Elipse or Circle - Only the Nazis Knew for Sure.

At work, Don continued to talk to me about the business trip to Philadelphia, and no mention was made of the Christmas party. The only topic of conversation was the best way to make the trip. Don had decided to fly because he abhored the drive to Philadelphia, and there were plenty of convenient flights available. He said he would have the secretary make the flight arrangements.

By now I dreaded my weekly visit to Dr. Cohen. He finally stopped taking notes on my Gamma Supplies experience and now he started talking about hobbies. He never discussed a single issue about Gamma Supplies that I had raised, and he refused to discuss any of the events which occurred at RAM. Whenever I expressed suspicion about anything, he would assure me that he would never take part in any conspiracy against me and the he would remind me of his fine reputation as a pshychologist. It seemed usless to point out to him that "they" had already corrupted a Federal Judge and an attorney who had a fine reputation. I was becoming more and more irritated at the fact that I was spending my money to see him, but the situation at work dictated that I had to go through the motions of seeking help.

One thing Dr. Cohen always continued to ask me was the question of what generated fear and anxiety in me. Finally I became irritated at his insistence and told him that any change caused me concern.* Dr. Cohen suddenly became interested and tried to pinpoint exactly what kind of change I meant. I explained to him that any kind of change in my environment caused me concern. He did not bother to pursue the reason change caused me so much anxiety. He was only interested in what caused the emotional response and he offered no advice or suggestions to help me deal with changes in my environment.
__________________________________________
*If Dr. Cohen had really been interested in torture, he might have read Jerimiah Denton's book, "When Hell Was In Session". The book is Mr. Denton's account of his ordeal as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam in which he points out how sensitive he became to changes in his environment because it was a signal that something, usually bad, was about to happen. I had become the same way and any change in a persons actions or behavior caused me to become alert and anxious.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The next morning I went into work and was surprised when Don showed up at my office bright and early. Don almost never got into work before nine o'clock (I think he need time to sober up from the previous nights drunk), but this particular morning, he was there when I arrived before eight thirty. The first thing he said was, "I've changed my mind, we are going to drive to Philadelphia. I decided that was the best thing to so we'll be driving down on Thursday. My anxiety level jumped. Twelve hours after I told Dr. Cohen that sudden changes caused me anxiety, Don shows up at work early to come in and tell me he had changed his mind and that he was going to do something that he had told me two days earlier he hated to do. And Don had no explanation for the sudden change in plans. The timing and nature of the events seemed too planned to be coincidental, but who would believe that something that I had told my therapist would effect actions at work.