Genet Hughes

Treatment for I Think Therefore You Are

Description

A cerebral, genre-bending, and genre-blending bittersweet romance that explores the struggles of mental health, the power of relationships and acceptance of the past.

Characters

Sebastian suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but since meeting Drew, his life has significantly improved. She is the only person he feels any connection with and wants to please her. Sebastian may not exist.

Drew loves Sebastian. She is consumed by guilt after her best friend's death, but feels she can make amends by helping Sebastian, whilst looking for forgiveness from her best friend's family. Drew may not exist.

Archie is Sebastian’s brother. Troubled by his part in Sebastian’s PTSD, along with his love and devotion to him, Archie will go to any lengths to make Sebastian face reality, and put an end to his imaginary companion, Drew. Archie may not exist.

Josh is Drew’s ex-fiancé. He loves Drew and is miserable without her, even though he initially tries to hide it. Josh will go to any lengths to make Drew face reality, and put an end to her imaginary companion, Sebastian. Josh may not exist.

Trial Drug B221 An experimental drug. Part of the new wave of drug trials to reduce the vast numbers of NHS mental health patients. It works by the real person killing off their imaginary companion. (B221 is an abbreviation for Be Two To One).

Act one

A woman, Ruth, is terrorised by her ex-partner, Chris, even though he is dead. However, once the room fills with a mysterious fog, Ruth becomes the violent partner.

Sebastian and Drew attend a therapy group for individuals who hallucinate a companion – no indication is given to whether Drew or Sebastian is the real person. The session is unproductive, and the beleaguered NHS staff hand out questionnaires regarding participation in a drug trial - B221, as drug trails are the NHS’s current approach to reducing the enormous number of mental health patients.

Sebastian is visited by his therapist who explains Sebastian is imagining Drew to avoid processing the trauma of a relentless beating one night, whilst Drew’s therapist explains she is hallucinating Sebastian to make amends for the guilt she feels over the death of her best friend, Amelia. They have also created friends, families and a therapist for their companion to make the situation feel real even though only the companion can touch or interact with them.

Act two

The therapists elaborate on the complications of imagining a pretend companion, which include subtle and obvious mistakes when the fake world collides with the real one. Frustrated by their interference, Drew and Sebastian decide to take matters into their own hands; Drew seeking forgiveness from Amelia’s family and Sebastian trying to overcome his fear of being outside at night. Sebastian makes small yet significant progress but Drew’s attempt at reconciliation is thrown back in her face.

Drew and Sebastian share increasingly personal and private details out on a hill in the early morning, but Sebastian refuses to open up about the attack in spite of Drew’s efforts. Archie and Josh, as well as others, try different methods to remove the other person’s imaginary companion. However, nothing makes a difference.

Some of the members from the therapy group take the trial drug B221, resulting in the real person brutally killing the imaginary companion.

Sebastian becomes convinced that they are in alternative realities but Drew disagrees, and to Sebastian’s horror, admits she doesn’t care if he’s imaginary or not. When they visit the therapists from the therapy group, they overhear how B221 works and promptly leave.

Amelia’s sister forgives Drew for screening Amelia’s phone call the night Amelia committed suicide, but Drew still struggles with her guilt. Sebastian finally opens up about the attack, hoping it will help Drew find some inner peace.

Act three

Sebastian and Drew venture further away from his apartment at night. He panics but ends up releasing some of his anguish and helplessness by beating up a stranger.

Josh, now desperate, tries to take Drew out of the apartment at night and therefore away from Sebastian. In retaliation Sebastian pushes Josh over, meaning he touches Josh for the first time. For one brief ecstatic moment Sebastian convinces Drew that they do live in alternative universes before everything comes crashing down around as they realise Sebastian touching Josh was one of several mistakes and the façade can no longer survive. Sebastian is hallucinating Drew and everyone she knows. Josh becomes inanimate and then disappears.

Archie cons Sebastian into taking the trial drug but then admits to his deceit. With the help of Archie, Sebastian avoids killing Drew even though it triggers a series of flashbacks of his savage beating by several men, including one with a physical disability.

Ultimately Drew still becomes inanimate and dies because although her presence has helped Sebastian heal (e.g., increasing the amount of time outside during the day and night, learning strategies to cope, opening up about his attack and forgiving Archie), she is now hindering him from moving any further forward in the real world. After a huge emotional struggle, and help from Archie and his therapist, Sebastian moves past the loss of Drew.

Ten years later, Sebastian is happy, now married with children, and has returned to writing his novels. Out of the blue, his therapist phones and warns Sebastian that the patients who took the B221 trial drug are experiencing episodes of remission where their imagined companion returns.

A trigger reignites Sebastian’s PTSD, and a flashback shows that Archie persuaded Sebastian to make fun of the man with the physical disability prior to the attack. In the present day, Drew’s voice can be heard humming their favourite song which helps Sebastian come out of his panic attack. When Sebastian scans the room there is no sign of Drew and it is unclear whether this was some form of remission caused by the trial drug or simply his memories of Drew supporting him through his PTSD.