Dallas, Texas

"Please make sure you take advantage of the help he's offering, he's there to help you, we're all here to help you. You know I worry and I don't want to see you suffer", Miss Ellie had noticed a slight difference in the way Sue Ellen had been acting lately and upon being questioned by JR about her daily activity, her worry had increased dramatically. Back in her day, women didn't have a lot of help or support, pre or post birth, however, Sue Ellen was surrounded by people who wanted to help her and had the resources to do so and it seemed silly not to take advantage of her privileged position. It was an odd situation, different to anything she had seen before; Sue Ellen wasn't simply pretending to be a happy wife and mother as she had in the past, she really was a happy woman most of the time, however, there were things that triggered a change in her entire demeanour and that wasn't right. Eating noticeably less at meal times and physically pushing herself harder than she had in the past were the two issues that were most apparent to Miss Ellie, but from what she gathered from JR's cryptic questions, her old self-esteem issues were beginning to affect their marriage. Sue Ellen was a beautiful girl and it was ludicrous for her to be so harsh with herself, but simply telling her that had no effect on her; she had tunnel vision when it came to 'fixing' her issues and outside opinions often went in one ear and out the other. Miss Ellie was pleased with Sue Ellen in one area though, she wasn't completely in denial about her issues and she was seeking help for them, help that if she thought about it, Sue Ellen could have used years ago. Indirectly, Sue Ellen had told Doctor Krane about her weight loss and self-confidence struggle and Doctor Krane, being the intuitive woman she was, had picked up on it straight away and insisted that she not ignore the problem, swiftly referring her on to a mental health professional who she was set to meet with this morning. Doctor Krane didn't believe Sue Ellen's condition was bad enough for her to need serious psychiatric help in a hospital environment, but she definitely needed someone to talk to who could counsel her and help her. Society was changing and the medical community was beginning to adapt to those changes, creating and offering new services and ways of doing things and from the little she understood about the services available, they were perfect for a woman like Sue Ellen; she was mixed-up and confused, but she wasn't seriously disturbed or insane. "I will Miss Ellie", feeling a little closed-off, Sue Ellen gave her mother-in-law a polite smile and short answer before walking upstairs to see her son one last time before she left; today was a big day for her and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it.

"Why do you think you put so much pressure on yourself?" pausing for a second, Doctor Williams observed the way his newest patient reacted with surprise to his question, "you're surprised. Why?" he had two guesses as to why she was surprised, but his job wasn't to make assumptions and give her his version of the 'right' answers, it was to lead her to discovering them for herself. She either didn't believe that she put too much emphasis on being perfect, or no one had ever questioned her in such a way before; the answer was out there, but she needed to give him her thoughts, not simply allow him to tell her how she was feeling, that wouldn't be helpful at all. Confused by his question and almost offended that a total stranger had the nerve to ask her such intrusive questions, Sue Ellen attempted to swallow her annoyance, though her short, sharp answer revealed her feelings anyway; "I'm surprised because we've known each other for fifteen minutes and already you're asking about my personal life". Laughing to himself, Doctor Williams wasn't offended by her slight rudeness, it wasn't unexpected that she found him intrusive, however, it also shouldn't have been unexpected on her part that he was asking her personal questions, they were meeting specifically to sort out her issues. "Fair point. Was there something else you wanted to talk about? I'm here to listen, though according to the brief summary in your patient file and the small amount you've told me today, I do believe that my question was a legitimate one. But by all means, if there's something else you'd rather focus on, the floor is yours", waving his hand at the space between their chairs as a physical companion to his words, he waited for her to respond. Unsure of what to say or what to think of the man in front of her, Sue Ellen sighed, "no, I suppose not. How much did Doctor Krane tell you?" she was surprised that her patient file had any information in it, she didn't even know how she felt herself, so if Doctor Krane had been able to summarise it into words, she was interested in what those words were. "Not very much; we try to respect patient privacy as much as possible. I would really like to hear how you feel in your own words though, not Doctor Krane's words", handing the conversation back to her, he waited for her to say something.

"The pressure has always been there, as far back as I remember; throughout elementary school, middle school, high school and then college. It died down a little after I married JR, but that didn't last for long. I've always had something to strive for, I've always had a goal in mind and for the most part, I've always achieved those goals and I've always been able to work well under pressure. It was really only after I found out that there are some things in life that are out of my control that the pressure really started to get to me…" spilling a lot of personal information in the space of a few seconds, though not very specific information, Sue Ellen then paused as some unpleasant memories came back to her. It had been awful to feel as if she were failing everyone month after month with the news that they would have to wait a little longer for the newest Ewing to arrive and in that time, with everything else that had been going on in her life, she had buckled under the pressure of everyone's high expectations. Allowing everything to affect her personally, even the things she had no control over, had brought her down a bad path in life and she didn't want to ever return there again. Therefore, even if it was tough and she was uncomfortable revealing her thoughts and feelings to a total stranger, she was going to do it, for herself and her family; if it would help her in the end, then it was worth a little discomfort now. Surprised with her sudden outburst and revelation of real information, even if it were cryptically stated, Doctor Williams smiled to himself; perhaps they were finally getting somewhere.

To be continued…