Anthony: Hello and welcome to Capes on the Couch, where comics get counseling. I’m Anthony Sytko.
Doc Issues: And I’m Dr. Issues.
Anthony: This is issue 167 and we are wrapping up Lantern Month with Jessica Cruz and Chris from Play Comics is phenomenally excited about this. He has been waiting for us to cover Jessica Cruz for a very, very long time.
This. Ghost Spider slash spider Gwen are probably among his favorite characters of all time. And so I’m sure the day we get around to getting to Ghost Spider, he can die a happy man at that point. So Chris, this one’s not specifically for you, but I hope you enjoy and I hope the rest of you enjoyed as well.
Thank you everybody who joined us for the watch party. That was a lot of fun. It’s. Interesting watching that movie. But we will have to do this again at some point in the future. Maybe not Green Lantern obviously, but we’ll do another watch party event because just it was a good time. So that being said let’s just get right on into the background.
Jessica Cruz, created by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reyes, Doug Manke, and Ethan Van Sciver. In Justice League number 30 July, 2014, she technically had a cameo appearance with like her hand in a green lantern, I wanna say number 20, but from a, a short time earlier. But her first real appearance was in Justice League number 30.
So her backstory is that she was on a camping trip with her friends when they witnessed mobsters burying a body. And then the mobsters spotted everybody and said, we can’t have witnesses. So proceeded to kill everybody, but Jessica, Jessica escaped. Unfortunately, the mobsters killed all of her friends when she finally returned back to her house, she was so overcome with anxiety and trauma and ago phobia that she locked herself in her apartment for four years because she was always afraid that the men were going to come find.
And that if she stayed in her apartment, she’d be safe. So when the crime syndicate of Earth Three came to the planet and Power Ring was killed, the Earth three Evil universe version of their green lantern, that ring found Jessica and bonded to her because of her fear. The ring took over and led to her attacking the Justice League and the Doom Patrol, and it took the combined might to try and attack her.
With the help of Batman and then Hal Jordan, she learned to use the ring and control it instead of letting it control heart. During the dark side war, dark side’s daughter Grail summoned the black racer to kill the flash, thus enabling the racer to have the speed necessary to go ahead and kill everyone on the planet in a very short period of time.
And Jessica managed to overtake the rings control just long enough to jump in. And attacked the Black Racer. Initially it was presumed that Jessica was dead, but it turns out it only killed the entity within the ring and then a Green Lantern ring approached to her and turned her into the newest earth lantern.
And that makes, what, seven eight at this point?
Doc Issues: Yep.
Anthony: There’s a lot, lot of Earthbound Lanterns. So Hal partners her with Simon Baz, who has only at this point been operating as a Green Lantern for a couple of months, and right after they start working together, they have to take on atrocities. You can go back and listen to last week and the Red Lantern core who are constructing a hell tower on Earth.
They do manage to destroy the tower, but the rage seed was still implanted in the earth by Dexstar. And if you are a patron, you can go and listen to our patron exclusive episode on the Universe’s angriest cat. She joins the Justice League and helps them take on Dr. Manhattan, albeit unsuccessfully. Then after the central power battery on OHA gets destroyed, she gets stranded on an outpost alone in space for about a year.
And manages to fight off Sinestro core members when they show up at the station and search of supplies.
She earns a yellow ring after this and then joins the Sinestro core as the lantern of sector 2 81 14. And again, full disclosure, as I said last week with atrocities. Unfortunately, I’ve been reading a lot of lantern stuff. I haven’t gotten through everything on DC Universe. Infinite. So I don’t, that’s been like the last year.
I’m sure she’s probably returned to being a green lantern at this point. Those colored lantern changes never stay for very long. It’s usually just for the context of that story. So I’m sure Jessica Cruz is currently a green lantern. I just don’t know what led to that happening. Sorry.
As I said last week with atrocious, he hasn’t been a character for that long. And Jessica’s only been a, hasn’t even been around for a decade, so the backstory isn’t a whole lot, but they’ve really kind of put her into a lot of stories in that short period of time.
That’s true.
Doc Issues: I mean, if you wanna talk making things, you know different, I mean, you could talk about John being an ultraviolet lantern.
I mean, there’s so many random things in. In this universe, .
Yeah. And we haven’t
Anthony: even gotten into Sojourner I forget her last name. She, she’s only been a lantern for like two years. Mm-hmm. , the, the newest Earth lantern. Mm-hmm. , even newer than Jessica at this point. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . It’s, it’s like every, every couple of years at this point, you know, there was a long time from, from to John and it’s still a good amount of time from John to.
And then from Guy to Kyle and then wonder any new lanterns. Simon was the first new earth lantern for some time, and then it was Simon and then Jessica and now Sojourner. Yeah. Let’s hold off a bit. These rings are getting around . I’m just saying Mogo needs to chill out with sending some of these rings.
So so let’s just jump right into the issues then. So the theme for Jessica is, you got this, but what if you don’t? And it’s obvious, and it’s even discussed in universe. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Clearly no question whatsoever, but it manifests itself in a couple of different ways, and that’s what we’re gonna discuss.
So everything here is under the broad umbrella. PTs D presenting as a variety of symptoms. So the first one we’re gonna discuss is the biggest one, at least as it relates to the backstory. Agorophobia, she locks herself in her apartment and doesn’t get out for four years. Her sister tries, her friends try like, Hey, come on out.
I know you’re scared, but it’s okay. You can come on out, please. It’s not even just that she, she won’t come out, she also won’t let anybody in. Yeah. That’s a, it’s a dangerous combination. Yep. Yep.
Doc Issues: It’s at a certain level, I don’t even need to make it complicated. It’s survival, and that’s really obvious.
If people have tried to attack you, then you don’t want them attacking you anymore, so you protect. And if nobody’s around, then nobody can do anything to hurt you. So there you go. Mission accomplished. That’s that. Oh wait. You still have to do other things in life. You still have to interact. Or even if you don’t interact, because let’s be honest, the technology and, and the internet allows for a certain base level of living communication.
You can get your needs met, you can get food, you can get supplies. You can do that. You’ll be miserable. I’m sorry, I’m just gonna say it up front and I’m saying this as a guy that sometimes does have that pipe dream vision of what if I were just like in the Smoky Mountains in a cabin and just chilling by myself and not having a care in the world and all of that, and even I admit I would, I would really have some, some trouble.
We are social creatures and it creates dissonance. You are taking care of basic needs. This is gonna go back to Maslow and I, I don’t think I’ve ever approached it this way. When we say Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, sometimes we’re short-changing the need part. It is a need for self-actualization. It is a need for us to be together.
It’s not a want. It’s not a wish. It’s a need. Yes. The other bases, having food, having shelter. Yes. Those things, if you don’t have the others, need to be taken care of first. The other needs still have to happen. And when you shut yourself off like that, you are depriving yourself of a need. But the other base sphere that you have overrides that.
So you end up putting yourself in a position mentally where you will just not be able to survive that long. Yes, physically you can survive indefinitely. I get that. But the rest of you is wasting away, and that can be incredibly difficult to overcome. And even our laws make that difficult to. I mean, what do you do?
Are you just saying to someone, Hey, this is the police. Come on out. Why they haven’t committed a crime? You can’t do that. So it makes it difficult for people, even though people that you care about is Anthony so eloquently put it earlier, even if you’re just saying, please, that doesn’t mean they have to answer.
So this is something that can really devastate a person because we do lose people to the world because of this. And I’m not talking about whether or not they’re. Suicidal or they’re doing anything else, it’s just simply they, they don’t exist in a way that we think or we know they should. And, and that is something that’s incredibly sad.
Even if it’s not a matter of saying that you’re completely shut in, the hypervigilance associated with P PTs D can, can play a huge role even when you’re with people. You wanna make sure you know everything at all times. You wanna know where everyone is. You wanna know your exits. You wanna know all these things that, yes, in an unfamiliar environment are important and should be known, but don’t have to take the forefront.
The world doesn’t have to be a battlefield. Unfortunately, for people like this, their brain has received information to the contr.
Anthony: Yeah, you can spend all the time in the world telling her, no, it’s okay. And she said, yeah, that’s nice, but you haven’t lived my experience. And certainly as professionals, you’re not gonna invalidate that.
That’s not always easy for untrained individuals. I will put it as politely and gentilly as I can, untrained individuals to. Not invalidate those kinds of experiences, cuz that’s essentially what her sister and her family are trying to do. Say, yeah, we love you and I know you’re upset about this, but I still need you to come out and to let us in.
But the, the trauma has literally rewired her brain. And so even the friendly people. She’s still going to possibly see as a threat. And we see this play out so often, even when she comes out of her apartment. Cuz first off, she’s dragged out by the ring, literally bonds to her, and then drags her outside and starts attacking.
And she is just completely losing you know, losing it. But once she is even able to leave the apartment. She moves in with her sister and so on and so forth. She’s constantly saying to herself, this is like my own personal hell is being outside. Like I’m aware that I’m not necessarily in danger right away, but I’m starting to get a little creeped out because there’s a lot of people here and it’s a wide open space, and this is just not my comfort zone, and I just want to be in a nice little contained area where I have awareness.
The entry points and exit points, and she starts thinking like a survivalist. And that is not always the best manner to approach these kinds of situations. And it ties perfectly into the next issue, which is P T S D has anxiety that she’s very open about the anxiety attacks that she has as a result of going outside, engaging with other people.
It has definitely impacted her social ability, her interactions with other people, because in the back of her mind, there’s always that fear. Is this gonna go sideways, and how do I protect myself from it?
Doc Issues: Yep. The best way I can describe anxiety as a whole, because. There are so many variations and, and as a character, I think she’s a good example of how it can go so many different ways is what if your brain at this point is creating scenarios for itself about how things go wrong?
So,
If it’s social anxiety, what if I mess up? What if people don’t like me? What if I say something wrong? What if I do something wrong? What if people think I’m ugly? What if I all, all these, all these random things, and are they possibilities? Yes. None of them are absolutes. None of them are guarantees. If it’s panic disorder, sometimes it’s the symptoms themselves.
Yes. I’m short of breath. Yes. My heart is racing. My chest is pounding. I’m sweating. I feel like I’m going to die. I feel like the, like the world is coming to an end. All those things. What if that keeps happening? What if this never ends? What if I really do die? What if somebody’s observing me and it’s embarrassing?
What if someone’s trying to help me and they can’t? What if I could spread this to someone else? All sorts of irrational thoughts. What if it’s pure phobia? Oh my God, this thing looks horrible. It’s going to kill me. Oh no. That thing that’s out the corner of my eye. Is that a snake? Oh my. We’re near water.
What if there are sharks in there? Oh my goodness. I can’t believe that I am up this high. What if I fall and die or get seriously hurt? All the things that pop into your head. What if it’s generalized anxiety, just a mismatch of all of these different things at any given time. Chronically. And for those that can’t see because it’s audio Anthony pointed to himself and, you know, who has two thumbs and is gonna do the same.
This guy .
All of it, it’s, it’s just the thing that I’m describing right now. Many of you may not have thought of in this format, but I think a lot of you. And I think a lot of you that have listened to this podcast over the years have wondered why this hasn’t really come up the way I’m saying it right now, because we’ve done so many characters and we’ve, we’ve done some things related to anxiety related things.
But some of you may have thought to yourselves, well, it can’t be that bad because they haven’t touched on it specifically. It’s because most of us live it, and maybe I shouldn’t say most because that implies a majority, but statist. Anxiety disorders are the number one disorders when it comes to mental conditions in the world, period, not even close.
And the idea that for whatever reason we have normalized it for the sake of our own day-to-day survival is not that surprising because I wanna separate that out from anticipation, from the idea that you have something that you’re thinking of and it’s giving. A sense of restlessness or unease because you know it’s about to happen if you’re excited because you’re about to go on vacation.
That can be anxiety, but it’s a quote unquote good kind of anxiety. So there are so many vari variability to how a person can present with these things. It would not do me justice to say that there’s any one way a person is going to experience it, but I’d be very. And I do get very surprised when people say, oh no, I’ve never been anxious.
I would dare say, Hmm, you just haven’t been aware.
Anthony: Yep. Diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and it couples with the A D H D. So it’s a fun combo there, but it’s not a situation where I’m constantly worrying about everything. But if something pops up that there are too many variables or variables that I know that I can’t conceive of.
There may be one or two variables, but those variables have so many permutations that I can’t figure it out. That’s that’s a problem. So yeah, it’s. A fun 40 years for me, and reading how Jess was, was viewing everything. I definitely understood why. And there were definitely moments where I was like, okay, I, I’m there.
I get it. And I think frankly that’s, that may be one of the reasons why she. Taken off in popularity as a character as much as she has is because she’s being written as so open and honest about it. It’s not just a situation where she’s saying, yeah, I went through stuff, but I got over it.
It’s a constant daily struggle and it’s also shown that it’s not consistent. Which is completely accurate, that she has great days where the willpower is there and she can create all kinds of constructs and this and that, and then other times where she could barely get enough power from the ring to do the most basic stuff, because that’s any of us suffering from any number of things where it’s, yeah, you can have a great day and then the next day or two days, It’s not crippling, but there’s definitely a, Hmm, something’s off and I’m not firing on all cylinders.
And the struggle there comes from not catastrophizing the bad days and comparing them to the good days and saying, oh, but yesterday or two days ago, I had a great day. Why is, why am I, am I backsliding? Is something going wrong? And then, Creates an ouroborous of anxiety because now you’re feeding itself, not that I’m speaking from personal experience in any way, shape or form about this, but that’s what what it feels like and that’s what it comes down to is this idea this.
That’s what it comes down to is being able to say, I’m going to take this day as it is and I’m going to do the best that I can. With whatever my brain chemistry will allow. And if I’m not able to accomplish all the things on my list, if I’m not able to do everything that I need to do, that’s okay because I can try again tomorrow and maybe tomorrow there will be a better set of circumstances.
And. Me again, speaking from experience, not saying, well, if tomorrow is also another bad day, well then I’m just, I’m up the creek without a paddle, you know, or what’s wrong with me? Et cetera, et cetera. It’s showing yourself grace and much like in, you know, historically speaking, the green lantern powering was weak to the color.
Yellow anxiety is weak against. Internal grace and empathy that it’s ineffective. If you can harness that ability to say, I acknowledge myself as I am. I love and appreciate myself as I am, and if I’m having a bad day, that does not make me a bad person, and I’m not going to catastrophize it. Jess is working on that.
But as we all are, she’s human. She has good days and bad days. So that leads then into the third issue, which is P T S D as imposter syndrome. And this is another thing that she’s very open and honest about, especially in the beginning that I, I’m not meant to be here. The ring chose me. It should go to somebody else.
I mean, we’ve talked about reluctant heroes fairly regularly on the. But this is a situation where she is saying, I don’t want this ring. I don’t deserve this ring. I don’t know what to do with it.
Doc Issues: Yeah. At its most extreme. Then you start getting into dissociative traits. The idea that either things aren’t feeling real, you’re not feeling like yourself, or you’re out of your own body, even to the point that you’re doing things and you don’t even remember them anymore because you ended up on autopilot somehow.
That’s the extreme form that you can see sometimes in post-traumatic stress to relate it back because not everybody has P T S D outright. There is something that’s absolutely terrifying of the notion that you have a responsibility for something and you can’t meet it, and in the moment there is.
Amount of external evidence that’s going to change your mind. And yet somehow, and this is where the dissonance is, somehow you do have either the knowledge or the actions that in that given situation, you are still able to perform. Because what we’re talking about when we say imposter syndrome is not the idea that you’re going to be found out for being a fraud.
Yes. On the surface, that’s what we’re saying. But what the anxiety inducing thing is, is that despite the fact that you have demonstrated your abilities and skills in the first place, people are going to think that you’re still not good enough. That is a much more insidious and painful way to look at it, and that’s the part that really drives potential guilt and shame, because if it really were a matter of someone saying, haha found you out.
I mean, kids play hide and seek. It’s a fun game. We dress up for Halloween. We do all sorts of things that are actually very entertaining and enjoyable for us. If we step outside of ourselves and do it in a way that we wouldn’t normally do, that’s invigorating. That could be a great thing. Sometimes you’re planning someone’s birthday party and it could be a wonderful surprise, except for me.
Don’t ever do that unless I ask for it. But the point still stands like there’s plenty. Situations where you can quote unquote, be an imposter and it doesn’t cause that dissonance. The problem is when you feel like you’ve put a good faith effort and for whatever reason, your own psyche, your own mental construct has said, this is still not right.
This is not good enough, and the first challenge that I get on it, I’m going to fold up tent. I am going to be exposed, and I am going to have to carry my belongings and go somewhere else because I am forever shamed as I’m saying that out loud. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? It doesn’t matter.
It’s amazing what our brains can do to ourselves when it comes to these things.
And I’m gonna do this, and I know I’ve done this before with, with other episodes because this one, this whole thing, it really does hit home.
I have a plaque in my office that says my name and it says Chair of medical Staff. And depending on the type of day I’m having, there are times I wanna just take one of my markers and just black out all the letters so that it says nothing. Because I think to myself, how on earth am I ever gonna be able to live up to the idea that I’m in charge of other doctors, nurse practitioners, that I’m in a sense responsible for a hospital, that people trust me, that people think that I can do this.
When I was a kid that used to pee on himself in kindergarten, that sounds totally irrational, doesn’t it? And yet, Once in a while a random thing like that will come up and I’ll say, you are still that piss laden kid that couldn’t stand up to a kindergarten teacher because she was screaming at you.
And thank goodness I have enough people around me and people that love me and staff members that validate me, where that doesn’t get in my head. And the funny thing is, every day when something happens, I’m the first person to raise my hand and say, you know what? I screwed this up. And people say, how? How do you do that?
I’m amazed at your candor. And I don’t say it out loud, but it’s because it allows me an opportunity to actually say, you know what? I do make mistakes and I’m still more than enough for what the situation. I can be confident in myself even with all those flaws,
and I don’t really have any neat way to end it, so I’ll just leave it at that.
I appreciate you
kind of, God, I’m just, I’m really trying to figure out what to, what to say here. I appreciate the raw nature with which you expressed that and the vulnerability. That’s really the word I was looking for. The vulnerability that you demonstrated right there.
It was as hard as it was to listen. To you say that it was kind of even harder to watch and obviously everybody here doesn’t have the benefit of video, but just to see the expression on the face and, and the tears. I’m not saying that to, to denigrate or anything. I’m saying I understand the honesty and the vulnerability that that took.
And so I just want to say from the bottom of my heart that I appreciate that and you know, I love you and I, I thank you for that and I think this is a situation that our listeners are probably intimately familiar with. Maybe not necessarily the specifics of that, but, but just that understanding that if something goes wrong, your first thought is the reversion to the, the worst version of ourselves.
And I can tell you from experience that it, it sucks when you get that mental replay for no good goddamn reason of that embarrassing moment in third grade or that horrible thing that you said last week or the. That you were, you know, in in judges chambers trying to present an argument and they ripped you seven new assholes for something that wasn’t even your responsibility nor fault.
But the judge just decided to make an example of you. Again, not speaking for personal experience or anything, just trying to advocate for my client.
I could have gotten away with saying, fuck you, your Honor. I absolutely would’ve.
But yeah, I just it sucks. It sucks to feel that, and it sucks even harder to believe it,
and that’s why we are. Honest on this show. Sometimes maybe too honest, but whatever, if such a thing exists, because we’re breaking down that stigma because everybody, every single, individual person on this planet feels this way at one point or another. And if they tell you they don’t, they are lying through their fucking teeth.
Jessica is absolutely no different. She’s not real, but she’s real when it comes to this. So we’re gonna take a break grab some tissues and clean our, clean ourselves up a bit, and when we get back, we will get into treatment. Stay tuned.
you know, it’s fascinating, like the emotion itself comes out. In all honesty, I’m actually okay. Like ?
Well, yeah, because I, because I think it’s the fact that you’re speaking about it, I don’t wanna say clinically, but. In in that, that sense that you’re speaking about it. So you’re bringing it up, but at the same time, you are not living the emotion like you Yeah.
You’re just, you’re reliving it, but you’re not living it and that. Right. That’s that kinda, and
that’s the thing. Distance provides some safety. Right. The thing, the thing about it is, cuz I had about four or five different things I was going to think of that, that I could have used as examples. I used that one because that’s the most irrational one that I have.
It’s just the idea. I actually, years ago, I’m saying, I don’t know if it was first like, like first year of residency or fourth year of med school, like somewhere in that range when I was, you know, talking obviously I, part of my training like you do get therapy, so in my therapy One of the things that was said to me, they said, what is something that you wish someone had said to you in the moment?
And I said, you know what? To be honest with you, I just remember standing there and like being soaking wet and being exposed, like in terms of saying like, yeah, pee my, you know, that sort of thing. I said, I don’t remember anything after that. And they said, well, that wasn’t my question. Don’t worry about the moment itself.
What do you wish someone had said to you and.
I wish someone would’ve said to me like, it’s okay like that. Like that’s just one moment, like, don’t worry about it or something. And he said, well, do you think someone said that to you? I said, you know what? Probably, you know, and I said, but you know what? I wish someone would say that to me now. They’re like, what do you mean?
I said, well, I don’t relive the moment, but I still think of myself as that, like that, that. In those bad times and it’ll happen randomly. And their point was, remember that you’re more than enough. You have shown it time and time and time and time again. He said, I, and I still remember he said like, he’s like, I’m not, I wouldn’t say that to everybody cuz if you don’t have the evidence, you can’t make it up in your case you’re in.
It’ll actually, yeah, I do remember it was first year of residency cuz he is like, you completed medical school, you’re a doctor, you’re a literal, like 1% of 1% of the world. To do that. How the fuck did you do that? That was his, he said, how the fuck did you do that? I’m like, somehow, he’s like, yeah, that’s the point.
It doesn’t matter how you did it. I’m like, oh, okay. They’re like, no, that’s the point. Like you have to say it. Not me. You know? I’m like, I, I’m . So yeah, I always remembered that. So that’s literally the counterbalance I do, cuz I’ll, that moment will pop in immediately. I go. It doesn’t even matter. You’re more than enough.
Like, all right. All right. As a matter of fact, I think, what was that? That’s that Instagram thing with like Green Lantern. What was it? Recharge. That’s where a lot of that was coming from when I had to write out that thing. You know, like that’s, that’s really where that part of my mindset came from. And so I didn’t realize that’s why I was putting it in there in the first place until just now.
Damn. Okay. Anyway, .
Alright. Listen, breakthroughs or breakthroughs, they don’t always happen at a convenient time, but that’s not what makes them breakthroughs or understanding. So I’m glad you had it , regardless of when and how it came about. Yeah. All right. So let’s get back and three, two,
Anthony: and we’re back. And Recovered a bit. So let’s let’s dive into treatment then.
So in universe treatment for Jessica Cruz.
Doc Issues: Oh, wow. You know, I’m not so sure that there’s a difference in treatment. I mean, in. Or outta universe with this, to be honest with you, I was thinking about this ahead of time because it’s really not the powers themselves. It’s not any other, factor.
You have someone that’s experienced trauma and they’re trying to work through the anxiety of all of it on a day by day basis. So I’m just gonna combine in universe and outta universe as I’ve done a few times. I do think that having a goal journal would be a great idea, not, not the stereotypical.
What were your thoughts that day or anything like that? And not even, not necessarily affirmations. I’m talking more basic than that. It’s a mood journal. It’s what, what are you feeling? Usually you could do it once a day, but you can. You know, in the morning and then at night, because that also can give feedback as to how things changed.
But the whole point of it is not even necessarily in the moment processing anything. As you had alluded to earlier, Anthony, it’s giving yourself that timeline, that guide of what is actually going on with you, because many people with high levels of anxiety, Also are craving high levels of objectivity and seeing for yourself what you are saying you’re experiencing.
Now you’re just debating yourself, which it’s not a debate anymore, it’s just data and seeing for yourself. For most people, either you’re going to get the feedback that things aren’t as bad as you think they are, or you’re going to get the feedback that you have, things you can act on. With the assistance of a mental health professional, either way, you’re going to be in a better place than if you just kind of winged it.
So if you’re noticing that your anxiety level was at a 10 and then at a four, and then at a two, and then at a five, and then at a 10, and then at a seven, and then at a two. All right, fine. We’re going all over the place. Guess what that means? That it averages out to something that can be fairly decent if you can just get the range under.
Wonderful. If it’s something where you see it’s actually a two and a four and a seven and a four and a two and a one and a one and a one and a two and a 10. Okay. Something happened that day. Do you remember what it was? It, it’s a great tool to use if you use it properly, and I wanted to introduce it because I don’t think I’ve ever.
That type of journaling before, and I think it’s an opportunity for people because you don’t need a guide to do it. You don’t need anybody outside of yourselves to do it. And I’m not trying to put mental health professionals out of business with that. I’m saying you can do something in the moment for yourself on a daily basis.
Get the feedback and, and go ahead and, and start to feel better for yourself. This is something that is so germane. Having a locus of control, which once again can lead to a source of anxiety when you feel like there are things that you just don’t have a handle on, that it keeps you grounded in a good way.
So just some fu for thought.
Anthony: I guess I never considered the opportunity to combine the in universe, out of universe because to your point, Nothing you’d be treating her for that has anything to do with her powers, realistically speaking, I mean, okay. Maybe the imposter syndrome is a little bit related to the power and the ring, but otherwise, you know, it’s unfortunate to say that any real person could have gone through exactly what it is that she went through, and with respect to the PTs D and had the exact reaction that she had.
There’s nothing unrealistic about any. Aside from the ring,
huh? Yeah, the, the journal is not a bad idea. I think I might get back into that myself then. Not necessarily for the, the PTSD stuff, but it might help with the anxiety. I do think that some people tend to maybe use social media or blogs and stuff and make it like a public. I don’t know how healthy that would be or how helpful that might be, but if you find that it works for you, then I’m not certainly gonna yuck your yum.
But I think something private might give you a little better safe space to be more open and honest than you would because I think the inherent. Flaw on the social media thing is you’re trying to put on a, a braver face or alternatively, you’re trying to make it seem worse to garner sympathy points.
Again, I’m just kind of talking out loud here, but I do know that there are people who, so I don’t need a journal. I have social media for that. I have a blog, whatever. It’s close, but not the same. It’s not the same. So I would say if you’re gonna do that, make it a personal private. So well, we’ve got another guest ready to help us with our skit.
Lauren from Legend of Shield, the Fellow GonnaGeek Network Show told me privately, this is a while back, said, if you ever get around to doing an episode on Jessica Cruz, I’m calling Dips. So with the help of. Let’s see what happens when we get Jessica Cruz on Dr. Issues’ couch.
Doc Issues: Hello, Jessica. I’m Dr. Issues.
Lauren: Hello, doctor,
Doc Issues: what can I do for you?
Lauren: Well, to be honest, I’m a little creep.
Doc Issues: Why’s that?
Lauren: This isn’t what I expected. Your office is unique.
Doc Issues: I have to admit, I’ve made some recent changes. I have to keep up with the latest breakthroughs in therapy.
Lauren: It looks like you may have gone backwards instead.
Doc Issues: What do you mean?
Lauren: Well, first off, I thought there would be a couch. Why is there beanbag and what is that lavender?
Doc Issues: I’ve come to realize that the environment is way more important than I first thought for patients to get better. So, you know, the beanbag, it’s warm and comforting and lavender is known to be very soothing, you know?
But you know, I didn’t stop there. I’m sure you noticed that that tall lamp as well.
Lauren: Yeah. I think that’s something that I really should talk to you about. It looks like something I’ve been research.
It’s part of my new concierge model. You know, I wanna be able to dedicate myself to my patients more and in a fashion that’ll allow for the best results.
While honestly not stressing me out, I apologize. I just realized I haven’t really focused on why you want my help in the first place.
Lauren: Well, cause I’ve been through some bad stuff. That’s why, and there are some serious times I feel like I can’t do this at all.
Doc Issues: Well, maybe this is t m i on my part, but I can’t blame you for feeling that way. I get that way myself sometimes. That’s pretty common. What does that do to you emotionally?
Lauren: Makes me wanna jump outta my skin and become a nervous wreck.
Doc Issues: Anxiety. Got it. What I noticed was what you have right there, you know, clearly you’ve been managing very well for yourself.
Lauren: What the ring, it’s part of the problem. Everybody thinks I have it all put together. Makes me feel like an imposter.
Doc Issues: What’s that saying? Dress for the job you want.
Lauren: You’re one to talk. You don’t really dress like a doctor. ,
Doc Issues: you know, I used to dress up in a full suit, but then I became more comfortable with who I am, so like just dress the way I want.
Lauren: Is that why you went with this color scheme for the office to match your personal preference?
Doc Issues: If you must know, I actually picked this as a compromise. My favorite color is blue and my daughter enjoys purple. Somewhere in between seam fitting. Hmm. Why are you so fascinated with the random intricacies of my decor?
I’m supposed to get to know your situation, not the other way around.
Lauren: Is it really that obvious?
Doc Issues: Well, you’ve been fidgeting for quite a while. You constantly look over your shoulder and so far all you’ve done is critique me to the point that if. Weren’t so chill about all of this, I’d, I’d be insulted.
Lauren: Like I’ve said, I’ve been through a lot in my life. It pays to be safe.
Doc Issues: I don’t expect you to go into details, but if you could at least identify what type of trauma you’ve had might be helpful.
Lauren: My face rather, my eye gives it away. You’re not stupid.
Doc Issues: That definitely looks like a source of pain. I’m sorry. There’s more to it than that. You seem distracted. Like is there anything else?
Lauren: You’re definitely perceptive. I’ll give you that. I can’t do this. Okay. I can’t do this.
Doc Issues: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Didn’t mean to get you that upset.
Lauren: Well, you did not. You really, but what you’re doing,
I’m doing my.
No, you’re doing someone else’s job. And that’s what I’m trying to figure out. This could have been simple. This is official Green Lantern Corps business. This office has been on our radar for months. We know who comes in and out of here, but lately something has changed. Please provide us with the appropriate information, or I may have to use force.
Doc Issues: Well, at least you’re nicer than the joint commission. Okay, here it goes. I’ve made a deal. Private equity firm of sorts. It, it’s not a complete buyout. So I still have significant control. . Heck, they didn’t even want money, they just wanted my office to be able to accommodate certain situations along with my professional expertise.
Lauren: Is that how you brainwash Guy Gardner? Are you thinking you’re the best psychiatrist ever?
Doc Issues: Well, whoa. What? No.
Lauren: Is that how you survived atrocities without being obliterate?
Doc Issues: He, he just left on his own. I thought I was gonna die.
LaurenThis call is important. Don’t move. Wouldn’t dream of it. Hello? What? That was never supposed to happen in our lifetime.
I’m not. You can’t. Somebody else has to. Anybody else you’re asking for failure? No. We have to leave now. Now.
Doc Issues: Well apparently it’s, it’s, it’s my turn.
LaurenI don’t care. That phone call cannot be that important.
Doc Issues: You, you don’t know that.Hello. This is, this is Dr. Issues. Oh. Oh, I didn’t realize it was you. Y yes.
I actually, I do think that’s relevant to what’s going on right now. I guess. I guess it goes along with being audited. Oh, okay. I’ll, I’ll put in the orders.
Lauren: We don’t have time for this. We have to leave. There’s a creature that can destroy us all coming here right now. And he is not about making friends.
Doc Issues:Well nope, nope, nope.
Actually we have to stay. More importantly, when I tell you, you have to open that door over
there, the.
Lauren You’re gonna have us hide in the closet.This is ridiculous.
We we’re not going. He is.
Lauren: You’re trapping the greediest, being in the universe, in the closet.
Please understand that I am terrified right now, and the only reason I’m keeping calm is that this is what happens to me when I know there are things that must be. So for the sake of your life, mine and everyone that we care about, just open the fucking door when I say so. I’m begging you.
Lauren: And when this doesn’t work,
Doc Issues: then I know I will have done everything I could.And I know a hero such as yourself will fight to her last breath, but I really hope it doesn’t come to that.
Lauren: Every day is a fight. Every moment. The choice to get outta bed to. To smile. Everyone takes that for granted and you really think I could fight that. Whatever it is when it gets here.
Doc Issues: Thank you for fighting and winning all of those.
So far, all those examples, like so much of anxiety is all about the the what if. And you and you. You just feel like you gotta keep proving yourself. The good news is that there will come a day where you don’t have to ask that question anymore. For me. I don’t know when that is, but for you, maybe today is the.
Anthony: Mine is mine and mine and mine, and mine and mine, and mine and mine, and mine and mine. Now not yours.
Doc Issues: What was in ho, ho? Hold it. Hold. Yes, yes. I’m, I’m, I’m putting them in. Yeah, I’m I’ll. Go ahead. Okay. I think the Hal Jordan Owl should work if it’s administered as an inhalant. I, I’ll admit, I don’t know what the normal vital sign should be for something like that.
I, I know the protocol. I yeah, I’m not aware of any next of kin listed. Estimate length of stay is five to seven days, or epox, whatever term is, is appropriate according to you guys. All right, thanks. Bye. What did you. It’ll all make sense if you open the door again.
Lauren: Are you insane? We can’t let him.
He’s not in there is he? See, for yourself it’s empty and it looks like a hospital room
Doc Issues: crisis area to be exact. I’m not a contractor, but I’m guessing there’s some interdimensional stuff at play.
Lauren: Then. Where is he now?
Doc Issues: To be honest, I don’t know how to describe it, but since I’m going with the hospital ideas and analogy, the best thing I could say is that he’s being held for observation with a plan to return to his residence.
Lauren: There is no way the guardians authorize this.
Doc Issues: I’m no expert in those types of discussions. All I know is I have someone who can give a proper report of a system like this working for the first time. Thank you so much.
Lauren: You’re gonna need some official documentation.
Doc Issues: Right now the best I can do is my card.
Lauren: I can’t read it just like it’s in some sort of alien language. Yeah,
Doc Issues: a actually, I can’t read it either, but for some reason I can understand it. The, the one thing I will admit, because this is all official they did mess up my name though. It says, Dr. Isha, go . They also said that this is only for lantern situations.
So, so really, in all honesty, my office isn’t always like this.
Lauren: I don’t think that’s a mistake.
Doc Issues: Knock.
Anthony: Thank you. For another awesome job. Appreciate that. You can hear her on Legends of Shield and you can find her on the internet on Twitter as sithwitch13. I think she’s also in our discord and chats. There in the gonna Geek Geek disc. Which you can find our show and lots of other awesome shows like Legends of Shield and Play Comics and Better podcasting, and a whole host of others at GonnaGeekNetwork.com
we are proud members of the Gonna Geek Network. So grateful to have, the assistance and the cross promotion. So recommended reading for Jessica Cruz is the Green Lanterns series that came out of. Rebirth. It’s Stars, Jessica and Simon Baz. So they’re kind of working as partners. It’s an interesting read.
Like I said, it really kind of puts the spotlight on Jessica and Simon as well. So this is going to wrap it up officially for Lantern Month. As I said, if you go to patreon.com/capesonthecouch and subscribe, you can unlock. Patreon exclusive episode on Dex Star. And we will be doing this again, this theme month idea in the not too distant future.
But Doc and I will have that conversation separately. This is just kind of like a, Hey, let’s just see what happens, see how the patrons play along, and everybody seems to have really taken to it. So next time, we’ll, we’ll go with a different, So next episodes getting back to the regular swing of things is an interview with Ted Anderson about his graphic novel side effects.
Then we cover animal sidekicks, which should be an interesting discussion. And then to tie into the release of Antman Quantum Mania, we will be talking about Kang the Conqueror, and very much looking forward to that movie. I know the trailer just dropped not that long ago, the final trailer. And this looks heavy man.
Like the first two Amman movies look like fun. And hey, it’s yay. This one. Not fun. No, this one is not fun, not light, not airy at all. And I’m here for it so you can go back. We actually did cover Hank Pym and we’ve covered a couple of the characters related to the Antman Universe, and you can find all of them on our website.
Capesonthecouch.com. And. On social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at capes on the couch. So if you listen to us on a platform that allows you to like, rate and subscribe, please go ahead and do so. Cause it helps get us in front of more viewers and helps us spread the word about the show, which we always greatly appreciate.
So doc,
Doc Issues: I don’t actually have a pun for this. I just wanted to give an explanation. The entire skit stems from one basic question from Anthony, so I’m just gonna pose it to everybody else out there. What color lantern are you?
And I do appreciate that for the first time in our almost five year history, there’s some continuity between the skits over the past couple weeks. It’s been a real joy.
Don’t expect that as a common thing. Okay, ?
Anthony: Yeah. Special circumstances. And as I said previously, I would absolutely be a blue lantern.
So for for doc issues, I’m Anthony Sytko saying All will be well. And we’ll see you next week.