Thursday, 23rd September
Hello everyone, good day to you all. Right here, right now, clear skies on this bright sunshining day, auspicious, isn't it? Apparently on a well deserved break from academics, trying to relax in the comfort of my safe haven which is my home, alone, together with my Mom going about her business without interference from me, of course!Whatever could go wrong?
Anyway, I can't certainly say why but lately I've been thinking back to a time in my life where I was so sure I wanted to be a Psychiatrist. Yeah! that's right, a Psychiatrist. You know, the branch of medicine that subjectively diagnoses, treats and studies mental disorders and behavioural conditions. Understanding or learning about behavioural conditions, specifically tailored to mental and personality disorders, criminal behaviours, social issues etc while also trying to help treat and rehabilitate individuals with such conditions has always been something I wanted to pursue career-wise but now it's all wishing thinking. I've always fancied the profession and it never eluded my interest.
Was watching a movie earlier (yes! I watch lots of movies) and there was this case that caught my attention. I would call it "The Case, The Doctor And The Pyromaniac" (I know that has a nice ring to it, eh?) Anyway, the doctor in this case is a Psychiatrist and the patient happens to be a Pyromaniac. A pyromaniac as I've come to know it is an individual suffering from Pyromania which is the compulsive disorder characterised by the obsession with fire or uncontrollable urges to start fires. This caught my attention because, there was a conversation between the doctor and the patient where the doctor needed help coming up with a psychological profile for an arsonist and who better to get help from than from someone who specialises in Arson or Pyromania and also someone who's clearly well vast in the world of all things Fire.
I'm going to write up a succinct yet understandable adaptation to how the conversation played out...
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Doctor: Here are the photos of the incident. I can have other photos brought in for you. If that's what you need.
Patient: You know what I need.
Doctor: I'm not taking you to the burn site. That is off the table.
Patient: Would you give a psychological profile of a patient from a pile of photographs.
Doctor: That's entirely different. Fire is not alive.
Patient: I beg to differ. Fire consumes oxygen, fire reproduces, fire grows and moves quickly. That's more alive than most living entities.
Doctor: It's too dangerous
Patient: (Scoffs) What am I going to do? Burn the place down? I'm not a supervillain, you know.
Doctor: No, no, no, you misunderstand me, I mean, it's too dangerous for you. For a pyromaniac, fire is a drug and you have been sober for six years since you've been here. Taking you to a burn site would be like sending you off on a bender. All your progress will be...
Patient: Don't try to shrink me... and my progress is none of your business, is that clear?
Doctor: Alright. Yes, it is clear. Right now, I assure you I'm just here for your help.
Patient: So, you're not trying to shrink me or protect me from the only thing I love?
Doctor: Your "love" killed people. Fire is not love, fire is rage.
Patient: That's one way looking at it. The accelerant used here is homemade. That means he's educated. I say he not only because of the distance the gas was tossed, but because of the jagged pattern of how it fell. You need strength to toss the cannister like that, and anger.
Doctor: Anger, you say?
Patient: Yeah, anger. And Doctor, just so you know, fire isn't rage. Want to know what it is? The way I see it, God writes in pencil, fire is his eraser. It's not for anger, it's for pain. That's your profile. The arsonist is in pain, just like me.
A/N: Such riveting conversation. I think this is where forensic psychology comes to play. This is a field that combines the practice of psychology and the Law. Trying to learn from the patients their behaviour in order to try and figure out how best to treat them and others like them so they don't cause irrevocable damage to the themselves and the public at large is actually why I fancied Psychiatry as a worthy profession.
I've heard of people that derive joy from hurting themselves. They just love it... i still find it hard to understand.