Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!

Jie Nianzhou recalled: "If I don’t stay up late... about ten to twelve hours." Jie Nianzhou said, "If I have to stay up late, then even more."

Nan Zhubin nodded: "What about weekends?"

Jie Nianzhou pursed his lips: "Most of the time, they’re not much different from weekdays."

Nan Zhubin shook his head: "This sounds like you probably don’t get enough sleep at night?"

"...That’s right." Jie Nianzhou affirmed Nan Zhubin’s words, "After all, I have to review my diary every night..."

"So I feel I have to address my problem with this illness. Normally, I already get very little rest; adding these tasks at night, my learning efficiency during the day is very low, and sometimes I unknowingly fall asleep..."

Nan Zhubin nodded on the surface but shook his head internally.

It seems the easier problems to solve aren’t the illness right now.

The visitor had previously described the teacher as "quite nice," but what he is saying now clearly contradicts his previous cognition.

After this series of [confrontations], the visitor’s previous rationalization of his mentor is on shaky ground.

Looking at the visitor’s expression, Nan Zhubin felt this part was about enough.

[Confrontation] has an upper limit on the growth it can bring in a single counseling session, and this approach itself carries certain risks. Nan Zhubin used it this time because it was the second consultation, and the visitor’s own desire for counseling was very strong.

Next, change the method and direction.

Nan Zhubin displayed a curious expression.

The topic still follows from the previous part, seamlessly transitioning.

"You mentioned you spend a lot of time organizing recordings every day." Nan Zhubin said, "Then these times overlap with your regular coursework time..."

"I seem to recall you mentioning before that you want to try not recording, but sometimes you unconsciously start this process."

Jie Nianzhou nodded.

Nan Zhubin asked: "Have you ever had a definite day with no recording and no review at all?"

Jie Nianzhou thought for a long time.

"No... as far as I remember, there hasn’t been."

Nan Zhubin nodded, started to deconstruct.

He posed a hypothesis: "If one day you don’t record or review, what are you most afraid might happen?"

"...Afraid something will happen." Jie Nianzhou said, "Afraid someone will get hurt because of me."

This part Jie Nianzhou mentioned in the first consultation.

But Nan Zhubin pursued more detail this time: "’Someone’—is there a specific target? Specifically who? Or is there a general range?"

"..." Jie Nianzhou paused.

After thinking for about three breaths, or rather, silencing for three breaths.

"Anyone." He gave a somewhat far-fetched answer, "Anyone around me."

"Alright." Nan Zhubin nodded, continuing with a curious expression, "You’re worried someone might get hurt because of you?"

"’Because of me’—how do you think you could possibly cause others harm?"

"It could be doing something unintentionally and then forgetting. Maybe... in situations like climbing, I accidentally touch someone, or someone gets distracted because of me..."

"During that mountain climb, did you touch someone, or did someone get distracted because of you?" Nan Zhubin maintained a soothing demeanor while accelerating the dialog.

"No... but I’m worried."

"And other than climbing, did any similar accidental injury happen to someone else because of you?" Nan Zhubin emphasized, "Let’s not discuss the issue with your previous mentor now."

Jie Nianzhou opened his mouth then closed it.

After seeming silence or thinking for a while, he answered: "No... not at all."

"Yet you still feel ’it might happen’?"

Jie Nianzhou nodded.

...

These are [Socratic questioning] techniques. Through a series of questions, guiding the visitor to realize that their thoughts aren’t tenable.

Nan Zhubin glanced at the clock on the wall.

Due to time constraints, today’s reality testing and cognitive intervention are about as much as we can do.

It’s not a complete conclusion, but it’s like leaving a hook for future depth.

He prepared to begin the final part of psychological education.

"These issues may not be solved all at once; we’ll take it step by step."

Nan Zhubin pulled out a large space with both hands, then used his right hand like slicing veggies to divide that space into smaller portions.

"We will break up this long-term process into many phases. For each phase, we’ll focus on completing one task."

Jie Nianzhou emerged from silence, looking at Nan Zhubin, sitting upright.

"We are alumni; you’re also a PhD in psychology, so your theoretical foundation is definitely solid."

Nan Zhubin asked: "Do you have an impression of the [Thought Suppression Paradox]?"

Jie Nianzhou raised his brows slightly; he naturally understood the term.

...

The [Thought Suppression Paradox] was first systematically demonstrated by social psychologist Daniel Wegner in 1987 through the classic "White Bear Experiment."

In this experiment, participants were asked to try not to think about a white bear for five minutes, ringing a bell whenever the thought of the white bear occurred. The results showed that compared to the free group, the suppression group reported the thought of the white bear significantly more frequently.

Wegner thus proposed: consciously suppressing a thought may instead lead to the thought re-entering consciousness with greater force—the phenomenon is known as the "rebound effect," forming the core mechanism of the [Thought Suppression Paradox].

In clinical intervention for [Obsessive Compulsive Disorder], the [Thought Suppression Paradox] has important pathological significance.

One of the core sufferings of OCD patients is the uncontrollability of intrusive thoughts—patients may try to avoid certain thoughts, but find the more they try to suppress them, the more frequent and intense the thoughts become.

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