006 [Video]

[lifetothefullest]

[So, the event's officially over, everything's back to cave-normal, and Lance has had some time to sort out his thoughts on everything. He's also had time to debate with himself on whether he should address something bothering him or just ignore it.

Although he's decided, finally, on the former, it took quite a bit of mental debate; he probably wouldn't have said anything at all if he weren't a psychologist, and weren't concerned that other people might be seriously negatively affected if the issue weren't brought up. Regardless, he's still not exactly looking forward to this entire thing because he can't see it going over all too well, but then again when does anything go over well here?]

Now that the event is over there's something I wanted to address, regarding it and others in the future. I expect there will be disagreement, which is fine, but it would be nice if that disagreement could be discussed in some sort of reasonable manner.

[In other words, not with yelling or threats or murder. He has high hopes for you all!!!]

I'm not going to go into a lot of psychological details and reasoning unless anyone is actually interested, but to summarize: although the idea of simply resisting a compulsion is theoretically appealing, it's not exactly that simple in practice. It also has no correlation at all with being weak, feeble-minded, a failure, or any other negative descriptor I've seen used so freely lately.

[Which he's none too pleased about, even if it doesn't bother him much personally.]

Considering that so many here have so much to worry about and are under enough mental stress already, adding blame for something caused by an outside influence is not exactly helpful, especially in the long run. I'm also just generally unsure that being angry with each other over something caused by an event is the best use of everyone's time and energy.

[Especially when things done by people while completely in control of themselves tend to be overlooked entirely, but he's not even going to touch that topic right now.]

That said, if anyone who has been here for some time has any sort of advice or strategy for identifying and attempting to control an event-caused mental effect, that would be useful. I don't doubt that there might be some techniques that could help, depending on the individual and the specific nature of the event.

Comments

[Video]

[drabsolutelynot]

Still determined to treat the entire cave, I see.

[time for another round of poke the baby-bear]

Your work ethic is impressive.

[Video]

[lifetothefullest]

It just seemed important. People have enough to worry about and feel guilty over without being blamed for things that are not actually their fault.

[He says it seriously, because it is serious, although he's slightly less so in responding to the next comment.]

Thank you, but it's not like spending a few minutes talking is actually that much effort.

[It's also not like he has anything better to do.]

[audio]

[tongueamok]

Perhaps those being influenced by the false gods should reflect upon their actions when told they are being compelled rather than remaining obstinate.

[audio]

[lifetothefullest]

Although that makes sense logically, this is something that's not so simple in practice. Being aware of a compulsion, or any other mental effect, is important and does help in dealing with it, but continuing to be affected isn't a matter of being stubborn. If it were, my profession wouldn't exist.

[He's oversimplifying a little, but not more than he thinks the situation calls for considering this is an external influence rather than a purely internal issue.]

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[roseofthetyrells]

[Margaery wouldn't call them feeble-minded or weak or a failure. not publicly, anyway]

I'd already had enough of being a plaything of the gods in my world, so I found what I thought was a safe place to hide and stayed there.

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[lifetothefullest]

[Thinking it doesn't hurt anyone, at least.]

That was probably a good way to handle it. I prefer to stay out of events when possible as well; did you successfully avoid the competition the entire time?

Video

[toiletseat_girl]

I was all gung-ho for winning until I accidentally shot a kid into a coma. That freaked me out so bad, I didn't shoot anyone else.

Video

[lifetothefullest]

That was... Definitely a concern.

[And he's personally really bothered by the fact that, although he had very much been worried about the issue, it still hadn't been enough to override the compulsion. He doesn't even kill spiders normally, let alone something like this.]

video; public to private

[notimpervious]

[Her face says she agrees 100% with him long before she speaks.]

This is very important for people to hear and understand. Thank you, Dr. Sweets.

[And then, switching to private--]

Given what I have observed of people's behavior here, I expect your post will be met with resistance. If you should find yourself frustrated over this, you are welcome to come to my apartment and spend time playing with Sandy. I am confident she will enjoy having you over for a visit.

video; public to private

[lifetothefullest]

Of course, Dr. Brennan.

[And yeah, private he's a lot less professional, and sighs quietly.]

Thank you. I'll probably end up taking you up on that; I'm not sure how long my patience is going to last.

[Which says something, since he has a lot of patience.]

[voice]

[circumitus]

Maybe not blowing off "you're being controlled by an outside influence" and assuming that murder is everyone's solution would be good advice to start, but obviously not everyone is going to listen to reason.

Also don't assume that shit can't be resisted. If you're too stupid not to question why you're acting out of character, that's your own damn fault.

[voice]

[lifetothefullest]

[There are so many things he wants to say, but he firmly reminds himself that he is a grown man who is a professional and he's not going to be petty.

Instead, he'll just be dismissive, because that's a step up right? Right.]

I believe you may have missed the point.

「video」

[puzzlingly]

Yo.

「 Hey, Lance! Buddy, pal! Sup? 」

It does sound simple, doesn't it? To simply tell someone to get over it.

「 Resisting an impulse that's not exactly yours and yet is so... appealing. Let us not get too deep into that. 」

What about you, Lance, got any advice yourself?

「video」

[lifetothefullest]

[Heyo, Atem.]

It does. It's a lot simpler to blame someone than recognize that a situation might be more complicated.

[Which is kind of painful to watch, for a psychologist.]

I'm not sure I'm the best to give advice on this subject, because I was affected by the compulsion from this event as well.

[He has general advice, or even more specific suggestions for specific issues that arise in his world, but the situation here is not exactly something he has experience with.]

[Video]

[requiemshark]

You're working overtime, Doc.

[For his part, Ephemera just looks amused.]

How's that working out for you?

[Video]

[lifetothefullest]

Incredibly. This definitely isn't time I could've spent sleeping, or counting dots in the tile on my counters, or doing something else more productive.

[The sarcasm is surely obvious here; he's very much resigned to the apparent fact that this was a huge waste of time.]

[am_i_a_monster]

It can be impossible to resist an obsession. I don't blame the people here for what they might have done. The hard thing's not blaming myself.

Do you really think there might be techniques to fight the compulsions?

[lifetothefullest]

Although I hesitate to say it's ever completely impossible, yes. There are many obsessions or other issues that are extremely difficult to overcome on one's own, no matter how much they might want to; you can't just will away a mental disorder.

[Which is, ultimately, the underlying point he'd been trying to get across; treating people--especially those affected by something completely outside of themselves--as though it's their fault for not trying hard enough to just will away their problems is upsetting to him. It feels ignorant at best and malicious at worst, and leads to exactly that last part of her first comment.]

I know it's easier said than not to blame yourself, but this wasn't something you asked to happen. So try to focus more on how to deal with next time instead of feeling guilty for something that wasn't your fault, okay?

[It's gentle and encouraging, because this is all the real point of his post. And he nods at the question, although he doesn't seem entirely confident.]

There are some things that help manage other types of compulsions, obsessions, or symptoms of other disorders, so hopefully yes. But considering this is the outside influence of beings with supernatural powers, I can't say for sure.

voice.

[bekommen]

Identifying's the easy part. All you gotta do's ask one simple question - is it a day that ends in Y?

voice.

[lifetothefullest]

[Okay, of all the not helpful responses, at least this one's also amusing and not insulting.]

Are we sure that days here actually end in Y?

video

[evocation]

It's basically magic, right? It's not like you can strong arm your way through magic. Usually. Not unless you're like, trained.

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[lifetothefullest]

[Lance looks genuinely interested--and perhaps a little encouraged--by this response.]

We don't have magic, or anything like what the gods do, in my world; is that how it works where you're from?

video;

[storyseeker]

Thank you.

[Elena is a little embarrassed by how much she got into the paintball thing...even if she's also proud of making it to the end.]</small

video;

[lifetothefullest]

[As simple as this response is, it's greatly reassuring to him. At least some people feel the same way, and might've gotten some benefit out of knowing they're not alone in their feelings themselves.]

You're welcome. How did the event go for you?

[He hasn't spoken to her in awhile, and he figures he should ask anyway.]

video;

[nonscriptum]

[In all honesty, Nate barely registered that the event messed with him all that much. As someone who takes great pleasure in embroiling himself in competition, he only noticed the difference as it demonstrated itself in Elena, who, while also competitive, isn't usually that absurdly aggressive about it.]

...are...a lot of people angry over this? Besides the whole "the gods messed with my behavior" stuff?

[Listen. He doesn't keep up with the network. He's not that savvy.]

video;

[lifetothefullest]

There have been some comments, yes.

[He says it dryly, although the tone is not directed specifically at Nate.]