences and is full of trauma or instability, ultimately developing the current pattern of coping with the world.

Some older textbooks even come to the direct and arbitrary conclusion that personality disorders are incurable.

Although psychotherapy and intervention methods have flourished and there are now clear treatment methods for borderline personality disorder, it remains one of the most stubborn problems of all.

Bai Qinghua couldn't help but ask, "Zhu Ren, are you sure you want to intervene in this matter?"

Nan Zhuren, however, was relatively optimistic: "Li Lingling's life has not been significantly disrupted or subjected to unbearable extreme pain, and she has no history of medication use, so the situation is relatively optimistic."

"Moreover, she is a nurse, a stable job with a permanent position. From this perspective, her mental strength is also very strong."

“I even suspect that, under the influence of this powerful psychological energy, she has already overcome most of the problems stemming from the ‘margins’, which is why she is showing her current attitude.”

Nan Zhuren recalled the first time he met Li Lingling, and how she was extroverted and even somewhat assertive.

In stereotypes, people may think that someone with borderline personality disorder is an emotionally unstable madman or a hermit living on the fringes of society.

However, when psychologists tried to classify patients with borderline personality disorder, they were surprised to find that many high-ranking managers, top performers in certain fields, and even some "charismatic" socialites also had borderline traits.

The human body is amazing. Once adapted to extremely painful environments, it can develop many amazing survival strategies, which may have a positive side in certain situations.

Individuals with borderline personality disorder may sometimes possess strong empathy, loyalty, protectiveness, focus, and self-awareness.

Adventurers, artists, orators, and even those in the field of psychological counseling often need these qualities.

Of course, these are the "qualities forged through hardship," the gains after healing borderline personality disorder into borderline personality, or even borderline personality traits.

Rather than "the benefits of the disease itself".

Borderline personality disorder should be taken seriously.

Nan Zhuren took a deep breath: "Most importantly, I have a feeling that I have touched on some deeper aspects of Li Lingling. Through her narrative, through her dreams... I feel that I can help her."

"As long as you help me, teacher." Nan Zhuren looked at Bai Qinghua with bright eyes.

What could Bai Qinghua, as a teacher, say?

Bai Qinghua nodded: "Okay, I'll communicate with the hospital again and see if we can get more information about Li Lingling."

Of the three elements of counseling, counselors often only receive two: the counselor's impression and the client's self-evaluation; the more crucial element, evaluation from others, is frequently missing.

After all, counselors are not supposed to have any other connection with the lives of their clients.

However, Li Lingling's case was commissioned by the hospital, which is different from ordinary psychological counseling.

This also gave Nan Zhuren an opportunity to finally obtain the rarest third element—a more comprehensive and objective image of the visitor in the eyes of a third party.

"Then I'll leave it to you, teacher." With that, Nan Zhuren glanced at his watch.

He set an alarm for himself to remind himself of the time for his next consultation.

The timing is good; it's just past the deadline Nan Zhuren set for himself.

"Teacher, I have another visitor coming later..."

"Go ahead." Bai Qinghua waved his hand, then turned his gaze back to his computer screen.

Nan Zhuren opened the door and left.

Just when Bai Qinghua thought he could finally have some peace and quiet.

Buzz-buzz-

His phone suddenly vibrated again.

"Hey, Da Hui? What's up... Oh, I'm at the company today."

Hearing the surprised question from the other end of the phone, Bai Qinghua raised an eyebrow: "What, is it strange that I'm at the company?"

"Okay... Zhu Ren has encountered a problem."

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately calmed down, and then said something else.

"Are you having any problems with organizing the materials?" Bai Qinghua glanced at the text projected on the computer screen. "Do you have any consultations this afternoon? Why don't you come to the company?"

……

On the other side, Nan Zhuren returned to his workstation, grabbed a pen, folder, and consultation record sheet, and hurriedly walked out.

He texted Mo Kai on his phone as he walked.

[Nan Zhuren: Has the visitor arrived yet?]

[Mo Kai: We've arrived. We're doing tests.]

[Nan Zhuren: I'm in position in the consultation room. Please bring the client over after they've completed the test.]

[Mo Kai: Okay (OK.jpg)]

Opening the door to the consultation room and sitting on the single sofa on the right, Nan Zhuren adjusted her thoughts and mood.

Li Lingling's case was quite mentally taxing, but professional psychological counselors are always strict with their own emotional management.

He quickly adjusted his mindset.

Not a moment.

dong dong dong-

"Enter."

This time, the visitor didn't come in on his own; Mo Kai was the first person to come into view.

Behind Mo Kai was a girl who looked to be around twenty years old; she was the visitor today.

Because the procedure for today's visitor was slightly different from usual, the consultation started a little differently as well. Mo Kai, the consultation assistant, led the visitor in for the on-site handover.

"This is your counselor today, Teacher Nan," Mo Kai introduced to the visitor. Mo Kai then turned to Nan Zhuren and handed him a chart that was still slightly warm, clearly freshly printed.

"Teacher Nan, these are the results of the visitor's recent test."

Nan Zhuren nodded and accepted it.

Mo Kai then turned to the visitor: "Teacher Nan will analyze your test results for you in a bit. You can contact me anytime if needed after the consultation."

After saying that, he turned and left the consultation room.

Nan Zhuren observed the visitors during this process.

The girl looked like a college student. She wore light makeup and was dressed neatly.

"Hello, teacher." Upon seeing Nan Zhuren, the other party greeted him politely and generously.

He doesn't seem like a visitor who would put in extra effort.

"Hello." Nan Zhuren nodded with a smile. "Please sit down."

This smile caused the visitor's lips to curve upwards slightly as well. However, compared to the reactions Nan Zhuren had encountered with other girls in the past, the effect was slightly less pronounced.

It feels similar to Li Lingling's approach? It has some effect, but it's not very strong.

Nan Zhuren first glanced at the client's psychological test results, his gaze unfocused for two seconds. Under the influence of the "flow state," he quickly summarized the information from the client's data.

Nan Zhuren paused slightly, then looked at the visitor without changing his expression.

Just as Nan Zhuren looked up, the visitor spoke: "Teacher—"

Hmm, it seems the client's concerns are more urgent than the test results. Therefore, Nan Zhuren will naturally proceed according to the client's wishes for consultation.

He straightened his posture.

"—Well, I have a friend..."

Yes, this is often used as an opening line for certain popular psychology memes. Generally, when someone says this, the "friend" is actually the speaker themselves...

"I met that friend in the interview room for university's independent admissions program. She's really amazing; she took over the group leader position and controlled the discussion perfectly during the leaderless group discussion."

"Before she spoke, our leaderless group discussion was very chaotic. But after she calmed things down, we quickly became different. In the end, almost everyone in our group got high marks, which was all thanks to her."

The client leaned forward slightly. Although he was still a little reserved speaking to the therapist he was meeting for the first time, the corners of his mouth had involuntarily turned up slightly, and his left hand had begun to wave.

Hmm, judging from this reaction, "having a friend" really means "friend" and not the person in question.

[Leaderless Group Discussion] is a common group interview method. It typically involves a temporary group of 6-10 candidates who discuss a given problem for a period of time without a designated leader, and ultimately reach a consensus solution.

During the interview process, the final solution is often not important. The interviewer's scoring criteria are the various qualities that the candidate demonstrates during the discussion—for example, who will take the initiative to stand up as the leader to moderate the discussion, who will take the initiative to help the group keep track of time and consider the overall situation, who will strongly pressure other candidates during the discussion, and who will be so weak that they cannot say a word throughout the process.

The "leaderless group discussion" mentioned by the visitor occurred during "university independent admissions," which is a special exam for top universities targeting high school seniors with special talents.

University graduates often feel lost when faced with leaderless group discussions at the company level, leading to chaos, let alone high school students.

Someone who can lead a leaderless group discussion in high school and guide the rest of the group is truly remarkable.

The visitor seemed a bit excited: "After our interview, I got that friend's contact information. But because of the college entrance exam at that time, we didn't keep in touch much."

"Later, because of my good results in the independent enrollment program, the university I interviewed with lowered my admission score, which was close to my college entrance examination score. I feel very lucky and I am very grateful to my friend."

"Then, when we were assigned dorm rooms in our freshman year, I actually saw her in my dorm room! She was my roommate!"

The visitor's smile widened: "I feel even luckier."

"So it just happened... naturally, we became friends, and then best friends."

“It’s been three years now, and we haven’t dated anyone in those three years. Although I’ve made other friends, she and I have always been the best of friends.”

Judging from the development of this plot, it is indeed quite logical.

But Nan Zhuren said he was cautious and continued to listen.

"But just a few days ago, we had some drinks together on my birthday, and she said some things to me that left me... not knowing what to do."

The visitor's voice suddenly lowered. She pursed her lips, the smile that had been there just moments before vanishing.

Nan Zhuren then asked, "What did you mean?"

The visitor took a deep breath: "I asked her, 'I feel she's incredibly kind to her friends, especially to me, and I'm very touched. But—why is that?'"

Nan Zhuren sensed something was amiss.

The atmosphere seems a bit ambiguous?

"Then..." the visitor seemed somewhat helpless, "She said it was because her parents didn't love her."

Uh-huh?

Oh, I misunderstood.

Nan Zhuren steadied himself; perhaps from doing too many random consultations, his thoughts were wandering.

This situation... cannot be described as "normal" nor "okay".

It's not too crooked, though.

But shouldn't this be a case of a friend seeking counseling? Does this visitor actually want to find a solution for her best friend's problem?

"After she said that, she probably saw that I was a little flustered, so she immediately comforted me."

The visitor's voice grew even more somber: "She said this matter no longer breaks her; she's long since accepted it. But she also said there's an even crueler truth behind it—"

The visitor seemed to be mimicking someone's tone: "She said—no one in this world really loves her."

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow.

The visitor shook her head with a complicated expression and sighed, "I didn't even dare to say anything then. Then she continued, 'That's how it is with family and love; I won't believe things I haven't seen before. But I have seen friendship, and that is you. So in a sense, you may be the person who loves me the most in this world.'"

Nan Zhuren raised her eyebrows even higher, and she felt that her best friend really needed to consult with her.

The visitor said, "After hearing this, I felt a lot of pressure, like I was taking on the burden of someone's entire life, but..."

As they spoke, the visitor's tone suddenly became strange, and began to tremble.

Her ears also began to turn slightly red: "But after the pressure subsided... I suddenly felt that it wasn't bad... no, not 'bad,' it was... wonderful!"

(End of this chapter)