The symptoms of anxiety surfaced in her when the debate over citizenship began to swirl around the country, gathering momentum every passing day and yet not turning into an apocalypse. She is beset with sleeplessness and pain in the upper abdomen. Restlessness has sucked out the marrow of her wellness. She refrains from talking to those who she suspects will disagree with her, to better manage her anxiety, which thrives on her doubts about the Republic's future.

American psychologists will diagnose her as suffering from political anxiety, a medical condition they noticed among their patients when Donald Trump was elected President. His utter contempt for liberal values and minority groups has had Americans worrying whether their life was to change beyond recognition. The American Psychological Association, in a 2018 survey, found that 62 per cent Americans saw the political climate as a source of stress, up from 56 per cent in 2016.