DR. JOHN'S CASE NOTES : RETROGRESSIVE IDIS

This remarkably common disorder is named after Idis, the wife of Lot who was turned into a pillar of salt. According to the bible she suffered this terrible fate because of her disobedience........ which resulted from her longing to return to the past. The story goes that Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed, but Lot was told By God to flee with his family to a place of safety. The angel in fact warned everyone " not to look back.....lest they be consumed ".

However Idis did look back because of her longing and regret. Her mind had not moved onto the future, being totally fixated on the past. Her retrogressive state of mind clearly affected her judgement. Therefore by choosing to disobey a clear instruction from above, she was made to pay the ultimate price.

Today we see disorder affecting large numbers of bridge players. Their retrogressive state of minds cause them to look back at previous hands with a real sense of longing and regret, rather than focusing on the hand in question. The previous hands are still preying on their minds. They long for the chance to replay them, wondering whether the mistakes they made could have been avoided. Despite being told by partner " to forget about it and move on ", they can't. Victims of Retrogressive Idis are compelled to dwell on the past, and in doing so decide to ignore their partners' wisdom and advice. Unable therefore to focus on the " here and now ", further mistakes at the table become inevitable, which really cause their partners to consider violent retribution. This of course puts victims into a heightened state of fear, where body paralysis sets in. So to those looking on victims seem completely transfixed......with heads locked in a turned position.

Without doubt this particular affliction is very self-destructive, belonging to a dangerous group of obsessive compulsive disorders. Bridge players who succumb to this affliction can not stop themselves dwelling on past hands where their mistakes brought about a succession of bad scores. The irony is that this overwhelming need to look back becomes the very reason why further bad scores will follow, providing them with even more mistakes to reflect upon.