"Of course," Xie Bisheng continued. "Lin Fan is not only a valuable member of your special agency, but also a valuable asset to our country. We will naturally cherish her and carefully protect her safety in all aspects. Isn't Doctor Jin here? If there is anything wrong, just tell me directly and I will solve it."
Jin Sichen smiled and nodded to Xie Bisheng when he heard his name being mentioned. With the deputy director's words, Lin Fan's safety was guaranteed.
Wu Yusen also smiled and said, "We certainly believe what Deputy Director Xie says. However, Lin Fan's illness is indeed somewhat unusual, and I'm afraid it will have a certain impact on the research progress. I hope everyone will be understanding."
Xie Bisheng waved his hand, speaking for the others, "This isn't a big deal. With Dr. Jin here and our cooperation, I believe Lin Fan will soon overcome his illness and recover. A little slow progress in the early stages doesn't matter; it's still people-oriented. We researchers are the most patient."
The other people in Group 623 spoke up in agreement, telling Wu Yusen not to worry, as they would prioritize Lin Fan's physical condition.
"Although we have looked up information, we still don't know much about depression. Could you tell us more about Lin Fan's situation and what we need to pay attention to, so as to avoid causing unnecessary harm inadvertently?" The speaker was a middle-aged man in his 40s.
"Of course. As a professional, Dr. Jin has the most say in this matter. Let him tell us in detail." John Woo handed the topic over to Jin Sichen and sat down with a smile.
"Okay, now I'll explain Lin Fan's recent condition and taboos." Jin Sichen didn't stand up to speak like John Woo did, but remained seated. However, given his status, no one would say anything.
"From what I understand, Lin Fan's depression isn't at its peak, and his mood is relatively stable, but his symptoms are still very obvious."
"Depression episodes typically manifest themselves in three main areas: core symptom clusters, psychological symptom clusters, and somatic symptom clusters. I'll use these symptom clusters to specifically discuss Lin Fan's individual symptoms."
As Jin Sichen spoke, the researchers picked up their pens and began taking notes, as if they were listening to a teacher in class, their expressions serious and extremely attentive. Even Xie Bisheng was no exception.
"Let's start with the core symptom cluster. The first and foremost is depression. Being in a long-term depressed state, often feeling distressed and sad, suffering unbearably, feeling unhappy, and the days seeming like years, a life worse than death... Lin Fan has all of these symptoms, and you'll be able to easily detect them in your future interactions."
"But Lin Fan is a little special. Her emotions are relatively stable, and she doesn't experience extreme pessimism. This has a lot to do with her limited exposure to the outside world and her efforts to control herself. This is something we all need to be mindful of, so as not to further fuel her pessimism."
"Another classic manifestation of the core symptom cluster is loss of interest and pleasure."
"I have no interest in anything. Things that used to make me happy are now meaningless. I can't get any pleasure from daily activities. I read books or play on the computer just to kill time, but I don't get any fun from them."
"For example, our special agency offers very high salaries. Lin Fan, who has been ill for several years, is struggling financially, and relies on others for support, didn't even blink when she learned of the high salary. She was only concerned with whether the funeral funds would be enough for her parents to live out their lives. This reflects both pessimism and a loss of desire."
"On the other hand, as a 35-year-old woman in her prime, she doesn't have the same desire for beauty that other women have. You can tell from the way she dresses: she still wears clothes even when they've faded and become deformed. It's not that she's frugal, but that she doesn't care about the quality of life; she's content with just getting by."
Everyone looked at Lin Fan. His oversized T-shirt had been worn for who knows how many years. The color was old, the collar was loose and deformed, and the edges were frayed. There were faintly visible tiny holes in the shirt. Even a woman in her seventies or eighties wouldn't wear such clothes.
"Just now, when I was checking at the security checkpoint, I realized that the only luggage she had was the small red bag in her hand."
"What's in there? Two sets of clothes, plus underwear, eight pieces in total. One of the T-shirts is really torn. Cell phone, data cable, power bank, water bottle, towel, toothbrush, slippers, ID card and keys. Oh, and a dirty sheet."
"Who here would travel so far with only this little luggage? And she did it."
"We all knew she would be staying in 800 for quite some time, and her luggage was completely insufficient to cope with the changing seasons. Even for the summer, it felt like too much of a stretch. When Wu Teqin offered to buy her more clothes, she refused. This also reflects her utter indifference to quality of life. She doesn't care about external material conditions at all."
Lin Fan placed the red bag on his lap, allowing everyone to only get a glimpse of it. Indeed, there wasn't much inside. They'd assumed it was just Lin Fan's personal belongings, but it was actually his entire luggage. Even the male researchers couldn't help but feel it was too little.
"Besides all this, Lin Fan has also lost her hunger and appetite. She'll eat anything she doesn't dislike, but it tastes like chewing paper. She doesn't eat more than a few bites just because something tastes good. She doesn't eat to fill her stomach or enjoy the food, but to avoid starvation. She eats just for the sake of eating, like she's fulfilling a mission. Her appetite is also small; one or two meals a day is normal, just enough to meet her minimum survival needs."
Regarding eating, Jin Sichen asked Wu Yusen in detail again when Lin Fan was sleeping.
"We all know that life is lived for various desires, whether it's the longing for a better life, the desire to become a millionaire, or to stand at the pinnacle of power and become the best, or to build a happy family, raise children, and enjoy a harmonious and harmonious life..."
"After all, everyone has desires. Even animals live by their instinctive desires. Lin Fan's loss of desire has left her without hope for anything and no regard for her own life. This is more dangerous than depression."
"Next, I will quickly reverse this situation and arouse her desire for external things, whether it's money or material desires... No matter what it is, desires lead to attachments and reluctance to let go."
"She had previously felt some concern for her parents, but after confirming the amount of the funeral compensation, she let go of that worry. She came here with the certainty of death, fully prepared to be sliced and studied, her body mutilated."
Jin Sichen finally pointed out Lin Fan’s inner thoughts and also reminded 800 what to be wary of in special situations.
Lin Fan tilted his head slightly and glanced in Jin Sichen's direction. Yesterday's conversation hadn't been that in-depth, but he'd guessed so much. He truly was a top psychologist.
The researchers whispered to each other. They all understood how difficult it was to live without hope, and they would go through this cycle every time their research failed.
But they will relieve their emotions by traveling, playing games, watching movies or singing karaoke... using various ways to cheer themselves up, quickly regain their confidence and engage in a new round of research.
They know the pain, but it's still hard for them to imagine what it's like to suffer that pain day and night. Who in their right mind could endure it?
Lin Fan is now sitting here perfectly still. Although she doesn't say a word, she doesn't show any extreme emotions, nor does she seem to be in a state of confusion. This is enough to demonstrate her strong character.
"Hey! How could you possibly die? And slicing you up and all that..." Xie Bisheng quickly denied, "Lin Fan, you're overthinking it! All of our colleagues at 623 cherish you so much, how could they possibly slice you up? It's even more impossible that they'd intentionally kill you for research! I guarantee with my entire research career that our institute would never do such a cruel thing! Don't worry!"
"This is also a manifestation of pessimism. He always thinks the worst of everything. Even the smallest things for ordinary people might be magnified by Lin Fan, causing him to dwell on them repeatedly and adding to his emotional burden."
"This isn't something she can control; it's the nature of depression. She's the biggest victim, constantly tossing and turning between different emotions, ultimately controlling herself to a stable state. It's easy to say, but no one can understand the difficulty involved."
"So I hope everyone can understand her various inappropriate thoughts and try not to bring things up in front of Lin Fan. After all, she might ponder things that we forget about in a flash, and torment herself for months."
"Oh oh..." Everyone nodded. It seemed that Lin Fan was really pitiful. They must be careful in the future and try not to hurt her.
"There are more symptoms in the psychological symptom cluster, and unfortunately Lin Fan meets almost all of them. Normally, if you meet all of the symptoms of major depression, you can be diagnosed. This is the first time I've seen someone like Lin Fan who has almost all of the symptoms." Jin Sichen sighed, looking at Lin Fan who lowered his head and didn't move, he felt tired just thinking about it.
"Anxiety is something many people experience, and it's a classic symptom of a complex psychological symptom complex. It manifests as irritability, tension, restlessness, and wild thoughts. It's a recurring, persistent, and difficult-to-control process, causing immense psychological stress."
"I just said that Lin Fan was determined to die. Before she made this decision, she must have experienced repeated anxiety. She was afraid to go out, afraid that encountering new things would cause more anxiety and negative emotions. This behavior itself is a typical symptom of anxiety."
"Before we took her to the special affairs office, she had lived alone for two and a half years. During that time, she stayed at home and rarely went out. In the last six months, she only went to the courtyard of the community to feed stray animals. She rarely interacted with people and soon returned to her own home. Not saying hello when meeting people is not impolite, but she has a communication barrier and is afraid of interacting with strangers."
A group of people nodded. They didn't care that Lin Fan didn't say hello. They didn't think that this was also one of the symptoms.
"Communication disorders are a manifestation of slow thinking. They also manifest as slow reactions, difficulty thinking, reduced speech, and decreased decision-making ability. And Lin Fan has all of these."
"She often has no memory of recent events, has difficulty concentrating, has difficulty reacting quickly after learning something, doesn't understand what's going on for a long time, and is indifferent to her surroundings and the external environment. These are all manifestations of cognitive impairment."
"When cognitive impairment is at its most severe, the 'three no' symptoms will appear."
"Lin Fan has a very low opinion of herself, believing she is worthless, incapable of anything, and that her life is worthless, a mere waste of air. This is 'uselessness.' She is powerless over her illness, and no one can help her. She can only suffer on her own. This is 'helplessness.'"
"Thinking that life is hopeless, the future is dim, and there's no way out is 'hopelessness.' These 'three nothings' will exacerbate pessimism and prevent the condition from improving."
"She also has strong self-remorse. She feels that her illness has dragged down her parents and placed a heavy burden on them. She thinks her family would be better off if she weren't there. She is filled with guilt and self-blame for her long-term illness and inability to recover."
"Along with this came negative suicidal thoughts. Because these feelings of self-blame and guilt recurred, and the 'three no' symptoms continued to interfere, Lin Fan also had recurring thoughts of self-harm and suicide."
"She couldn't help wanting to stab herself when she saw sharp objects. She even impulsively jumped into a river to commit suicide, but was lucky enough to be rescued."
Everyone looked at Lin Fan in surprise. They all knew that suicide was the most severe manifestation of depression. Seeing Lin Fan's calm demeanor, they hadn't expected him to have such drastic behavior.
Jin Sichen was talking so much, but Lin Fan was still in the same position as when he first came in, motionless. The group of people couldn't help but feel a little distressed.
"I also want to take this opportunity to inform everyone not to let Lin Fan come into contact with any sharp objects, in case she loses control and hurts herself."
"What's the range for sharp objects...?" a female researcher asked.
"Pointy objects with sharp edges, such as knives, scissors, and needles. There was a time when she couldn't help wanting to stab herself or her eyes just by thinking about sharp objects like knives and needles, so it's best not to let her see them to avoid excessive associations."
Everyone took a deep breath. The mere thought of it stabbing themselves was terrifying, and they all said they would be careful.
Lin Fan had actually gotten over that serious period, and now, while she occasionally had these thoughts, she wasn't as impulsive as before and could easily suppress them. But she didn't want to talk, so she just listened to whatever Jin Sichen said.
The introduction to the condition will definitely be a bit boring, but it will be explained clearly now so that there will be a comparison later.
