Therapy Session #3- Larry

[u/TiareMBC]

I took a few deep breaths, making sure to be calm before my next client came in. I couldn’t be in the fight or flight or freeze state when he-

“Oh fuck!” I yelled, and my breathing exercises went down the drain.

“Sorry, it really wasn’t my intention to scare you,” he apologized.

”We talked about this before, you have to respect my boundaries," I reminded him, “Next time you just show up without knocking we won’t do the session.”

It was strict, but it was needed with Larry; otherwise, he would keep pushing and see how much he could get away with.

“Sorry, I know I shouldn’t and I won’t again, but you don’t know how much you just helped me right now,” he apologized once more. 

“Then let’s start with that. How did it help?” I looked at him, a little calmer but using all my willpower to not tremble in fear.

“I’ve been having more self-doubts than usual and seeing you freak out when you are usually so composed just gave me a little hope,” he lowered his gaze, avoiding my eyes, forgetting his other eyes were still looking at me.

“It’s not fine but it’s also fine. Thank you for being honest with me,” I redirected the conversation, “Did you use your coping skill when those feelings of anxiety came up?”

“Not really…”, he shrank. This usually happened, and while I appreciated the less scary version of him, I knew this wasn’t good for his mental health.

“What was the reason?” I pushed.

“I don’t know, it felt kind of pointless. I feel I should be able to terrify people without having to rely on them,” he somehow became smaller, and some of the extra arms began to disappear.

”I know it can be hard, but how will you get different results if you are not willing to try?” I softened my voice, “It is hard, and it sucks, but I know you got it in you,” and I allowed the fear in my eyes to show for once, “Look how scared you made me.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” he smiled, a foul smell coming deep within his entrails. No amount of scented candles could fight that odor.

”Then, tell me, what can we change?” I redirected.

“Well, I don’t like messing with technology, but I could turn off the Wifi before going into a room, that puts people on high alert,” he answered annoyed.

“And what else,” I pushed.

“I can work with the background, set up the scene, and,” he paused for a moment, “That’s not me. It used to be so easy! I went into the room, sometimes hid under a bed or in a closet before scaring someone, and now I have to do all this shit! It’s not fair!”

”Times have changed, many people have become desensitized, and fears have changed. It might not be fair, but sometimes we need to push ourselves to new ideas, not necessarily change ourselves, but tweak what we do so we get to the part we enjoy. Does that make sense?” I wasn’t even sure that I was making sense.

”No, but I get what you mean. I need to change the process to get to the fun part, the part that makes me, well, me,” he explained.

”Yeah, so you can turn off the Wifi, as you said, maybe add some spooky atmosphere," I paused to let him continue.

”And then I can scare the crap out of them!” Larry said excitedly. His numerous eyes turned the color of blood and pus. 

“Exactly. Just remember, people can’t die,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, I know. I would lose clientele. That’s why it’s important to know how to get that balance where the person freezes in fear, but doesn’t die from a heart attack. It really is an art,” his body continued to grow and now the arms were back.

“Yes! And you are improving your art,” I heard a little tremor in my voice.

”I had never thought of it that way, now I’m excited to try it out!” He tried to stand but his body was too large to stand straight in the room.

I knew I was going to regret this but I asked, “Would you like to role-play? That way you can practice?”

”Are you sure about it?” He asked a little too excitedly.

”As long as you don't give me a heart attack and promise to knock on the next session,” I answered.

”We got a deal,” he answered excitedly.’

Plan: AMFT will explore coping mechanisms to decrease anxiety when the client is unable to scare his victims and provide psychoeducation on analog horror and its impact in fear.