Mental Health

“My son, take good care of your mother and siblings. I…(coughs)…I…I….” The life support machine now lets out a continuous beeping sound. ‘Nurse! Doctor! Anyone, help!’ Jayson shouts before and a nurse in blue regalia comes in running. Shortly after, a light skinned doctor storms in and the two immediately get to work trying to resuscitate the old man but unfortunately, nothing worked.

Jayson’s father was no more. With medical background he knew the words that would follow ‘We did our best but I’m sorry he didn’t make it’ All he does is just have a glance at the body of the man who was trying to talk to him just a few minutes ago. The man he has called father all hid life. His eyes are teary but he manages to hold back the years. At this moment, Jayson’s mother arrives. She gets into the Ward as the nurses are covering husband’s body. ‘Oh no!’ She lets out a loud shriek. To her, this is just a bad dream that will be over. Jayson runs to comfort her. The body is wheeled after some paper work is signed.

Being the first born, Jayson takes up the responsibility of preparing for the burial. His mother is unconsolable, his younger twin sisters have still not come to terms with the fact that they will never see their father again. Throughout the moaning period, Jayson did not shed a single tear. Instead, he portrayed bravery.
On the day when his father was being buried, he read out a moving tribute although there was a time when he almost broke down.

After the burial, his mother was very impressed by how he had handled everything. She was delighted and counted herself lucky to have such a brave son.

Soon enough, everything changed. The ever jovial and talkative Jayson was very quiet. A huge change was notable even in the way he did things. Almost always, he wanted to be alone. The family was used to having dinner together but as at now, Jayson would serve food then go take if from his room. Little by little, his mother noted this huge change in behavior. She assumed that it was natural and that it would end after some time. Jayson had even grew distant from his girlfriend Deebie. Deebie was so worried about him that she would try visiting him and talking to his mother. ‘I will always be here for you,’ Deebie said to Jayson during one of her visits.

This went on for a long time until it got his mother worried. She tried having a conversation with him to establish the root of the problem but the exercise was akin to trying to strike water from a rock.

One day, his mother found a note that he had dropped. The note had a detailed explanation of how Jayson planned to commit suicide. She almost collapsed. At once, she put a stop to everything that she was doing and set out to look for him. Luckily, he came in at that exact moment and she told him to prepare as they were going to visit a friend. They ended up at a doctor’s office. It was diagnosed that he was suffering from depression and anxiety and was put on medication.

After a long time, he opened up and told of how the image of his father passing on right in front of his eyes haunted him. His family, friends and Debbie helped him out. They were all there for him and he is well on his way to recovery.

With the advent of the Corona Virus and subsequent quarantine, a lot of people more so the young people have fallen into depression and other mental health challenges. Experts have raised the red flag on the tremendous increase in mental health cases.

It is advised that one seeks help. Opening up to trusted people also helps out. Let’s all join together to help those suffering from illnesses associated with mental health.

Till next time, stay safe