He was startled by the clapping and shouting and turned his attention to the group gathered there. He looked around at everyone, cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly: "Forget me, because I'm leaving now!" He turned the microphone aside, went downstairs, and left the party.
Sandra Brito Fornelos, Sociedade Portuguesa de Psicanálise Just as he was about to address the assembled guests, he lost his voice.
Anxiety had taken over, categorically. It was a true cliché: his heart was pounding, his stomach was churning, and the distress was so intense he thought he would die at any moment. One could check off every item in the technical manuals describing anxiety attacks. Now he wondered how this moment had arrived, why he had decided to gather these people and invite them to this particular event if he didn't feel capable of addressing them with such an important announcement, one that would have such a direct impact on all their lives. As he looked at them all, seated at those round tables at a long-awaited gala dinner, the culmination of a year of intense work, he thought: "What now? What do I do? How will I get out of this?" At that moment, his boss appeared at his side, a thoughtful and benevolent man, a fatherly figure, who placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll help you." He then took the floor, delivering a brief, incisive speech, which allowed his voice to calm down in an instant. He thought of every possible way to escape, and several, more or less foolish, alternatives to bypass this group of people, gathered in a small, well-dressed, and expectant crowd, quickly came to mind. He felt trapped and the failure of his voice, an abrupt and unexpected somatization, was the most intense and disruptive form of expression his body was capable of. Marta Russo, Sociedade Portuguesa de Psicanálise Just as he was about to address the assembled guests, he lost his voice. But it was not an absence that was noticeable to the audience. It was a loss of his inner voice. I think you could even say that his innate nature finally expressed itself: you will never speak freely again. Gabriel panicked. He was sweating profusely, almost to the point where we could have put fish in his sweat and they would have survived! His legs trembled, his heart raced, and when he opened his mouth, he said: “I am very happy to be here today, witnessing the marriage of my great friends, Joaquim and Lili! I wish that this love will last forever, and that I can witness your happiness, always by your side!”
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