Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!

The visitor's tone was flat, with one hand supporting their forehead.

"I've always thought my emotional management was quite good, and I usually hold myself to high standards. My friends also describe me as relatively... um, ha, steady."

"But that day, at the police station, I started howling, lost control, completely lost control, and scared a lot of people..."

"When I came out, it was already midnight, and there were no people on the street, just a few scattered cars."

His voice became ethereal, "At that moment, I thought, maybe I should just lie down in the middle of the road and sleep? If I wake up okay, then I'll go back to school and continue living, facing everything; if something happens... well, at least I don't need to wake up."

...

The visitor's recollection of past experiences ended here.

For Nan Zhubin, many things were just beginning.

In his eyes, by the end of the narrative, the visitor's gaze had already slightly reddened, and his voice began to choke.

It seemed like something was about to be released.

But after he finished saying "at least I don't need to wake up," the visitor's gaze was momentarily dazed.

Then, almost like a conditioned reflex, he looked up, and the tears in his eyes disappeared entirely; when he looked back at Nan Zhubin, even the reddened hue around his eyes gradually returned to normal.

He suppressed everything back inside.

This is a big problem.

Unfortunately, this problem couldn't be solved today, or even in the next month.

This is part of the [mid-term goal], and even the [long-term goal] of the consultation.

However, although it couldn't be completely resolved today, it's not a problem to initiate a small starting point and then gradually make progress in subsequent consultations.

Nan Zhubin glanced at the clock and began to meticulously manage the time.

Nan Zhubin asked, "Can you describe how you feel now?"

The visitor licked his lips, picked up the glass of water on the table, and took a sip; perhaps he felt it wasn't enough, so he drank half of it in one go.

Then he took a couple of breaths and said, "I feel this incident shouldn't have happened, and my response was immature, also very stupid. I used to laugh at many people who got scammed online, and didn't expect to make such a big deal out of it myself."

"But... I still want to solve it, which is why I came to see you, Teacher."

The visitor lifted the hand that was supporting his forehead and spread it out in a display gesture: "After all, problems need to be solved."

"And, there are plenty of people worse off than me. Many not only lost all their money but also ended up in debt, ruining half their lives."

While saying this, the visitor's speech picked up pace and became more fluid.

"Moreover, what was spread was a synthetic video, not me actually doing something unseemly; besides, I'm a guy, so the impact of such things is smaller."

"When my friend heard of the incident, he even comforted me, saying it was no big deal; if it happened to him, he might even wish there really was such a video of him going public, letting everyone see his, uh... capabilities, haha."

"So..."

The visitor took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, pulling out a smile:

"I guess it could've been worse, I'm barely holding up."

...

This kid didn't get to the point at all.

You are indeed barely holding up, and not okay at all.

In response to the visitor's smile, Nan Zhubin slightly tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Then he softly said, "That's not what I asked."

"Zhihao, I didn't ask for your 'thoughts' on the incident but your 'feelings' about yourself."

This time, Nan Zhubin didn't elaborate; he just looked into the visitor's eyes and repeated his question: "What are your feelings?"

Silence.

The visitor lowered his head to avoid Nan Zhubin's gaze.

After waiting for five breaths without a response, Nan Zhubin slowly said, "From these two consultations, and our interaction that day in court, you give me the impression of a highly principled man with high self-expectations."

Begin with a wave of [Support].

"And you are very 'restrained' with yourself, which is a rare quality."

In fact, it's a severe case of [avoidant style], here Nan Zhubin exercised selective [Positive Attention].

"But... this matter, it's destructive, it's devastating, it's a disaster."

— When saying this, Nan Zhubin emphasized the words "destructive," "devastating," "disaster."

Usually, when dealing with visitors, Nan Zhubin would selectively soften his wording.

But just like in the initial consultation, repeatedly using [Confrontation] is sometimes necessary with a visitor like Nan Zhihao.

"You hold yourself to high standards, so when the 'synthetic video' got out, it brought you damages similar to if a 'real video' had been spread, which were not supposed to be yours to bear."

"You are a man, which means such incidents rarely compromise a man's 'purity,' but they do severely impact 'dignity.'

"If this happened to me, I would struggle to handle it." Nan Zhubin engaged in some [self-exposure], "Just thinking about it is enough to make me tremble."

...

The visitor had already started to tremble.

As Nan Zhubin spoke, he continuously moved his neck and shifted his gaze.

By the end, he clenched his hand into a fist in front of his mouth, his whole arm trembling slightly.

He began to repeatedly clear his throat and stretch his neck.

Finally, unable to bear it—

He pulled out a tissue from the box before him and covered his eyes with it.

"..."

After a long time, Nan Zhubin finally heard the visitor softly saying, "Teacher, I'm... very scared."

"Even now, I still tremble when I think about it."

"I'm afraid... of that night, afraid... of what I went through, and afraid... of everyone around me now."

"But I want to pretend I don't care. I want to look like this incident hasn't harmed me, hasn't affected me, at least... not too much."

"I don't want to let myself be stuck in this matter for too long, I want to move forward."

Nan Zhubin gently shook his head.

His voice was steady and gentle: "This thought is right. But—it's the last step."

"When a leg is injured, it needs disinfection, stitching, rest, only then will it heal and start running again."

"You skipped all the middle steps, directly trying to run, even if it's limping— I can understand, as I mentioned before, you have high self-expectations."

"But this isn't good for you."

The visitor pressed the tissue against his eyes, then removed it, revealing no longer restrained, reddened eyes: "Teacher, can you help me?"

Nan Zhubin smiled: "Of course, that's precisely the purpose of our psychological consultation."

"We are now engaged in precisely such a process."

Nan Zhubin glanced at the clock on the wall.

The time was almost up.

"I'm sorry, our consultation for today is about to end."

Nan Zhubin said, "Before our next meeting, you can practice the [grounding technique] a few more times to improve your current living condition."

"And, I have a small assignment for you—"

Saying this, Nan Zhubin took out a piece of paper.