Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Chief of Psychiatry) in Counselling Suite- Doctors Make the Worst Patients

Posted by Commander Dira Myqian (Executive Officer) in Counselling Suite- Doctors Make the Worst Patients

Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Chief of Psychiatry) in Counselling Suite- Doctors Make the Worst Patients
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“So three public places in public and one in private?” Séan mused. “Not consistent for any sense of public anxiety, though the sample size isn’t big enough to be sure. What’s the effective range of your telepathy? I’m wondering if that aspect of your ability is picking up on something or adversely affecting you.”

CoP Iven

Dira blew out a breath. “It depends on a whole lot of factors. I can pick up anything on the ship if I really focused on it, though a personal connection makes it more accurate. Beyond the ship? Maybe. Again, it depends. The farther the distance, the more my abilities shift towards empathic impressions rather than specific thoughts or emotions.” Was she worried? Maybe a little. But it was more that strange sensation showing up so randomly that was getting to it. If she could just figure out what it was from, she’d be able to relax a bit more.

Commander Myqian, XO

“Would you be willing or interested in suppressing your telepathy chemically? Starfleet Medical has made some strides in a medication that can do so.” Séan had hesitated to ask before now but with an ability of that range there was no easy way to diagnose a particular trigger. “I’d want to keep you off duty still while under the influence of this medication and I’d also want you to take it easy. No checking in on work related things. No asking your partner about how things are getting on with the ship. Go hiking in the holodeck, read a book, or have a romantic dinner.”

CoP Iven

Dira’s eyes went wide and sat up stock straight, her ebony gaze taking him in. She was not expecting that. Well, all of it. “I’ve occasionally used the temporary suppressants, but they wear off after a couple hours, and just take the edge off of the overwhelm I can feel with my abilities.”

She brought her hand to her mouth, rubbing the side of her index finger back and forth along her lips. “How about a compromise? Light duty and we try the suppressant for a set amount of time. Like a week or two. And you and I can have more chats when I’m not working and I can do the time-off stuff you’re suggesting. Being off entirely would increase my anxiety too much. I need to feel connected to the ship and crew, and if I can’t in the usual way”-she tapped her head twice-” then I need to be physically around things. This whole thing is making me question my career choices right now and I think removing me entirely would make that worse, not help.” She was being open and honest. He had every right to pull her entirely from duty if he felt the situation warranted it, but she was hoping he’d see that she was being cooperative here and stating what she needed. Could he listen?

Commander Myqian, XO

Séan observed Dia’s reaction to his proposal and could feel her sincerity. He briefly considered how to best put her at ease, because otherwise the whole suggestion was pointless, but also best go through the diagnostic process. As the various thoughts coalesced he nodded slowly. “Okay. Light duty in the meantime then.”

“Thank you.” Myqian could advocate for herself and she’d fight for something she believed in but this was not the time for a battle of wills.

He got up and moved over to his desk to pick up a PaDD. He turned and leaned against the desk as he searched for the relevant medical journal entry. “As for the suppressant in question there’s an article that details when using it at a higher dosage and in conjunction with a neural depressant, that the effectiveness increases by several fold. I’m not sure how suppressed your telepathy will become exactly but I think it’s worth a shot.” He walked back to Dira and held the PaDD out for her to read the article for herself.

CoP Iven

Taking the PaDD in hand, Dira skimmed the article and it was compelling evidence. She sighed. “I hate it when the evidence is so clear,” she said before breaking into a smirk. “It’s just short term, so I see no reason not to go all in. We’ll just have to monitor for side effects.”

“I hate that it’s come to this, but I just have so little energy for anything extra that requires me to filter and evaluate is just a bit much. I hope this gamble works.”

Commander Myqian, XO