In Session [Invite]
Posted: 30 May 2018, 12:53
Fifteen was when her life had changed. The man she had grown up believing was her father had been killed in a plane crash during one of his many business trips. It had been a devastating blow for the teenager as she’d lost the only person in her life that had seemed to care about her. Her mother certainly didn’t and often took great pains to make the red-head aware of that fact. Had she only lost Giles, perhaps she would have grieved and coped in a healthy manner.
However, her most vivid memory of the time, aside from the funeral, was of her mother standing over her while she was curled up onto the corner of the couch as if she wished it would swallow her whole. The woman had spewed her vitriol at the teen for over an hour. Everything from how the girl had been an unwanted baby that ruined her life to how she was still an inconvenience along with everything in between. The real icing on the cake was the half hour she spent blaming the red-head for being the reason Giles was dead; if she hadn’t been born, he would have never been on the trip, after all. It was a scene that replayed several times that week.
It was the beginning of the teenager’s downward spiral. The return to boarding school provided a welcome respite from the verbal abuse though it did nothing to abate the mental and emotional turmoil that had already begun to plague her far more than normal. She was used to being told she wasn’t wanted; that had been occurring since she was old enough to understand the words. It was blame for Giles’ death that seemed to push her over the edge of the cliff to carreen out of control.
Several suicide attempts dotted the school year and each time her mother wouldn’t allow them to do more than patch her up and send her back to class. To her mind, it wasn’t depression but just her daughter seeking attention and acting out. After the first two, she told the school to stop contacting her about them as she’d made her position and wishes clear; not even counseling was permitted.
It was at the red-head’s next pre-school physical, that August, that a clinical diagnosis of depression was rendered. Given she was only sixteen, her mother refused the advice of the doctor that would have placed the teenager on medication and had her attending therapy. Instead, the woman was adamant that her daughter never speak of it as she insisted it wasn’t something the teen had.
Eventually, the teenager learned of a herbal remedy and began taking that with her mother none the wiser. Doctor and therapist visits along with real medications were out of the question as she remained on her mother’s insurance until the day she moved to Canada. The woman combed through each visit record with a fine-tooth comb to ensure her daughter only sought necessary and approved care. This led the red-head to avoid the doctor as much as possible as she didn’t appreciate her overbearing nature.
Moving to Harper Rock was a welcome change; here she could live her life as she wanted. It was enlightening to live in a place where she could afford to live on her own without having several roommates or jobs. She had even been able to find a job she loved with an amazing boss and coworkers. Ingrained by her mother that no one wanted to hear about it, her depression remained hidden from those around her.
When Reyna, her first and only lover, disappeared without a word, she had begun another downward spiral. This time, though, there were no suicide attempts as she tried to maintain her normal routine despite the oppression and numbness she felt. It was an interesting proposition that led the red-head to become a blood thief that had pulled her out of the extreme depression she had found herself in.
Four years had passed since then and the time had come for her to get the help she’d been denying herself. Whatever had happened the night they met Theodosia scared the red-head. Despite the fact she knew nearly no one in the city believed her tale, it was concerning to her to have felt that way. She had no idea if the depression played into what had occurred but it didn’t matter after seeing the damage done. It simply wasn’t worth the risk of it biting her in the *** again.
It had been something she considered carefully for weeks before asking Doc for a recommendation for a mental facility outside Harper Rock that could handle depression. It wasn’t something she felt could be safely done within the city, currently. She knew he was still angry with her but she’d been grateful that he’d been able to refer her to a place in Ottawa. The bit of research she had done before contacting the institution had put her at ease; they seemed to have great programs in place.
The only fly in the plan was that the facility was currently full for non-emergency cases and she wasn’t willing to be referred elsewhere which her contact had understood. It had taken a couple days, but he had contacted her with a proposition. They were currently testing a pilot program of using video sessions with patients primarily after their release but they had a small test group of pre-admissions sessions to which he wanted to add her. It was a win in her mind; she could start getting help now and potentially reduce her time at the facility later.
Checking her watch, she poked at the computer to wake it up. It was nearly time for her to meet the person she’d be working with for the next couple weeks. Her fingers were crossed as she loaded up the software; she hoped they would work well together, otherwise she was in for a painful trial run.
However, her most vivid memory of the time, aside from the funeral, was of her mother standing over her while she was curled up onto the corner of the couch as if she wished it would swallow her whole. The woman had spewed her vitriol at the teen for over an hour. Everything from how the girl had been an unwanted baby that ruined her life to how she was still an inconvenience along with everything in between. The real icing on the cake was the half hour she spent blaming the red-head for being the reason Giles was dead; if she hadn’t been born, he would have never been on the trip, after all. It was a scene that replayed several times that week.
It was the beginning of the teenager’s downward spiral. The return to boarding school provided a welcome respite from the verbal abuse though it did nothing to abate the mental and emotional turmoil that had already begun to plague her far more than normal. She was used to being told she wasn’t wanted; that had been occurring since she was old enough to understand the words. It was blame for Giles’ death that seemed to push her over the edge of the cliff to carreen out of control.
Several suicide attempts dotted the school year and each time her mother wouldn’t allow them to do more than patch her up and send her back to class. To her mind, it wasn’t depression but just her daughter seeking attention and acting out. After the first two, she told the school to stop contacting her about them as she’d made her position and wishes clear; not even counseling was permitted.
It was at the red-head’s next pre-school physical, that August, that a clinical diagnosis of depression was rendered. Given she was only sixteen, her mother refused the advice of the doctor that would have placed the teenager on medication and had her attending therapy. Instead, the woman was adamant that her daughter never speak of it as she insisted it wasn’t something the teen had.
Eventually, the teenager learned of a herbal remedy and began taking that with her mother none the wiser. Doctor and therapist visits along with real medications were out of the question as she remained on her mother’s insurance until the day she moved to Canada. The woman combed through each visit record with a fine-tooth comb to ensure her daughter only sought necessary and approved care. This led the red-head to avoid the doctor as much as possible as she didn’t appreciate her overbearing nature.
Moving to Harper Rock was a welcome change; here she could live her life as she wanted. It was enlightening to live in a place where she could afford to live on her own without having several roommates or jobs. She had even been able to find a job she loved with an amazing boss and coworkers. Ingrained by her mother that no one wanted to hear about it, her depression remained hidden from those around her.
When Reyna, her first and only lover, disappeared without a word, she had begun another downward spiral. This time, though, there were no suicide attempts as she tried to maintain her normal routine despite the oppression and numbness she felt. It was an interesting proposition that led the red-head to become a blood thief that had pulled her out of the extreme depression she had found herself in.
Four years had passed since then and the time had come for her to get the help she’d been denying herself. Whatever had happened the night they met Theodosia scared the red-head. Despite the fact she knew nearly no one in the city believed her tale, it was concerning to her to have felt that way. She had no idea if the depression played into what had occurred but it didn’t matter after seeing the damage done. It simply wasn’t worth the risk of it biting her in the *** again.
It had been something she considered carefully for weeks before asking Doc for a recommendation for a mental facility outside Harper Rock that could handle depression. It wasn’t something she felt could be safely done within the city, currently. She knew he was still angry with her but she’d been grateful that he’d been able to refer her to a place in Ottawa. The bit of research she had done before contacting the institution had put her at ease; they seemed to have great programs in place.
The only fly in the plan was that the facility was currently full for non-emergency cases and she wasn’t willing to be referred elsewhere which her contact had understood. It had taken a couple days, but he had contacted her with a proposition. They were currently testing a pilot program of using video sessions with patients primarily after their release but they had a small test group of pre-admissions sessions to which he wanted to add her. It was a win in her mind; she could start getting help now and potentially reduce her time at the facility later.
Checking her watch, she poked at the computer to wake it up. It was nearly time for her to meet the person she’d be working with for the next couple weeks. Her fingers were crossed as she loaded up the software; she hoped they would work well together, otherwise she was in for a painful trial run.