Chief Counselor's Log #4 - Vigil

Posted on 13 Sep 2012 @ 5:13pm by Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle

317 words; about a 2 minute read

I had an Academy professor once who said after a trauma, the real work for a counselor began the moment a crew believed they were dealing with matters just fine. Thus far in my career, that little nugget has yet to steer me wrong.

Now that the initial shock has passed, I see the crew fighting valiantly to focus on the tasks they believe will get them back on the road to some semblance of normal. As a Starfleet officer, I know this has to be done, and it fills me with pride and hope. As a counselor, I see it as protective, even adaptive, to some degree.

However, I know from personal experience how easy it can be to intellectualize oneself into a melt down...all the while looking damn healthy. When bad things happen, the shock of them, for many people, triggers an emotional release. They mourn, they get angry, they cry... As time goes on, though, thoughts about what they should be doing or feeling instead get in the way. The pain doesn't go away, it just gets buried deeper.

Worse yet, when the initial shock passes, and people start to calmly assess what happened with the rationality that only time and a little knowledge brings, that's when the real trauma sets in.

I can't stop thinking about what's happening to our abducted crew. The Klingons, if indeed the crew is still with them, are not known for their kind treatment of prisoners. I wake up in a cold sweat just thinking of what could be happening to them, especially the women. I don't want to think like this, and while I would never say anything like it to the crew, in my quiet moments, I know I have to be prepared for any reality.

The crew has been through so much in a short time, I only hope a break is coming soon.

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