Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (CNS) in Counsellor’s Office - Thus things continue to unfold

Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in Counsellor’s Office - Thus things continue to unfold

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (CNS) in Counsellor’s Office - Thus things continue to unfold
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“I-” Viyara started to say, but then stopped herself. She had been about to say ‘I don’t know’. but that wasn’t entirely true. Inhaling deeply and then holding her breath for a moment before exhaling again, she locked her eyes Janna’s. “Maybe a little … anxious?” she asked.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Janna gave her a small but encouraging smile. “Okay, hold on to it for a moment and get curious about it the way a scientist does. What is it exactly that’s making you anxious? And why? And keep in mind, there’s no right answer, even for yourself. And it could change.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

A small frown creased her forehead and Viyara took her time to think about those questions. Biting hard on her lower lips as she did so. Eventually she said hesitantly, “I think I’m anxious because I don’t know what you’ll say or think. I’m anxious because … what if I did this wrong? Wrote down the wrong things. Drew the wrong conclusions. I’m anxious about what is going to happen. What you might want me to talk about. Of the consequences my words my have. And also off nothing happening. I don’t think I’m good enough and people wanting to help me makes me anxious because I don’t understand it.” She closed her eyes and shook her head as she fell silent again. Once more biting her lower lip.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Janna took in a slow breath, letting it maintain the calmness she felt. It was important that Viyara felt safe here and often patients could mirror your moods without realizing it. She wanted to make sure she was giving the scientist every advantage and opportunity to find her own answers. “Viyara, look at me,” she said, her tone gentle but it wasn’t a request.

It took her a moment, but then she did open her eyes again and met Janna’s gaze with uncertainty.

“Believe it or not, but you’ve just taken several steps in answering my seemingly simple questions. So congratulations,” Kingston said with a smile.

Her eyebrows slightly raised, Viyara simply looked at Janna. It didn’t feel like she had made any steps forward. Especially not in such a way that would merit a ‘congratulation’.

“Now I was serious that there are no right answers. You could have written ‘I hate this. It’s stupid and the counsellor is an idiot for making me do this,’ and it would be perfectly valid,” Janna said, watching Nazeen’s reactions.

~Janna Kingston CNS

“Yeah, right,” Viyara replied with a single, humourless laugh before she could stop herself. “I’m sorry Counsellor,” she added hastily as she curled slightly in on herself, mentally and physically.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Grass green eyes gazing deeply, Janna was forthright in her contemplation of Viyara. “For what?” she said simply.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

“For laughing. For not believing you,” Viyara replied; only barely meeting Janna’s green eyes with her own heterochromatic ones.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Janna shrugged. “No rule you have to believe me or anyone else. But let me ask you this and if you don’t have an answer right away, that’s okay. But what would it cost you if you were to go out on a limb and believe me. Believe that there aren’t perfect answers to every question?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Viyara nodded thoughtfully. Once again allowing herself time to actually think about that question instead blurting out the first dismissive thing that came to her mind. Finally she said, “I’m not sure. I know that not everything in life is black or white. And yet there are a lot of aspects in my life where things are black or white. Either a hypothesis is true or false. There is a reaction or not when you mix two chemicals. You find a match for a DNA sample or not. You may not always know the answer right away, but it is one or the other nevertheless. I know inter-personal stuff doesn’t work the same way. There is a lot of grey in-between. But sometimes clear either ors make it easier…” She gave a small shrug as she let her voice trail off.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist