novelraw Chapter 102: Should Dissociative Fugue Be Treated?
Chapter 102: Should Dissociative Fugue Be Treated?
Dissociative fugue is extremely rare, and Chen Xiaoqian, having become a top authority for so many years, has only encountered this one case. In fact, she only used three treatments to successfully help Shi Yu find her own identity again.
At that time, Qian was somewhat proud.
The Shi Family has plenty of money, and for their daughter’s illness, they went abroad to see many famous doctors.
But none of them succeeded.
With a try-it-and-see attitude, they sought out the rising domestic psychologist Chen Xiaoqian. Qian only used three sessions to enter the girl’s heart and awaken the things she was desperately avoiding.
When she received the check from the Shi Family, Qian felt a bit lightheaded. This was the largest amount she had ever gotten from a session, and she thought she could write her name into the annals of psychology history since she cured a case that even abroad couldn’t solve.
However, long after, she learned that Shi Yu, who she awakened, collapsed and committed suicide half a year after regaining her identity.
Because of this, she also received a harsh slap from her mentor.
Her doctoral advisor was a very serious middle-aged woman. When Qian visited her mentor once and boastfully recounted the most memorable case in her career, the mentor said nothing, just gave her a harsh slap.
Do you think you’re the only badass psychologist in the world, Chen Xiaoqian? Do you think nobody else could have cured her before you? Wrong!
It turned out that before the Shi Family found Qian, they had already sought out Qian’s doctoral advisor and asked her to treat Shi Yu. After two consultations, the advisor judged that Shi Yu’s dissociative fugue didn’t require treatment; sometimes forgetting is a kind of happiness.
Qian will always remember how painful that slap from her advisor was.
Dissociative fugue has another nickname: "vanishing from the world." It only occurs under enormous stimulation.
After being mentally stimulated, the patient suddenly transforms into a completely different identity, completely forgetting their previous one as if becoming another person, causing their original personality to vanish from the world. This is more common in cases of murder or after intense abuse. Top psychologists face a huge dilemma when dealing with such illnesses.
Awakening the patient’s memory might make them face a bloody past again, just like how Qian awakened Shi Yu’s memory, and Shi Yu broke down and committed suicide.
Not awakening the patient’s memory means the patient cannot remember their past and will live with the identity they imagined, with their memory returning unpredictably. Some may recall in a few weeks, others in months, and some never at all, only living under a stranger’s identity.
Why did Shi Yu have dissociative fugue?
It turns out she disappeared for a while and, when she reappeared, she refused to acknowledge herself as Shi Yu. She insisted her name was Zhu Xiaomeng, and her family was too eager to reunite, trying everything to make her regain her memory.
Before Qian, the Shi Family sought out Qian’s doctoral advisor, who advised against treatment, suggesting letting her live as Zhu Xiaomeng.
But the Shi Family was unwilling, so they sought out Qian. While Qian cured her, she also awakened the most painful memories of Shi Yu.
In the time she was missing, she was trafficked to the mountain regions and endured various abuses. She eventually escaped by killing the old man who abused her. Dissociative fugue easily occurs after violent murder. Although she had forgotten this past, Qian healed her.
Although the Shi Family used their vast connections to cover it up, Shi Yu continued to wallow in guilt and only lived for six months before committing suicide.
This presents a significant dilemma for all psychotherapists: should they treat people with such illnesses?
This is an unsolvable question. Treatment may awaken patients’ most unwilling cruel memories. Without treatment, they live with a new identity, uncertain when they’ll suddenly come to.
Qian felt she did nothing wrong, but her mentor believed she did poorly.
This matter became an inextricable knot in Qian’s heart.
Even now, she hasn’t figured out whether to treat another patient with dissociative fugue if she ever encounters one again. This ongoing debate in the profession has yet to find a definite answer.
What Qian didn’t expect was that she would see Shi Yu again after being reborn.
Timing-wise, this was before Shi Yu was trafficked and she hadn’t developed dissociative fugue yet.
Qian’s mind was overwhelmed with a thousand "what the fuck" thoughts. How could her university life possibly be peaceful with two people with such stories as roommates?
But now, changing dorm rooms was impossible.
As she stood in front of her bunk, pondering how to distance herself from these issues, Shi Yu, from the opposite bunk, had already noticed her.
The lively girl leaped over without considering Qian’s reaction, reaching out to touch Qian’s face.
"Hey girl, pretty girl, I’m your roommate, your skin is so nice."
This familiarity and forced friendliness evidently attracted the female boss’s displeasure.
Qian slapped her hand away.
"Don’t touch me!"
Except for Yu Minglang, she hated being touched by anyone—man or woman.
"Oh, a feisty girl, I like it! I love ones with little red dots on their foreheads, come on, let me give you a kiss. Once I kiss you, you’re mine!"
The slapped girl wasn’t angry, instead pouted her lips, aiming to kiss Qian’s face.
"Xiaoyu, stop it..." The two helping Shi Yu make her bed were worried her mischievous habits would scare the new roommate right away. This child loved to create ruckus.
Shi Yu chuckled, "Did I scare you? Just teasing you; I’m actually a proper girl, haha!"
Qian watched her expressionlessly, causing the generally playful Shi Yu to lose her smile.
"Your gaze reminds me of my high school homeroom teacher... Do you have to be so intense..."
Qian’s boss aura was truly impossible for the average person to handle. After successfully intimidating the boasting Shi Yu, Qian calmly extended her hand and grabbed Shi Yu’s chest, petrifying everyone in the room.
"Nice texture, a C?"
Trying to be rascally in front of the female boss?
The boss specializes in dealing with defiance, while Shi Yu was just all talk. Qian actually took action.
Chen Chao blushed watching, hastily apologizing to the Shi Family.
"I’m sorry, my sister, she just loves to play!"
"I don’t play. To handle rascals, you have to fight fire with fire." Qian said this naturally and turned around to start making her bed.
"Haha, I like her; this girl is fun. I’m Shi Yu, what’s your name?"
With her back to her, Qian sighed helplessly. This is a fateful encounter, it’s all fateful!
"I’m Chen Xiaoqian."
As they communicated in this unique way, Dong Yi silently arranged her bed, remaining detached from the lively exchange around her, as though this world had nothing to do with her.