The story of one young woman I had spoken to on two occasions stands out in my mind as the best example of the correlation between ineffability and sadness. She told me that she feels she has come to a point in her 28 year old life that she could go on no longer, that her anguish has become so unbearable that she contemplates ending her life. She spoke calmly and eloquently of her shame about what has become of her once active and achievement-filled life. Four years ago she had moved back into her family home when she was no longer able to work due to health issues. Previous to that, she was a top student who eventually became a teacher. At the time of her health failure she was on her way to earning a Master's degree in Education. She had become the highest achieving member of her family. When I asked her what her health problem was she said that she had a bladder control issue, which had made it virtually impossible to go through school and the workday without the embarrassment of constant interruptions. Recently, her bladder had become less problematic and she would have been able to finally leave the house on a regular basis, yet she still could not bring herself to do it. She loss all motivation to do any of the things that used to fulfill her. Meanwhile, she was starting to feel the pressure from her family to 'buck up' and get her life together again, which meant finally supporting herself financially and moving out of her mother's home into a place of her own. The feeling of being a burden to her family seemed to be her biggest reason for wanting to die. That she was more concerned with their welfare then her own was evidence of her pure and humble heart.
I asked her how long she had been suffering from bladder control issues and was surprised when she said it had been since she was 14. It was then that she revealed that when she was 14 and still living at home with her mother that a cousin who had been living with them for a short period of time had sexually assaulted her, and it's likely that the force of his thrusts caused her bladder problems. I asked if anyone knows about this she said that only her mother knows, but mother ordered her to never mention it to her or anyone else ever again. Her mother and the rest of the family, the woman pointed out, was very concerned with maintaining appearances in the face of'others, particularly the neighbors and other friends. In effect, the mother was more concerned with what the neighbors thought of her that with what her daughter thought of herself.
For 14 years, the woman has kept the trauma secret to protect her mother and the rest of her family to her own detriment. It had at last gotten to the point where the anguish caused by keeping the secret had gotten so unwieldy she was nearly ready to give up. Considering the situation she was in, it is easy to see why.
I asked her if there is anyone close to her that she would feel comfortable telling her story to. She was quick to answer no, but eventually considered talking to her sister about it.