Family is the first educational institution that a human being steps into and learns all their basic life skills. If the family does not create a comfort zone for a child, they tend to search for places where they find comfort and may end up in difficult situations.
Meet Manoj, a 34-year-old corporate employee in the marketing department of Annalect. Hailing from an overseas country, he has been in India for the past 12 years.
Siblings are the best part of childhood and they always carry a piece of childlike innocence in them. Manoj has two siblings and unfortunately one of them passed away. His sister is the connecting dot between him and his parents.
“I love cooking various cuisines and travelling extensively. I also love listening to different genres of music.”
Manoj discovered the YourDOST platform through his organisation which collaborates with YD as their official mental health partner. Here he met Dr Divya Biswas who became his therapist going forward.
“As a child, I had broken relationships with people in the family and did not have a good upbringing. I was a part of a dysfunctional family and that made me run away from my country and end up in India.”
As a consequence of an unhealthy upbringing and having a dysfunctional family, Manoj had no accurate record of what was right and wrong. These characteristics and triggers followed him into romantic relationships.
“I was constantly getting in and out of narcissistic relationships which were too much for me to handle. I didn’t recognise the narcissistic behaviour and gaslighting initially, but my friends helped me see the issues clearly.”
Manoj wanted to desperately get out of the toxic situation and sought support. He took shelter in his friend’s words and broke up with the person 3 months prior.
“My feelings were spiralling out of control and were all over the place. I was struggling with anger, and loneliness and communication became difficult for me. I was dealing with extreme pain and guilt and wanted a way out.”
Ms Divya helped Manoj with numerous activities and techniques to combat his emotions and regulate his feelings.
“I was advised to do the 54321 technique to help with my overthinking and journaling to pour out my emotions into paper. I remember writing 20 pages about the relationship and that made me feel lighter.”
He started jotting down his negative emotions and the positive counter thoughts to each of these emotions to give him a positive perspective. She helped him envision negative thoughts as vehicles moving on a road, which move on without stopping. He was encouraged to learn to play a musical instrument and sing to help relieve stress.
“I’m nowhere near the end of my healing journey and therapy is still going on. However, the positivity that I experience is profound. My overthinking problem has reduced significantly.”
Manoj explains how finding the right therapist is the most important and tough step towards healing.
“Luckily, I found my therapist, and she’s the best I can ask for. She’s an active listener and is straightforward with me. I can go on talking with her and she’ll understand exactly what I feel. I’m truly grateful to her for being there for me.”
Manoj is progressing well on his journey of healing and rates himself 3.5 out of 5 for feeling better. He envisions improvement to being healthy mentally and physically.
We are proud of Manoj’s progress and wish him the best in his future journey!
Manoj’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Everyone takes mental health for granted and do not see the importance of mental well-being.”
2.“If your mental health is good, everything else falls in place in life.”
