Devil's Impact

Couples Therapy

He looked away from Dr. Grohl's quiet stare. "I just want to be a better husband. I have a therapist on my own, too. I'm really trying," Mike added, rubbing his free hand on the thigh of his jeans.

Dr. Grohl shuffled through his stack of papers before pulling one out, glancing at it quickly. "Aw yes. You've been in therapy for the last year or so?" He watched as Mike nodded. "Is that why you started with your other therapist?" He pointed between the two of them. "You feel like you're not being a good husband?"

Mike could feel his hands already getting clammy. "Well, that was part of it. And some other things, some personal issues I was having..." He wasn't sure he wanted to explain any further about the anxiety and the mildly disordered eating, and his almost-maybe-not-quite addiction to sex. "Anxiety," he finally decided, leaving out the other things he talked about and worked through with Dr. Digby. "I'm working on it."

Dr. Grohl wrote that down. "Anxiety can be crippling. I applaud you for reaching out for help. Are you on medication for it?" When Mike answered no, he turned his attention to Chester. "How about you? What brings you here today?"

It was Chester's turn to feel nervous and he shifted in his seat. "We have problems," he said simply as he nodded to Mike. "And communication is a big part of that. Mostly. I know I take things personally sometimes and my emotions," he tried to explain as he motioned over his front, "they get out of control sometimes. It's hard. Something small can escalate quickly and suddenly it feels like I'm falling off a cliff and I panic."

Dr. Grohl wrote that down before he shuffled through his papers again, pulling one out. "And you're also seeing a private therapist?" When Chester said yes, Dr. Grohl teased his pencil between his fingers. "You wrote down you've been in therapy for the last three years."

Chester looked at Mike before looking back at Dr. Grohl. "Yeah. It didn't have anything to do with Mike. I was having nightmares and, um, I had just come out of a bad work situation and I wasn't handling life very well. I am on medication," he said with a swallow. "Antidepressants."

"Are they helping?"

Chester nodded. "Yes. It was rough going on them at first, but they help keep things evened out." He motioned over his front again with a sigh. "I'd be so much worse without them."

Dr. Grohl watched as Mike gave Chester's hand an extra squeeze. It was refreshing to see that medication was not only not an issue between them but it was supported. "I'm glad that part is working out for you. Medication can be a huge struggle for some people."

Chester nodded. "So we're both working on ourselves, but we don't always land on the same page with some things, and it causes fights and problems," he tried to explain.

Dr. Grohl sat back in his chair. "Tell me about not being on the same page." He gestured at them both with his pencil. "Give me an example."

Chester narrowed his eyes in thought. Even though he and Mike had agreed that these sessions were not about Ryan and Jason, the only thing that came to his mind were recent events. "Well, Mike being in love with someone else is the main thing, usually."

That wasn't what Dr. Grohl expected to hear and his attention shot right to Mike. His face was blood red and his mouth was hanging open. "I see," Dr. Grohl said as he made note of that. "Mike, do you agree with that?"

Mike couldn't feel his body as his brain scrambled for something to say to that. "I, I don't think it's the main thing," he stuttered, his fingers digging into his jeans. "It's sometimes the thing. Or it's a thing. But not the main thing. I don't think. I mean, it's a thing, yeah, but I love Ches, too." He closed his mouth. He could feel the sweat under his hair already and he was cursing at Chester in his head for bringing Jason into the conversation after only five minutes with their new therapist.