Satyam is a 23-year-old student who grew up in Uttar Pradesh and had a typical childhood. He’s currently pursuing a B.Tech degree at IIT Kharagpur. He was a shy kid who loved music, movies and playing badminton with friends. Satyam was an average student and the middle child in his family.
After finishing school, Satyam moved away from home for college. The initial few months were exciting as he enjoyed the freedom and made some new friends. But slowly, he started feeling lost among the crowd of new people and fast-paced college life.
Satyam missed his family and old friends. He found it difficult to deeply connect with his new classmates and roommates. Loneliness started creeping in, and he constantly felt homesick.
Satyam’s overthinking also intensified living away from home. He would stay up at night, worrying excessively about trivial things. Every setback felt magnified, and his confidence hit rock bottom. He started avoiding social situations and spent most evenings alone.
“Slowly and gradually I started drifting apart from normal life.”
Satyam was conscious of himself. His racing negative thoughts made it hard to focus on college work. He often felt overwhelmed and cried himself to sleep.
“I knew I had to intervene and take control of my sinking ship. That’s when I reached out to YourDOST.”
A friend mentioned how online counseling had helped her sister. After some research, Satyam signed up on YourDOST for therapy sessions. He realised that his college had partnered with YourDOST to provide mental and emotional support.
Ms Sanjana Roy entered Satyam’s life as a beacon of hope. Satyam opened up about his emotional difficulties layer by layer.
“The first few sessions were intimidating, but Ms Sanjana’s warmth put me at ease.”
Ms Sanjana educated him about psychological concepts that made him feel understood. Together, they identified his core issues – difficulty forming relationships, critical self-talk and unhealthy social comparison.
Ms Sanjana equipped Satyam with real-life techniques to manage anxiety and obsessive thoughts. He began practising deep breathing for anxiety relief. Starting a gratitude journal shifted his mindset to appreciate what he has. Scheduling regular video calls with family reminded Satyam of their unconditional love.
Joining a college music club introduced Satyam to like-minded people to jam with. He pushed himself out of his comfort zone to converse with classmates and teammates. Opening up to friends about his struggles made Satyam feel supported.
With his counselor’s help, Satyam was no longer passively enduring his pain. Instead, he became proactively committed to his healing. It was empowering to realise he had the tools within to transform his mental health.
Slowly but surely, the frequent anxiety attacks reduced. Satyam felt less weighed down by loneliness and more motivated to engage with the world. His mood improved as he started taking better care of his physical health through yoga and nutrition.
Today, Satyam feels in control of his mind instead of it controlling him. He has meaningful connections that nourish him. Of course, he still has bad days but they don’t sink him into despair anymore. Satyam has learned to show himself compassion and leverage healthy coping strategies.
Satyam’s life has changed for the better thanks to online counseling. He could have never imagined feeling so emotionally strong and resilient. He rates his transformational journey a solid 4 out of 5 in terms of getting better.
Satyam’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Prioritising your mental wellbeing is self-love, not selfishness.”
2.“For anyone struggling with mental health, please don’t suffer in silence. You deserve support and care you just need to ask for it.”
3.“Stay patient, keep showing up for yourself, and trust you have the ability to create the life you want.”