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Ms. Herald:
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Hey! That you, Doctor? How are you?
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Dr. Balis:
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Doing well, Chris. How are you?
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Ms. Herald:
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Okay. Kind of frazzled right now. Listen, I don't mean to be a pain in the ass or anything, but do you think that I could cancel my appointment for this week? I totally forgot about midterms, and if I don't finish my project for Professor Carmichael, my pretty little ass is gonna be in the proverbial sling. I...
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Dr. Balis:
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Okay, okay, Christina. Calm down. Breathe between sentences, please. That's good. I understand your commitment to school, so if you want to cancel this week, that's fine. Can you make the same time next week? Will that work for you?
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Ms. Herald:
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That sounds great. Yeah. I can make it. Sure.
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Dr. Balis:
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Uh, Chris?
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Ms. Herald:
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Yepper...
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Dr. Balis:
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How much coffee have you had today? You sound wired.
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Ms. Herald:
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Not too much.
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Dr. Balis:
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Chris....
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Ms. Herald:
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Okay, probably too much. Yeah.
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Dr. Balis:
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Like how much?
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Ms. Herald:
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Let me put it this way. Malcolm at Caffe Roma says that he's going to hook me to an intravenous caffeine drip next time. It'll be a good deal quicker and easier for everyone involved. But I won't get the nice fresh-roasty flavor. Hey, do you think asking him out would be too much like a heroin addict dating the drug dealer, like that Darla chick in "The Crow"?
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Dr. Balis:
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Quite frankly, it just might. Do you ever sleep, Chris?
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Ms. Herald:
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Sleep? What's that? Oh yeah, that's what you do when you don't have this old gargoyle of a lit professor breathing down your neck about a midterm project on Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. I'm seriously at the point of considering running around flapping my arms and screeching "Nevermore!" at people. I can recite the damn thing in my sleep. What sleep, I know. But I do sleep, well, a little.
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Dr. Balis:
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And the panic attacks?
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Ms. Herald:
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Not yet. Not today, anyway. It's only eleven in the morning, so the day is young. And I'll probably have a humdinger and be unable to study anyways. I didn't think of that. I actually feel pretty stupid now. Quick, what's a good way to hold off a panic attack. Stop it before it starts and all that?
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Dr. Balis:
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You might try drinking a lot of water, or exercising to move the caffeine through your system before it can affect you negatively...
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Ms. Herald:
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I think I might already be a little too late. I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm going to let you go and try to calm myself down before this gets really bad. Okay?
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Dr. Balis:
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I think that's a good idea. Take care, Chris. I'll see you next Thursday.
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Ms. Herald:
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Right on. Bye, Doctor.
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###
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Doctor Balis' Notes on this Telephone Call
Transcripts of Christina Herald's Therapy Sessions
