Atlas Syndrome

In the olden days, fathers simply had to focus on being breadwinners and mothers cared for their children. Now, modern dads have to cook, do the washing up and change nappies as well. All because mothers now want a successful career too. Fathers have to be good at all things all the time and cracks are beginning to appear in some of them.

Males in their thirties and forties are increasingly struggling to cope with the daily grind of trying to be perfect - not just at work but also at home.

Tim Cantopher, a leading British psychiatrist at the Priory Clinic, a hospital favoured by celebrities needing treatment for addictions, has supposedly identified a disturbing condition afflicting thousands of men: the Atlas Syndrome.

The condition is named after Atlas, the titan of Greek mythology who was forced by Zeus to support the globe of the earth on his shoulders. “Atlas Syndrome is a physical condition caused by too much stress,” he said. “It's a blown fuse which happens to people who are too strong in the face of adversity.”

Signs and symptoms of the Atlas Syndrome can include feeling exhausted, anxious, unfulfilled and depressed. While it has seemingly much in common with a regular depression, the famous psychiatrist sees several differences. He would, wouldn’t he, because otherwise his clinic wouldn’t attract famous and rich clients.