⚠︎︎TRIGGER WARNING⚠︎︎ ⚠︎︎Wide array of mental illnesses listed in this chapter, angsty. ⚠︎︎ ☁︎︎☀︎︎☁︎︎
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☁︎︎☀︎︎☁︎︎
"How's Olivia?" Dr. Clark asked smiling softly at you.
"She's ok, she just landed in Genova, and she's met up with the woman she's convinced is her soulmate, so we'll see how that goes." You sighed.
"Do you disapprove?" Dr. Clark asked noticing the exasperated tone in your voice.
"No, not at all, I uh... I admire it... I'd love to be impulsive like Liv, I'd love to meet someone and find trust so easily... But it's not easy for me" You explained.
"That response is common in abuse victims, but it's also common in people who haven't been abused. Some people are just good at being impulsive and trusting, other aren't... You're not alone in finding trust difficult, but being a survivor doesn't mean that all difficulties you face aren't necessarily because of it."
"But it's likely the way I act now is because of what I went through" You pointed out.
"Of course, but you'll never truly know." Dr. Clark responded.
"Why're you telling me this?" You questioned curiously.
"Because I've learned that you are engulfed by your past abuse, which is understandable, but it means that you believe that you're broken beyond repair because nothing can change the past. But that's not true... You can accept what happened, and learn to be happy despite it..." Dr. Clark explained gently, as she leaned forwards in her chair.
"So many people struggle with trust, although it's common in abuse victims, it is not impossible for someone who hasn't been abused to experience it. It's not something that you should feel ashamed of, it's not something that people think is an insane way to live-"
"But it can take me years to learn to trust someone. Surely, that's not normal." You argued.
"Y/n, nothing is normal, normal, doesn't exist, everyone is weird in their own way, everyone has their quirks, everyone has their weaknesses. Normal to you, might be very unnormal to someone else, and visa versa."
"You know what I mean" you mumbled looking over at the clock noticing the session was almost up, Dr. Clark followed your actions, and sighed noticing the time, before reaching across her desk and picking up her prescription pad.
"For the last 5 minutes, I want to discuss your official diagnoses with you... I'm sure most will not come as a surprise to you... Your first diagnosis is body dysmorphic disorder or BDD-"
"I'm sorry?" you frowned, perhaps these diagnoses were going to come as a surprise to you after all.
"It's a common misconception that BDD is specifically about someone's weight, and although that's common it's not always the case, hence the word body. It's anything you find on your body that makes you self-conscious, to the point of becoming obsessional..." Dr. Clark explained.
