FADE IN
INT MANHATTAN'S FINANCIAL DISTRICT - DR. PUSHER'S OFFICE - 1 P.M.
MS. CFO, about 50, dressed in Navy silk business suit, accessorized with Salvatore Ferragamo scarf, shoes and bag, walks in.
DR. PUSHER, about 60, looks up from her desk, peers from behind large bifocals.
DR. PUSHER
Hello. Ms. CFO?
Ms. CFO quickly glances at the impressively looking framed credentials lining up the wall, including the Psychiatric Board's certificate.
MS. CFO
Dr. Pusher! How nice to finally meet you!
Ms. CFO automatically extends her hand towards Dr. Pusher, who looks confused, seems not to know what to do with the hand in front of her face. Ms. CFO snaps out of her business-meeting mode and starts withdrawing her hand just as Dr. Pusher decides to grab it. Awkward handshaking occurs.
DR. PUSHER
Please, sit down.
Ms. CFO sits down in front of the desk.
MS. CFO
How was your time off?
DR. PUSHER (looking at her monitor)
Oh, how do you know?
MS. CFO
I've been waiting for this appointment for three month.
DR. PUSHER (still looking at her monitor)
Mmm. Ok... Well...
Dr. Pusher looks straight at Ms. CFO
MS. CFO
My anxiety is out of control. I have panic attacks that feel like heart attacks - my heart start pounding and my entire left side hurts It even resulted in some atypical EKG's. So, my physician and the cardiologist, they both suggested...
DR. PUSHER
What do you do?
MS. CFO
I am a Chief Financial Officer.
DR. PUSHER
Is it a stressful job?
MS. CFO (with a bitter smirk)
Just a tad... I need to manage this anxiety. I cannot afford to spend energy on battling with it.
DR. PUSHER
What about depression? Do you ever feel sad, low?
MS.CFO
Who doesn't? Look what's going on around us? But I can deal with it. I can summon my will power for that - I grip myself by the hair and make myself function, no matter what. It's the anxiety - it makes me feel like I cannot breath, and I want to be able to tame that.
DR. PUSHER
Will power - shmill power... Do you ever think of killing yourself?
MS. CFO (sounding slightly agitated)
Hey, if this world goes into the shitters... If there are no jobs for people like me anymore, nor for over-educated young ones like my son and his friends, and the government cannot even cut social security checks to my parents, and the savings disappear into paying insurance premiums, so that we could see doctors like you... Of course I would consider it. There are worst things that can happen to a person than dying.
DR. PUSHER
Good, very good.
Ms. CFO looks astonished, seems to be lost for words.
DR. PUSHER (CONT'D)
I am going to give you a prescription for Zoloft.
MS. CFO (shocked)
Zoloft? Isn't it like a major antidepressant with a strong habit tendencies? You are supposed to take it every day, and if you go off, you can experience terrible withdrawal symptoms? Isn't its effect on panic disorder only secondary? I don't really want to take something that heavy, and every day, and for... depression of all things!
DR. PUSHER
It's my favorite drug - I prescribe it to everyone. And you are very talkative - maybe you should see a therapist, while taking Zoloft. A therapist will help you to prioritize.
MS. CFO
I am famous for my prioritization skills. What do you mean, "you prescribe it to everyone"? What if it does not help with my anxiety, but I will be hooked and get sick if I stop using it?
DR. PUSHER
Oh, you should not stop. I'd rather you being anxious than thinking about killing yourself all the time. What's a little bit of heart pounding and left-side pain, ah? Just take the prescription and I want to see you again in two weeks. We may need to adjust the doze. I have other patients waiting for their prescriptions.
Dr. Pusher hands Ms. CFO the prescription across the table. Ms. CFO takes it, gets up and leaves the room, still holding the piece of paper in her hand.
INT RECEPTION AREA IN THE MEDICAL OFFICE - 1:15 P.M.
Ms. CFO determinedly walks towards the elevators. As she reaches them and presses the button "Down,"
RECEPTIONIST (off site in a slightly raised voice, so that she can be heard)
Do you need an appointment for the next time?
MS. CFO (without turning her head, almost to herself)
No, I fucking don't.
She tears up the piece of rectangular paper and drops it into the garbage can between the elevator doors.
FADE OUT
Author's Note: This little sketch is based on a true story related to me by one of my friends.
Tragicomedy - a work containing elements of both comedy and tragedy, or as I always say, "It would be funny, if it wasn't so sad."