“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” – John Lennon.
Occasionally, things happen in our lives that we expect the least. We do not know what the next second will bring to our lives and we have no control over it. Hence, whatever is bound to happen will happen involuntarily.
Mehek is a 31-year-old technical lead at Impelsys and hails from the beautiful state of Andhra Pradesh. She’s a true warrior who stumbled upon some obstacles in life just to get back on her feet and move forward as strong as ever.
Childhood is an era where we live with no care in the world. We have no regrets about the past and anxiety about the future. We live every day as kids to just enjoy ourselves without limits. Mehek had a similar childhood where she was a content and happy child herself. She belonged to a middle-class family, who had some financial problems at times, but it never affected her or her studies.
She obtained a B.Tech degree in college and bagged a job immediately after she passed out of the institute. Her immediate family is her husband and daughter, her parents, an elder sister and her grandmother who passed three years ago.
“I am very close to my family and spend my leisure time with them and friends, talking and having a good time with them.”
Mehek was introduced to YourDOST by her company as they collaborate with the organisation as their official mental health partner. Here she met Ms Sheetal Rajput, whom she chose to be her therapist for the upcoming days.
“In the first session with Ms Sheetal, I felt a kind of positivity that I never had before. It felt good connecting with her and she was always there for me with solutions to my concerns. I was hopeful of getting better after more sessions with her.”
Mehek had always been an optimistic and positive person in her life. However, postpartum she began experiencing sleepless nights and tremendous anxiety. Her baby was two months old and started falling sick often, which scared her even more.
The doctor advised Mehek to keep the baby away for some time from everyone as she was extremely prone to infections. At the time her grandmother was very old, and a little bit of spit used to come out when she spoke which is very common in seniors.
“My grandmother asked me to hold my baby, but I refused as I was looking after my child’s health. She requested again and I felt bad and let her hold the baby reluctantly for a moment.”
Mehek was shattered to see her grandmother taking her last breath the very next day, in the arms of her father. She started feeling remorseful and guilty about her doings and how she did not let her hold the baby. A week before this tragic incident, Mehek’s sister was suffering from dengue and it only added fuel to the current situation.
“Everything felt messed up and I felt extreme guilt and couldn’t handle it. I began feeling scared for my family, my body felt weak, and I developed an irrational fear of death. I remember feeling that if everyone has to die in the end, what is the use of being born in the first place, and it kept getting worse.”
Mehek started experiencing several uncontrollable fears with simple things like what if the fan falls on her baby or herself, what if she gets struck by a lightning bolt etc. She used to love riding her scooter, but lately, she grew scared of that too. She decided to get help whatsoever, as she realised she had to be strong for her baby.
“It was difficult for me and even my family to accept my exaggerated fears, as I had always been a positive person my entire life. I sought therapy with Ms Sheetal and she held my hand throughout the process so that I felt comfortable telling her my concerns.”
Mehek started getting back on her life with activities and techniques advised by Ms Sheetal. Even though her family was being as supportive as they could to her, she felt that there was a slight tone of judgment, but with her therapist, she felt the warmth and comfort to express herself without feeling judged.
Sheetal asked her to complete a written assessment that consisted of a worksheet which helped her regulate her emotions and irrational thoughts. She helped Mehek understand that getting over the grief of losing her grandmother should start with thinking of all the happy memories with her.
“I started having positive thoughts about my grandmother and slowly came out of the feelings of guilt. I started feeling positive changes in me, and my negative thoughts gave way to positive ones. I began feeling positive about life and every other situation I came across.”
Mehek is grateful to her therapist, Ms Sheetal for helping her find her way back to her positive self and guiding her through the lonely path of grief with confidence.
She rates herself a solid 4 out of 5 in terms of feeling better and envisions improvement as a life-changing event because of therapy. We are positive that Mehek will attain the golden 5 in just a matter of time and reach the ultimate goal with determination.
We, at YourDOST, are committed to Mehek through her journey and wish her luck in her future endeavours!
Mehek’s Warrior Tips:
1.“When you face a lot of problems at once, take a deep breath and start thinking with a clear mind, as there are no problems without solutions.”
2.“Always try to get to the root cause of problems before reacting towards them.”
