This is not a story for children, it was written by a teenage girl and is sutitable for teenagers.
To read part 1 click here
To read part 2 click here
To read part 3 click here
Pepi went to the therapy with Sylvencia for the next meeting. The office looked different as the therapist liked changing the details or the whole interiors.
– Hi Pepi, nice to see you, how are you? asked Sylvencia.
– I’m fine, thanks, and you?
– I am fine, thanks.
– The office looks nice, I like it.
– Thank you.
– I have got the answers to the question about what pigs like in other pigs.
– Oh, good, so what are the results of your surveys?
– This is the table that I made, said Pepi and showed Sylvencia a piece of paper.
– So what are your conclusions?
– Pigs value height the most. And then eyes, mouth, hooves and necks. They also talked about personality but I didn’t focus on it.
– Was the personality more important than the look of the person?
– Yes, it was.
– Was this surprising to you?
– Yes I thought that the look was more important and very few pigs talked about the nose.
– So, what does it show about guessing what other pigs think about something?
– That I couldn’t do it correctly.
– So is it worth to guess and worry in advance?
– Looks like it isn’t.
– That is another cognitive distortion. Next time when you start predicting the future and read somebody’s mind you can remember this task.
What do you like in other pigs?
– Tails and hooves.
– Oh, this is quite unusual. Nobody mentioned tails in your surveys.
– Yes, that’s right.
– Some pigs like parts of the body that others don’t like. Can someone like big noses?
– Maybe, Peppi laughed, but not mine, she added.
– Why? You are reading in minds again. Sometimes we minimize the positives and exaggerate the negatives. This is also a cognitive distortion. I am sure, you have got a lot of strong points, that you minimize. You focus on your nose and don’t think about anything else.
Would you like to do some homework again?
– What would it be?
– How about writing about your strong points? What do you think about doing such task?
– I haven’t got any, says Pepi.
– Oh, so you have this thought… Interested to see if other pigs have similar opinion? How about another experiment? How about asking some friends or family what they like about you? Is there anything you like about yourself?
– Uhmm, it will be difficult. I don’t know what strong points I have got. Maybe I will ask Flatty.
– Flatty?
– I think I haven’t told you. We are back together again. I wanted to tell you, but we were talking about other things.
– Fantastic! How did it happen?
– Oooh, this a long story. Do we have time?
– About 10 minutes more.
– Ok, So I will tell you.
Pepi told Sylvencia her Valentines story. You can read it here
– Flatty behaved like a gentleman. He showed that he still loved you. And now you can be sure who Cocky is, do you agree? commented Sylvencia.
– Yes, I am ashamed I became interested in Cocky.
– There is nothing to regret. You have got an experience, which brought good results like coming to this therapy. I think Flatty will tell you about your strong points if you ask him.
– Hmmm. Okay, I will try, but I will tell him this is for my therapy.
– Don’t you talk about such things normally?
– This is weird to me.
– Ok, I understand. So try to do it and you will tell me how you felt. See you next week!
– See you!
This story was written togehter with my teenage student Natalia. Thank you very much Natalia!
The therapy was consulted with my friend Monika, who is a therapist. Thank you Monika!