Sunday, April 17, 2011

Loneliness can push WOMAN to dangerous limits.Norazlin Readzuan.former host of Majalah 3

When UK-based Rohit Rahgir's (name changed) wife was away from home for an extended period, he got addicted to chatting up women strippers online, several hours at a time. When he revealed it to his wife, the couple took recourse to therapy.

In a recent incident, a 28-year-old engineer and an employee with a top multi-national company in Noida, clicked his wife's obscene pictures and then circulated them among his friends. Apparently, problems started after the accused left for the United States on a project, in 2006.

Says psychiatrist Dr Ruksheda Syeda, "He was lonely, sexually frustrated, with a stressful job and the added woes of housekeeping. In such situations, most men fall prey to illicit sex, alcohol or drugs. They lose control and can't differentiate right from wrong."

In another incident, 42-year-old Jagmohan Balbir Singh, a lieutenant colonel, was arrested for child pornography which he got addicted to while on a study leave. He posted and downloaded pornographic photos of children between ages three and 10.

If power, position and authority turn on women, sex is a major driving force for men, say experts, who reveal that all too many women find sex toys in their partner's possession when they join them on their business trip. "It comes as a shocker," says counselling psychologist Kirti Bakshi, who gets umpteen cases of men in stressful white-collared jobs, caught in an emotional trap as they get attached to the nearest security available.

A SUCCESSFUL MALAY WOMAN PROFESSIONAL POINTS LEARNING TO EXPRESS LOVE



Sometimes we are unaware how self-centered we are, or how whining and fault-finding.Sometimes we want to show more love for people close to us, but are too shy or restrainedto do so.

Love without words: if you are inarticulate when it comes to open expression of affection, try loving with your eyes. Don’t be impersonal like the mother who is so busy with her household tasks that she gives orders and rebukes without turning from the stove.

Touch: Simple touch can quiet the rebellious words of a child, bring a feeling of warmth to an elderly person, and cool the anger between brother and sister. One father fund that communication with his son improved when he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. A mother learned that something extra flowed between her and her daughter when she held the girl’s hand in her own. But the use of touch much be done with sensitivity and sincerity.

Saying the words: The language of love is vital, though many people dislike trite expressions. “I love you” is a cliché, but nothing better expresses deep caring. If the words stick in your throat, go off by yourself and practice.Sounds silly, perhaps, but no one hesitates to practice for a speech. Is a talk to the PTA more important than communication love to a mate, a child or parents?

Doing the unexpected: Some people approach the sending of greeting cards in such a machine-like manner that these so-called “mementos of love” could handle by a secretary.Aren’t there more creative ways to show love—a single red rose brought home to a wife, a telephone call from a son at college not on Mother’s Day?

Knowing the real source: If you worry about having too little love to give, pray about it, draw as close to God as you can. “We love Him because He first loved us,” said John. (I John 4:19) Think about this. Truly, His love is so abundant that it can fill you and flow through you to others.- E.St.J. …”Daily Guideposts”.





Women on top is a recent phenomenon. Around 20 years ago, when mostly men were CEOs, their wives would always be by their side. But now that there's a role reversal, the dutiful-spouse role of old doesn't seem to work. "No wonder," says a regular at corporate dos, "I can't recall senior female executives' husbands, but I remember every successful guy's wife!" Doesn't it speak volumes on why men are good at playing the supportive role at home, but not in public?

Here's a teaser: How many of you can name corporate czarina Indira Nooyi's husband or the late prime minister Indira Gandhi's?
Director Farah Khan's lifestyle and her success story are well known, but her husband is hardly seen or heard!

It's the same story with scores of women in powerful positions. Does the female psyche at work make a woman look for a quiet and low-key spouse/companion? Or is it the age-old male stereotype which allows the man to proudly flaunt a beauty (read trophy wife), but rarely a successful one?

Actor
Archana Puran Singh says, "Vis-à-vis men, women have lesser ego hassles. She'll happily flaunt a successful husband. Most men wouldn't like to be in the underdog position. He's fearless when he's flaunting a beauty as that's a department he doesn't want to compete in, but when it comes to brains, he's not always fair." A typical case isRashmi Jhunjhunwala, MD of Singapore-based Worldrefractories, who refused to talk to us as she said, "I'm a traditional woman as I consider my husband's career more important than mine."

Preeti Vyas, chairwoman of Vyas-Giannetti Communication, likes to recall what a high-brow businessman said at a social gathering, "I don't want my woman to be richer than me, but she can be more famous than I am!"

Even though the statement reeks of male stereotype, it's true that most successful men are okay with their partners basking in the glory of their name and fame, but they wouldn't prefer the reverse scenario. The reason why senior-level women in all industries often find themselves attending company dinners, cocktail parties and award presentations all by themselves as their husbands plead their own work commitments or find it awkward to play a secondary role.

A successful woman professional points out, "The issue can't be generalised. At times, a successful wife can also be a trophy wife and vice versa. In some relationships, the husband prefers to remain low-key, even though he might be superior to her, professionally and financially. Sometimes, their interests are completely different. And then, there's the third category where the guy has ego problems and is bitter about his spouse's achievements."

Psychiatrist Samir Parekh says, "This is a stereotypical way of viewing things. Even though men have reduced their biases in terms of education and professional training, on the home front they're yet to come to terms with the changes. The answer lies in the evolution of the male psyche to put in that extra effort, to shed his ego and realise that a healthy relationship is all about support and being there."

So, what of women who don't care about going solo in the business social circuit?
Says Singh, "In all the 24 years that I've spent in the industry, I've attended all parties and awards nights on my own, not because Parmeet has a problem, but because it suits us. It's difficult for most men to accept a girl more successful than them, but the key is to have rivalry rather than competition. Rivalry makes you partners in learning, but competition can be unhealthy as it's all about winning."

Radhika Shastry, MD, RCI concludes, "The fact that so many women are scripting success stories proves that they enjoy support at every level." There have been occasions when Shastry, married for 20 years, hasn't been able to make it to her husband's business dinners, "so I understand if he can't make it to mine".
Office, agreed, is a tricky place to forge friendships as one moment you are treading on thin ice, and in the other sharing like a soul mate. Whoever has said workplace only attracts fair weather friends has forgotten to consider the strong emotional and political undercurrents that run in a charged up work atmosphere.

Where a colleague's promotion can make you thoughtful, jealous or even spiteful, a jointly received dressing-down from the
boss suddenly irons out all differences. It is easy to end up as friends in an office setup than otherwise, as colleagues at a certain level turn into confidantes, and realise in the true sense your professional woes. Admits Manmeet Ahluwalia, marketing head with an online travel company, "Our work schedules are such that we end up spending most of the day in office. In such a situation forging friendships with immediate colleagues is but natural."

He also feels that interaction level is higher with colleagues than friends, and in the process you get to know each other better. Explains senior clinical psychologist Dr
Bhavna Barmi, " Friendship entails a sense of intimacy and inter-dependence based on common goals and interests. Therefore, people relating closely at work are bound to develop friendships. Besides, it fosters a sense of competition and camaraderie as well."

Just as office friendship is a reality, instances of friend turning foe are commonplace too. A jealous colleague is capable of spoiling things for you by baring your personal details, or worse still, a gossip about the boss. But, does that mean real friendship in an office setup is only wishful thinking?
Avers Ravneet Kaur, writer and food enthusiast, "You can make friends at work provided the two of you are from different teams, as misunderstandings are inevitable. After all, you are in a competitive atmosphere, and your paths are bound to intercept."Gopika Misra, content manager with an online travel company, too feels the same way. "If you have friends in different departments it would be smooth sailing, but if it is a reporting relationship or you have regular work dealing, stress would creep in," she opines.

But there is another facet of this blow hot, blow cold relationship. Ravneet recounts an experience with an ex-colleague whom she considered a friend. "She used to come up with advises in the most difficult situation and expressed so with all honesty, or so I felt. Later I realised that she wanted me to cut a sorry figure before the editor, while she got away with brownie points." While you make friends in all innocence, it is hard to negate the fact that a vindictive colleague in the guise of a friend is a threat to your job and can mar your terms with fellow colleagues including the boss.

Guy de Noronha, a senior journalist, explains the phenomenon well, "This happens in the early phase of your career when you are busy climbing the ladder, and are hardly tolerant towards others. Friendships at this stage are surface-level, like going together to the pub on a Friday night and getting drunk. But with more years of work, you create your own space and no longer feel threatened by your colleagues. Lasting friendships happen only then, once you are over your insecurities." He goes on to add, "My greatest friends have come from work. Never have I left an organisation without earning a good friend."

Dr Bhavna sheds more light on this apparent friendship between colleagues. Says she, "Workplace friends help navigate through a difficult work environment, are better placed to relate to your grievances, and offer advice from an empathetic standpoint. Having said that, it is imperative to consider that lack of trust among employees, an extremely competitive work environment, back-stabbing and sabotage, undermines common goals and hampers team spirit." She warns, "For such friendships to survive, both parties must act responsibly and respect each other's professional commitment. To say the least, a broken friendship can zap productivity and spread discontentment."

However, Manmeet feels misunderstanding between colleague-friends should not be considered the end of the road. "It is like any other friendship with its share of ups and downs. I don't see any demarcation. As long as it is peer to peer, and there isn't a conflict of interest, it shouldn't be a problem. Complications arise only when it involves a superior and subordinate."

But, what is it that makes an employee-boss friendship farfetched? Admits Guy, "With a superior it wouldn't be an honest relationship because at the end of the day it boils down to business. You might be courteous to your boss if you ran into him in a cinema hall, but certainly wouldn't enjoy sitting next to each other while watching the movie!"

But it is possible to be friends with an ex-boss, offers Gopika. "I am friends with my ex-boss now, and have told him honestly about how we hated his ways. Today, those professional barriers are gone and we have discovered fresh friendship," she signs off.




It's not about infidelity, but temporary gratification to cope with stress. But then guilt sets in and these men go into defence mode, insisting 'I didn't know when and how it happened'.

Problems crop up also when men try to take comfort in Internet friendships for stimulating conversation, which gives them a lot of pleasure. Says Kirti, "They carry huge guilt and over-compensate their spouse with money and when they go home, they start doubting their partner. Since they don't trust themselves and don't share good relations with themselves, how can they trust the other person?"

With porn available at the click of a mouse, the censor has to be driven internally, believe experts. "It is not that people have suddenly become lecherous. The family is a strong inhibitory factor, but otherwise counselling becomes important," says psychiatrist Rajendra Barve.

However, adds Dr Ruksheda, "For most men, the rules at home don't apply when they are out."

Women too can be prone to weak moments. Swept off by power, status, chivalry and polite behaviour, there are many instances of married female professionals getting involved with their colleagues while their partners are away, or when these women are on a business trip. This happens mostly among women post 40, who are trapped in a bad marriage and who may be going through mid-life crises, say the experts.

"Once the finances are in place, there is job security and children have grown up, they look back at their lives and evaluate losses versus gains and try to make up for the bad times. They try to prove that they are good enough," says Kirti.

With few people trained to enjoy their own company, cultivate hobbies and a spiritual connect, the problem rears its head when a person can't cope on his own. The idea is to enjoy going solo with maturity!


How often have you heard that 'harmless' flirting need not do any harm? Often, one is certain. Sure, the expression


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