Leia did remember that incident as a matter of fact. The unfortunate animal's death had been an accident, sudden and unexpected, so at the time she'd just put Ben's delayed emotional reaction down to shock, or simply his young age making it difficult for him to really understand the concept of death and its permanence. As with a great many things though, in hindsight it made much more sense. All she could do at the moment was offer him what support she could through the Force; to provide a reassuring presence in an uncertain situation. General she might be, but the medical bay was Doctor Kalonia's domain, and here, Leia deferred to her.
Doctor Kalonia, meanwhile, was listening carefully and making notes of the symptoms and circumstances General Organa and Ben described on her datapad. Eventually she'd formalize them for his medical records, but for now it was simply a reference. The idea that the episodes could last for days on end surprised her, but otherwise her demeanor remained one of mingled concern and professionalism until Ben had finished.
"You don't sound insane," the doctor assured him. "And I can appreciate how difficult it must have been for you to come in today. Even in our modern galaxy, there's a lot of social stigma attached to mental illness and seeking treatment for it when there really shouldn't be. It's just as legitimate a medical problem as any physical illness and no one asks for it any more than they ask to have an allergy or to come down with a case of Balmorra flu."
"And believe it or not, you're not the first patient I've seen with symptoms of depersonalization disorder, though I've only personally treated a few for whom it's been a chronic issue since childhood. Most of those I've treated for it started experiencing it in their mid to late teens as a result of some trauma. And if left untreated, it is common for disorders like this to lead to patterns of addiction, though usually it's some sort of substance abuse, rather than anorexia."
"Anorexia is the technical term for what's essentially an addiction to starving yourself," she explained. "And it's that issue that we'll need to tackle first. Even with the coat on, I can tell by looking at you that you're underweight, and I need to both find out how much damage has been done and determine if there are any underlying physical issues that might be exacerbating the problem. Both would be determining factors in any potential course of treatment." The latter was admittedly unlikely due to how long this had apparently been going on, but when dealing with mental disorders like this, it paid to be thorough rather than jumping to conclusions.
"If you'll come over here, please, we can begin," Doctor Kalonia said, gesturing to an area set up for standard physical examinations. "You'll need to remove your coat and step onto the scale. Once I have your actual weight, I'll have you lie down on the exam table so we can do some more detailed scans, and we'll go on from there."
no subject
Doctor Kalonia, meanwhile, was listening carefully and making notes of the symptoms and circumstances General Organa and Ben described on her datapad. Eventually she'd formalize them for his medical records, but for now it was simply a reference. The idea that the episodes could last for days on end surprised her, but otherwise her demeanor remained one of mingled concern and professionalism until Ben had finished.
"You don't sound insane," the doctor assured him. "And I can appreciate how difficult it must have been for you to come in today. Even in our modern galaxy, there's a lot of social stigma attached to mental illness and seeking treatment for it when there really shouldn't be. It's just as legitimate a medical problem as any physical illness and no one asks for it any more than they ask to have an allergy or to come down with a case of Balmorra flu."
"And believe it or not, you're not the first patient I've seen with symptoms of depersonalization disorder, though I've only personally treated a few for whom it's been a chronic issue since childhood. Most of those I've treated for it started experiencing it in their mid to late teens as a result of some trauma. And if left untreated, it is common for disorders like this to lead to patterns of addiction, though usually it's some sort of substance abuse, rather than anorexia."
"Anorexia is the technical term for what's essentially an addiction to starving yourself," she explained. "And it's that issue that we'll need to tackle first. Even with the coat on, I can tell by looking at you that you're underweight, and I need to both find out how much damage has been done and determine if there are any underlying physical issues that might be exacerbating the problem. Both would be determining factors in any potential course of treatment." The latter was admittedly unlikely due to how long this had apparently been going on, but when dealing with mental disorders like this, it paid to be thorough rather than jumping to conclusions.
"If you'll come over here, please, we can begin," Doctor Kalonia said, gesturing to an area set up for standard physical examinations. "You'll need to remove your coat and step onto the scale. Once I have your actual weight, I'll have you lie down on the exam table so we can do some more detailed scans, and we'll go on from there."