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

Chapter 588 The Unforgiven Person
The story being told by the visitor is undoubtedly one that will bring tears to the eyes and sadden the listener.

No normal person would remain unmoved upon hearing this.

Nan Zhuren frowned slightly, letting out a long breath to calm himself. The empathy he possessed as a career counselor had passively kicked in, stirring up a storm of emotions within him and making it difficult for him to find peace.

But Nan Zhuren is not here to listen to stories today; rather, he is here to heal the storyteller through stories.

[Emotional readjustment]

The furrows between his brows smoothed out, and the deeply empathetic expression of sadness on his face slowly disappeared.

But the pity in Nan Zhuren's eyes did not diminish at all; on the contrary, it seemed to intensify.

At the same time, Nan Zhuren's thoughts were also rapidly colliding.

The visitor's current situation is both extremely "good" and extremely "bad".

The good thing is that she has almost completely exposed her wounds, and the therapist's healing perspective is now very clear.

The "bad" part was that she had almost completely exposed her wounds, so every step she took next required careful consideration. Any mishap could have ruined the entire consultation process.

The opportunity was fleeting, but Nan Zhuren's reaction was anything but slow.

He pulled himself out of the visitor's story and accurately grasped the key points in the visitor's statement.

“‘Abandoned’?” Nan Zhuren said softly, “You mean they ‘abandoned’ you?”

The way this is described is crucial.

This indicates that the visitor's memory focuses on the "results after separation" and the "sense of abandonment," rather than the "reasons for the moment of separation."

Especially now that visitors have activated their own defense mechanisms, digging deeper into their past experiences is no longer the best option.

Nan Zhuren decided to address the pain that the visitor could access right now.

After hearing Nan Zhuren's question, the visitor's tone was hollow: "Yes, they left me here alone. They took my younger brother but not me... They left me there alone and never came back to find me."

Nan Zhuren's voice was steady, fully accepting the visitor's expression: "Mom took your younger brother and left, leaving you alone there—that little you."

Nan Zhuren asked, "What did you feel 'at that time'?"

The empty consultation room seemed to let Nan Zhuren's question echo for a while.

"...At that time...at that time..."

The visitor repeated the word twice.

The first time, her tone was still as numb as a robot's.

The second time, however, the sound started to become intermittent, as if there was a problem with the machine's connection.

His face finally started to show expression again.

"...I was scared...I was cold..."

"I called them, but they ignored me... They don't want me anymore... It must be because I was naughty... I'm a bad child..."

……

Seeing the visitor's appearance, Nan Zhuren breathed a sigh of relief.

People might forget the original purpose of the conversation because of the story told by the visitor.

But Nan Zhuren still remembers that this scene was the first time he "would rather suffer himself than trouble others, and even felt that he deserved to suffer."

The visitor's current account seems reasonable in explaining her misconception.

Because she was "abandoned by her family" in childhood, she has extremely strong separation anxiety, which has led to her extremely unstable interpersonal and intimate relationships.

She attributed her "I was naughty, I was a bad child" to being "abandoned by my family," which led to a strange sense of guilt that she felt "I deserve to suffer," and she even sought redemption, thus venturing into multiple areas that could potentially cause self-harm.

At the same time, because she herself was a victim of a major disaster, and the effects of the disaster have followed her ever since, she has a confused sense of identity.

She repeatedly switched between several identities: "little girl" and "adult," "victim" and "rescuer," "useless burden" and "patient's hope," each with its own unique way of thinking.

These factors constitute the underlying logic of her borderline personality disorder, and also made her a "weirdo" that her colleagues kept at a distance.

【but……】

Nan Zhuren frowned slightly.

There are still parts that don't make sense.

The idea flashed through Nan Zhuren's mind for a moment, then was temporarily suppressed.

If there are any doubts, then we can continue to explore them during subsequent interventions.

Today's task, based on the current information, is to first apply medicine to the wounds that the visitor has exposed, and then suture them.

This session of hypnotherapy has entered its final stage.

Nan Zhuren leaned down: "That little girl felt that she was naughty, a bad child, so her parents didn't want her anymore. I heard it, and now—"

Nan Zhuren's voice began to change.

Still steady, but no longer so light, but beginning to become powerful: "Now, I want to invite you to visit Li Lingling, the little girl left in the cold floodwaters, who felt like a bad child, from your perspective as an adult."

"You stand in a safe position and look at her. What expression do you see on her face?"

……

Childhood trauma often forms when an individual lacks psychological resources such as a sense of security, power, and understanding, and is sealed in memory and the nervous system in a vulnerable state of the "child's self".

After revealing this part of the "subconscious," hypnosis can also introduce the "adult self" at the "conscious" level of the client.

Then, mature psychological resources are precisely injected into the past traumatic situations.

Reshaping the inner experience and meaning of memories at the subconscious level, covering or changing old, painful connections with new, positive neural connections, and completing the coping process that was not completed at the time.

……

Upon hearing Nan Zhuren's question, the visitor's expression furrowed.

She spoke with pity, yet a lingering sense of detachment: "She was filthy, covered in mud, and she was crying... She was ugly and useless..."

Nan Zhuren nodded: "You saw that she was dirty and crying, and you thought she was useless. Now, as an adult, seeing this scene, what would you most want to do to that little Li Lingling?"

Nan Zhuren looked at the visitor with some anticipation.

Regardless of the outcome of this step, this marks the end of today's hypnotherapy session.

If Li Lingling could choose to go forward and comfort and embrace her past self, the second stage of the counseling could see a leap forward, and she might even jump directly to the third stage.

but if……

"...I don't want to get close to her!"

The visitor's voice suddenly rose: "If she were more obedient and sensible, her parents wouldn't have just taken her younger brother and left her there alone!"

"...She doesn't deserve to be saved, she should stay there!"

"she……"

The visitor was very excited.

Nan Zhuren paused for a moment. She sighed almost imperceptibly, then softened her tone again: "I heard you. You feel she's not good enough for you, and you don't want to get close to her. That's okay, we respect that feeling."

"You don't need to do anything you don't want to do."

As a counselor, Nan Zhuren accepts all the ideas of her clients.

Her wound was deep, and in addition to bleeding, it was festering and infected.

Then let's not rush to sew it up, let's take it one step at a time.

Nan Zhuren said, "Then, could we just... watch her from a distance? To make sure she doesn't get hurt any more? After all, at that moment, she was just a child trapped in the flood."

The visitor remained silent for a moment.

After a moment, her furrowed brow gradually smoothed out: "...Okay...just watch..."

Nan Zhuren nodded and repeated, "Okay. Then watch her from afar. Watch that little girl who is cold and afraid, who feels abandoned—just watch."

After that, Nan Zhuren stopped making a sound.

The visitor kept his eyes tightly closed, his eyelids twitched, and his long eyelashes trembled from time to time.

After silently counting to ten breaths, Nan Zhuren said, "Now, we should leave here."

"But please take that image you saw from afar with you when you return to your 'park'."

Nan Zhuren imbued her voice with vivid imagery: "A place with sunshine, lawns, and red, blue, and yellow flowers."

This is Li Lingling's "safe haven".

"You don't need to take her into that park, you just need to know that you can see her from a safe place—is that okay?"

Even if the emotions of the present and the past cannot be connected, placing both the "observer" and the "observed traumatic scene" in the context of a "safe island" is itself a preliminary, cognitive-level integration.

This allows traumatic memories to be revisited within a safe framework.

Nan Zhuren waited for two breaths before hearing Li Lingling's barely audible reply: "...Okay..."

Then, she pinched her thumb and forefinger together slightly.

With this action, the visitor's body seemed to have a switch flipped, and the anger, alienation, and numbness gradually faded away like melting snow.

Only one person remained, soundly asleep on the sofa.

Nan Zhuren nodded: "Very good, now it's time for us to slowly return to this consultation room. I will count from 5 to 1, and with each number I count, I will snap my fingers, and you will become more alert and energetic."

He raised his right hand, his middle finger and thumb touching.

"5. You begin to feel the presence of your body, and your consciousness gradually becomes clearer..."

Snapped.

As the snap of fingers ended, the visitor's head swayed almost imperceptibly.

4. You feel the support of the chair and hear sounds in the room...

Snapped.

The visitor's eyelids began to twitch violently, as if a large amount of information was beginning to flood her mind.

"3. The energy returns to your hands and feet; you can move your fingers and toes slightly..."

Snapped.

Faintly, the sound of fabric rubbing seemed to reach Nan Zhuren's ears.

2. Take a deep breath and prepare to open your eyes...

Snapped.

The visitor's chest bulged high under the blanket.

1. With a complex but real feeling, I slowly, very slowly opened my eyes.

Snapped.

……

With the final snap of the fingers.

Li Lingling slowly opened her tired eyes.

She first looked around in confusion, then her gaze slowly focused.

She avoided eye contact with Nan Zhuren, focusing instead on her own hands.

Nan Zhuren said gently, "Welcome back. How are you feeling? You might feel a little tired, and your feelings might be a bit complicated."

As he spoke, Nan Zhuren handed him a glass of water.

The visitor silently accepted it, and just as he was about to speak, he found his throat unusually hoarse.

So she drank half a glass of water in one gulp, and then slowly said, "I... I've never told anyone about my past before."

Nan Zhuren nodded: "Yes. It was a heavy experience for anyone, and it's not easy to even talk about it."

The visitor paused for a moment and said, "I have never mentioned it to Lao Liu, the hospital leaders, or my former friends or boyfriend."

Nan Zhuren nodded again: "I am honored to share your experience today."

Nan Zhuren added, “Although we were recalling the memories under hypnosis, you could have interrupted the process at any time, but you didn’t—so I’m very happy to see that you were able to say it.”

The visitor paused for a moment.

He then picked up the glass in his hand, took another sip, and revealed a hint of worry: "Did I... not do a good job? Was this hypnosis a failure?"

Nan Zhuren shook his head, offering his support gently yet firmly: "Not at all. On the contrary, you showed tremendous courage today. You confronted the most painful corner of your heart and sincerely expressed your truest feelings."

He looked into the client's eyes: "This is the most precious thing in psychological counseling—true healing always begins with facing the truth, including facing our harshness and rejection of ourselves."

Li Lingling finally turned her gaze back and met Nan Zhuren's eyes.

After a long while, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief: "...Thank you. But...I still feel like something's stuck somewhere."

Nan Zhuren smiled and said, "This feeling is real; it tells us that there is still work to be done there."

As she spoke, Nan Zhuren glanced at the wall clock: "Today we have taken a very important step forward. In the coming week, if those feelings of 'unworthy' and 'it's her fault' arise, you can try to remember today, remember that perspective from afar. You don't need to change anything, just know that such a perspective exists, and that's enough."

Li Lingling pondered for a long time, unsure whether she was reflecting on Nan Zhuren's request or processing her own emotions.

After a moment, Li Lingling nodded: "...Okay, I'll give it a try. So...is our consultation over for today?"

She glanced at the wall clock along with Nan Zhuren and exclaimed in surprise, "Time flies so fast... See you next week then?"

Nan Zhuren smiled and nodded: "See you next week."

After the visitor has completely disappeared from sight.

Nan Zhuren sighed deeply, then frowned.

(End of this chapter)