Prisionero en Mí - Cuento [Also in English]

_{This post is both in English and Spanish, you can go directly to English by clicking HERE}

<div class="table-responsive"><table> <thead> <tr><th><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23uQnVN9KKp9xQ7rXFmrQQHV5mwZ6pSVrgZLMe2k1zrJL3NJZb9HpfmqrnP7QCt7U6TTt.jpg" alt="3.jpg" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23uQnVN9KKp9xQ7rXFmrQQHV5mwZ6pSVrgZLMe2k1zrJL3NJZb9HpfmqrnP7QCt7U6TTt.jpg 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23uQnVN9KKp9xQ7rXFmrQQHV5mwZ6pSVrgZLMe2k1zrJL3NJZb9HpfmqrnP7QCt7U6TTt.jpg 2x" /> <tbody> <div class="text-justify"> <p dir="auto">Otro día de caminar por las calles en búsqueda de lo que no sabía. Así fue ese día 7 de octubre. Se suponía que el caminar por el paseo Las Delicias de la ciudad de Maracay me obsequiaría un escenario que debería ofrecer calma, paz a mi alma, pero solo acentuaba mi angustia. <p dir="auto">Mi mente, mi verdadero enemigo, no dejaba de girar en una espiral, atrapándome en pensamientos que no podía apagar. Era un enjambre de abejas zumbando dentro de mí. Y aunque para algunos yo solo era un simple mortal, bajo de esa apariencia tranquila estaba librando una batalla. <p dir="auto">No tenía control de nada. Había intentado de todo: consejos, terapias, escapadas a la playa en busca de paz. Sin embargo, cada vez que cerraba los ojos, las interrogantes me acorralaban. ¿Qué me pasa? ¿Qué sentido tiene mi vida? <p dir="auto">En lo que sí estaba claro era que sentía un vacío que cada día se expandía, me asfixiaba y nadie, parecía darse cuenta. Familiares y amigos, me miraban con ojos llenos de lástima, otros creían que eran payasadas mías y los comentarios que abundaban eran: "está mal de la cabeza, hay que ingresarlo a una institución". <p dir="auto">Escuchar eso me aterraba y a la vez me importaba poco, total ya estaba encerrado, no en un hospital, sino en mi mente. Las paredes invisibles que me rodeaban eran tan altas y gruesas como las de cualquier institución y lo peor, yo era el carcelero. <p dir="auto">Al principio, había intentado encontrar una razón para mi angustia. Busqué respuestas en libros de autoayuda, en charlas de motivación, incluso en conversaciones con extraños, pero nada funcionaba. Mientras, mis familiares se convencían de que debía estar encerrado por mi seguridad, pero solo pensaban en ellos. Creo que estaban aterrados porque no sabían cómo ayudar. Les parecía más fácil pensar que estaba roto, que buscar una solución. Yo por mi parte decidí alejarme de ellos, no querían nada bueno para mí. <p dir="auto">Aquella mañana, mientras estaba en mi constante caminar, buscando refugio en la soledad. Un golpe de una brisa fría me hizo levantar la mirada que venía desde hace rato haciendo surcos en la acera. Pensé que era alguien enfrenté de mí, pero no había nadie. Crucé la avenida y doble en una calle, pero esa sensación de que me observaban no me abandonaba. Algo que, si note con claridad, era que ya no se escuchaba el sonido de los pájaros, ni la bulla de las hojas volando en remolinos, no pasaban automóviles, no se veían peatones. Pero igual alguien o algo estaba cerca de mí o más bien estaba en mí. La sensación era tan real como el suelo que pisaba y sabía que era imposible escapar de ello. <p dir="auto">Una asfixia apareció obligándome a detenerme. Con mis manos temblorosas me apoyé en la pared de una vieja casa abandonada. En ese justo momento aparecieron de la nada dos señoras. Pensé que era más de lo mismo, una jugarreta de mi mente. Pero no. Una de ellas me toco la frente y me habló con dulzura. Su tierna voz me invitó a caminar unos cuantos metros en donde estaba una capilla unida a un diminuto centro asistencial. Acepté y las acompañé. <p dir="auto">Al cruzar el portón del edificio, por primera vez en mucho tiempo, sentí un destello de claridad. No era una respuesta definitiva, pero era algo mágico que me hizo suspirar. Otras personas que allí se encontraban me recibieron, me invitaron a sentarme y me indicaron que unos médicos me atenderían. Estaba mal y ellos lo habían notado. <p dir="auto">Una doctora, muy linda ella, me tomo por el brazo con sus manos suaves y me trasmitió tranquilidad. Luego me preguntó: ¿que sentía?, ¿que padecía?, ¿qué me pasaba? Rompí en llanto y le expresé que quería morir, que no aguantaba las cadenas en mi mente. La doctora escuchó cada una de mis palabras y para cuando terminé de llorar y hablar, me abrazó y expresó: no vas a morir, vas a vivir, vamos a libertarte de esa prisión. <p dir="auto">Pasaron varias horas, no sé cuántas, pero en cada una de ellas lo que sentía era amor exportado por esas bellas personas. Al final de la tarde ya no estaba agobiado, podía respirar bien, no tenían el tormento en mi cabeza y estaba lleno de esperanza. Me indicaron que debía volver al día siguiente y a otros días más porque un especialista me atendería, escucharía todo lo que yo tenía que decir. Pensé: por fin encontré a alguien que entendiera lo que me pasaba. Las puertas de la felicidad estaban a la vuelta de la esquina. <p dir="auto">Los próximos días fueron de dicha, encontré la libertad y pude transformarme en un hombre con un destino, una misión de vida. Mi familia fue instruida de lo que había pasado y de lo que debía brindar el futuro. <p dir="auto">En ese pequeño edificio había entrado un hombre temeroso, sin esperanzas, para luego salir con un propósito: enfrentarme a mí mismo y asumir quién era para así poder lograr la felicidad. <blockquote> <p dir="auto">Nota del Autor:<br /> A veces la misma familia desconoce que uno de sus miembros está roto y es una tercera persona quien lo descubre y lo ayuda. Es imperativo ser más consecuentes con los nuestros para así evitar consecuencias nada agradables y hasta fatales. <p dir="auto"><center> <p dir="auto"><code>Todos los Derechos Reservados. © Copyright 2024 Germán Andrade G. <p dir="auto"> <p dir="auto">Contenido original, escrito para:<br /> <a href="https://peakd.com/hive-131951/@holos-lotus/hablemos-de-salud-mental-iniciativa-lets-talk-about-mental-health-initiative" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Hablemos de Salud Mental. Iniciativa<span> por <a href="/@holos-lotus">@holos-lotus. <p dir="auto">Imágenes propias editadas usando <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">CANVA. <p dir="auto"><em>Es mi responsabilidad compartir con ustedes que, como hispanohablante, he tenido que recurrir al traductor <a href="https://www.deepl.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Deepl para poder llevar mi contenido original en español al idioma inglés. También, hago constar que he utilizado la herramienta de revisión gramatical <a href="https://app.grammarly.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Grammarly. <h1><center>English <a id="english" href="#" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link"> <div class="table-responsive"><table> <thead> <tr><th><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23uFPk7unmTUTWqSSMZuqwbnpB9dGgahtBcavoScgWAddAXVZiftvrwjt5K52p4sKSph2.jpg" alt="2.jpg" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23uFPk7unmTUTWqSSMZuqwbnpB9dGgahtBcavoScgWAddAXVZiftvrwjt5K52p4sKSph2.jpg 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23uFPk7unmTUTWqSSMZuqwbnpB9dGgahtBcavoScgWAddAXVZiftvrwjt5K52p4sKSph2.jpg 2x" /> <tbody> <div class="text-justify"> <p dir="auto">Another day of walking the streets searching for what I didn't know. So it was that day, October 7. Walking along the Paseo Las Delicias in the city of Maracay was supposed to offer me a scenery that should offer calm, and peace to my soul, but it only accentuated my anguish. <p dir="auto">My mind, my true enemy, would not stop spinning in a spiral, trapping me in thoughts I could not turn off. It was a swarm of bees buzzing inside me. And though I was just a mortal to some, beneath that calm appearance I was fighting a battle. <p dir="auto">I had no control over anything. I had tried everything: counseling, therapy, escapes to the beach in search of peace. However, every time I closed my eyes, I was beset by questions. What was wrong with me? What was the meaning of my life? <p dir="auto">What was clear was that I felt an emptiness that was expanding every day, suffocating me and no one seemed to notice. Family and friends looked at me with eyes full of pity, others thought it was my antics and the comments that abounded were: “he is sick in the head, he should be admitted to an institution”. <p dir="auto">Hearing that terrified me and at the same time I cared little, I was already locked up, not in a hospital, but in my mind. The invisible walls around me were as high and thick as those of any institution, and worst of all, I was the jailer. <p dir="auto">At first, I had tried to find a reason for my distress. I looked for answers in self-help books, in motivational talks, and even in conversations with strangers, but nothing worked. Meanwhile, my family members were convinced that I should be locked up for my safety, but they were only thinking of themselves. I think they were terrified because they didn't know how to help. It seemed easier for them to think that I was broken than to look for a solution. I for one decided to stay away from them, they didn't want anything good for me. <p dir="auto">That morning, as I was in my constant walking, seeking refuge in solitude. A blow of a cold breeze made me raise my gaze, which had been making furrows on the sidewalk for a while. I thought it was someone in front of me, but there was no one. I crossed the avenue and turned into a street, but that feeling that I was being watched did not leave me. Something that I did notice was that I could no longer hear the sound of birds, nor the noise of leaves flying in swirls, no cars were passing by, and no pedestrians could be seen. But still, someone or something was near me or rather was in me. The sensation was as real as the ground I was walking on and I knew it was impossible to escape it. <p dir="auto">A suffocation appeared forcing me to stop. With my hands trembling I leaned against the wall of an old abandoned house. At that very moment, two ladies appeared out of nowhere. I thought it was more of the same, a trick of my mind. But it wasn't. One of them touched my forehead. One of them touched my forehead and spoke to me sweetly. Her tender voice invited me to walk a few meters to a chapel attached to a tiny welfare center. I accepted and accompanied them. <p dir="auto">As I crossed the gate of the building, for the first time in a long time, I felt a flash of clarity. It wasn't a definitive answer, but it was something magical that made me sigh. Other people there greeted me, invited me to sit down, and indicated that some doctors would attend to me. I was in bad shape and they had noticed it. <p dir="auto">A doctor, a very pretty one, took me by the arm with her soft hands and reassured me. Then she asked me: what I was feeling, what I was suffering from, what was wrong with me. I burst into tears and told her that I wanted to die, that I could not stand the chains in my mind. The doctor listened to each of my words and by the time I finished crying and talking, she hugged me and said: you are not going to die, you are going to live, we are going to free you from that prison. <p dir="auto">Several hours passed, I don't know how many, but in each one of them what I felt was love exported by those beautiful people. By the end of the afternoon, I was no longer overwhelmed, I could breathe well, they did not have the torment in my head and I was full of hope. I was told to come back the next day and a few more days because a specialist would see me, he would listen to everything I had to say. I thought: at last, I found someone who understood what was happening to me. The doors of happiness were just around the corner. <p dir="auto">The next few days were blissful, I found freedom and was able to transform myself into a man with a destiny, and a life mission. My family was educated about what had happened and what the future held. <p dir="auto">In that small building, I had entered a fearful, hopeless man, only to leave with a purpose: to face myself and assume who I was to achieve happiness. <blockquote> <p dir="auto">Author's Note:<br /> Sometimes the same family is unaware that one of its members is broken and it is a third person who discovers it and helps him. It is imperative to be more consistent with our own to avoid unpleasant and even fatal consequences. <p dir="auto"><center> <p dir="auto"><code>All rights reserved. © Copyright 2024 Germán Andrade G. <p dir="auto"> <p dir="auto">The original content was written for:<br /> <a href="https://peakd.com/hive-131951/@holos-lotus/hablemos-de-salud-mental-iniciativa-lets-talk-about-mental-health-initiative" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Let's talk about Mental<span> by <a href="/@holos-lotus">@holos-lotus. <p dir="auto">Own images edited using <a href="https://www.canva.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">CANVA. <p dir="auto"><center> <p dir="auto"><em>It is my responsibility to share with you that, as a Spanish speaker, I have had to resort to the translator <a href="https://www.deepl.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Deepl to translate my original Spanish content into English. I also state that I have used the grammar-checking tool <a href="https://app.grammarly.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Grammarly. <p dir="auto"> <p dir="auto"><img src="https://images.hive.blog/0x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/germanandradeg/23tbF5io6ZyjFygebvX34anTBYqMjyPXqe6haD4t4CxmwcaKa3HQL95kRY5YZTM7CtHxK.gif" alt="Stickers Varios (1).gif" />