Elizabeth
Elizabeth watched and listened, noting all the anxiety building in the woman, the panic and fears overwhelming her. It wasn't something she envied, having seen it over and over from those who overthought and strained themselves against the imperfection in them and the world. They gave themself no room for error or mistakes, frustrated that they couldn't control every reaction or emotion. It sounded like such an exhausting way to live.
Taking a deep breath, she formulated how she wanted to approach Maea's difficulties and the interaction she'd presented. When she had decided, Elizabeth spoke calmly, factually. "Your meeting with that man, we call that the 'freeze' stage - which sounds contradictory to the actions, but is more representative of the thought process, or lack thereof." Not to say Maea wasn't thinking, but that she couldn't think of anything through normal means, too caught in her own defensive emotions to control her actions. It wasn't something she could blame herself for.
Her hands rose as she spoke, trying to use them to give a visual representation of her words. "You may have heard of the 'fight or flight' response that everyone develops as a form of protection against the dangers of the world. It's an important aspect in keeping us safe and protected, but sometimes it can overreact to different situations or stimuli, causing us to reach a point of panic where very few rational thoughts or interventions will break through." Sometimes it was a major depression, a fit of uncontrolled rage, or nothingness, a numbness that nothing could change.
It all sounded like there was no way to stop it, like it was hopeless in a way; but Elizabeth knew the secret, and she was happy to share it with Maea. "The only way to prevent reaching the 'freeze' stage is to recognize the signs, using different methods and techniques to decrease how we let our mind and body respond. There are thought processes, physical motions, or other strategies that can help with that, but the first step is to learn what triggers these reactions and being aware of how your body responds to them." Which meant the Ancient had a lot of self-analysis to do.
Smiling softly, encouraging, she offered the guiding hand towards progress and healing. "I want you to start by thinking about your recent conversation with Flora. How did you feel before you met with her? Were you nervous? Scared? Think about how those emotions made your body feel. Were there any physical indicators? Cold hands? Heart racing? What did you notice?"
Taking a deep breath, she formulated how she wanted to approach Maea's difficulties and the interaction she'd presented. When she had decided, Elizabeth spoke calmly, factually. "Your meeting with that man, we call that the 'freeze' stage - which sounds contradictory to the actions, but is more representative of the thought process, or lack thereof." Not to say Maea wasn't thinking, but that she couldn't think of anything through normal means, too caught in her own defensive emotions to control her actions. It wasn't something she could blame herself for.
Her hands rose as she spoke, trying to use them to give a visual representation of her words. "You may have heard of the 'fight or flight' response that everyone develops as a form of protection against the dangers of the world. It's an important aspect in keeping us safe and protected, but sometimes it can overreact to different situations or stimuli, causing us to reach a point of panic where very few rational thoughts or interventions will break through." Sometimes it was a major depression, a fit of uncontrolled rage, or nothingness, a numbness that nothing could change.
It all sounded like there was no way to stop it, like it was hopeless in a way; but Elizabeth knew the secret, and she was happy to share it with Maea. "The only way to prevent reaching the 'freeze' stage is to recognize the signs, using different methods and techniques to decrease how we let our mind and body respond. There are thought processes, physical motions, or other strategies that can help with that, but the first step is to learn what triggers these reactions and being aware of how your body responds to them." Which meant the Ancient had a lot of self-analysis to do.
Smiling softly, encouraging, she offered the guiding hand towards progress and healing. "I want you to start by thinking about your recent conversation with Flora. How did you feel before you met with her? Were you nervous? Scared? Think about how those emotions made your body feel. Were there any physical indicators? Cold hands? Heart racing? What did you notice?"
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
