This is the story of Gaurav Sahu, who despite being just twenty years old, has already accomplished a lot! Gaurav is interested in Judo, where he has won Gold medals at the state and national levels. He has also won a Silver medal at the international level. A happy-go-lucky extrovert, Gaurav also enjoys listening to music and going on a long drive with his friends!
Prior to Gaurav starting his Bachelor’s studies at Lovely Professional University, he was usually very shy and wouldn’t open up to anyone so soon. But after getting exposed to the new culture, Gaurav recognised his potential and started to converse fearlessly! He feels proud calling himself an ‘active communicator’ now!
“Due to the lockdown, all of us had to move back to our homes. I was finally speaking to others at college, and this sudden change made me feel numb. The friendly environment at college was suddenly gone and I began to feel restless.”
Gaurav started feeling null and felt that he was stuck in the loop of the same routine at home. His Judo classes were stopped due to the lockdown and he couldn’t share these with his friends too, because he thought, “What will I even tell them? They were all going through the same thing.”
Gaurav tried adapting to some hobbies to keep his mind occupied, but found no luck there. He tried getting in touch with a counselor to help him out but again, due to the lockdown, his hopes were crushed. Online classes were getting repetitive for him and being a Computer Science student, it was difficult for him to find that connection with the classes too.
“I was getting very angry at every tiny thing. I won’t eat food and my sleep schedule was disturbed too.”
At his university, Gaurav tried to get in touch with a mentor, but he soon realised that it will be tough for him to speak about everything, considering one teacher will also tag align with the mentor. So, he decided to reach out to YourDOST – Lovely Professional University’s emotional wellness partner. Gaurav got connected with Ms Priyanka, an in-house expert counselor from YourDOST and started his healing journey.
Gaurav started talking with Priyanka over audio calls and slowly shared all of his feelings. Initial sessions were difficult for Gaurav, as he was down with a lack of self-confidence. He took approximately five sessions to open up fully.
“My counselor was very kind to me. She did not force me to open up quickly, instead, she asked me to be comfortable.”
Priyanka probed Gaurav with many questions like – “How are your food habits?”, “How do you feel when someone talks to you in a harsh way?”, “Do you sleep well?”, etc. to understand the core reason behind Gaurav’s aggression. She further provided Gaurav with a timeline, to reduce his overthinking habits.
“I love listening to songs and Priyanka suggested that I do that in order to distract myself. I feel this technique worked the best for me.”
Gaurav was also suggested to make a note of his emotions and triggers. As in addition to this, Priyanka also suggested Yoga and Pranayama techniques to Gaurav, to focus more on his breathing.
Anulom vilom is a specific type of controlled breathing (pranayama) in the practice of yoga. It helps in controlling anger, frustration, and improves the overall functioning of the respiratory system in the human body.
Along with this, Priyanka also suggested the technique of drinking cold water each time Gaurav would feel angry. This was also very helpful to Gaurav, as he was glad to see the positive changes in him. After understanding how to control his outbursts, Gaurav also noticed a perspective change in his mind. He started looking at the world with more opportunities to explore and excel at them.
“My counselor taught me how focusing only on the past is harming me and I should stop focusing on it much. I should instead, learn how to embrace my life.”
While Gaurav was getting better each day, there came one day when he was simply riding on his bike and encountered a trigger from his past. He felt restless, unable to cope with the negativity and so, he reached out to his counselor at the instance. Priyanka helped him out then by guiding him and controlling his triggering point. Gaurav is very grateful for her and her constant support to him.
For Gaurav, the earlier counseling sessions were difficult, but as he completed around twenty sessions, he understood that there’s nothing to be afraid or ashamed about when it comes to talking to the counselor. He calls his counseling journey a ‘slow process’ and rates himself 4.5 out of 5, in terms of getting better. He loved how Priyanka advised him to jot down his feelings, as that guided him to focus on positive things rather than negative incidents.
Gaurav still overthinks about certain things, but after the counseling, his perception has changed drastically and he can’t thank YourDOST enough to give him the push to work harder and work better to be a better version of himself.
Gaurav’s Warrior Tips:
1. Counselors treat us as their siblings, friends, and confidants. If you talk to the counselor, they will help you with all their might.
2. We can ask for suggestions from a friend, but then they might not be mature enough to understand and guide us. That’s when the counselor comes into the picture.
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