Q: My younger brother is 24 years old and he is quite an introvert since his childhood. For the last 3 years he was preparing for pre-medical examination but could not succeed. This failure and subsequent pressure has completely disturbed him. Now he has no interest in anything. After seeing the results over 3 years, he dropped premedical exam preparation. Now he does not find himself anywhere. For the last 6 months he has stopped talking to anybody in the family. His irritating behaviour is causing a lot of concern for us. Sometimes he spoils the wall with the food plate, some times damages any thing that is there in his hand. My parents are very conservative and believe in devils and spirits. They think that some devil spirit is making him to do these things. I tried my level best to make them understand but could not succeed. Please suggest me a suitable way to get rid of this problem.

A:Well it looks either as if your brother could not take disappointment in his stride and takes out his frustration on his family, or that the last trying years resulted in a more serious psychiatric problem such as depression or psychosis. He definitely needs to consult a psychiatrist so that a diagnosis can be made and proper help given to your brother and your family. You are absolutely right that this is not due to evil spirits.