Global Film Emperor

Chapter 190 Disease Analysis
"Have you ever experienced auditory or visual hallucinations? Have you ever had headaches? Or have you ever lost your memory at a specific time?"

“I’ve experienced visual and auditory hallucinations before. Many times I couldn’t tell whether I was myself or someone I was imitating. I never had headaches, but the first time I realized something was wrong was in the summer before last. I was walking down the street and felt very sleepy, but when I woke up I found that I didn’t remember anything for eight minutes.”

Lin Yuezhu picked up a pen and made notes in a new notebook. The information Lu Ze had revealed was actually quite complicated. In fact, Lin Yuezhu's main focus was not on Lu Ze's answer, but on whether his language was fluent.

Patients with mental illnesses often experience thought fragmentation; when asking questions, they may focus on a particular paragraph within a sentence.

For example, can a pigeon with a limp fly? A normal person would usually answer yes or no, but a person with a mental disorder might only focus on why the pigeon is lame.

However, Lu Ze did not exhibit such a disconnect; he answered questions exceptionally fluently, his thinking was very quick, and his memory was excellent, which is not typical of the clinical presentation of patients with mental illnesses.

However, Lu Ze has also experienced memory loss, visual and auditory hallucinations, and even doubts about his self-awareness, which has affected his life and caused cognitive impairment, which is already quite serious.

So, do you know this person?

Lin Yuezhu turned the monitor around and pointed it at Lu Ze. Lu Ze looked up and glanced at it, but Lin Yuezhu noticed that Lu Ze's hands were suddenly clenched tightly. So he turned the monitor back and waited for Lu Ze's reply.

"know."

"Who?"

"I."

"you?"

“No, he is a character that resembles me. I have identified with him and imagined myself as him. I understand his actions, mentality, thoughts, and language.”

"So who did you model yourself after when you were imitating him?"

"I."

Lin Yuezhu had a headache, a real headache. She couldn't quite figure out what the connection was between the "I" Lu Ze mentioned and the "I" he was referring to. After all, his imagination and work didn't allow him to fantasize, and he certainly couldn't believe that there was a system that could create an older version of Lu Ze for Lu Ze to imitate.

"So you actively created him, rather than passively accepting him?"

"I actively imitated it, so I guess you could say I did it voluntarily."

The two talked for a long time. Lin Yuezhu asked questions in a logical manner and occasionally answered Lu Ze's questions. They chatted back and forth for almost an hour.

But the more they talked, the more troublesome Lu Ze's problem seemed. He discovered that Lu Ze's situation was different from all the patients he had ever seen, and even quite different from normal patients.

The two chatted more and more slowly. Lu Ze answered quite quickly, but Lin Yuezhu asked questions more slowly. By the time she asked another question, she found that Lu Ze had fallen asleep leaning back in his chair.

Shen Jinghan gently stroked Lu Ze's hair, her eyes revealing her heartache for him. After the divorce, her daughter was raised by her father in the capital. As she got older, her heart tended to soften, and she naturally shared the extra affection, or rather, maternal love, she gave to Lu Ze. Although they had only known each other for three years and had very little contact during that time, it did not mean that she did not care about Lu Ze.

The conversation between the two made Shen Jinghan extremely distressed. Lin Yuezhu slowly peeled back Lu Ze's layers of understanding, revealing Lu Ze's life and thoughts to the two of them. She had always liked hardworking children, but Lu Ze's obsessive work ethic gave people a chilling feeling, like falling into an ice cave. If he didn't speak up, no one would know what he had sacrificed behind the scenes.

Shen Jinghan knew that Lu Ze was carrying a burden, which was also the reason for Lu Ze's hard work. However, when he was already able to easily shoulder the burden, he was still working so hard. This was a kind of self-destructive exploitation of himself, so it was only a matter of time before he ran into trouble.

"So, Dr. Lin, what is his condition exactly?"

Hearing Shen Jinghan's question, Lin Yuezhu frowned, looking at the notes in her notebook. Her mind raced, and she sighed. She looked at Lu Ze with admiration for this man who was fifteen years younger than her. No one can help but admire someone who works hard, and he was no exception.

"To be honest, Mr. Lu is the most hardworking person I have ever met, but as you can see, the problem lies in his hard work. The matter is much more complicated than I thought. Even with my nearly twenty years of clinical experience, I can't figure it out. Let me explain it to you slowly."

“At first I thought Mr. Lu was suffering from dissociative identity disorder. In order to imitate the character, he must have needed to spend a certain amount of time to understand and fill in the person’s life story. After the simulation, he would store this information in fragments in his brain. Then, at a certain time, he would be affected by the outside world, which would cause the simulated character to appear, causing Mr. Lu to have doubts about his own cognition, that is, he would not know who he is.”

"The first thing we can confirm is this person." He turned the monitor back to point at the elderly Lu Ze, and kept drawing circles on the elderly Lu Ze with his finger so that Shen Jinghan could see it.

"Because of Mr. Lu's profession, this person has a positive effect on Mr. Lu, which is obviously different from multiple personality disorder. Why is an illness an illness? An illness can only lead people in a bad direction. If Mr. Lu has multiple personality disorder, then the personality will definitely be negative and will not be good for Mr. Lu in any way. But this old man, at least he is helpful to Lu Ze's career."

"Let me explain the manifestations of dissociative identity disorder. For example, during childhood, we all fantasize about having an older brother, a younger sister, or a playmate. When the need reaches its peak, some children will actually believe that there is someone they need. In old terms, this is called hysteria or possession. Dissociative identity disorder is about projecting the need onto oneself and expressing it through performance. Mr. Lu's problem is also in performance, but it is different from normal dissociative identity disorder. He himself does not have a great need for this personality. It is only the needs of the script or the audience that lead him to have the need."

"So Dr. Lin, you mean that if he wants treatment, he needs to stop having needs for these personalities, that is, stop acting?"

Shen Jinghan's understanding was actually somewhat correct. Lin Yuezhu picked up her teacup, took a sip of water, stretched out her right hand with her index finger and thumb still holding a ballpoint pen, waved her hand, exhaled a breath, and continued speaking.

"No, please let me finish. The difference between multiple personality disorder and dissociative identity disorder lies in the degree to which the individual accepts the alternate personality. In dissociative identity disorder, because of the need, it is proactive and inclusive, like acting. Whatever he needs to act, the personality will come out to act for him. In that case, would Mr. Lu still hate his acting? But the problem is that his attitude towards the alternate personality is one of disgust and fear, which is similar to multiple personality disorder. Only things that are harmful to oneself will cause the individual to instinctively hate them. And this old man, Mr. Lu showed considerable hatred."

"Another point is the connection between the primary and secondary personalities. Usually, the onset of dissociative identity disorder is smooth and seamless, like acting. You can cry whenever you need to, and you can use it immediately. This is the effect of inclusiveness. However, multiple personality disorder is malignant, and the primary personality is not inclusive. Therefore, there is usually a break when it occurs. Usually, when the secondary personality dominates the body, the primary personality needs to go to sleep. When the secondary personality is tired of performing, it will also leave through sleep."

At this point, Lin Yuezhu glanced at Lu Ze, who was sleeping, and seeing that his breathing was steady and strong, she felt relieved and resumed her conversation with Shen Jinghan.

"So, does he have dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder?"

It's certain that Lu Ze is sick. After listening to Lin Yuezhu's long explanation, Shen Jinghan seems to know exactly what kind of illness Lu Ze has.

Having said quite a bit, Lin Yuezhu didn't answer Shen Jinghan's question right away. She took a sip of tea, smiled wryly, and shook her head.

"This is where things get complicated. Mr. Lu's behavior has similarities to the clinical manifestations of both diseases, so I can't make a definitive conclusion. Moreover, Mr. Lu repeatedly mentions 'I,' but the personalities in both diseases are never referred to as 'I' by the subject; they are always 'he.' This is because people only live once and only experience one life. This is the first time I've seen such a situation. It's impossible that these personalities are Mr. Lu's reincarnations, is it?"

Shen Jinghan became more and more confused as she listened. She was undoubtedly an authority on issues in her own field, but when it came to psychological counseling, no matter how many celebrities she accompanied to see a doctor, it was like listening to gibberish.

"Mr. Lin, how should Lu Ze be treated now?"

"Right now, since we can't make a definitive diagnosis, we can only offer conservative treatment with medication. We don't have prescription drugs here, so you'll need to buy them from the hospital. Take the dosage I've given you and observe for a few weeks. If there's any improvement, come back to see me in a few weeks. If the symptoms persist, especially if they last until dawn, then you'll need to come to me immediately. I will continue to monitor Mr. Lu's condition and conduct further research."

"There's no need to study it anymore; you won't understand it."

Hearing the sound, the two turned around sharply and found that Lu Ze had already woken up. He pressed his hands to his forehead, smoothed his messy hair behind his head, and revealed a gentle smile. Ignoring their stiff bodies, he took the prescription that Lin Yuezhu had written for him from the table, and then picked up a water-based pen and twirled it in his hand.

"You only prescribed risperidone. Is it a single-drug test? That's possible, but I think the dosage is a bit low. Or you could use aripiprazole in combination. Don't worry, I haven't had any drug rash or adverse reactions with either of these drugs."

Lin Yuezhu was startled, but having seen many patients with multiple personality disorder, he quickly recovered, relaxed, and leaned back in his chair, showing that he was not on guard against Lu Ze.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Me? Of course it's Lu Ze, who else?"

Lu Ze leaned back in his chair, equally relaxed. He picked up his teacup and took a small sip. The sweet taste of the black tea blossomed on his tongue, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"But I remember that Mr. Lu does not have any medical knowledge, and he is even more knowledgeable in niche fields such as psychology and psychiatry."

"Actually, I'm not a professional psychiatrist. I've only studied psychological research on my own, so my level of expertise is naturally not as high as yours. But I am indeed Lu Ze, or you can call me that."

"Dr. Lu."

"."

Stop imagining things, I'll explain it clearly.

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(End of this chapter)