Relationships bigger than money: Expert

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, November 13

“The sudden step (demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes) by the government has led to panic, to say the least. Various incidents are coming to the fore where rifts have been created due to disclosure of hidden cash,” observed Dr Priyanaka Kalra, consultant psychiatrist at Deep Hospital here.

She said as a fallout of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes becoming defunct overnight, surprising figures are coming to light. “A sense of mistrust is prevailing, be it business partners, who had previously denied having cash, or a housewife who had saved her money over years, or be it the sister-in-law who kept borrowing money, but now are disclosing money that was stashed away.”

Pleading with the people to remain calm in such situations, she said money was a language everyone spoke and understood. “While it is easy to go with the flow and misunderstand the person in front of you, it is important to realise that money will not stay forever, but the relationships will.”

Dr Kalra commented that in the current scenario, a lot of people were getting stressed. “Stress and fear lead to release of hormones and neurochemicals in the body, which generate a sense of urgency and prompt us to react. Since the brain cannot handle stress for a long period of time, it can be channelised in the form of angry outbursts towards family members, business partners or relatives.”

She says it is very important to look at things in a calm and a logical manner before reacting which will also help in stress management. “We have to remember that the situation is temporary, people are permanent,” Dr Kalra concluded.