I had to go to a funeral some time last year. All funerals are sad events but this one was particularly sad because the lady who died was just 43 years in age with two teenager children. The cause of death was Heart Attack. It is a rare happening because of her lesser age and the fact that she seemingly enjoyed good health because of the good shape she maintained.

Everyone in the neighborhood saw her as a calm and quiet person who mostly kept to herself, and even in social events of the community, she would keep a low profile mostly seen tending around for her children. It would be difficult to recall any conversation any one would have had with her because most of her replies were in body movements or in mono-syllables.

At the funeral, the mood was sombre. The two children and the spouse of the lady were wearing glasses over their swollen eyes. The air was never stiller at a gathering of over 150 people, many of whom were known faces from the neighborhood. Suddenly, my eyes caught Mrs. Braganza, the bubbly old lady in our neighborhood who was a grand auntie to all. I walked to her and gave her a hug.

While we were walking out from the funeral, I asked her ‘What happened to Martha? She seemed fit, and also at this age, it is a very rare occurrence of a heart attack’. She replied ‘I think she was too polite’. Her words shook me up a bit. She elaborated after taking a cue from my non-plussed look. ‘If you bottle up your emotions and feelings for too long, you are building stress in your body which can be catastrophic.’

That night, when I went for my solo squash game at the gym, I realized the truth in Mrs. Braganza’s words. I am losing calories even when I am playing against a wall. So it is important to blurt out all your negative feelings because not letting them out is causing you an even greater harm.

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