“Change is the ultimate law of life.” – John F Kennedy
Change is supposed to be something inevitable in our lives. As life turns in different directions, nothing remains constant and we all go through it.
Meet, the warrior for today, Pia (name changed), who went through major changes, constantly in her life and made it through victoriously.
The 27-year-old, senior product designer at Entri, hails from Trivandrum, Kerala, lived there with her parents and completed all her education. She moved to Kochi two and a half years ago when she got married and is currently living with her husband’s family.
“I am an only child to my parents and have been an introverted kid in my childhood. My parents describe me as an honest and calm child, who is anything but mischievous. I had the “good-girl” impression which I’m not very proud of now.”
Pia is an artist and used to attend art classes as a child. She’s into arts and design and hence works as a designer now.
“I discovered YourDOST as my company collaborated with the organisation to be their official mental health partner. Here I met Ms Devashree whom I chose to be my therapist.”
Pia describes her therapist as her confidant or friend who listens to her actively. Ms Devashree has created an amazing bond with Pia which has instilled trust in her. She describes her therapist as an empathetic person who validates her concerns.
“Ms Devashree even understands my body language and pinpoints my concerns accurately. At the end of the day, having someone to talk to and rant is more important than getting solutions.”
Pia was born and raised in a nuclear family, but after her marriage, she started living with her husband’s joint family setup. She has lived with grandparents and relatives before, but that was part of a vacation or a trip, and not a permanent living arrangement.
“I had issues adjusting to the family members, especially my parents-in-law. They were elders and their routines were different from what I had in mind. It was difficult to adjust to their routines, and it stressed me out.”
Apart from the family living arrangement, Pia was troubled by a strained relationship with her toxic friend. It took a big toll on her mental health and she realised this only after her marriage. After marriage, everything seemed different and the stress eventually crept up on her at work.
“Every little thing triggered me to the past and the stress affected my gut health too. I was not someone who showed emotions openly but the back-to-back health issues and triggers were like an alarm that pushed me to therapy.”
Pia’s therapist helped her learn breathing techniques to keep her emotions in control. As she is an artist, Pia started doing mandala art and colouring activities to keep her mind occupied. She gradually started journaling which brought significant changes to her demeanour.
“I was told to write my conflicting and confusing thoughts on one half of the paper and write positive counter thoughts on the next half as an activity. This helped me immensely and even improved my physical health and it’s been months since I took medication.”
Gradually, Pia started identifying her triggers and stopped reacting to them instantly.
“Life can be hard in a joint family and there may even be personal attacks at times. Earlier I used to take them personally and stressed me out. Now I’ve learnt not to let them get to my head and affect me in any way.”
Pia has started understanding people better and tried to see things standing in their shoes as well to learn about their perspective. She has been continuing breathing exercises that have helped her recognize the onset of an anxiety episode and control it from within.
“I don’t have many friends with whom I can share my concerns and fears. Devashree was my confidant and friend who listened to my concerns without judgment. I feel heard and valued, and I am immensely grateful for meeting her.”
Pia loves her sessions with Ms Devashree and looks forward to them every day. She feels as if her mental load gets lifted after talking to her therapist and thus she rates herself 4 out of 5 on feeling better. Improvement for her means being there in the moment and getting better gradually.
Pia is a testament that embracing change and leading the right way will always result in a successful path in life, and we at YourDOST could not be more proud of Pia for finding her way towards healing!
Pia’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Don’t be judgemental about therapy and think of it as a taboo. ”
2.“Getting someone to talk to and understand you better will help you work on yourself better.”
3.“Do not wait for things to go wrong before seeking therapy. It helps your mental well-being in the long run.”
