Piper ~ H.S

~Eighty-Four~

A/N (26 Nov): Omg I feel like I've been hungover all day today wow

~Harry~

"Alright Harry, what we're going to do today is start challenging all the negative thoughts that you experience when you're away from your family, and then we're going to balance them out with more helpful thinking which should help you cope a little bit better. And then, before we finish, we'll work on learning some new methods to help you calm yourself down if you get an anxiety attack. Sound good?" Scott asked me.

"Yeah, it does," I replied with a nod.

"Right, so, why don't you start off by telling me exactly why you get so anxious when you're away from Leah, or your daughter? What are you afraid of?"

"Well..." I bit my lip, "usually, it's because...because I worry about how Leah's coping when I'm not around. Like...what if she's not being taken care of properly, o-or what if something bad happens to her while I'm gone, and I'm not there to help her through it? I mean, sh-she's a pregnant woman. She's so vulnerable right now, a-and anything could happen to her..." I let out a shaky sigh.

"OK," Scott nodded slowly, "I do see where you're coming from. But I want you to think about this: do you think you could be confusing 'possibility' with 'certainty'?"

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"What I mean is, while it is possible that something bad might happen to Leah while you're gone, how likely is it?" He continued, "do you suppose you might be falling into what we call a 'thinking trap?' Do you think you may be overestimating Leah's vulnerability, and how much danger she's actually in?"

"Well..." I bit my lip, "I...I don't really know..."

"Is there anyone around to take care of Leah while you're gone, Harry?"

"Yeah..." I nodded, "my mother does."

"So, that should decrease the likelihood of something bad happening to Leah since your mother is there to take care of her, yes?"

"Yeah, it should, but..." I sighed again, "I just hate not being able to take care of her myself..." I lowered my eyes.

"I know. And it is this type of attitude that's influencing your thinking. Your judgement of Leah's security in your absence is being based on the way you feel instead of on facts. I know you want to be there for her – but remember that she's still well looked-after when you're not."

"Yeah...that's true..." I began to nod, "that's true. My mum is an amazing caregiver."

"There you go! Those are the more positive thoughts we're looking for!" Scott smiled at me.

At his words, I smiled back and let out a chuckle.

"Thanks, Scott," I said, "I guess I really am getting the hang of this."

***

~Leah~

The sound of my ringtone blasting out startled me since I was just about to doze off on the couch. But when I picked up my phone and realized Harry was calling, I instantly forgot all about how tired I was feeling and accepted the call straight away.

"Hi, baby!" I spoke up as soon as I answered.

"Hey gorgeous," I could tell he was smiling which I took as a good sign, "How are you? Are you good?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm actually pretty tired today, but otherwise I'm good," I replied, "what about you? Have you done your therapy session yet?"

"Yeah, I just finished," he said.