Self-exploration is what perfectly describes Dheeraj, a 22 year old student who’s pursuing B. Architecture at the World University of Design. Hailing from Delhi, Dheeraj loves exploring aspects such as the purpose of life.
What further reflects Dheeraj’s kind side is his nature of helping others. As someone who likes talking to his family and friends, Dheeraj is always open to speaking with others about their problems and how to solve them.
However, what Dheeraj barely realized was how his own issues would take a backseat in this process.
“I like helping others solve their problems. But in my case, I felt clueless. I wanted to explore each and every option and get someone else’s advice.”
While Dheeraj found his own approach of solving problems being exhausted at one side, his trust issues towards other people didn’t stop hounding him either. He’d often think of sharing his problems with them but stop at one fear.
“I was not sure if whatever I said to the other person would stay between us.”
Such trust issues would create second thoughts in Dheeraj’s mind. He’d find himself often hesitating from sharing about himself with others for the fear of them sharing it further.
As Dheeraj could see such issues piling one above the other, only leaving him confused and uncertain, he decided to seek professional help.
“Last year I got to know about YourDOST from my college. I googled and straightway booked an appointment.”
This is when Dheeraj connected with his counselor, Hiba whom he found to be a good listener. Something that helped him put his trust into counseling was his counselor’s approach towards his problems.
“Instead of telling me to do this or that, she helped me decide what I wanted to do.”
As Dheeraj set out on a journey towards his betterment with Hiba, he started working on her suggestions. In order to avoid confusion, he’d write down pros and cons of the options he had in mind.
Apart from this, Dheeraj also wanted to work on his focus issues and his counselor’s words helped him in this direction as well.
“She told me not to focus on what’s gone or what’s coming but to focus on now.”
As a result of this, Dheeraj was able to focus on his priorities and future based on his decisions. After a long time, his decisions were no more influenced by what people thought or did and this gave Dheeraj new wings to fly.
Talking about the support Dheeraj got from his counselor, he says that he’s glad for being treated as a friend and not a client.
“I’m a good advisor. I knew most of the solutions and this time someone was holding my hand and working with me.”
Dheeraj also can’t help but go back in time where he’d thought that he’d never be able to open up to an unknown person. This is exactly why he feels grateful to Hiba for suggesting options that were new and surprisingly helpful.
When he looks back, he can see tha his overall improvement has molded him into an expressive person. He’s a solid 4 on the 1 to 5 scale of improvement. This is why he’s a true warrior and inspiration for many out there who still aren’t sure of self-exploration.
“Exploring yourself is the best option. Support helps a lot. Don’t just try to solve it on your own if you’re not able to.”
Dheeraj’s Warrior Tips:
1. Instead of suffering, try to express
2. YourDOST counseling is anonymous so you can be yourself.
3. Counselor’s don’t give random but relevant suggestions. Try it.
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