– Good afternoon! How far along are you? – The secretary asked Philip a question.
– Ten.
– What is your last name?
Philip confusedly stepped into the psychoanalyst’s office. He regarded such specialists as charlatans, but he understood that he needed help, he needed at least to speak out.
– Come in,” Philip was greeted by a man of about forty. When the guy sat down, the specialist said:
– Let’s start with what problem brought you to me.
Despite the fact that Philip repeatedly went over in his head what he would say to the psychoanalyst, he was confused:
– My spouse,” the man mumbled.
– You can be sure that everything you said in this room will stay here forever. How many years have you been together?
– We have been together for more than ten years, I have loved her, and maybe even love her, but I no longer have the strength. I’m very tired. We had problems in our relationship, but we could always work them out. When my spouse got pregnant I felt the happiest. Understandably, she was plagued by fears, but it was all such little things. After she gave birth I wanted her even more, it was a new turn in our relationship.
– And your spouse? – The psychologist made some notes in his notebook.
– My wife started avoiding me. I’m not an expert, but I’ve read a lot about postpartum depression in women. It’s a wonderful feeling when you rush home, and there are two of your dearest people waiting for you.
– Did you help your spouse with household chores?
– Absolutely! Before my daughter, I sometimes allowed myself to have a glass of beer with friends after work, then, when my wife gave birth to me I started running home after work, I cooked dinner, at night I got up for my little girl. I never reproached my wife about anything. But she always found something to pick on and because of what to make a scandal. Then she began to complain that my snoring bothers her, and I started sleeping in another room. And then we turned into neighbors. My wife stopped letting me in, even though it’s been two years since I gave birth.
– Did you make any attempt to talk to your spouse?
– I repeatedly tried to call her to talk, but it did not give any results, every conversation ended with a scandal. She began to reproach me that I was not faithful to her. However, I have never once during our life together looked left.
– And at the moment, what is the relationship between you?
– My wife took my daughter and moved in with her mother. I was very surprised by what she did. I came home from work and neither my wife nor my daughter were home. That day was my first drink. I was so helpless then, and even now I don’t know how I can go on, so I came to you for help. I wanted to come to you with my wife, but she refused.
– What do you think your relationship will be like in the future?
– Right now I don’t think it will. I called, wrote, and showered my wife with flowers, but she didn’t even want to see me. I don’t understand what my fault is? You come home from work tired and hungry, and there’s another fight waiting for you at home instead of dinner. At this point, I just want to at least sometimes see my daughter and take part in her life.
– Philip, you have to understand that right now it is virtually impossible to establish whether your spouse had postpartum depression, or maybe something else has had an impact on your relationship. You can determine this more accurately only after talking to your wife. At this point, you need to calm down and determine for yourself – do you still love her as a woman, or has she become just the mother of your child to you? Maybe after a while your spouse will look at you very differently, but the question is whether you want to continue the marital relationship with this woman. You need to try to at least in the interest of the child to build with her a constructive conversation.
A whole round of thoughts were born in Philip’s mind; he didn’t even remember reaching the house and there he found an envelope stuck in the door. The man opened it, and in it he found an invitation to a divorce.
