Writing – Page 55 – Inside The Mind of a Psychiatrist

Listening to a person’s politically incorrect, unedited story, is often more exciting than reading a novel. And what if the story is so amazing that it changes your life?

When a 40-year-old man came to my office complaining of depression, anxiety, sleeplessness and helplessness, I thought he was just another nice guy who needed to be treated for a Major Depression. Boy was I wrong. He did have a Major Depression, but he wasn’t just another nice guy.

When he was five years old, his hip started to hurt. Eventually, he was diagnosed with Legg Perthes Disease, a congenital hip abnormality. The part that took away my breath was that the treatment was ONE YEAR OF HOSPITALIZATION AT COMPLETE BEDREST. Within weeks he was moved from his home in Philadelphia to The Children’s Seashore House of Atlantic City, sixty miles away. His parents had three other kids to raise and worked long hours to make ends meet. Understandably, it was a struggle for them to visit him one or two times a month. This little five-year-old had to survive all by himself!

Back in the fifties and sixties, it was commonplace for Philadelphia families to rent modest summer homes in south Jersey. Mom and the kids would stay there the whole summer and Dad would visit on the weekends. That’s what my family also did, and I distinctly remember seeing dozens of frightened little children in wheelchairs when I would walk on that exact beach.

My patient’s situation became my obsession. He didn’t remember much about the experience, but that didn’t stop me from filling in the blanks with my own story. What if things happened that caused him to have nightmares? What if his whole family was inexplicably killed and then the killers were after him? What if the only way he could save himself was to remember what happened back when he was five years old? What if the only person who could help him was his lab partner in medical school, a woman who wouldn’t even talk to him?

I know all about depression, repression and denial. I know about the early wounds that create depressed adults. And I clearly remembered a girl from medical school who perfectly fit the role I needed. Joe Belmont, a tough Italian street kid and Karen Levine, a beautiful, psychologically minded woman were born. Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery was the result.

Psychiatrists and stories are like Superman and Lois Lane. One without the other creates a palpable void. What a treat to grow an onion instead of just peeling back the layers.

Skin Dance, a mystery, will be available soon.

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Back in the stone age of the sixties, congress mandated that to get US government subsidies medical schools had to fill 10% of their entering classes with women. That was exactly what my class had, 11 women and 99 men.
Now, the average is about 50% women to men.

Today, China launched its 1st manned space vehicle with 2 men and 1 woman. The world is slowly, like a country governed by a democracy, heading towards a brighter future. Liu Yang , a 33-year-old pilot, is the the star of the mission.

A Chinese spokeswoman said, “Generally speaking, female astronauts have better durability, psychological stability and the ability to deal with loneliness.”

As intelligence and psychological strength take the place of muscle mass and the gonads to kill a wild beast with a club, we all have a much better chance to improve our planet. Who would have thought that we’d have a black president, a woman Secretary of State and even a few white guys in the NBA?

Forget race, nationality and sex. Go for quality! Go crazy, think for yourself and break down the mind-numbing social rules that keep us all captive. It’s even happening in the Middle East!

That’s how psychotherapy works. Among other things, it’s an examination of how the past continues to torture us in the present. Why not apply the concept now? Think about why you do what you do. If it doesn’t make sense, think about it again, and decide what does make sense. Don’t just do something because you were told to do it. Change is scary. It usually entails taking a risk. Blast off and take that risk. Start a new line of thinking. It might spread to your family, your friends and maybe even the world.

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