From a Psychiatrist’s Diary (Part III)

This is a real incident from a Psychiatrist’s diary. It is a continuation of the previous part – From a Psychiatrist’s Diary (Part II). Shweta saw Meena lying on a mat on the floor of the hall of her flat. Shweta also saw people coming in and going out of the flat. People kept placing their hand on her forehead and checked her pulse. The Vora family doctor came and checked her pulse, heartbeat and opened the eyes. The doctor went inside and spoke to Meena’s husband and handed him a prescription. Another doctor had visited at night, according to Mr. Vora.

Shweta went back inside and took care of the morning needs of her husband. When she opened the door to see off her husband, the entire balcony was filled will people. The whole building had gathered there. Shweta wondered, “Why aren’t they calling an ambulance to take Meena to the hospital? She was already ill.”

As if reading Shweta’s mind, someone mentioned going to the hospital. Mr. Vora replied, “There is no need to go to the hospital. The family doctor has given in writing.”

Shweta remembered that when Meena told her MIL that she was not well, she took her to a psychiatrist. Meena’s MIL said under the influence of Deepa, “Your health is fine because you are fat. Your mind needs the treatment.”

The psychiatrist gave medicines for stress and counseled both Meena and her MIL. He also prescribed some medical tests. He told Meena, “If you feel exhausted, take bed rest and continue to work only if you feel better. You look very weak.”

The MIL said, “The doctor is greedy. He has a financial collaboration with the pathology lab that he suggested. He will get money out of your tests. You take the medicines he has given and do housework. You listen to Shweta. That is why you are stressed out. She does not belong to our religion. Besides, she has married a person from another caste. Stop talking to her and concentrate on the Gujarati tradition of cleaning the house. Follow Deepa Patel’s advice.”

Coming back to the present, people were saying that Meena’s son gave some medicine to her at night. The son worked in a chemist’s shop and kept some medicine at home. Shweta thought, “If they had done all the medical tests, Meena would not have been bedridden today.”

If you want to know what happened after this, stay tuned…

To be continued…