The next time his therapist saw him, he had flourished and his self-constructed daily structure that they worked on in the previous session was relaxing and extended to his family. He added on a walk after work which decompressed his stress from work and he planned what to do with his family that day. He began to cook for the first time in his life and found that he enjoyed it, in fact keen to increase from weekend cooking to one more weekday. He took back up photography and invited wife to join him this time. It amazed him to learn something new about his wife, that she was a better photographer than him. He had said “she has a better eye for beauty than me”. He started to read bedtime stories to his toddler and his child now looked forward to it every night and was well ready for bed before the bedtime. He did something when his wife told him their child always cried “I miss daddy” when dropped off at the childcare centre. He started to send his child to the centre and the child stopped crying when dropped off. He was more empathetic towards his wife’s similar anxiety during this period and encouraged her to do things to take care of herself and had said to her “go do a manicure or pedicure.”
Timothy had no thought to drink and he found new enthusiasm to what he could do and for the people around him. He was also appreciative that during this tough time, he was already seeing a therapist and he could be supported. He felt, otherwise, he could be trapped in his mind helplessly. It was a pleasure to watch his sparkle as he shared how his toddler and wife were happier even in this globally challenging time.
