Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!
Chapter 289 - 287: It seems so, but... is it that simple?

Chapter 289: Chapter 287: It seems so, but... is it that simple?

As Li Mingchen was narrating, Nan Zhubin smiled at him, adopting a supportive and encouraging posture.

At the same time, his gaze captured all of Li Mingchen’s expressions, including facial and body language, while also judging the truthfulness of his account.

Li Mingchen continued to recall, "The railing at our school is not high, barely reaching below my waist. At that time, I felt top-heavy, and when I leaned against it, accidentally, I flipped over..."

At this point, Li Mingchen paused, swallowing, clearly shaken by the memory.

"Fortunately, when I lost balance, my hand instinctively hooked onto the railing..."

"Later, when the doctors and teachers watched the surveillance, they also said it was lucky I hooked with my hand, adjusted my position, and landed feet first; otherwise, I might have landed on my head, and even landing on grass, the consequences would have been unthinkable..."

Saying this, Li Mingchen used his right hand to gently touch his left hand, which was thickly wrapped with splints and bandages. Evidently, the injury to his left hand came from that "hook."

[A sharp intake of breath.]

[A slight shrug of the shoulders.]

[Pressing lips together, with the corners of his mouth symmetrically raised.]

[Everything he said was true, and this time the emotion was [relief].]

[He was indeed glad about his instinctive reaction of the "hook" that saved his life.]

Nan Zhubin contemplated in his mind.

To reiterate, today he was not conducting Psychological Consultation but a psychological evaluation.

The first session of Psychological Consultation is primarily about data gathering and analysis.

However, for a psychological evaluation, besides "analysis," Nan Zhubin also needed to "verify."

In such cases of student fall incidents, the expert needs first to verify the most likely possibilities: such as [depression] or [school bullying].

If these two conclusions are drawn, the main responsibility in pursuing accountability is inevitably on the school authorities.

Li Mingchen’s parents repeatedly asked for "proof," possibly trying to steer the situation in this direction.

But.

Nan Zhubin recalled Li Mingchen’s earlier expressions; his relieved reaction of "escaping death" was genuine.

Moreover, according to his own account, he exhibited a strong survival instinct in self-rescue during the accidental fall.

That [depression] was basically impossible.

As for [school bullying].

Based on the hospital’s diagnosis, Li Mingchen had no other injuries and was proactively bringing food for classmates...

"You mentioned you were bringing food for your classmates at the time." Nan Zhubin selectively [repeated] and then [delved deeper], "It looks like your relationship with classmates at school is quite good?"

Li Mingchen nodded, "I can’t say I’m good with everyone... but there are a few brothers I often play ball with and teammates I train with; the relationship is pretty good..."

Upon hearing this, Nan Zhubin mentally ruled out those two possibilities.

He involuntarily observed Li Mingchen’s skin condition again, as well as the body language information he picked up before covering him with a quilt.

Based on this exposed information, it indeed corresponded with the diagnosis provided earlier by the short and tall doctors—[anorexia].

...

Broadly speaking, the primary symptom of [anorexia] is a subjective decline or loss of appetite, thus in daily eating only consuming food significantly below the body’s current energy needs.

This restrictive eating habit manifests in various aspects of external appearance.

For the current Li Mingchen, Nan Zhubin already noted [dry, flaky skin], [brittle nails], [lower body temperature], and a coexistence of [emaciation and bloating] as external features.

It is fortunate that Li Mingchen is a high school student because, for adults over twenty, there may be significant [dry hair] and even [hair loss], with the most common clinical symptom in females being [amenorrhea].

Incidentally, such physical signs also sometimes appear in people excessively dieting to lose weight.

However, often in the broader sense of [anorexia], many are also complications of other diseases, such as those caused by chemotherapy for cancer.

In front of him, Li Mingchen, after a physical examination, had already clearly ruled out the possibility of organic disease.

And with the current severe injuries, they clearly do not lead to [anorexia]; rather, triggering [binge eating] is more possible.

Thoughts of the food on Li Mingchen’s desk, barely touched with only two or three bites taken, flashed through Nan Zhubin’s mind.

Thus, the more likely cause, drawing closer to the answer, is psychologically driven—[anorexia nervosa].

...

Nan Zhubin organized his language in mind, beginning to verify his hypothesis.

"I just saw your mother taking away your dinner, and it looked like only a few bites had been eaten from each dish."

Nan Zhubin asked, "Is it that you don’t like it? Or aren’t you hungry?"

Unexpectedly, yet unsurprisingly.

When Nan Zhubin mentioned "food," Li Mingchen swallowed quickly twice.

At the same time, his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

"I... don’t want to eat."

Li Mingchen neither answered whether he liked it nor whether he was hungry.

"Why don’t you want to eat?" Nan Zhubin made a caring expression, "In your current physical condition, you should be in a state of needing more nutrition, right?"

"I’m too fat." Li Mingchen replied.

As he said this, he lifted his jawline-defined face, with his distinct collarbone rising and falling twice with his breath.

"Previously, due to training, controlling my weight was very hard. If I indulge and gain weight again due to illness, after recovery, just the weight loss effort alone would take an unknown amount of time, and even if I were to repeat a year and take exams next year, there wouldn’t be enough time for training."

Li Mingchen argued vehemently.

Nan Zhubin nodded inwardly. A key diagnostic criterion for [anorexia nervosa] is [body image disturbance], meaning a distorted perception of one’s body image, where what the patient sees is completely different from what others see.

"You mentioned, ’previously, due to training, controlling weight was very hard.’" Nan Zhubin caught the key phrase, "It seems you have been dieting for weight loss for a while now?"

Li Mingchen laughed, seemingly a proud laugh. But paired with his current state, it carried an indescribable weakness and incongruity.

"Sort of, I started losing weight three months ago. But initially, I couldn’t control my eating."

"Until a month ago, I finally... made up my mind. And then I lost 30 pounds in a month!"

Li Mingchen’s smile stretched wider, his swollen cheeks bunched together, highlighting the sharp contrast of his clearly defined jawline.