It was by accident that she saw the sign to the clinic and by compulsion that she decided to come in for consultation instead of going to her usual doctor. She looked as if she had the whole world on her shoulders, and maybe she had. She appeared in her 60s even though she was just in her early 40s.I haven't been able to sleep for the past couple of days.
I conducted the usual history taking and she admitted that she was going through a tough time for the past couple of weeks. We never went into the details but it seemed to involve her grandchildren. She was fighting back tears when she admitted that it was her worries that prevented her from getting much needed rest.
It was one of those rare instances where sleeping pills were needed. But I told her that the best remedy was to get away from the problem for a couple of days and gain a new perspective on how to deal with what was troubling her.
She took the prescription for the pills and left.
After 2 weeks she was back. Her face was brighter and she didn't appear as tired as when I first saw her.
I stayed with my sister these past few days and I'm sleeping much better even without the pills.
She felt she had gathered enough energy to go back to her home and deal with the same problems as before. There were still the same problems and she still didn't know how to solve them. But she had a more positive outlook now.
Those few days away gave her some breathing room to think and reassess how she could deal with things.
But just in case, she asked for another prescription for the sleeping pills, just in case...
