Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Side Sim: Friends and good food -what else does one need?

Posted by Lieutenant Kiama Naim (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Friends and good food -what else does one need?

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Side Sim: Friends and good food -what else does one need?
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“I know therapy is helpful and I will consider it. At the same time I’m open for any tip you have,” Kiama said softly, feeling suddenly very exhausted. Taking a sip of water, she toyed a little with her fork in her food; lost in her own mind. “I know I can’t let her always get to me like that and let her still dictate how I live my life,” she added in an even softer whisper.

~Lt. Naim, CSO

Faye nodded slowly. “I hear you. I have people whose voices are too strong and I wish they weren’t in my head too. Which is why I really actually enjoy the journalling portion of my therapy. I learned years ago when I spent time at a treatment centre when things got really bad and it was when I was first diagnosed,” Faye said openly, the shame of that time mostly since faded. “And one of the things they get you to do is to just write pages. Just sit and write, on actual paper, though you can use your personal log for this too, but you just start with prompts of things you know you need to deal with. So it could be something like ‘My mother makes me feel’, or ‘I hate it when people dot dot dot’, or ‘I’m feeling’, ‘I’m scared of’. And they don’t have to be negative either. You can prompt about things you’re proud of, things you love about yourself. But the point is that you start with the prompt and try not to filter what you write and you just let it all go until you feel done for the time being. And I promise you if you read over it, you’ll learn so much about yourself and it also helps to take the… sting… out of these harder things.” She shrugged. “Well, sometimes. But admission is the first step in anything, right?”

~Faye Calloway

Kiama listened carefully, nodding here and there. Journalling definitely sounded like something that she might enjoy as well and that might do her some good. “I like the idea for writing on actual paper with a a real pen,” she said with smile and soft laugh. “One question though: What do you do with the things you wrote down? Just leave it like that in the notebook? Do you analyse it? Talk with someone about what you wrote down?” The food in front of her forgotten for the moment, Kiama leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. Her expression full of curiosity and … was there a shimmer of hope in her black eyes?

~Lt. Naim, CSO

Faye shrugged with one shoulder as she sipped her drink. “It depends on the circumstances. Like, for me right now, I’m journalling my way through the aftermath of crisis. It’s easy for me to think it’s past me when it really isn’t and my journal pages might actually help me recognize that before something happens. Not always but sometimes. And because I’m in regular therapy, I often will bring my journal to sessions. There are actually specific things that apply to working through my disorder that journalling works well for. For you though, it’s slightly different. If you write something down that really resonates with you when you re-read it later, take a note of it. If it’s notable in some way, that’s the sort of thing you can bring up with a therapist, or even just a friend. I mean, I’m not therapist, but if you stumble across some sort of realization and you want to hash it out, you know how to find me,” she said with a smile.

~Faye Calloway

“Thank you Faye,” Kiama replied with a warm smile full of gratitude. “I think that might really be helpful me and I will take you up on that offer. Be warned. And maybe I’ll bring food or something as payment,” she added with a wink. “But seriously, thank you. And whenever you need a friend to talk or just sit silently in someone’s company or something like that: my door is always open for you.” Spearing a piece of sweet potato onto her fork, Kiama popped it into her mouth and chewed in silence, letting her words just sit there.

~Lt. Naim, CSO