Jess was thrilled to start work. The Psychiatric Hospital was not precisamente the clean, comfortable facility that you usually see on televisión. The building was old and run-down, just like any other hospital in Cuba. The walls were hardly painted, but there were many green áreas that gave people some kind of hope. Workers were always eager to do their jobs and help the sick, and of course, Jess was among them.
Lisa Cruz, 25 years old, married, diagnosticada as bipolar at the age of 17. Her madre also suffered from being bipolar. After childbirth, Lisa had been experiencing dramatic feelings of sadness, worry, ansiedad and exhaustation, which had interferido with her ability to funcionar and care for her child. Among other clear signs of depresión posparto, she had also claimed to feel desconectada with the bebé and constante guilt about not being a happy madre. She’d been hospitalizada for a month and a half after a crisis depresiva. Now she was taking some antidepressants and mood stabilizers to manage her emociones. She had also started psicoterapia just a few days ago. – That is what Jess learned while reading Lisa’s medical historia.
Jess knew there was a long way ahead before Lisa could recover and have a normal life. Months of terapia, alone and with her familia, were needed so Lisa could overcome the síntomas. Understanding and helping mentally-ill people is not an easy job. But challenge had always motivado Jess and somehow she felt attached to this caso.
“How are you feeling today, Mrs. Cruz? Did you sleep well?” Jess asked cautiously. It was her first time interviewing Lisa and she needed her to open up and trust her as a counsellor.
“I’m a bit tired. I still have trouble falling asleep. Yesterday I woke up 3 to 4 times throughout the night.”
“Don’t worry. Your sleeping hábitos will come back over time. Are you taking your medicamentos?”
“Yes, I am.”
“That’s good. You may believe it’s imposible but if you do everything the doctores tell you to, you will recover sooner than you think. By the way, my name is Jess and I hope we can be friends,” she said, as she grabbed a glass of water that was on the coffee table. Then she continuó…
“So Lisa, tell me about your favoritos hobbies. What do you actually enjoy doing?”
“I love to pintar. When I was a child I used to pintar all the time, even walls. My dad sometimes got upset because all the house’s walls mágicamente became my very best canvas,” she said, laughing. “That was really fun. I had a happy childhood. I went to many arte exhibitions as I grew up. That’s when I realized I wanted to be an artista professional. I enrolled in some importantes painting cursos that gave me the experiencia and práctica to make a living out of it. Now, it’s been a while since the last time I painted. In fact, now it’s even hard to muster up the deseo to do anything.”
“Well, we’re already working on the deseo. Meanwhile keep in mind those happy memories and emociones, so you can come back to them every time you feel sad. Now I want to know more about you. What other actividades do you like to do in your free time?”
“I also love jogging and meeting up with my girlfriends for a coffee. We used to hang out a lot when we were younger. Yet now we barely find the time to make a phone call and ask about each other.”
“That happens. It’s pretty normal to be in a hurry after you marry and have kids, especially when you have a demanding job. But it’s importante to let your friends know that you’re always there for them as they will be there for you. The distancia or ausencia doesn’t matter. What about your married life? Would you like to tell me about it?”
(…to be continued…)
Transadaptation Volume 4 – Material Dissent
January: A Blinding Light and Then, All Darkness – Jonay Quintero Hernández (Spain)
February: The Opportunist – Lauren Voaden (United Kingdom)
March: A Stranger in my City – Alejandra Baccino (Uruguay)
April: A South African Soundtrack – Sarah-Leah Pimentel (South Africa)
May: Full Circle – Ina Maria Vogel (Germany)
June: La Lluvia en Bogotá – Adriana Uribe (Columbia)
July: Freedom – Krisztina Janosi (Hungary)
August: A Bus Ride – Svetlana Molchanova (Russia)
September: Transcendence – Armine Asryan (Nane Sevunts) (Armenia)
October: Motherhood – Marilin Guerrero Casas (Cuba)
November: Nine Days – Gennady Bondarenko (Ukraine)
December: Open – Seyit Ali Dastan (Turkey)
Background – Context
Transadaptation Volume 3: Evanescent – Young Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2022)
Transadaptation Volume 2: Conceived – Childhood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2021)
Transadaptation Volume 1: In the Middle – Prelude to a Contemporary Transadaptation, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2020)
Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)
L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)
From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)
Emblems and stories on the international community
Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world
Credits (top row, left to right; bottom row, left to right)
1. Havana, Cuba – Pride – Ernan Solozabal (Unsplash), 2. Havana, Cuba – Down the street – Dennis Schmidt (Unsplash), 3. Havana, Cuba – A break – Ernan Solozabel (Unsplash), 4. Havana, Cuba – This way – Carlos Torres (Unsplash), 5. Havana, Cuba – Ready – Ernan Solozabal (Unsplash); Bottom: 6. Havana, Cuba – Flickering – Paco Wong (Unsplash), 7. Havana, Cuba – Hung out to dry – Carlos Torres (Unsplash), 8. Havana, Cuba – Night – Ernan Solozabal (Unsplash)
Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed