The Science And Theory Of Beating The Fuck Out Of Yourself

Better listen to your doctor

"Come on, Jo."

"NO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" I screamed as Vic tried to drag me into the building. Dr. Whatserface made me an appointment with a psychologist. Vic was holding my arm and I was trying to rip it out of his grip. Vic sighed and yanked it really hard so I tripped into him. He held me up and had a serious look on his face.

"Jo, cut the bull. This is serious, I need you to be honest with the doctor and tell her everything you know." He said forcfully. I had never really seen this serious side of him. Not like this anyway. Everytime I was with him, he always seemed either happy to know I was back, or stressed to get me away from some danger...meaning the police. It actually made me kind of nervous. I was never really used to the whole serious facade. I slowly nodded and settled down. Vic let me go but held my hand.

"You're going to be fine, don't worry." Vic whispered in my ear. I was confused why he brought it up again for a second before realizing it how tightly I was gripping his hand. He squirmed it uncomfortably and I loosened my grip.

"Sorry..." I mumbled. He smiled and opened the door for me.

"I have an appointment for Jodie Fuentes?" Vic talked to the receptionist lady who tapped on the computer and pointed to a room.

"Dr. Hodgman is right in there. You can go right in." She smiled at Dad and he thanked her.

"Come on, Jo, let's go." He said since he knew I was less than thrilled about this. I sighed and got up, following Dad into the office.

"Ahh, Jodie, how are you? I'm Dr. Hodgman, but you can call me Laura. Mr. Fuentes, nice to meet you." Laura said shaking my and Dad's hands.

"Jo is fine."

"And you can call me Vic. Um, so do I wait outside or...?" Vic asked cluelessly.

"I would prefer you stay; I will need you to tell me about Jo. Is that okay with you, Jo?" I shrugged.

"Sure I don't care." Vic pouted.

"Thanks Jo, feelin' the love." He mumbled. I laughed.

"Oh please stay Daddy!" I sighed dramatically in a childish voice. He chuckled and Laura motioned for us to take a seat on the couch.

"So Jo, your doctor told me that she thinks you may have bipolar disorder. Do you know what that is?" Laura asked. I shrugged.

"Sort of. I know people who have it change their moods a lot."

"Yes, that's part of it; the 'moods' you're referring to are manic-depressive episodes. Manic meaning the individual may be very unstable and switch between happy and playful, for example, to violent and aggressive extremely quickly. Depressive meaning they fe--"

"Yeah, I know what that one means." I cut her off. I didn't need an explanation on what depression was considering I had seen enough of it in my life.

"Alright, well, in many cases of bipolar disorder, the patient is in a average state of mind the majority of the time and can be triggered by an event to fall into a depressive state or manic state. It can be different for everyone, which makes it difficult to diagnose, and also very dangerous."

"Okay. So now what?" I asked.

"So now, I need you to fill me in about your life a little. Do you recall experiencing intense feelings of anger or being reckless in your behavior?" I nodded.

"I didn't get along with my mom very well and I would run away a lot."

"Okay, Mr. Fuentes, anything you would like to add to that?"