What about a caretaker struggling to help a conditioned whumpee who’s in complete denial that they’ve actually been conditioned?
- 🕷️
content: rocky recovery, conditioned whumpee, past trauma
“Look, Whumpee… This isn’t something to be ashamed of. If anyone, it’s Whumper who should be ashamed. But accepting reality is the first step—”
“Cut the bullshit,” Whumpee snapped. “I’m not ‘conditioned’. I’m not some dog to be trained. I’m perfectly fine.”
Caretaker swallowed and nodded. “You’re not a dog, no. But abusers like Whumper can instill patterns in your brain that can be hard to break out of, like…”
“Like what?”
“Like having to ask for permission every time you want to eat, despite my repeated assurances that you can eat whenever and whatever.”
Whumpee crossed their arms, glaring at Caretaker. “So what if I like to ask beforehand?”
“You’ve gone entire days without eating because I was away and forgot my phone at home.”
They scoffed. “That’s hardly conditioning.”
“Whumpee…”
“I’m not a dog. I’m done with this conversation.” And with that, they turned on their heel and left Caretaker in the kitchen.
