Roy's Story

It's August 5th, Roy's 52nd birthday. The cake has been baked, the presents wrapped. But Roy just doesn't feel like celebrating. His family and friends know him as active, outgoing and ambitious. He's VP of Purchasing for an electronics firm, he coaches his son's hockey team and he's the one who gets the call when there's a charity car wash to organize. His wife Ellen has always been his best friend. Their lives revolve around teenaged kids and friends. There are dinner parties, outings and on weekends he plays tennis or works on his 9 handicap.

But lately, Roy has not "been himself". He always feels used up at the end of the day. The old drive is missing. After dinner, all he can think about is hitting the sofa with the remote, often dozing right there. His relationship with Ellen has also been strained. They often argue now and he tends to just clam up more. He doesn't feel much like having sex anymore either. In fact, it's been weeks now.

At work, he feels oddly threatened by his bright new assistant who would obviously like his job. He no longer feels so sure of himself or his future. His co-workers have noticed that he is edgy and often unreasonable in his demands. "The golf game tomorrow? How can I get out of it? I'm just too tired to go. I just don't have the same enthusiasm for things. Ah, I don't know, I must be getting old."