Pretty late in a winter evening, a tall, dapper gentleman reluctantly walked into my clinic. A middle-aged man tucked in a neat suit, a white shirt and golden cuffs with an unsettled face took the seat across the table.
He introduced himself politely, an IPS officer quite successful in his profession with great feats to his name sat numb with an influx of conflicting thoughts expressed subtly with a frown in his forehead; for he could not make his mind whether to speak and what to speak.
Looking across the room, he hesitantly opened up. He narrated his story about the glory of a successful career and a curse of loneliness that creeps him in the dark nights. Late in his thirties, the eligible bachelor fights his own battle with anxiety and depression.
Growing up in an utterly dysfunctional family witnessing the ugliest face of a couple, the concept of marriage and relationship took a bitter shape in his mind. Now in his late thirties, the feeling of being unsettled and the anxiety about the passing age is creating a turmoil in his head. Added to that is the stress of his demanding job that’s taking a toll on his sleep and his peace.
The anxiety of missing out on life kept him awake all night and the stress of balancing a thousand thoughts made him even more drained. He wanted a life, a family, but the scars of his childhood hazed every frame of his happily ever after story.
After listening to his woes and worries, I empathized with his thoughts and understood his agony. I counseled him that every individual is different, so are their perceptions and experiences. For his stress and anxiety, I prescribed Mentace tablet for 3 months.
Along with the medicines, I strictly advised him to start meditation and yoga and join regular counseling sessions to take the fears imprinted in his character out of his mind. I explained him that being chained to the dark past, one cannot weave a free future.
Following the instructions, taking the medicines regularly and with right counseling, the deep wounds of the past were all healed.
Parents often fight, shout and argue in front of their children without even realizing how deep that can damage the little heart!