un: ulysses | video

[restingstitchface]

[On the latest feed: a man with combed hair, a clean face, a mismatched suit and a pair of rimless glasses. Video is streaming from an office where one might spot a painting of an anguished man. He closes his eyes and fixes his lenses on his nose, looking away while leaning forward. His preference is for messaging, but today he is showing his face. He inhales in a calm and controlled manner. Facial cues encourage trust. He prefers to remain unobserved, but this should encourage a positive impression.

Unless you’re Batman, apparently.]

Well, that was a terrible couple of weeks.

In any case, my apologies for the intrusion. I was managing the aftermath and hesitant to reach out until today. I have nothing further to add except that I understand you might feel nervous. But if you resist those feelings, you will have to face them again, and when they catch you…

[He swallows his sentence and focuses on his reason for posting, grounding himself in the present moment by inhaling.]

Back home I treat people for support with their mental health. I had excellent resources there but here I can offer nothing but a listening ear. Perhaps you would like to take me up on that? It’s not like you need insurance and sometimes it’s good to talk.

Feel free to contact me. I'm here to help.

Comments

[restingstitchface]

I've had my fill of difficult moments. Enough to understand survival tends to shape your opinions of and interactions with the world.

[fortitudosalutis]

I was a different person before I went to war.

[restingstitchface]

What do you think of who you were before the war?

[fortitudosalutis]

I was a dumbass kid. Didn't know what I could lose.
But I learned fast.

[restingstitchface]

I see. And what do you think of who you are now?

[fortitudosalutis]

I don't know what my role is here.

[restingstitchface]

We were brought here for a purpose, right? How do you feel about that?

[How do you feel? That is a question he rarely asks, except when he wants an unfiltered opinion. This man lacks a sense of direction, a purpose, but what prevents his presence here from offering that?]

[fortitudosalutis]

It's not my war.
My world isn't worth saving.

[ Another pause. ]

But I want to go back and bury the dead. So I'll follow orders for now.

sorry for delay! feel free to wrap if you want

[restingstitchface]

It sounds like finding that sense of satisfaction and fulfillment is important for you. But having the freedom to pursue it... sometimes that has a heavier price than we expect.

no worries!

[fortitudosalutis]

Yeah
Sometimes

Can you help me sleep?

[restingstitchface]

Of course. But it would be good to have some idea of how you sleep at present. Ideally I would be able to access pertinent information from your medical records to tailor something effective if necessary. But there are certainly options.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ There's a pause. ]

You want permission, then you have it.

I don't sleep much. Couple hours a night. And I have bad dreams.

[restingstitchface]

Thank you. Having access makes this easier.

I would suggest medication only because it is important you gain some quality of sleep. But I cannot prescribe without having some knowledge of how you have reacted previously. Plus most forms of treatment we are familiar with have some level of dependence.

There are some forms prescribed at lower doses that are less likely to lead to dependence. Mostly antidepressants.

But there are other means of finding help if none of that suits you.

[fortitudosalutis]

Never took anything but alcohol. It didn't work.
Gonna be honest
Thought pills were a cop out

But nothing else works and I don't sleep so here we are

[restingstitchface]

Well, plenty say the reverse. Alcohol is a depressant but it can be more acceptable depending who you ask, right? Point is, one man's cop out is another man's alcohol or tobacco. We all have our vices.

In any case, I wouldn't prescribe without talking to you a little more. How urgent are you for some support?

[fortitudosalutis]

Alcohol wouldn't get me kicked out of the army unless I was really stupid about it

[ Pills would. Pope would've drummed him out so fast he would've gotten whiplash. ]

I'll live. It's been like this for years.

[restingstitchface]

Of course.

Sleeping also depends on physiological factors. There should be ways and means to assist in a manner you find comfortable.

Let's see how our first meeting goes and you can decide from there.

[fortitudosalutis]

Okay.
When do you want to meet?

[restingstitchface]

Well, we have the option to meet before the mission or afterwards. Do you have a preference?

[fortitudosalutis]

Before, I guess.

[ No reason to dawdle. He won't be a coward about this. ]