Q: My sister is 35 years old. Her problem is that she did not grow because she is a case of infantile ovaries, that means she never had her periods. Her younger sisters have got married. She desired to be married with a suitable match. She at times starts weeping, she talks to herself, it seems as if she is annoyed with my father for not taking her to the doctor at the intial stage of her undergrowth. She has been married with a 70% deaf and a 50% dumb man. May be this is the reason why she is not pleased. At times she has to take due care of her husband too. I showed her to a couple of pyschiatrists and she is under medications. But there is no sign of improvement and she is not ready to take medicines. She goes on weeping for hours and does not sleep at night. But the next day she sleeps for long hours and behaves normally. She is self centred, silent and talks mildly to herself. I cannot bear costly treatment.

A:Your sister seems to be confronted with a lot of turmoil and conflict. It is possible that she has not had a chance to grieve for her problems and although it might have appeared that she was ok about it earlier the emotions have come up to the surface. Medication will be critical in helping her stabilise her mood. However in addition to that it is very important that she receives some counselling through which she can understand her thoughts and feelings and come to terms with reality. If there are stresses that can be addressed and life circumstance improved, she can take charge. If there are things that are out of her control then she needs to reach a level of acceptance. This will be best done with professional help from a counsellor. But if due to some reason it is not possible to consult a counsellor then I can advise you to keep channels of communication open with her so that she can talk about her feelings to you. You may be able to support her and help her view her strengths so that she may be able to cope. Do encourage her to take the medication.