Patient Doctor Privilege

Being the subject matter and writer, David takes a no-holds-bar approach to deciphering his past. From being a teenager fed up with the lack of guidance from the adults in his life, to an angry 20-year-old that thinks he knows everything and ultimately a man who had to put the pieces back together after being committed to several psych wards on a number of occasions.

He never saw the moment on the end of his bed thinking about the nature of the world resulting in him losing touch with reality. But it was the moment he broke through the pressures in the west: to be better; to work harder; and ultimately chase your dreams. That he realised nothing meant anything. The only purpose in life was to laugh when something was funny, cry when something was sad, move when the wind blew, eat when you were hungry and enjoy ever fleeting moment.

However, being a disciplined, calculated, accomplished engineer, this new paradigm didn’t fit in with the persona he had spent a life time creating. On multiple occasions these two conflicting worlds clashed and opened up opportunities for growth and self-discovery. But be prepared. While talking about his underlying issues has become second nature for him, and he has been hospital free for several years, his autobiography is confronting, confusing and potentially eye opening.

Unlike the hero he thought he was at a young age, he closes with identifying with the coward within and admitting that just because he couldn’t see a future, it didn’t mean one wasn’t awaiting him around the corner. Similarly, to that which is discussed behind closed doors, he opens with inviting you to his ‘Patient Doctor Privilege’. He contests such a privilege needs to be dissolved for the collective benefit and admits despite the necessity to disconnect at times, that each of us, no matter how fucked up we are or even if we’ve hurt someone, we need to talk about it with one another.