There’s a common notion that life is a race and, if anybody falls short of reaching the finishing line, they are a failure. It is not only wrong but is also degrading. Each person has different experiences, various timelines and different personalities. Therefore, measuring them on the same scale is not feasible.
Saying this, we bring forward the story of Kanika, a warrior who fought through various battles in her life and emerged a hero.
Hailing from Bharatpur, a small town in Rajasthan, the 22-year-old proved to be a brilliant student when she got into the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology BHU for Btech in Electrical Engineering. She’s currently working at the TATA Projects, Ahmedabad.
Kanika describes her relationship with her parents to be pretty complicated.
“I have a younger brother, and we share a good bond. The situation with my parents is different as they are not compatible with each other. Therefore, it creates cracks in all of our relationships.”
Kanika was introduced to the YourDOST platform by her college, which has collaborated with the organisation as their official mental health partner.
“I met my therapist, Ms Sheetal Raput, on the platform, which began a professional and personal relationship. Initially, I was pretty hesitant to start therapy as I had little exposure to the concept. Gradually, I found a listener and confidant in my therapist who provided me with a space to blurt out anything that’s been bothering me.”
Kanika started facing some challenges on her academic front during her second year of college, which pushed her to try out therapy. She found her therapist to be one of the best listeners she could have and someone who understands her better than anyone else. Ms Sheetal understood her emotions and was there for her to fight her loneliness.
Kanika turned to therapy, as along with the academic pressure, she was facing other emotional turmoils simultaneously and needed a space to vent.
“My complicated relationship with my parents, the pressure of performing well in studies, and the stress of sitting for placements all of them hit me hard. It was too much for me to handle alone.”
Kanika prepared for her internships well, but COVID and sheer luck did not side with her. She appeared for the internship exams three times but in vain. The situation shattered her confidence, and began doubting herself. She was disheartened at the fact that she couldn’t utilise the opportunities that were available to her.
“Ms Sheetal helped me practice the CBT/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy so that she could find the root of my concerns and work on them. She also handed me a document with questions related to my mental health, and I gave it back after filling in the answers.”
In the early days, Kanika interacted very minimally with her batchmates. She worked on herself with the help of therapy and started understanding herself and others in a better way. Ms Sheetal helped her with solution-oriented therapy methods that boosted her self-confidence significantly.
“I have come a long way from where I started. I couldn’t express myself to others, but now it has changed. I admit that I couldn’t attend counselling sessions continuously, but there are many more positive changes in my personality that had been missing my entire life.”
Kanika regained the self-respect she lost for herself somewhere along the way and started accepting herself as she was. She started accepting her traits as unavoidable parts of her personality.
“My placements were going on when I took therapy, and she’s the one who compelled me to give it a shot. I have my job today solely because of her, and I’ll be forever indebted to her for making me do so. I am grateful to her for all my changes and happiness and for helping me accept myself.”
Kanika has improved her skills in expressing her emotions better and rates herself a striking 4.5 out of 5 in terms of feeling better. She has won the race at her speed and we are undoubtedly positive that it’s just a matter of time before she hits the golden 5.
All the best Kanika, we are super proud of you!
Kanika’s Warrior Tips :
1.“Therapy allows you to understand yourself better.”
2.“Learning about your emotions is difficult, but once you do that, it’s easy to tackle them.”
