Emma couldn't help but laugh, then realized it was impolite to do so, but she couldn't help but laugh again. It wasn't until she heard Charles's helpless voice echo in the room:
"Shiller, I'm not losing hair because of a conflict with Erik, there's no scientific basis for that."
"Yes, it's just that there's no scientific basis."
After speaking, Shiller turned his gaze to Emma's face and then said, "In the field of psychiatric disorders, Propranolol is usually used to alleviate somatic symptoms caused by depression or anxiety, commonly presenting as arrhythmia or elevated blood pressure, indicating it's a coping medication. This means it can only relieve physical reactions but cannot treat psychological symptoms, and it may even cause drug dependence. Therefore, out of responsibility for the patient, I can't prescribe medication for you."
"But this so-called psychogenic arrhythmia you mentioned is completely unfounded. I'm very clear about whether I have psychological issues or not. Besides, Professor Xavier has never said I have psychological problems. Even if you don't trust me, you should trust him, right?"
"Just because there was no problem before doesn't mean there isn't one now," Shiller said. "When did your arrhythmia symptoms begin to appear?"
"Probably a few days before the war started," Emma said, pursing her lips. "I don't remember the exact day, but recently it's been happening almost every other day. I even get startled awake by tachycardia while sleeping."
"So you thought about getting some medication?"
"Yes, but it just so happened that Earth flew away, and I couldn't leave my post to chase it. The results from the field hospital told me everything was fine, and my medication request was rejected three times, with the last one forwarded to you. No matter what, I must get the medicine today."
"Alright, calm down, ma'am, it seems this matter is indeed a bit complicated. I don't know if you can understand this: today, I'll prescribe medication for you. Whenever your heart rate rises, you take one, and it will calm your heart rate. But if you experience other somatic symptoms besides an elevated heart rate, and then come to me for treatment, your recent medication experience will severely interfere with my judgment, making it difficult for me to determine whether it's a side effect of the medication or if there's indeed something wrong with you. This is true not only for me, but for other psychiatrists as well. Every instance of unauthorized medication use is an obstacle to truly successful treatment, and no doctor would advise you to do so."
"Come on, it's just medication to lower heart rate, not drugs," Emma said. "The hospital couldn't find anything, and I just want to feel a little better. Is that so wrong?"
"If you want to feel a bit better, you should undergo further psychological assessment to determine whether it's a somatic symptom caused by a mental issue. If so, psychiatric medications might make you feel even better."
Emma showed an impatient expression. She reached out and flipped through the psychological assessment reports on Shiller's desk, then said, "It's not like I haven't filled this thing out before, and you didn't find any issues, did you?"
"As I said, just because there were no problems before doesn't mean there aren't any now. Besides, I don't fully trust any psychological assessment process not performed in my presence. If you're serious about resolving the issue, then fill it out again."
"Alright," Emma waved her hand and said, "Where's the form? Let's fill it out quickly, and get me the medication!"
Shiller handed over a form, and Emma began to fill it out. After a while, she slowly furrowed her brow, and her pace of filling slowed down considerably. After a long time, she finally finished, and Emma let out a long sigh of relief.
When Shiller looked over it, he furrowed his brow, and upon turning a page, his brow furrowed even more tightly. After another page, he began shaking his head and sighing, even asking into the air, "Charles, what do you think?"
Emma inexplicably became nervous. She thought she filled it out without any issues, so why did it seem like she had a terminal illness?
Nerving herself up suddenly made her heart rate increase again. She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself down, but still clearly felt the discomfort in her heart.
After a while, Shiller put down the form and then asked, "Do you have a history of anxiety disorder, ma'am?"
"I... I've never been diagnosed," Emma said. "Back then, if you said you had an anxiety disorder, people would think you're a madman. My dad would immediately send me to a psychiatric hospital; that's exactly what he did with my brother."
"Alright, since you say so, then there's a high probability it could be severe anxiety disorder. Now I have to tell you some bad news, your anxiety disorder might have relapsed, and the arrhythmia could very well be a somatic symptom caused by psychological issues."
"Ridiculous," Emma said. "I'm not the little girl I used to be, what in the world now could make me anxious?"
"Is there really nothing? According to you, these symptoms appeared a few days before the war began, which could be anxiety caused by the change in environment."
"You make it sound like I'm one of those kids who cries days in advance when moving, but the fact is, I'm not. Even Professor Xavier can't unsettle me with psychic abilities, no one can hurt me. What do I have to be anxious about?"
"Is your brother okay?"
"What?"
"You said your brother was sent to a psychiatric hospital, is he alright?"
"I don't know. If there's any psychiatric hospital that can truly cure homosexuality, then maybe he's been discharged; if not, then he's still in there."
Shiller sighed. He said, "Who sent him there? Your dad? Just because he's homosexual?"
"After he put us under house arrest, Christian decided to commit suicide. However, he failed, which was seen as a very disgraceful act, so he was sent away."
"Alright, do you have any other relatives?"
"My brother being gay was something my sister Adrian told my father. At the same time, she secretly took photos of me kissing my first boyfriend and then had my father fire him."
"Anything else?"
"My mom is a madwoman with a history of abusing psychiatric drugs. When she found out my dad was cheating, she unconditionally decided to forgive him because this way she could ask for money to buy drugs."
"Do you have any friends?"
"I used to have a teacher who was very kind to me, but after I went to college I found out he was dating my roommate and even hit her. After I confessed to this teacher that I was a mutant, he broke off our friendship."
"How about your love life? Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?"
"After my first love was fired by my dad, I fell in love with a mobster, but he got killed in a fight with a group of kidnappers for my sake. Later I met someone else who also had psychic abilities, but he manipulated my friends, teachers, and classmates to attack me. After joining the Hellfire Club, I had some contact with Laser Eye Scott. He is a good man, and I thought I could develop a romantic relationship with him, but then I found out his girlfriend is one of the few mutants in the world whom I can't defeat."
Shiller couldn't help but open his mouth and then said, "Ma'am, I can't help but ask why you are so convinced that you have absolutely no psychological issues?"
"Because despite going through all of this, I haven't gone crazy. I don't think there's anything in this world that can break me," Emma shook her head and said.
Shiller sighed again. Before he could speak, Emma interrupted him and said, "I know you want to say that the damage these things have caused me can never heal, and maybe they'll drive me mad someday, but I don't think that when all these damages erupt, the harm they'll cause me would only result in my arrhythmia, so it's definitely not for this reason."
Shiller was a bit at a loss for words. He had no choice but to say, "Haven't you seen a psychiatrist?"
"If I have to count, Professor Xavier sort of counts, but he never provided me with psychotherapy. Before that, it was probably those doctors my dad found, who claimed they could treat mutants into ordinary people."
"What impact do you think your mother's history of psychiatric drug abuse has had on you?"
"The greatest impact my mother had on me was that she liked my father and gave him four children; other than that, nothing else."
Shiller lowered his head and scribbled for a while, then said, "Here's what I'll do: I'll prescribe you some anti-anxiety medication to see if it works. If not, we'll try medication for somatization. This sheet lists how to take them specifically. Be sure to follow medical advice at first, okay?"
Emma took the sheet and looked at it, couldn't help but widen her eyes, and said, "You said you can't prescribe me a medication to adjust my arrhythmia, yet you can prescribe me four kinds of prescription drugs? Is this some kind of cocktail therapy?"
"Only one of them is a traditional anti-anxiety medication. The rest are magical drugs used to regulate internal energy balance. Recently, many patients have hormone imbalances due to an internal energy imbalance. I suspect you have similar symptoms, so you can try taking it first."
Emma looked displeased. Shiller continued, "Being a psychiatric patient is not a bad thing. It's not shameful to be a normal person taking medication in time. If you think psychotherapy will lower your prestige in the Hellfire Club, I advise you to leave this anti-intellectual club as soon as possible; it's better for everyone."
Emma sighed gently and said, "I'm not really worried about that. Forget it, I'll go ask the professor."
She took the sheet and left. After she left, Charles's voice again sounded in Shiller's ear: "Thank you, Doctor. If it weren't for you and Gray mist helping out, there's no way to get Emma to see a doctor. Her condition really can't be delayed any longer."
"I swear this is the last time I do this kind of thing," Shiller drew a cross on his chest and then said, "A mind power user this strong having arrhythmia due to psychological issues is indeed a bit absurd. Next time, let's have a different symptom."
"But this is the safest," Charles said, "If you really let her develop some mental symptoms causing an ability outburst, that would be even more troublesome."
At this moment, the door was knocked again. Jean, with somewhat messy red hair, poked her head in: "Doctor, you don't have any patients now, right?"
"No problem, come in, ma'am. What were you doing?"
"Uh, I wanted to chase the Earth, but I couldn't catch up," Jean smiled a little embarassedly, then said, "Actually, I just wanted to go back and get my physical exam report, but I've already done a full physical, and they said there's nothing wrong with my body. So they suspect my arrhythmia might be due to psychological factors. Have you seen my physical exam report, Doctor?"
Shiller picked up a report from the fax machine next to him, pretended to look at it, and then said: "It seems there's indeed no problem. Sit down, please fill out this assessment form and see if it's indeed a somatic symptom due to psychological factors."
Jean came over, sat down, and began to fill it out with a pen. After a while, Shiller took the report, furrowed his brows while sighing, and said to Charles in mid-air: "What do you think, Professor?"