Hi Pen - I was feeling down, and now I'm smiling - that alone is worth the self made assignment of going through your list as a scorecard
But before that, have all 3 friends deserted their thread? Betsey, I miss you
OK, to the scorecard
First of all – discourage your patient to “hang in there” - I'm going to give myself an 8 out of 10. While in reality I have been hanging in like grim death, every now and then, I do not seem to be able to resist speculating 'what if' I went and did my own thing, which REALLY pisses NG off, and the usual retort has been, well, if you are going to do it, do it NOW
The second thing is discourage the LBS to “accept responsibility”. Here, I think realistically, 5. I am anxious to understand why this has happened, NG insists there was NOTHING wrong, he just saw a softness in OW that he was attracted to, and does not want the same in me ?*%# If anyone can translate this, I'd appreciate it
Do not, under any circumstances, let the idea of making “positive changes” enter your patient’s mind. This, a modest 8 NG tells me I've never looked better. BTW, OW is 10 pounds heavier, 6 inches shorter, has no friends to speak of, and therefore no social life. I sometimes suspect NG is more comfortable with flaws though. Not sure.
Encourage her to dwell on her situation as much as possible. Hmmm, I have to cede this - maybe a 4 - I have been wallowing in this somewhat - OK, OK, I gotta GET A LIFE
One final warning: do not let them “take the high road”. Well, I'm gonna be generous and give myself a 9. NG has mentioned in passing that he did not expect so much dignity - apart from the occassional bout of tears
NG tells me I've never looked better. BTW, OW is 10 pounds heavier, 6 inches shorter, has no friends to speak of, and therefore no social life. I sometimes suspect NG is more comfortable with flaws though. Not sure.
