The Shrink!

Coffee - Why do I like coffee? 1) It has an amazing aroma and 2) I am a regular victim of ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) problems so I have a natural tendency to take hot beverages at every chance!! As a result, I end up having 3-4 cups of coffee every day and to top it, I have tea with my husband at home. So we live a very unhealthy life! Sigh!

Anyways going back to my life in the 2010s, those were the times when my mom was completely fed up with my excuses to drink coffee. It used to be her perennial worry that I used to drink so many cups of coffee per day. Finally, she decided to get rid of my ENT issues once and for all for me to stop coming up with any possible excuses. As you now know, it was a futile exercise, nevertheless! 

She figured out that, apparently, there was a better way to get rid of your ENT infections eliminating the option of taking the tonsils off your throat permanently. And that is to visit a Homeopathy doctor! After a lot of back and forth, I finally gave in and paid a visit to the doctor with my mom.

We had to wait for 10 mins before we were called in. The doctor asked me to explain my problem which I did instantly (this had become my routine at work whenever I had to take a sick leave). He jotted my problem down. Then he asked me what I was afraid of the most. You see, in your late teens and early 20s you don't discuss too many personal or professional issues with your mom. So I had to play safe and I replied "darkness" because that was something my mom makes fun of till date.

Then he started asking if I imagined things when in dark? If I experienced nightmares often? If I had visions!! I was like what was he even trying to do? And all this while he was scrolling through something colorful on his desktop and the language definitely looked something very ancient. After that, he started asking if I argued with people and if I forgave them or built grudge to take revenge eventually.  Still utterly puzzling for me!

At my firm back then, we used to go through a few training courses wherein you would be forced to analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Having gone through those sessions already, the current encounter with the doctor seemed too redundant and to be frank useless for 500 bucks. However, my mom sitting next to me got very much interested and she developed instant credibility on this doctor. As a result, we ended up spending more 30 mins at his clinic but this time patient being my mom.

In the end, he declared that medicine should be given considering your body, mind, and soul. And he explained the difference between mind and soul with an example - your mind would say how sensitive you are whereas your soul says how "too" sensitive you are! I thought that was completely ridiculous! But I was just waiting to get out of the place and get back home on a hot summer afternoon. However, my mom was all praises for him that he was very knowledgeable, understanding, detail-oriented etc.

Now if I look-back to try and understand that episode, the doctor was going through a computer program to rate you possibly on a scale of humanity. It might be an alternative method to treat someone but definitely not an appealing one. We usually expect doctors to look at you directly or at your reports and make their own judgment. That shows some seriousness and establishes gravity in their statements. After all, we can’t help but rely on the doctors completely. But after my rendezvous with this doctor, I am still wondering if really met with a doctor or a shrink - more so because the underlying problem never got resolved!!!