Lilah was pottering around at home getting ready for bed, she felt hopeful that Peter managed to keep Carla calm and that she may not be needed to help. Lilah was a very understanding person when people really thought about it. Although she has a cocky business persona on the outside and likes to flash the cash she also has a heart and a mutual understanding of bad experiences people are put through, she knows how to see the positives in a bad situation but she would not reveal how she became so good at understanding the most complicated people unless there was a good reason for it and that there was a trusting relationship. Her clients usually say she's a manipulator and game player, that she screws people over but after today's performance with Carla she could barely be called that now. She was about to get in to bed when her phone goes off. She gets up and heads to the set of drawers in her bedroom and grabs the phone off the charging unit and brings it to her ear.
"Who's speaking?" Lilah asks
"It's Peter" Peter says
"Is everything alright?" Lilah questions
"No, Carla woke up she's having a full-blown panic attack and I don't know what to do" he says in a panic
"Ok, try and get her back into bed and I will be right over" she says calmly while ending the call
Lilah gets a bag ready with some basic essentials like a toothbrush, toothpaste and a set of clothes for the next day along with her make up bag. She heads downstairs and grabs a couple of books to read and some mindfulness colouring books and a pencil case from the living room knowing that these helped her calm down after the hardest days at work, she heads into her study and grabs her laptop and puts it in the case. She also grabs a small box which is situated in the corner of her study. Then grabs her keys and heads out to the car and begins the drive to Carla and Peter's.
"Carla we need to get back into bed, you might feel safe there" he suggests
He watches her pace around the flat. Carla turns to face him and snuggles into him with her breathing still irregular from her panic attack. Peter lifts her up and places her on his lap while he sits on the sofa making sure she feels secure. There was a quiet knock on the door as Peter watched Carla in case she became panicked again.
"It's open" he says with a raised voice as Lilah enters
"Hey" she says quietly in case she disturbs Carla
"How's she doing?" She questions kneeling in front of them both
"Her breathing still seems quite irregular but she's calming down a bit now" he says while stroking her hair
"Carla, can you look at me?" Lilah asks but Carla just continues to look aimlessly around the room
"Peter can you pick her up and move her to the bedroom please" Lilah asks
"Sure" he says manoeuvring his grip on Carla to carry her and take her into the bedroom and placing her on the bed. Lilah sits on the floor beside Carla.
"Carla, you're 100% safe here ok, its just me and Peter ok?" she says calmly and Carla shakes her head furiously
"Peter could you get my bag?" Lilah asks and he nods leaving the room and returning with her bag. Lilah looks through it for the books she placed in there she takes one out and begins to read it to Carla hoping this would calm her down. After finishing 3 chapters of the book, Carla was finally asleep. Peter and Lilah stepped out of the room leaving her to sleep and headed over to the living room.
"Thank you so much Lilah" Peter says gratefully
"Not a problem" she shrugs "Hopefully she will sleep for a little longer than last time" she laughs
"Sorry for calling you, I didn't know what do" he says apologetically
"You did the right thing, if you find it hard to cope call on people to help, its better then both of you struggling" she says sympathetically
"Can I see her medication?" Lilah asks
"Sure" he says and grabs it from the counter and passes it to Lilah for her to look at
"How many does she take a week?" Lilah asks
"7, one tablet once a day" he says
"When did she start this set?" Lilah questions
"Umm maybe 3 weeks ago they usually last a month before she picks up her prescription again" he states
"Hmm it's about right" she shrugs "I don't mean to check up on her but it looks like she's taking her medication" she says "You sit with her for an hour after taking it don't you?" she asks and he nods
"What are you saying?" he asks
"Nothing really, I was just wondering that's all, in case this has something to do with her panic attacks" she shrugs
"Sorry, but how do you know so much" he says clearly impressed
"As long as you don't tell anyone, I can't have people thinking I'm cute and fluffy" she says with a laugh
"I guess Carla told you about my father? How he passed away?" Lilah says
"Yeah, she mentioned it briefly, why?" he questions
"Basically, he passed away when I was 20, I used to work in his business earning a wage to pay him back for my university fees, yes I had morals back then. I was studying applied psychology for 2 years before my dad passed away so I gained experience in understanding mental health conditions and different areas in psychology as I wanted to be a psychiatrist when I left university. Obviously that didn't happen and I got lumbered with his business when he passed, not that I'm complaining I adore his business and it gives a good wage" she says
"So that's how you know all about the drugs and how to help her?" Peter asks
"Yes but that doesn't mean I'm fully qualified, I did a work placement in a clinic where they did counselling, they prescribed medications there and they used to talk briefly about what they were which is how I know a bit about the drugs" she says firmly "Anyway we should probably check on her, you go in first she might respond better that way" she says as they get up and go towards the door of the bedroom
"Carla" he whispers "Hey what's up?" he says gently looking at a crying Carla "Lilah's here to see you"
"Hey, how are you doing?" Lilah asks as Carla shrugs as Lilah gives a gentle smile
"Do you want the paper and pen so you can communicate?" Lilah questions handing out the paper for Carla to take
"Carla how did you feel out of 10 before I came into the flat?" Lilah asks as Carla writes her response before giving the paper to Lilah
2/10
"Ok that's absolutely fine, could you do the same for me on how you're feeling now?" Lilah asks gently giving the paper back to Carla
5/10
"That's great, it's really good progress" Lilah says supportively "Do you want us to get anything for you?" she asks returning the paper back to Carla
Hot water bottle, snacks, glass of water
"We can get those for you" Lilah smiles and leaves the room to get what Carla wanted then returns shortly after
"Carla can I ask you another question?" Lilah asks and receives a nod "Could you tell me why you don't want to talk?" Lilah questions and receives a nod from Carla as she begins to write on the paper
I don't want you to think I'm stupid
"Carla we would never think that, you're bound to feel like this sometimes, it's completely normal" Lilah says gently as Carla begins to write on the paper again briefly before handing it back to Lilah
I'm scared
"Is it the room you're scared of?" Lilah asks trying to think of yes and no questions
No, I like it here
"That's, good" Lilah smiles "Ok have you only felt like this today? Or has it been other days?" Lilah asks gently
I've felt like this for a while I guess
"How long? We won't judge" Lilah says carefully
Days, weeks even
"Ok that's really good, thank you" Lilah says appreciatively "Have you spoken to your counsellor about this?"
Yes he knows everything
"Ok that's great" Lilah says calmly "I need to ask you some more personal questions now, is that ok?" she asks receiving a nod from Carla
"Do you feel like you could harm yourself in this state?" Lilah asks
No and I wouldn't want to
"That's really positive" Lilah says "Have you been sleeping well?"
Depends really, if i have a nightmare it takes me longer to get back to sleep
"So I'm guessing you are, nightmares excluded?" She prompts and receives a nod in agreement from Carla
"Is todays date significant to you in anyway?" Lilah asks
No
"Alright, I'm going to ask you one more question, ok? do you reckon you could talk to me now?" Lilah questions cautiously
"Yes I can talk to you" Carla says quietly while glancing towards Peter who has the biggest grin on his face
"How are you feeling now?" Lilah asks gently
"Alright I suppose, I've been better" Carla whispers
"I'm glad you're speaking to me, that must've taken a lot" Lilah says carefully "I bet you're shattered now" she laughs
"I am quite tired" Carla whispers "Can I sleep for a bit longer?" she asks
"Sure, not a problem. I understand talking about your feelings can be tiring" Lilah says "Get some sleep" she says quietly before her and Peter leave the room and go to sit in the living room.
"How on earth did you do that?" Peter asks impressed
"I made sure her panic subsided so it didn't fuel her paranoia that way I was able to ask questions therefore gaining her trust so she could talk to me" Lilah states "I also made sure you were there when she spoke so she knows she can trust you as well so she can speak to you"
"Thank you, for everything, I bet you're tired" he says
"Eh, not really I don't sleep that much to be honest. I do better at business when running on fumes" she shrugs
"It was so hard seeing her like that, I was scared in case she was going to get sectioned again" he says tearfully
"She will only get sectioned if she is a danger to herself or others, I don't see that happening unless things take a dramatic turn for worse" she says confidently "Is this the worse that she's been since returning from hospital?" she asks
"We had a brief episode last week where she got a letter from her brother who's inside for murder. She ran away and went to a quarry and sat on the edge" he says trying to down play the seriousness of it
"Ok but she wasn't erratic or paranoid was she?" Lilah asks
"No, I've seen much worse. I know it was a childhood thing all of her friends used to go up there so I think she went to reflect for old time sake" he says
"Alright? Anything else?" she prompts
"Apart from the odd panic attack she's been pretty stable" he says
"That's good. My advice would be to make sure she focuses on the positives instead of the negatives, you as well" she smiles "I have every reason to believe that she will get there"
"I hope you're right I really do" he says
After a long night without much sleep Lilah decided that she would stay for the remainder of the night as she was closer to town anyway ready for work tomorrow. She knew that Peter and Carla would need to depend on her to make sense of the current situation for them and she was happy to do so even if it meant skipping work every now and then. She felt like she owed it to them especially when she screwed over Carla in the past. Lilah usually wasn't one for helping people but there was something about the current situation which made her feel differently.