Although the man had an ordinary face, his smile was very gentle, making people feel a sense of goodwill and relax upon seeing him.
He was polite and said gently to Edward Stephens, "Mr. Stephens, while Miss Ginger is still asleep, let’s go outside and have a word."
Edward Stephens found a café near the hospital.
He sat with a sullen face, extremely cold expressions, leaning on the sofa, looking at Nicholas Woods.
"What’s wrong with her?"
Nicholas Woods sat across from him and said gently, "Mr. Stephens, are you familiar with PTSD?"
Edward Stephens’ eyes flickered for a moment, and he said, "Are you saying that this kidnapping caused her..."
"Not this time." Nicholas gently interrupted him, speaking softly, "It was eight years ago."
Edward’s hand on the table clenched slightly.
"My professor was her first psychologist eight years ago. She was about sixteen when she first came, I believe. She came alone." Nicholas slowly poured a cup of warm water and said softly to Edward, "I was an intern then, and I was the one who received her."
"To be honest, it was the first time I saw a girl of only fifteen or sixteen, coming for psychological treatment at a private practice without any family accompanying her." Nicholas seemed to feel a bit nostalgic as he spoke of the past, "At that time, she was very young, but her psychological issues were quite severe."
"What happened to her?" Edward’s voice was hoarse.
"Parents divorced, mother sick, and there was that kidnapping case that shocked the entire Banyan City." Nicholas’ gentle face seemed to manage a bitter smile, "The fact that she even had the awareness to seek help was already remarkable."
As Nicholas spoke, Edward seemed to picture Daisy Ginger at sixteen—beautiful, sensitive, but extremely fragile.
"However, the biggest issue when she came for counseling wasn’t actually the kidnapping." Nicholas looked up at Edward. "She said she kept having nightmares and was afraid to sleep. My professor provided psychological counseling and found she had severe bipolar disorder and agitation."
"PTSD, characterized primarily by the repeated emergence of trauma-related scenarios or content in the patient’s thoughts or dreams, can be so severe that it feels like experiencing the traumatic event all over again."
"Daisy’s nightmares were her repeatedly reliving the scene of the kidnapping."
Edward’s voice was hoarse as he asked, "What scene?"
"The scene where you got injured."
"..." Edward’s lips moved slightly but he said nothing, just looked at Nicholas.
"I know you lost that memory." Nicholas smiled a little and took a sip of water, "But for Daisy, that memory is the source of her most severe psychological trauma."
Edward responded indifferently, "And then?"
Perhaps slightly surprised by his cold reaction, Nicholas paused, looking at him.
"My professor used hypnotherapy to perform desensitization treatment on her. Later, she recalled the scene and wouldn’t recall the details vividly, and psychologically, she’d become numb to the trauma."
"It was very effective. Her bipolar disorder and mania were alleviated, and even her tendencies towards self-harm and suicide disappeared." The most update n0vels are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
"..." Edward pressed his lips together, frowning again.
"But..." Nicholas paused, "She contacted me again this month."
Edward slowly exhaled. He recalled Ian Linton’s kidnapping this time.
Everything that happened was probably a nightmare revisited for Daisy Ginger.