Julia is 25 years and works in a legal consultancy company. She has arrived early today to work on a project which she must finish at noon. The first two hours she works steadily and with high concentration in the quiet room. But at 9, her co-worker colleague who sits opposite her arrives. Soon she also starts her work, and starts tapping their pen on the desk.
The sound of the pen tapping triggers a range of intense emotional and physical responses at Julia. She feels a sudden surge of anger and frustration, and her heart rate and blood pressure increases. As she feels too embarrassed to asks her colleague to stop this noise, she experiences physical sensations like sweating, trembling, and a feeling of tightness in their chest. She is not able to concentrate on her work; the sound of the pen tapping becomes all-consuming, making it impossible for her to focus on anything else. Julia does not know what to do. She feels trapped and wants to escape the situation, but there are still the last pages of the report which must be ready in a few hours. She becomes angry and wished that she could lash out at her co- in an attempt to make her stop.