Chapter 72
When Darkness Calls Your Name

Lise reveals a devastating pattern: when someone feels invisible or dismissed, they may choose shocking behavior over being ignored entirely. She confesses to violent fantasies and disturbing thoughts not because she's truly evil, but because extreme behavior guarantees a response. This is the attention-seeking spiral—when healthy ways of connecting fail, people escalate to increasingly destructive methods. The mechanism works like this: emotional pain creates desperation for connection. When normal requests for attention are ignored or dismissed, the person learns that only crisis gets response. Each escalation proves the pattern—mild complaints get brushed off, but dramatic confessions bring immediate concern. The person becomes addicted to crisis-level attention because it's the only reliable way to feel seen. Lise literally injures herself after Alyosha leaves, proving that self-destruction has become her primary tool for emotional regulation. This pattern appears everywhere today. The coworker who creates workplace drama because it's the only time management pays attention to them. The family member who manufactures health crises whenever gatherings happen without them. The friend who shares increasingly shocking personal details on social media, escalating until someone responds. The patient who exaggerates symptoms because busy healthcare workers only take serious complaints seriously. Each gets temporary connection through manufactured crisis. When you recognize this pattern, respond to the need underneath the behavior. Give attention before the crisis, not after. Set boundaries around destructive behavior while still offering connection. If it's your own pattern, practice asking for what you need directly before escalating. Create regular check-ins so people don't have to manufacture emergencies to feel heard. Remember: behind every attention-seeking behavior is someone who has learned that only extreme distress gets response. When you can name this pattern, predict where it leads, and navigate it successfully—that's amplified intelligence.