Hi Sia,

Reading what you wrote reminded me of this quote:

” A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”

If you are feeling so unhappy that physical illness started to manifest, it’s an indication that everything within you is rebelling against the idea of staying in chennai. Coming from a Asian background myself, I can understand the pressure of meeting parental expectations and their obession on external achievements. The idea of “put off what makes you happy now so you can have a good job, buy a nice house and marry someone successful” was a constant theme for me whilst growing up and it wasn’t until last year that I realised no matter how many milestones I’ve achieved, I was still unhappy because I’ve been leading the life that my parents want rather than the one that I want. Granted, I still believe that our parents had our best interes at heart, it’s just that the world is a different place now and their set of values no longer apply to the life that I want to lead.

The truth is, things like career, material goods and marriage are not going to make you happy unless you are passionate about it. How long can you stay passionate about your practice when you have communication barriers with your patients? How many times can you come back to an empty house you own before the feeling of lonliness consumes you? How can you meet the love of your life when you are unhappy and riddle with health problems?

My sgugestion to you is to have an open and honest discussion with your mother and tell her how you feel about this. Bottom line is, this is your life and though you respect her opinion, it’s your life and you are going to make a decision that doesn’t endanger your health. It’s going to be hard and I wish you all the best.