TW: Mention of Rape and Suicide
We have often heard that one’s childhood is the golden period of their life, but for 22 years old Ravi Sen, it was one of the most gloomy periods of his life. Ravi grew up in an Army family, where he always felt ignored and unlooked. Ravi often used to get beaten up by his father and did not receive enough affection. These things did not affect Ravi when he was young, but as the years passed, he realised how badly he was deprived of love and affection.
“I was not given pocket money more than 1000 rupees and my hobbies of photography and NCC were also not appreciated by my parents. I used to get very scared to get beaten to death.”
Ravi always used to be in the fear of the consequences of his actions; be it bad or even good.
During his 12th standard, Ravi fell in love with a girl and began his cordial relationship. Things were not completely in favour of Ravi, but he was glad to have his girlfriend by his side. Coming from an Army background, Ravi, too wanted to appear for defence examinations but he could not clear it.
“Upon not clearing the interview, I could either do nothing or I could stand for myself and keep giving the interviews.”
Ravi decided to not give up. He appeared for other exams, but fate had different plans. After not wanting what he wished for, Ravi decided to work for Byju’s – one of the finest Ed-Tech companies in the world. Ravi cleared its interview and joined the company as Academics Specialist. Ravi started staying with his friends, and even celebrated the best birthday of his life! Little did he know, the very same day changed his course of life.
“My girlfriend suddenly told me that she has been in love with someone else for some time but she felt that was a trap and that she would like to continue a relationship with me.”
Ravi was discombobulated as soon as he heard this. Ravi was unable to comprehend the feeling of betrayal, but he was not ready to let go of the affection he was finally receiving. He finally convinced his then-girlfriend to stay by begging her a lot. But the relationship didn’t go as planned.
“After some days, she again started asking for a break-up. I was extremely used to having her around and so I was not at all ready to let her go again.”
Ravi was often bombarded with questions from his girlfriend, testing his loyalty. Ravi got confused, how can his loyalty be questioned? However, he remained steadfast and replied to his girlfriend about what was happening around him. Ravi thought the storm might pass, but it was only getting worse.
“One day suddenly I got a call from her lawyers, and I got to know that she had threatened me with a rape case.”
The world around Ravi had stopped moving. Not only he was unable to digest the course of events, but he was also ashamed of the false allegations. “I understand that people change, but I couldn’t believe that people can go so down” – Ravi sighed. To comply with the unexpected events, Ravi decided to end his life by slitting his wrist and even swallowing medicines that were not advisable for him.
“I opened my eyes on a hospital bed. It was a psychiatric ward and I was kept there for three months. I was in a state of agony and kept asking myself – Why am I even alive?”
The months of despair and anxiety flew by very quickly for Ravi. Later, Ravi poured his heart out in a letter addressed to a doctor where he strongly expressed the urge to die; but with support from a friend and hi sheer will, he decided not to give up easily. Ravi was still craving for his parents’ support during this dark hour, but he got disappointed again. Eventually, the accumulation of all the things and Ravi’s doctor’s advice made him try the path of guidance through counseling.
“I knew that if I wanted to move ahead in life, I needed counseling. I knew YourDOST through counseling and I availed their counseling services.”
Ravi got connected with Reema Singh, a counselor from YourDOST and kick-started his audio counseling sessions. With Reema’s polite and nurturing attitude towards Ravi, he slowly started opening up to her about the persisting issues. Reema constantly suggested to Ravi ways he can be better at leading his life.
“Reema advised me a few muscle relaxation techniques and start walking daily. She also suggested I use a sponge ball in a stressful situation. That really helped me.”
Additionally to the muscle relaxation techniques, Ravi was also asked to write a gratitude journal about the five things he is grateful for. He was asked to maintain the journal for a longer period of time so that he can later ponder upon the grateful moments in his life. As per Ravi, he was already feeling 85% better!
“I now interact with people more openly and love myself dearly. I even went on a trek to Kashmir. It was as if I had opened myself up to the whole world again!”
Ravi took pride in seeing how far he has come, and surely, we are in awe of the progress he has made! Ravi called his counseling process ‘marvellous’ and even rated 4.5 out of 5 in terms of feeling better. Ravi feels ever grateful for having Reema in his life, especially when the world was turning a back against him. Ravi took a vow to never take such a drastic step again in the future and thanked Reema for making him the strong man that he is today!
Ravi’s Warrior Tips:
1. Mental health is more important than physical health. If not taken seriously, it can impact in a very bad way. one should reach out for help, to get better.
2. We shouldn’t be concerned about what other people think. We should open up and feel comfortable to heal ourselves.
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