Imaginary Therapy

Early this morning, the Ocean came into my office. As I invited her to sit down I wondered why the Ocean would come to see a psychotherapist.
“I know it’s probably silly, but I haven’t been feeling like myself lately,” she explained.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked.
“Lots of things are starting to bother me. I hope you can help me sort them out.”
“I’ll certainly try. Can you give me an example?”
“It’s hard for me to admit this, but I think I’m beginning to look dirty. I feel l like there’s this horrible stuff all over me. I can’t seem to get rid of it.” The Ocean lowered her voice. “I worry that I’m even starting to smell bad. Maybe I’m becoming paranoid.”
“Sometimes it’s best if we trust how we feel,” I told her. “What else is bothering you?”
“Well, I’m sure it’s nothing, but I feel like I’m always running a fever. And I can’t seem to be able to catch my breath. I feel like I’m suffocating. Isn’t that a sign of a panic attack?”
“I don’t think it’s anxiety. Is there anything else you’ve noticed?”
“I should have made a list. There are all kinds of little things. I know it sounds crazy, but some parts of me feel like they’re melting away. And sometimes, I hear these deep, deep noises inside that I’ve never heard before. I don’t know how I’m going to feel from one day to the next. I think I’m becoming a hypochondriac.”
“Or maybe it’s all very real. How do you feel right now?”
“It’s hard to describe. I feel like all the Life inside me is slowly being drained away. I’m beginning to feel empty inside. Isn’t that a sign of depression?”
“You may be depressed, but that could be a reaction to what is happening to you.”
“Well, what do you think is happening to me?”
“Your whole system is out of balance. Your temperature is too high and that means you don’t have as much oxygen as you used to. It’s also why parts of you are melting. Also, all kinds of stuff is being poured into you. Those deep noises you hear are another kind of pollution. And just about everything alive is being taken out of you.”
“Do I smell bad to you?” the Ocean asked.
“You smell like the Ocean,” I hedged.
The Ocean sank deeper in her chair. “I just want to feel like I used to feel.”
“I wish that were possible, but you’re not the same as you used to be,” I told her.
“Well, what caused all of this? How could all this have happened?”
“It’s been building up for years,” I explained. “Too many people have taken you for granted. They haven’t taken care of you.”
“I don’t understand. If something is really wrong with me, maybe the Moon or the Sun is responsible. Or the Earth. In the past, that’s what’s changed me. ”
“But not now. Pollution. Industry. Cars. Overfishing. Global warming. It’s People who have changed you. We’re the ones who are causing all the changes you’re feeling.”
The Ocean thought about this for a moment.
“I think People are just too full of themselves. They think everything revolves around them. They think they control everything.”
The Ocean heaved herself out of her chair.
“I’m sure you mean well, but I know you’re wrong. I’m a Force of Nature. I gave birth to Life. And People love to be close to me. They paint my portrait and write poems about me."
"People hurting me?" The Ocean said as she left my office. "Not possible. That just doesn’t make any sense.”