SST: A Spoonful Of Sugar (And A Whole Lotta Salt)
I think it’s still way too soon to determine whether or not the effects of the therapy are gonna be beneficial, or if it’s gonna take a completely different approach to make the men of La María Silenciosa start to accept the nature of their trauma and actually process it in order to move on.
The repetitions required from baking, the precise instructions, the sensory pleasure and the tangible feeling of one’s work, combined with the whole mind-body focus, might be a powerful instrument in order to help deal with their stress and anxiety.
Point is I won’t be able to get how much of it works until I manage to obtain one-on-one interviews with them, and until now that’s been downright impossible, these guys just won’t separate from each other, which is all but unimaginable considering what they’ve been through together. As of now, the only member of the crew I’ve talked to alone is the Capt- I mean El Capitán [note to self: never, under any circumstances, anglicize the title] and that encounter only managed to put down in black and white - with the risk of some red on my part - that he and his men are willing to try these métodos revolucionarios if it means they might get rid of their Curse.
Even though I clearly insisted that psychology has nothing to do with breaking curses - which, by the way, I had no idea existed until my professor handed me their case without any warning whatsoever, thank you sooo much Mr Shelby - they seem adamant in believing so, and for my part I know it’s best not to further discuss the subject with them until later progresses are made. For their sake and mine.
Meanwhile I’m glad to say I’ve noticed some changes throughout the experiment: some of them have willingly shed some of their clothing in favor of some modern (to read: clean and whole) attire, if only part of it. For my part I’ve made a point not to force this on them as they seemed very hesitant in letting someone else - even each other - examine too closely the extent of their body damage. This could be a good point of discussion in the next session, but I’m afraid I’ll have to split the group to get work done in that department. Sure, some of the Officers are actually glad of covering themselves better [exception made for Officer Nadiez, I still need to find him but the moment he takes off his hat he basically dissapears!], but most of the deckhands are reduced to mere scraps of clothing, and dealing with the fact that they are their clothing is a whole lotta baggage that they all have left to unpack for a generous lot of years. [Note to self: maybe suggest watching The Invisible Man for next week?]
PS Remember to pass by the pharmacy Friday to get that asthma inhaler, all this ash is making my nose tickle, and trying to hold a sneeze in front of a whole lot of armed men is a most terrifying experience!
For some more salt, go under the cut ;)