He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 42

42. King George’s Affliction

When Tae-oh worked at a university hospital in the United States, patients often waited over a year to receive psychological treatment from him, a clinical psychologist.

His reputation for insightful psychological assessments, accurate diagnoses, and successful treatment outcomes spread quickly, leading to a high demand for appointments.

However, among the medical staff, Tae-oh’s abilities weren’t always viewed favorably.

His remarkable ability to access a patient’s unconscious mind and facilitate rapid recovery was difficult for some psychiatrists and fellow clinical psychologists to accept.

While ‘hypnosis medicine’ was a recognized field within psychiatry in the United States and other medically advanced countries, the process of feeling and healing wounded emotions in a patient’s unconscious state was complex, and treatment effectiveness varied. Tae-oh’s consistent success was therefore seen as exceptional.

Furthermore, since the mid-20th century, combining medication with therapy for ‘mental illnesses’ that couldn’t be resolved through counseling alone had become standard practice.

The standard treatment, antipsychotic drugs, worked by stimulating receptors in the brain, causing changes in neurotransmitter hormones, particularly influencing dopamine receptors.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps transmit signals of excitement between brain nerve cells.

Too little dopamine can lead to ‘depression,’ while too much can cause an excessively excited state of ‘mania.’

Modern psychiatry often uses drugs to forcibly regulate dopamine secretion.

However, Tae-oh achieved similar results through psychological treatment alone, without medication, at least in patients with early-stage mental illness.

By accessing the patient’s inner world and addressing hidden emotions, he could naturally activate or suppress dopamine production, mimicking the effects of medication.

As a result, his patient numbers increased rapidly as more people experienced complete recovery without drug side effects.

The challenge was that these exceptional outcomes seemed unique to Tae-oh.

His ability to read and feel people’s emotions and connect with patients through hypnosis was key.

Ultimately, Tae-oh’s treatment method was difficult to verify scientifically, making it hard to gain widespread acceptance.

In an era where antipsychotic drug treatment was the primary approach, Tae-oh’s hypnosis-based psychological treatment was often dismissed as quackery by colleagues, despite its effectiveness without medication.

His results were simply too good, exceeding the expected outcomes of general hypnotic treatment.

The more patients Tae-oh quickly cured without medication, the more his colleagues doubted and criticized him.

False rumors even circulated, claiming that some of his patients had committed suicide.

Tae-oh found this frustrating and unfair.

In the reality of a large hospital, claiming to treat fundamental ailments by entering a patient’s inner world was often met with accusations of being a pseudo-shaman.

While individual hospitals might allow independent treatment practices, achieving prominent results within a university hospital only fueled negativity, and he was constantly pressured to use standard treatments.

Eventually, Tae-oh was excluded from psychiatric consultations and faced harsh criticism and warnings from the head of the psychiatry department.

It was around this time that his uncle contacted him, as Tae-oh was feeling deeply disillusioned with his career as a clinical psychologist.

And so, Tae-oh chose a completely different path: a matchmaking agency.

However, his instincts as a clinical psychologist, honed over years of dedication, were resurfacing as he interacted with King George.

##

While subtly observing King George’s emotions, Tae-oh inadvertently looked up and met the king’s gaze.

‘!’

Tae-oh quickly lowered his head.

However, King George’s eyes remained fixed on him.

After quietly observing Tae-oh, King George suddenly asked, “Are you perhaps Sanderson?”

Tae-oh quickly stepped forward and bowed politely.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am Theo Sanderson.”

King George moved closer to Tae-oh.

“Yes, yes. I recognized you immediately. I make it a point to know everyone’s face here. And if there’s a face I haven’t seen before, who else could it be but Sanderson, whom I specifically requested be invited? Hahaha.”

A hint of bright energy appeared in King George’s demeanor as he laughed heartily.

‘If depression progresses to a severe stage, they can’t even express such emotions, even if they try. They tend to isolate themselves and avoid gatherings like this. George III is certainly experiencing deep depression, but it hasn’t fully taken hold yet. Even with just a smile, the subtle expressions and gestures on his face are changing with vitality, which is a hopeful sign.’

King George continued, “In any case, I invited you because I greatly appreciate your strategic thinking. You brilliantly exposed Earl Burns’s unjust accusation, and more importantly, you protected Duke Manners from harm… I commend you highly. Hahaha.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

King George lightly patted Tae-oh’s shoulder, then turned and announced loudly, “Now, shall we enjoy a performance?”

As King George walked toward a chair placed alone in the center of the room, Queen Charlotte followed closely.

The king’s aide-de-camp signaled to the small orchestra seated in front, and the performers rose from their seats, bowed to the king and queen, and began to play.

‘An orchestra without a conductor?’

It was a mini-orchestra, something Tae-oh was seeing for the first time.

They were a ‘chamber orchestra’ [a small orchestra typically consisting of 10 to 50 musicians], usually called a ‘small orchestra,’ performing without a conductor.

‘Only the king and queen are seated to watch, I suppose?’

It felt awkward and uncomfortable for everyone else to stand and listen to the music.

However, from a political standpoint, it also served to emphasize the monarch’s immense authority.

The performers picked up their instruments and began to play.

“♪~♫~~♬~♩~~♭”

The mournful melody, in a plaintive major key, filled the spacious room.

The desolate space transformed as it was filled with the deep, rich sounds of the instruments.

Even to Tae-oh, who didn’t know much about music, it was a remarkable performance.

However, Tae-oh was more focused on observing King George than on the music itself.

He was analyzing the emotions conveyed by the king’s expressions and gestures, immersed in the music, from the perspective of a clinical psychologist, searching for the psychological mechanisms behind his anxiety and depression.

‘Hmm…’

A person’s expression reveals their true emotions, and their gestures indicate their attitude toward those emotions.

“♬~♩~♩~♫~~♪♪~♬~♩~~♪”

As the performance progressed, the king became so engrossed that he even took out a handkerchief to wipe away tears.

The other nobles around him weren’t as visibly moved as King George, but they were clearly absorbed in the sad and beautiful music.

Once again, Tae-oh carefully examined George III’s facial expressions, gestures, sighs, and chest movements, muttering quietly, “This… is not good.”

A person’s ‘consciousness’ is more powerful than one might think.

Sad and depressing music can easily plunge someone already struggling with depression into deeper despair.

This is different from simply feeling sad and finding solace in sad music.

Emotions like depression, despair, fear, and anxiety, when deeply felt and indulged in, can grow like monsters, seizing the person’s subconscious and eventually inducing physical changes.

‘There’s a lot of tension in his shoulders and chest, and he’s breathing shallowly from his chest [thoracic breathing]. This makes his breathing unstable, and his physical senses are generally heightened. If he’s been in that state for a long time, his body must be sending many abnormal signals…’

Clap clap clap-

Tae-oh was startled back to reality by the sudden applause. King George was standing and clapping enthusiastically after the chamber orchestra’s nearly hour-long performance.

The nobles also clapped and praised the performers, assuming it was over.

But King George, after sitting back down, shouted loudly, “One more time!”

At his request to play the same song again, the performers sat down as if accustomed to it and began to play the same piece.

“♪~♫~~♬~♩~~♭”

The government officials and nobles, who had been standing throughout the performance, shifted uncomfortably, their legs aching.

‘Oh, dear.’

Tae-oh’s legs were also starting to ache.

King George listened to the same song for another hour, even shedding more tears, before standing and applauding as loudly as before when it ended.

“Good, good, very excellent. Now, everyone, please step back.”

With a satisfied gesture, the performers bowed deeply, packed their instruments, and hurried out of the room.

“Okay. Then shall we properly receive greetings now?”

As George III turned and walked through the crowd, the nobles and officials lined up on one side of the room.

When King George extended his hand, they grasped it and bowed or knelt.

Historically, George III at this time held considerable authority and political power as the King of England.

Although stubborn and prone to micromanaging state affairs, he maintained a relatively stable royal authority by acting politically cautiously, unlike his impetuous youth.

He had also stabilized the political situation by appointing Lord Frederick North, a seasoned politician and childhood friend, as prime minister in 1770, before the turbulent times.

Thus, for the past decade, George III had been enhancing his dignity as the King of England and consolidating his power.

However, with the outbreak of war with the North American colonies the previous year, this stability was slowly eroding, and anxiety was resurfacing.

Along with that, George III’s mental anguish was gradually increasing.

“Atley! Johnson! You two come with me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Yes- Your Majesty.”

While receiving audiences from high-ranking officials and nobles, King George directly called out a dozen people and instructed them to follow him.

Presumably, he intended to discuss state affairs with them in private.

When a husband was called, his wife also accompanied him.

Thus, King George led about twenty people out of the room.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Click. Click. Click.

However, Tae-oh, who had been quietly observing this scene from behind, tilted his head again.

King George’s gait seemed somehow unnatural.

His body appeared to tilt slightly with each step, suggesting a problem with his left knee joint.

‘It’s similar to the physical symptoms I’ve seen in anxiety disorder patients. It seems that psychological stress is even connected to physical pain…’

Tae-oh felt a pang of sympathy.

As an expert who had treated countless patients like King George, he felt it was unethical, beyond regret, to remain silent about an illness that could still be treated without medication.

‘Seeing his body losing balance, even his physical symptoms are becoming quite pronounced. But… this is strange? Could the historical records be inaccurate? Considering his condition and the immense stress George will face in the future, it seems he could deteriorate into severe mental illness within 2-3 years at the latest, not 10 years later?’

Tae-oh recalled that George III’s mental illness worsened around the time of the French Revolution.

However, based on his expertise, he believed that if left untreated, the disease would progress to an untreatable stage within at least 3 years.

‘Could it be that… events are unfolding differently in this world than the history I know? Or did they falsify the records to conceal the king’s mental illness from posterity, and that’s what I’m seeing?’

Regardless of the truth, it seemed crucial to address King George’s treatment as soon as possible.

‘He’s entered a state of severe depression due to generalized anxiety disorder, but he’s still in a treatable state. If I start managing it now, considerable improvement is possible, even if it’s not a complete recovery… But I’m not the king’s personal physician, so how can I treat him?’

Just then,

George III, about to leave the room, stopped at his wife Queen Charlotte’s prompting.

He turned and announced in a booming voice, “Ah, that’s right! You there… Theo Sanderson, was it? You come with me too!”

“!”

Tae-oh looked bewildered as Duke Manners approached and took his arm.

“Come on, let’s go together. His Majesty has heard about Mr. Sanderson’s outstanding insight on several occasions. He wants to hear your thoughts.”

“······.”

Thus, Tae-oh followed King George along with the designated group.

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About Hypnosis

For readers curious about hypnosis, here’s some helpful information.

While there are various treatments for mental illness, some patients who don’t respond to medication or general psychiatric treatment find relief through hypnosis.

Medication often has side effects, but hypnosis therapy can offer treatment benefits without them.

In Korea, hypnosis is often dismissed as pseudoscience, but in developed countries like the United States, ‘hypnosis medicine’ is recognized as a scientific field of psychiatry. Universities like Stanford, Yale, and Harvard Medical School have practiced hypnosis therapy for a long time, and a certification system for hypnosis medicine specialists was established over 30 years ago, solidifying hypnosis treatment as a professional medical field.

The challenge is that hypnosis deals with the invisible mental world, so simply learning the techniques doesn’t guarantee access to the patient’s subconscious. Treatment through hypnosis is complex, and results can be difficult to achieve.

However, Hyuntae-oh in this novel is a clinical psychologist with a natural ability to read and feel other people’s emotions, making him exceptionally skilled at empathizing with patients through hypnosis and healing psychological wounds hidden in their subconscious.

Such exceptional healing abilities are difficult to replicate through mere training, which leads to Tae-oh being suspected, envied, and criticized by other doctors and clinical psychologists for his remarkable achievements that surpass the typical effects of hypnosis treatment.

For more information on ‘hypnosis medicine,’ you can visit the website of “Hypnosis Medicine by Dr. Byun Young-don,” a neuropsychiatrist considered a leading authority on hypnosis medicine in Korea.

[For reference, Hyun Tae-oh is not a psychiatrist but a graduate of ‘Clinical Psychology’ in the United States. This was mentioned in the first episode, but just in case you don’t remember, becoming a clinical psychologist in the United States requires significant time and financial investment, including a doctoral degree, making it a challenging path.

This is very different from counseling experts such as counseling psychologists that we commonly know. Clinical psychologists aim to ‘treat’ patients like doctors, not simply provide ‘counseling’.

While general psychiatrists primarily treat mental illness through prescriptions, clinical psychologists treat mental illness through psychotherapy rather than medication, and often collaborate with psychiatrists in American university hospitals to care for patients.]