Fantasia

III

"So, what can I do for you, Mr. Chen?", a friendly looking doctor named Wang asked Eddy as he took a seat.
"I've been vomitting a lot recently", Eddy reported like he was talking about the weather rather than his own health status.
"All right... Any other symptoms?" Dr. Wang started to move his fingers across the keyboard while he waited for Eddy to continue.
Eddy shook his head. "Not really. I lost a lot of appetite too, especially in the evenings."
"Is there a specific time where you feel sick? Or is it random?"
"Always in the night."
"In the middle of the night?"
"Yes."
"And since when?"
"Six months maybe...?"
Dr. Wang stopped in his tracks and stared at Eddy incredulously. "Six months? What, and every night?"
"Not every night. Maybe every two?"
"Why didn't you come in earlier?" The doctor's voice had gotten a tad louder and he brushed through his partially grayed hair.
Eddy just shrugged. "Thought it would stop eventually."
"And your loss of appetite in the evenings? Is that related to the sickness during the night?"
"I guess. I obviously don't want to vomit too much, so I try to keep the volume in check."
"Keep the volume in check...", Dr. Wang mumbled and shook his head, "You should have come in way earlier!"
Eddy shrugged again, not knowing what to say.

The doctor typed another few words before he asked, "Any ideas what causes this?"
"Dunno. That's why I'm here."
"It's not something you eat every day? An allergy you developed maybe?"
"Not that I know. I eat pretty simple things. And quite different too, so I don't see any connection there."
"Anything else that's regular? Do you experience any stress in your current life?"

Well, that was a bit more tricky. His job was stressful for sure, the non-existence of anything joy- or meaningful, if he'd be super honest...
"My job", was what Eddy settled with in the end.
"Would a reduction of hours help, you think?"
"Maybe? But I don't think that's possible in my position."
"Mr. Chen. Possible or not is not the question here. If your examination today points out that you suffer from work stress or burnout symptoms, I have to advise you to stop working for a bit or at least reduce your working hours."
Eddy sighed heavily. "Can't you just give me a medication against the vomitting?"

He had kind of hoped it would be like that. That he could just get the right meds and go on with life without feeling like crap anymore. Eddy had tried lighter medication from pharmacies before, but nothing had helped. And there was simply too little time for a drawn out therapy or something, so why couldn't this doctor just be like any other doctor, examine him as quickly as possible and give him some pills?

But this medical professional seemed to take his job very seriously, because he shook his head. "I can't without knowing what the cause of your symptoms are. So the more specific you can tell me about your situation, the faster I can help you."

Another sigh left Eddy's lungs, as he tried to piece his cooperative skills together.
"There is this dream", he finally admitted after a moment of consideration. The dream Eddy had wanted to leave out, though he knew it played a part in all this.

"A dream?", Dr. Wang repeated.
"Yes."
"What kind of dream?"
Eddy looked at him, his features showing distress upon recalling the, at first glance, unproblematic scene in his sleep.

But Dr. Wang was right. If Eddy wanted real help, he had to be real himself.

"It's always the same. I walk around near a hill and when I climb up, I see a mirror."
"A mirror", the doctor mumbled and typed with lightning speed.
"Yes. And when I come closer, I see nothing in the mirror. No reflection, no image, nothing. Just a blurry surface. And when I want to touch it, I wake up."
"And then you feel sick?"
"Yes."
"Are you saying, that after every time you dream this, you wake up and have to vomit?"
"Yes."
"Oh..."

The beans were spilled. Much sooner than Eddy had intended to.

"Mr. Chen. You realize you might have chosen the wrong doctor?", Dr. Wang said after a moment of silence.
"Not when I simply wanna get rid of my nausea."
"What I meant to say is, have you considered getting psychological help?"

There it was. The thing Eddy had wanted to avoid at all cost. What was he thinking? Talking about some dream that made him feel sick? If that didn't scream "psychological treatment" he didn't know what did.

Psychological treatment was the last thing Eddy needed and had time for right now.

So, he shook his head, a bit more resolute this time. "I don't want to go to any psychologist or psychiatrist or whatever. I just want something that helps with the nausea, that's all."
Dr. Wang looked at Eddy for a long time, before he finally exhaled and turned to his screen again.
"Look! I can't force you to undergo any kind of treatment, obviously, but I'd still strongly advise you to seek psychological help. A psychologist would suffice for starters and I will set up a recommendation for you. If you want to make use of it is up to you. As for what we can do today: I'm going to examine you, give you a thorough checkup and we're also going to take a blood sample. If it is anything related to any allergies or insufficiencies, we'll find out this way. As soon as we know more from the labs, I'll give you a call."

Eddy nodded. That seemed fair.