Mental Disorders and Father-Daughter Relationship: An Analysis of Gayathri Prabhu’s If I Had to Tell It Again

A balanced mind and stable mental health are imperative for a quality life. Literature, by recounting the stories of mental illness, demystifies the concept of psychological disorders and promotes inclusivity. The act of writing about subjective experiences of mental disorders aids the author in finding relief from feelings of stress and anxiety. Hampered mental health inadvertently affects emotional, psychological and social well-being. This research paper attempts to analyse psychological instability as recollected in the book If I Had to Tell It Again: A Memoir by Gayathri Prabhu. The memoir foregrounds the conflicting memories of mental disorder and depression, experienced by a father and a daughter, by delving into the complex dynamics of their relationship. The father’s incessant thoughts of suicide arise due to a sense of loss and low self-esteem. His reluctance to accept the illness delays or prevents the acquisition of coping skill mechanisms. These unmanaged, distressed feelings are detrimental to the psychological development of the daughter. Conspicuously, traumatic childhood experiences, unsupportive sociocultural factors, and poor parenting can contribute to the triggering of mental disorders at any stage of life. Tenets of psychoanalytical theories of depression are employed for the critical examination of the text. Narratives about psychological disorders proclaim the need to preserve and restore mental health to evade the diffusion of life and death instincts.