Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!-Chapter 659 - 594: Rebuilding After Collapse

Outside Li Lingling’s hospital room.

Knock, knock, knock—

The staff knocked three times, but got no response, so they opened the door with a creak.

Nan Zhubin saw Li Lingling lying sideways, her back facing him.

A familiar silhouette, but unlike before, she emitted a gray and muddy aura as if soaked by a flood.

The sounds of knocking, the door opening resounded, yet Li Lingling showed no reaction, as if her senses were blocking out the outside world.

"Xiao Li, a team of psychological aid experts from Beidu is here," the staff said to Li Lingling, "They wish to speak with you."

They introduced the current situation and what would happen shortly. This statement oddly had a hint of a consulting assistant’s tone.

Li Lingling offered no response and didn’t budge.

The staff sighed and said to Nan Zhubin, "It’s okay, we’ll move in front of her; we might have to speak to her a few times before she reacts..."

Nan Zhubin raised his hand to stop the staff. He said nothing, simply gestured for them to leave, indicating he could handle it alone.

The staff trusted the expert. After quietly explaining some matters, they turned around and closed the door with a "bang," but no footsteps followed, suggesting they were waiting outside.

These sounds, these exchanges, did not elicit any change in Li Lingling.

Nan Zhubin noted these reactions, then slightly unfocused his pupils—

[Flow State]

In just two seconds, Li Lingling’s condition, the staff’s narrative, and previously collected information instantly pieced together, forming a logical chain.

With it, a hypothesis awaiting verification emerged.

His gaze refocused, his consciousness returned. Nan Zhubin did not speak immediately; instead, he walked straight to Li Lingling’s front—

The visitor was curled up like a hedgehog sensing danger, protecting her softest parts; however, her exposed limbs and muscles were noticeably relaxed, showing no tension or defense.

Her eyes were unfocused, staring blankly at the misty window and the chaotic world outside.

Nan Zhubin stood at the edge of Li Lingling’s line of sight for a few seconds.

Then, using a steady, clear voice with sufficient volume for Li Lingling to hear but without aggression, he called her name: "Li Lingling."

The familiar sound.

At once, the curled hedgehog shivered.

Li Lingling’s eyes subtly shifted, easily capturing Nan Zhubin’s face.

Her pupils dilated slightly from surprise, her pale cheeks flushed from rising emotions;

Her body immediately tensed, instinctively pulling up the blanket seemingly to cover herself; but when the blanket reached her chin, she stopped, as if her gaze was unwilling to part from the person before her.

Nan Zhubin observed the visitor’s conflicting bodily reactions and facial changes.

The hypothesis was validated.

Then, intervention could begin.

Nan Zhubin softly said, "I was sent to the disaster area for psychological aid, and a team came with me."

"I saw your file, so I volunteered to come."

First, explain the context.

Nan Zhubin paused, ensuring this opening remark could establish a dialogue with the visitor.

Then he didn’t approach or sit down, calmly stating, "You tried to use work beyond your limits to punish the ’self’ that ’failed’ at a crucial moment, which led to the current outcome."

The words were rather direct.

...

Previously, in the consulting room and daily work, Li Lingling’s [defense] was "functional."

She had used "work is like this" [Rationalization], "I don’t feel anything" [Emotional Isolation], and "nothing special" [Denial] and other mechanisms to maintain a superficial "normal" state.

To protect herself from touching the core trauma.

These [defenses] were unhealthy but formed the foundation of Li Lingling’s everyday function.

Nan Zhubin had once stripped away these [defenses]— he meticulously removed the rotten wood from the tottering tower and tried to replace it with finely crafted stones and beams, hoping to build a warm cabin for the little person inside Li Lingling to find shelter.

This project wasn’t yet completely finished, but now it had collapsed.

According to the staff’s previous description and Li Lingling’s current behavior.

Nan Zhubin could be certain: In the immense trauma-triggering field of the disaster area, Li Lingling’s old and fragile defense system had been thoroughly demolished.

She could no longer cope through "numbness" or "reasoning," replaced by a more primitive "collapse state" stemming from the trauma itself.

The previous [survivor guilt] was no longer an abstract concept explored in the consulting room but was utterly activated and magnified in reality due to a specific "failure" and "denial," turning into Li Lingling’s firm "reality."

She was no longer "discussing" trauma but "living in" the experience of trauma replay.

This was a very dangerous state.

One misstep, and Nan Zhubin’s accumulated consulting gains over the months could be lost.

Struck heavily on the verge of rising from the deep pool, only deeper descent into the abyss waited.

Therefore, what Nan Zhubin had to do now was not to dig deep into the trauma, nor solve problems, but "stabilization"— pulling Li Lingling back from the brink of dissociation and collapse, reconstructing the most basic sense of security and reality to create possibilities for subsequent healing.

Nan Zhubin needed to turn himself into a stable, reliable, non-intrusive "container" capable of containing all the visitor’s intense emotions and fragmented self that she couldn’t handle independently.

...

"You tried to use work beyond your limits to punish the ’self’ that ’failed’ at a crucial moment, which led to the current outcome."

This was the first formal consulting sentence Nan Zhubin chose after the opening remark.

The conversation rhythm was radically different from usual consultations.

Nan Zhubin used [Empathic Interpretation].

Directly naming the deep psychological drive behind Li Lingling’s behavior, certifying it as "self-punishment," bypassing all her surface defenses to make her feel deeply understood.

Meanwhile, using statements instead of questions reduced the visitor’s pressure to respond.

Li Lingling was completely different from the state she was in just after hearing the staff’s words.

She trembled slightly, her eyelashes furiously blinking while pursing her lips tightly.

But she didn’t deny.

Nan Zhubin waited two seconds, allowing Li Lingling to digest what he had just said, then added, "I know this is very painful. But I understand, if I had experiences like yours, I might also make the same choices as you in that scene."

[Empathy] + [Normalization], acknowledging the visitor’s emotions’ reasonableness, alleviating her loneliness and shame.

After saying this, Nan Zhubin gently pulled over a chair and sat down, still maintaining a safe distance.

He took a deep breath and said calmly, in a low, steady, gentle tone, "Now, if you are willing, try to feel the bed beneath you."

The topic shifted quickly, almost inexplicably.

But Nan Zhubin’s entrance today and his previous words had always had a sudden feeling.

Sudden, yet not dangerous.

Moreover, Li Lingling and Nan Zhubin had already built a strong consulting relationship.

Li Lingling involuntarily began to follow with a deep breath, her body slightly shifting twice to increase the contact between her skin and supporting surface.

Nan Zhubin continued, "Feel it supporting your body’s sensation... maybe a bit hard, but it’s tangible, bearing your weight."

"Then feel the blanket... the weight and warmth covering your body..."

Three breaths passed.

Watching Li Lingling’s eyelids involuntarily close slightly, leaving a gap just enough to see the consultant.

After her body gradually relaxed.

Nan Zhubin softly said, "You now need rest and quiet."

Thus completed this consultation’s opening segment.