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| Alternative therapies by Nesta | 14 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Darkover | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/11/2011 |
| Dear Nesta: This may be a fan fic utilizing characters from Middle-Earth, but it seems more realistic to me than a lot of other things I've ever read. Our society is full of Miss Prisms, and IMHO they do more harm than good. People (like Sam) often do go through bad times and even traumatic experiences, but sometimes what makes the experiences traumatic is the endless talking about it that forces them to relive it over and over, while convincing them that they are victims! Okay, I'll get off the soapbox now. I just wanted to let you know that I agree totally with the sentiments implied in your story. Good for Rosie for sending that noxious woman on her way! Thanks for writing and posting this. Sincerely, Darkover Author Reply: It isn't to be taken too seriously, Darkover, but I was trying to make a point as well as have a laugh. I get fed up with the legions of do-gooders preying on people who have had horrific experiences, especially when they try to convince them that they'll never get over it without the help of the do-gooders, who thus secure themselves a job for life. Some people really can't recover fully. Frodo is a harrowing example, both because his experiences were uniquely terrible and because he is a highly sensitive person. But most people do recover, not because of do-gooders but because they have ordinary human resources to draw on. If they didn't the human race would have perished long ago. | |
| Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/6/2007 |
| So this is the real reason Big folk were banned from the Shire Oh, go Rosie! Go Faramir and Eowyn! I wonder if Miss P. ever bearded Aragorn, given his traumatic and most unnatural upbringing (you know, the whole orphaned, abandoned by his surviving parent to live in a culturally different household where he could never ever do the things that those around him could do and then all that terrible solitude and semi-starvation...) I HATE those kind of counselors. They don't really want to help anyone they just want to vicariously and vouyeristically wade through other people's trauma so they can feel self-righteous and proud that they "would have handled things better than that..." I definitely have to recommend this to some of my friends. I personally think that Sam had the right idea of it: lots of love and cuddles, good food, laughter and doing the things you enjoy are the best therapy of all. Great story! Edlyn | |
| phyloxena | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/4/2007 |
| Go Rosie! That was hilarious. Of course, Frodo's simptoms are classic PTS, but he spent many month in close contact with evil and powerfull magic object. Tolkien obviously thought that was the worse thing to happen to the person in ME. By the way, nobody heard about trauma before the rather pointless WW I -- I guess, the sense of duty accomplished helps. Author Reply: I expect people had 'trauma' even before WW1, but they were expected to battle through it with whatever help their friends and relations could provide. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the pseudo-science of psycho-analysis was developed in the late nineteenth-early twentieth century, just in time to move in on the aftermath of WW1. Of course, if people really need help with their 'traumas' it's right they should get it. But as far as I can judge (which may not be very far), the science of mental health just now is about as advanced as the science of physical health was in the Middle Ages, when there were plenty of doctors around, with plenty of fancy theories, but they didn't have the remotest idea of what really caused disease, and so very seldom cured anybody. (In fact they were far more likely to kill you.) Same thing with 'mental health' now: they haven't got the remotest idea of what's really going on in people's brains, hence the quack remedies (like finger-waggling) which go in and out of fashion all the time. | |
| Elemmírë | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/3/2007 |
| ROTFL!!!!! Miss P. (delighted): Aha, I thought so. And you are then assailed by a crippling sense of helplessness? Oppressed and crushed by the awfulness of it all? Sam: No, I have a nice cuddle with Rosie and by next morning I’m as right as rain. .... Miss P. (excitedly): You didn’t have a contract? Goodness me, do you realise that if you were subjected to such appalling experiences without proper contractual arrangements you have a cast-iron claim against his estate for compensation for your extreme mental suffering? Sam, I know an excellent law firm that will take this case for you on a no-win-no-fee basis… Sam: But- Miss P.: You could take his heirs to the cleaners! You could make a fortune! This is great! I just hope Miss Prism doesn't decide to go visit Frodo, Bilbo, & Gandalf too in the Undying Lands! Author Reply: I don't think the Miss Prisms of this world would qualify for Valinor! But I'd love to see her try to patronise Gandalf... | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/2/2007 |
| Therapists who refuse to listen we can do without, of course. And Eowyn and Faramir literally kicked her out? Hehehehehehe! Well deserved, of course. Nice juxtaposition of archaic and modern, of course. And may the Ms. Prisms of the world creep back into their archives and not disturb us as we get on with the business of living. Author Reply: The world is just full of Miss Prisms, sad to say, battening on the troubles of the rest of us. Doubtless they have good intentions, but as somebody (I forget who) remarked, one sometimes feels that 'good intentions' should be declared a capital crime. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/2/2007 |
| I pity the poor PTSD counselor who took her uninvited counsel to Emyn Arnen. For some reason, I see Eowyn chasing her out on horseback, cracking a whip. Or the Ithilien Rangers poking their heads, and their nocked arrows, out of the bushes. I wonder if the counselor will try Pippin next. Or Eomer. Neither of them would have as much patience as Sam showed. I loved the bit with Sam cheering up baby Elanor. Author Reply: I suspect that Miss Prism left Middle Earth after this and went to be a teacher in Narnia, where Aslan eventually turned her desk into a rose bush or something similar. I can't remember if he turned her into anything, but if he did, I bet it was something repulsive. A lot of fanfickers (including some very distinguished ones) assume that Faramir was traumatised by his experiences, but I've always been convinced he was a lot tougher than that. Why mess about with traumas when you've got a new wife, a new princedom and a lot of work to do? | |
| poppymuddyfoot | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/2/2007 |
| Bravo! If everyone had as much sense as Rosie, we'd have a lot fewer people wandering around dwelling on their past instead of just continuing with life. And I'm sure if Sam ever does decide he really needs help, Rose will make sure he gets it. (Probably from his old friend and healer,the King.) Well done and thanks for the laugh. Author Reply: Aragorn went through some pretty traumatic experiences too, but I can't imagine him cracking up. Or Faramir either. You can be sensitive without being a wimp. And what about Elves? If you live for thousands of years you're going to pile up a good few traumatic experiences. Like 'Now, Mr Maedhros, what was it like being suspended by one wrist outside the doors of Thangorodrim? Did it make you feel uncomfortable?' | |
| Jay of Lasgalen | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/2/2007 |
| *Huge grin* I liked this!! And I missed the article in New Scientist - I buy it once in a while, but not every week. While I'm sure that counselling is an important process in dealing with some experiences; as my mother puts it: 'We never had counselling after the war!!' My car was once broken into, and the stereo stolen - and I was asked 'Did I want counselling?' I'm quite sure that Sam can cope with his memories - especially with the distraction of Rosie and Elanor. Loved Eowyn and Faramir's reaction too :) Author Reply: Fancy, if they'd had to 'counsel' every person in the world who'd had a bad time in World War II!!!! I've heard of people who survived Auschwitz and went on to lead useful and fulfilling lives. I'm convinced that most human beings can survive any sort of mental 'trauma'- and hobbits are supposed to be tougher, if anything. Frodo's an exception, but then Frodo's experiences were altogether exceptional. And when he arrives in Valinor he won't be confronted by an army of therapists; he'll just be left in peace to recover. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/2/2007 |
| Mmmmm... can I have some of that last therapy too... pleeese. Well, er make that lots of it! *grin* You should hear my Dad, ( a retired police officer,) on the subject of trauma counselling! Author Reply: The article said that people like soldiers and police officers are sometimes FORCED to undergo counselling after going through a difficult situation. I think that's outrageous. Surely, if they were all such faint lilies, they'd never have wanted to be soldiers or policemen in the first place? | |
| Daynawayna | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/2/2007 |
| ROFLOL! LOVE it! ::cackles:: OMG poor Samwise! Oh, by the way, have you been in Emyn Arnen yet, over Gondor way? Because there’s a lord and lady there who’ve been through some truly dreadful experiences, and they’d love to meet you I’m sure. (Miss Prism shudders and involuntarily rubs her own backside.) OMG THAT made me laugh! I'm wondering if there's a hoofprint on her backside or an Eowynprint. ::giggles:: Therapy indeed! Heee heee!! Great story Nesta! Author Reply: I rather think it was Eowyn who scourged Miss P. from that particular temple. Faramir's courtesy would forbid any such reaction, but I think he might have felt a stirring of what Peredhel once called his 'inner Denethor'. | |