Hello, I would like to ask a question regarding prompt 9: My initial assumption about the term "white coat syndrome" was that it meant something like "medical professional getting sick and downplaying it", but after googling it I found out it specifically relates to hypertension that is only present at the doctors office due to anxiety in that specific situation. This confused me a bit. Could you please elaborate on that prompt?
You are absolutely correct. White Coat Syndrome is a type of anxiety that is characterized by a distinct rise in blood pressure (and sometimes body temperature as well) while in a doctors office type setting.
But what it boils down to is a person being nervous around/afraid of doctors. The symptoms are a result of the anxiety.
So in your writing, you may have your Character A refusing to go to the doctor because it makes them severely uncomfortable. Or maybe Character A has no choice but to go to the doctor and their blood pressure shoots through the roof causing concern. Then again, Maybe Character A is really out of it and simply whimpers at the mention of going to the doctor.
Any of those things offer an excellent opportunity for Character B to step in and offer some comfort. Holding Character A's hand and whispering calming words. Alternatively you could have a Character B who is baffled to the point of being completely unhelpful, telling Character A things like 'It's not that big of a deal' 'Suck it up' and 'Just calm down.'
Hopefully this helps and gives you few ideas!
