Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in Holodeck- Therapeutic Putt-Putt

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Holodeck- Therapeutic Putt-Putt

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in Holodeck- Therapeutic Putt-Putt
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snips)

Liam inhaled, absorbing her words. Kingston was right and he seemed like the same man, if not more emotional. His eyes watched her putt the ball toward the hole again.

“Most sustained damage is easy to repair with a radiation shot. But I will keep others in the loop about my tests. It was a reckless decision.” He took his turn next. This time the ball rolled forward and dropped into the hole.

“At elast we’re agreed on that part,” she said with a gentle teasing tone and a smile.

As he bent down to pick it up, he continued to speak.

“I will not lie, I like logic over emotions. It feels less overwhelming.” He knew Vulcan thought the same way to a degree.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Janna nodded as she sized up how she wanted to proceed with what hopefully would be the second and final turn on this hole. “It’s understandable. Emotions are messy, convoluted. They aren’t always rational. But I do believe someone wisely said that logic is the beginning of wisdom. It’s not the end all and be all, Liam, but this you know.” She lined up her shot and tapped the ball back towards the hole and it made it all the way and then sat on the very edge. Janna walked over and tapped it slightly into the hole before retrieving it.

“I can understand why emotions might be more difficult for you, especially if they have any connection to the physical manifestations of your guest. But this is something we can work on together. Because the reality is that you are still Human, Liam, and you do still have emotions. Rather than avoiding them, we can work on processing them so they don’t overwhelm you so much.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Liam seemed to absorb her words. His eyes watching her finish up her hole before they moved on.

“I suppose that is a better way of looking at it. I will give LB credit, he’s been less… erratic now that he’s gotten use to the environment.” He gestured for the next hole as they walked.

Surprisingly, a 21st century food truck materialized nearby. A woman opened up the window and leaned out, waving at the pair. Upon the side was a list of a few different things: corn dogs, hotdogs, burgers, fries, ice tea, and soda pop.

“I hope you don’t mind that I set a few food options at a few different holes. This gives me an excuse to take a break on occasion.” Liam admitted.

“I don’t mind at all,” Janna said with a grin. In some ways it showed a tiny bit of growth on his part too. Liam wasn’t looking to get this ‘over and done with’. he was willing to stay as long as the session needed to be.

“So, would you like anything? Joseph tends to love the loaded ones and while mess, they are tasty. I prefer something less messy like a corn dog.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“I’m not super hungry, but I won’t say no to fries and iced tea,” Kingston said with a gleam.

While he ordered, Janna leaned her putter against the struck and considered where they were at and how she wanted to proceed. A clear path had been opened up and it seemed a waste to to stroll down it. “So which emotion tends to be the most overwhelming?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Liam moved over to Ms. Kingston, offering her fries and ice tea. He had ordered himself a corn dog as she asked her question. With a small inhale, he reflected on the times LB had acted up in extremes.

“I would say anger. LB doesn’t seem to like it and I can feel him stir,” He paused and pointed to the back of his neck and shoulders. “My hands start to heat up almost immediately. I can’t figure out why. It doesn’t help it has been the most common emotion of late especially with my frustration.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

She popped a fry in her mouth and chewed while she pondered. “So, from a cognitive behaviour therapy point-of-view, which is a bit more limited than I usually like to work from, there is what we call the Cognitive Triangle.” She lifted a finger for each item she listed. “Thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. All three are linked and they cause a cycle. More often than not, when a situation triggers us in some way, we have a thought about it, which then in triggers emotions and sometimes physical manifestations of them as well, and then we act or don’t act depending on the scenario. Sometimes emotions can begin the cycle, in which cause they cause thoughts and that leads to behaviours. No matter how you get into the cycle, out of the three, the most easy to control is our thoughts. We can rain ourselves to not react with emotions to a specific trigger, but thoughts are a much easier place to begin.”

Janna took a sip of her iced tea. “So, I want you to think about the most clear examples of your anger showing up. What prompted the anger? And can you remember what thoughts came to mind?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Liam bit down on the corn dog and chewed while thinking. Swallowing it down, he picked out the latest incident. It was the clearest example in his mind at the moment.

“There was a recent experiment in the labs. We were testing a few lab specimens and their reaction in different types of gravity. Something went wrong and the gravity started to crush them.” He inhaled and pushed to distance himself from that memory.

“I felt helpless as we tried to open the containment unit. Nothing worked. When my hands heated up, I shoved them on the container and melted it. We got the animals out, but the equipment was ruined.”

Janna nodded, working through what he had offered and how that matched what they knew so far.

He licked his lips then continued on.

“As much as I am not the biggest fan of animals, they don’t deserve to suffer.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“No, they don’t.” Janna sipped on her iced tea and then gazed at him. “But I’m curious about something. You said you felt helpless, but also that anger is the predominant manifestation trigger for your hands. Is the helplessness an exception, or was there an evolution in your emotions that brought you to that anger?”

~Janna Kingston, CNS

Liam took a moment to think. “I’m not sure.”

He twisted the corn dog stick a bit between his fingers, reflecting on the times he felt helpless.

“To be honest, I’ve felt it a few times. A few missions on the Utah, Aristotle, and the Starbase. All missions I had lost officers I knew and cared for. I also felt it very strongly when LB was forced on me.”

Liam sighed then looked to Janna with a questioning look.

“That one shouldn’t count, should it?”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Janna shrugged. “Everything is data. Whether we choose to include it or not, is something we have to decide. But, since you bring it up, tell me about that event. About what comes up for you now when it comes to mind.”

~Janna Kingston, CNS