Medicinal Tea (Patreon)

I've had pretty crippling self-image issues for as long as I could remember. I'd tried everything to try and get over it - working out in the gym, attempted to hide my flaws with make-up, even surrounded myself with people I considered worse off than myself - but it all came back to the fact that I hated the person I saw in the mirror. My therapist knew as much and had been trying to help me for almost a year when he presented his latest idea to me, one that would go on to solve all of my issues.

He referred to it as "medicinal tea" and said it was a special blend from Mexico that would help soothe the anxiety that had spread throughout my mind. I was doubtful that it would do much good but agreed to give it a try for a week or so, abiding by his suggestion of having one cup of the blend in the morning and one right before bed. My therapist was a kindly man who was doing his very best to help him and even if some of his ideas were a little out of the box I was willing to give them a try. 

Much to my surprise, the blend worked wonders. It did more than help boost my self-esteem though - it tackled my body image issues in a much more direct manner by triggering a gradual transformation into a more idealized version of myself. Each day as I looked in the mirror I found myself liking the man I saw more and more. Hell, I was almost beginning to feel attracted to my own reflection which was a weird feeling considering how long I had hated seeing myself for. 

Now though there was very little that I could take fault in. My features were perfectly symmetrical, my thinning hair had thickened out again and my squarer jawline even began to sport a well-trimmed beard. I even began to carry a little more muscle on my previously slender frame and found myself far more motivated in the gym as a result. Not only was I seeing quick results but I was also getting flirtatious looks from the other occupants which had never happened to me before.

By the time I returned to my therapist for my next bi-weekly session I was far less troubled by my own invasive thoughts and was able to express my sincere thanks. That was when he shared the story of his own recovery from low self-esteem using the very same medicinal brew, only he had been waiting to see if he could trust me with his secret. His story wasn't the only thing he shared though as he passed along his number and made the suggestion that we get a normal cup of tea at some point. Despite my inexperience in the area of dating, I was no longer too shy to agree. After all it was thanks to him that I had become a desirable date in the first place!