As a teacher Shefali had a busy day balancing work and home. The brightest part of the day, was the time spent with her best friend Ritika in the evenings. Shefali and Ritika had known each other for years, having lived very close by. They had seen themselves through pregnancies, the birth of their children , the ups and downs of daily hum drum of their lives.
Last winter had seen Ritika's family getting shattered by the sudden loss of her husband Samir by a massive heart attack. No one could have predicted that such a fun loving man like Samir would have such a shocking end.
Ritika had been trying to cope ever since. Last month she had started complaining about her daughter Amaira to Shefali. Amaira was fifteen , five years elder to Aman her younger one. Ritika complained that Amaira had started keeping 'bad company ' and she suspected that Amaira had also started to have alcohol with her friends.
She had become rather uncommunicative and preferred to shut herself in her room most of the times when at home.
She also did not eat much on most days and lounged around in her pajamas all the time. Ritika was at her wits end trying to control this wayward behaviour of her daughter and blamed the school's environment for this downfall in Amaira.
Shefali had been a part of the school system long enough to realise that this was not a simple case of 'bad company' as Ritika was stating. She decided to talk to Amaira in her mother's absence.
The first meeting with Amaira was a shocker for Shefali. Where was the sweet girl who had grown up in front of her eyes ? This Amaira was a stranger. Dirty , unkempt hair, untidy nails, shabby uniform now described this sullen teenager who sat in front of her. Shefali could make no headway. Amaira turned down all attemts at a conversation with sullen monisyllabilic replies.
Shefali was not to be defeated. Her years as a teacher had instilled immense patience in her. She kept on meeting Amaira and speaking to her. Random topics at first and then slowly about her friendship with Amaira's parents, the loss of her father which they all felt.
With slow and steady effort Shefali managed to break down Amaira's barriers. Amaira confessed that she really missed her dad like crazy. She found no solace at home. Her mom rarely spoke to her any more. The kid brother was too young to confide in. She had found her release with her older friends who had introduced her to alcohol. She felt that she could forget all sorrows when she was intoxicated. Also she didn't care what the world thought of her anymore. Life was slowly losing all meaning.
Shefali sympathised with her and made her feel as if she was on her side. Very gently she brought out happy memories of her father and encouraged Amaira to talk about him. After initial bouts of crying, Amaira slowly started to heal.
Shefali took Amaira to a known counsellor who suggested some medical tests , just to ensure that there was no endocrinological problem or other medical issues. Once they had clearly established that Amaira was medically fit, Amaira was given regular counselling and treated for alcohol abuse as well.
Simultaneously, Ritika was also counselled to open up to her daughter and share the grief. The family was struggling with non communication and was not able to cope with the loss of some one so dear. With the counsellor's help, both Ritika and Amaira have been able to handle the rough patch of their lives better and are moving towards a healthy and happy future.
Conclusion : Amaira was indeed fortunate to have a family friend like Shefali who could handle her Psychological issues. Shefali's patience and sound approach towards Amaira's problems helped timely detection and remedy of a situation which could have got out of hand. The Mental health professional was trained to diagnose and treat Amaira's problems and also simultaneously tackle the family's grieving process. With the love and support of her family , Amaira was able to heal and bring a closure to her grief.
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