HEALTH

Stressed out couples should take to counselling
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, April 18
“You have to help me in household chores. If you are tired, so am I. I also work as hard in office as you do. So why should all the domestic work come in my share." These are the often repeated words of Sneha, a working woman. Her husband, Anil, invariably responds by saying:” My dear wife, God has made you a woman and it is your job to cook and take care of the house. If you can’t cope, then tell your parents to send a servant.”

This, psychiatrits feel is how most marriages of stressed out couples work on a daily basis.

According to Dr Arun Sood, Senior Consultant, Department of Psychiatry, CMC, marital discord is on the rise. She opines that couples can’t adjust due to different expectations. She says: “ The working woman thinks that since she is contributing financially the husband should also share the responsibilities of children and household jobs. But the husband thinks of her as a mere wife who is supposed to look after all the duties. This is the beginning of a conflict. It can take ugly an turn and result in major fights. Moreover, the couples stop talking and the grievances keep piling up, and since communication channels are closed, one of the spouses may become depressed. The depression will further worsen the situation and sometimes can lead to terrible results.

If the couples are always fighting, then they need to seek counselling. It is no longer taboo to seek the expert guidance of a trained psychologist or a psychiatrist to find an early solution of the problem. Another common problem that leads to marital discord is of sexual nature. Sometimes it may be sexual inadequacy on the part of the husband or it may be due to the uncooperative behaviour of the wife. Another problem may arise due to lack of personal space. This means that they do not get time for themselves. According to Dr Sood, the conflicts lead to a lot of stress, poor concentration, unhappiness and anxiety.

Under such circumstances, when dark clouds are hanging on the horizon, the channel of communication appears to be the silver lining. While communicating the aggrieved party tends to blame the other one, and due to harsh words, misunderstanding may occur. Moreover a lot of assumption begins to play a major role. But if the communication is done with an open mind and in a reasonable manner , some problems can be sorted out.

Dr Sood says: “Each relationship is unique and so has to be handled differently. It is wrong to assume that family matters should stay within the family. The help of a counseller should be sought as they are trained to assess the areas causing conflicts. In some relationships, ‘I’ is the most important word. Wherever there are I dominated relationships, the result is unhappiness for the rest of the members. In the joint sessions the counseller is able to make the couples look at things in the right perspective. The people are taught relaxation techniques ,advised breathing exercises. The spouse is advised to look after the needs of the partner. The most important thing is communication and not to have too many expectations from each other.”

The couples who think that their marriage is drifting apart should seek guidance and counselling from an expert. The goal of counselling is to help estranged people to achieve better personal adjustment. There is no price too high to pay for growth and harmony. The meaning of life is growth.

Sudden rain brings pain and diseases
Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, April 18
In the past four days, rain has not only damaged the standing wheat crop, but also led to fears of outbreak of viral fever, cough, cold, diarrhoea and various other diseases.

Dr S.S. Bedi, a leading paediatrician of the city, said this change of weather could see children complaining of cough, cold, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Dr Bedi said most of these diseases were water-borne. He said kids should avoid drinking water at crowded places like cinema halls, marriage palaces and roadside ‘dhabas’.

“Sale of uncovered food items was another reason for the spread of these diseases. Children should not be given such food because their weak digestive system gets easily affected,” said Dr Bedi.

He also said children should not be exposed to air-conditioners all of a sudden. Warmers of babies should be removed gradually with the changing weather. He said such change of weather helped in the spread of rota virus that caused stomach ache and abdominal pain. The spread of respiratory syncital virus caused chest infections among children. Dr Bedi said children should be given oral rehydration solution (ORS) that was commonly available in the market.

Dr Sandeep Puri, Medical Superintendent of the local Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, said air-borne diseases were spread partly due to harvesting and caused skin diseases.

The change of weather caused upper-respiratory-tract infections like breathlessness, asthma and diarrhoea. Dr Puri said, for the treatment of any such problem, patients should immediately contact a doctor and maintain hygiene.

Dr Rajinder Kaur, Civil Surgeon, said she was concerned over the outbreak of several diseases in the district. She said the department had sought the cooperation of several other departments to maintain cleanliness in the city. Officials have launched water-chlorination drives to save people from water-borne diseases. Civil Surgeon said the department would also launch an anti-malaria drive in the district, besides collecting water samples from various areas.

Save your kids Don’t let them drink water at crowded places. Don’t let them eat uncovered and unhygienically prepared food items. Don’t expose them to air-conditioners all of a sudden. Give them oral rehydration solution (ORS). Maintain hygiene and cleanliness.

Measures to check disease spread
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 18
In order to check the spread of various contagious diseases in the city, the Health Department has initiated various measures, including setting up of a control room and creating awareness among the masses.

According to the Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajinder Kaur, a control room with telephone number, 444193, has been set up for immediate assistance in case of emergency. Besides, all the medical officers have been issued instructions regarding preventive measures for various diseases.

Officials of local bodies in all the cities, towns and villages have been informed to ensure cleanliness, lest it may lead to spread of diseases. The health officials have also cautioned against letting waste water to accumulate.

The Civil Surgeon urged people to ensure that the water was changed in air-coolers at least once a week. Food inspectors have also been asked to collect water samples to check its purity.

SPORT

A perfect allrounder
Kamal Kishore Shankar

Ludhiana, April 18
It is a rare combination when a youngster is as good at studies as well as at sports. Harish Kumar Sharma (22), a student of veterinary science, is a perfect example of that. Harish managed to balance out time between studies and the game. He has won the All-India Veterinary Inter-College Badminton Championship held last month at Panth Nagar.

Harish started playing badminton when he was just eight years old. His father had suggested him to play badminton so that he could utilise the spare time for some constructive use. He was runner-up in the under-14 category in the state championship. He could not play for next four years as he wanted to remain best at studies.

After getting admission in Punjab Agriculture University, he started playing again. He gives all credit to his coach, Charnjit Singh, who always encouraged him to play and manage his time to give proper attention to both studies and sports. He practices for about four hours daily to improve his skills. He has to devote time to his studies also because he is a science student and has to spent a lot of time in attending theory and practical classes.

Harish disclosed that he was overjoyed when his dream come true by winning gold in the All-India Inter-Agriculture Championship held in November last year at Hyderabad. Although he had won other tournaments before bagging the gold at Hyderabad, but this victory gave him a name.

Earlier Sachin Rati was his role model but now Gopi Chand became the man to follow for him. He is very satisfied with the kind of facilities he is getting in the University Sports Centre. He said, “A professional player uses four to five shuttle cocks for four hours practice. A shuttle cock cost about Rs 50 and he has to spend Rs 250 every day which is a big amount for financially dependent players. I am lucky enough that I have got such a good coach, besides, I am getting five shuttles from the university every day,” he said.