One summer night in 2010, when Kim Young-eun returned home after attending a company dinner, she felt soreness and weakness, so she went straight to bed. A few hours later, Kim Young-eun was suddenly awakened by a strange pain in her sleep.
Her limbs were aching faintly, as if there were countless ants crawling around her body, and as if the blood vessels in her body were pounding.
Kim Young-eun tossed and turned in bed in pain, but she couldn't sleep. She sat up and looked around, and saw that nothing seemed to change in the room, but the indescribable feeling of pain just didn't go away.
Unable to bear it, Kim Young-eun opened the door and walked out, and a miracle happened -- this feeling of pain immediately disappeared without a trace! Kim Young-eun was pleasantly surprised, and hurriedly called her friend Sun Xiaofang, asking to stay at her house for a while.
Sun Xiaofang is Kim Young-eun's best friend, and they have known each other for many years and have a very good relationship. Although Sun Xiaofang did not believe the strange phenomenon described by Kim Young-eun, she still warmly invited Kim Young-eun to live in her home.
In the days of Sun Xiaofang's house, Jin Yingen had a very happy time, they went shopping together, barbecued and sang K, and their relationship was getting better and better. Kim Young-eun also temporarily forgot about the inexplicable "strange phenomenon" he encountered.
One day a month later, Sun Xiaofang talked to Kim Young-eun and said that Kim Young-eun had her own home after all, and she couldn't live in someone else's house for a long time. Kim Young-eun also understood her good intentions, so she had to muster up the courage to return to her home.
When Kim Young-eun walked into her home again, the indescribable pain spread throughout her body again. She vaguely remembers that when she was a child, she wore a paper clip to avoid static electricity on her clothes.
In a flash of inspiration, Kim Young-eun rummaged through the cabinet and found a few paper clips to pin to his clothes. Miracles came again! With the contact of the paperclip, the tingling sensation gradually disappeared.
Kim Young-eun was so excited that she understood that the paperclip was her "antidote". Since then, Kim Young-eun has been purchasing a large number of paper clips everywhere. The paperclips on the market are far from enough, so Kim Young-eun simply contacted the factory in person and ordered tens of thousands of boxes of paperclips.
A bold idea gradually took shape in Kim Young-eun's mind - she wanted to use these paperclips to make an armor that could wrap her whole body!
For the next six months, Kim Young-eun spent almost all of his energy on this "Paperclip Armor Project". She riveted them one by one with paper clips, polishing, trying them on, and correcting mistakes again and again.
The process was boring and arduous, but Kim Young-eun had no intention of giving up.
Finally, the 60-pound paper clip armor was born in the hands of Kim Young-eun. It is made of tens of thousands of paper clips spliced and riveted, wrapping Kim Young-eun's whole body. The heavy weight of the armor gave Kim Young-eun an unprecedented sense of security.
Since then, Kim Young-eun has never taken off this armor again.
For 10 years, Ms. Kim refused visits from neighbors, invitations to go out, and even a doctor's check-up. She lives alone with this 60-pound paper clip armor and has not taken a step out of the house for 10 years.
One day, 10 years later, a reporter named Lee Zhiwei knocked on the door of Kim Young-eun's house. He listened to his neighbors tell about Kim Young-eun's strange experience in the past 10 years, and came to interview him.
When Li Zhiwei saw Kim Young-eun wearing paperclip armor, he couldn't help but be surprised.
Through his conversation with Kim Young-eun, Lee realized that this was definitely not what a normal person would think. He decided to invite a psychologist to come along. The next day, Li Zhiwei brought his friend, Professor Zhang, who has many years of experience in psychological counseling, to find Kim Ying-eun.
After listening carefully to Kim Young-eun's physical and mental state, Professor Jang judged that she was likely suffering from mental illness. So Professor Zhang patiently communicated with her and helped her gradually open her heart and express her inner pain.
It turned out that Kim Young-eun once had a happy family. But many years ago, she found out that her husband was cheating, not only did she have a second home outside, but she also ruthlessly snatched their beloved son and left her.
This trauma of losing a loved one hurts Kim Young-eun's fragile heart.
Professor Zhang judged that Kim Young-eun was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She needed psychotherapy to help her get through her injuries and regain a positive attitude towards life. Professor Zhang said that he would accompany Kim Young-eun throughout her treatment and recovery until she completely recovered from this trauma.
Kim Young-eun used countless paper clips to make a 60-kilogram "umbrella" and was isolated from the world for 10 years, which seems ridiculous in the eyes of ordinary people. However, when the psychologist diagnosed her with PTSD, we had to face up to the seriousness of the problem.
In fact, many seemingly unbelievable behaviors hide the deep psychological trauma of the parties involved. We can't simply judge them one-sidedly by words like "perverted" and "crazy".
On the contrary, we should look at it with a more tolerant, understanding and sympathetic attitude.
Professional psychotherapy can play a huge role in this process. Psychologists help clients get out of the shadow of pain through listening, communication, and catharsis; At the same time, scientific and systematic cognitive behavioral therapy is adopted to help the client rebuild self-confidence and find a healthy and positive outlook on life.
Kim Young-eun's experience also made us realize that mental illness is not less severe than physical illness. They all need to be diagnosed by a professional and eradicated with proper treatment. We must also learn to take the initiative to confide in our inner pain and strive for early treatment.
I believe that with the help and encouragement of psychologists, relatives and friends, Kim Young-eun will gradually get out of the predicament, regain self-confidence, and face a better life again.