Do you remember Sheldon, from Big Bang Theory? If yes, then you’ll connect with the story of Harshit (name changed), a 20-year-old B.Tech student at IIT BHU Varanasi. Sheldon is a brilliant person who is extremely knowledgeable about his work and studies. However, he is not so good at his social skills. Over time, he overcame his flaws and proved to be one of the best friends one can have.
Harshit is a third-year student who studies at IIT BHU. His hometown and the place from which he had done his entire schooling were in two very different parts of India. He completed his schooling and moved to Varanasi for graduation.
“As a child, I was a studious kid, but my social skills were heavily compromised and behaviour-wise I was really immature. I realised this after I came into college.”
Harshit heard about YourDOST from his institutions as they collaborate with the organisation as their official mental health partner. Here he met his therapist, Ms Sameeksha Razdan.
Harshit’s personality doesn’t allow him to mingle with people as easily as some people can and it’s perfectly fine. Each person is different and talking to someone about their concerns can help get a third-person perspective.
“I was struggling a lot in college due to my bad social skills. However, this has been the case since my school days. My classmates made fun of me and I couldn’t fit in well with them. I requested my parents to change my batch of my JEE coaching in class 11th and 12th , but they refused.”
Harshit was uncomfortable in his class but could not do anything about it. Subsequently, when he reached college, he learned about the YourDOST platform and began his journey of self-improvement.
“I found my therapist, Ms Sameeksha to be extremely empathetic and solution-oriented. My initial days started good and even continue to feel the same to this day.”
Harshit recalls his academics being affected in class 11th and 12th by his mental concerns and feeling helpless about his future. In 2020 when the pandemic hit the world, it was a blessing in disguise for Harshit as he did not have to share physical space with anyone as classes were virtual. However, soon he became addicted to electronic gadgets which further destroyed his mental peace.
“In 2022, we joined back physically for classes and I realised that this was not what I wanted. I wanted to get out of the situation and joined IIT even though I got admission in BITS Pilani(a better college than my IIT) and a desired branch in BITS as the course fees were also much lower than BITS.”
However, soon Harshit realised that the situation was more or less the same as earlier. He still felt out of place and was struggling to fit in. He is also feeling the extreme regret of missing BITS college for the sake of lower fees and an IIT tag. His academic performance was going down and all this took a toll on his mental health.
Similar to the experiences of Sheldon, who faced difficulty fitting in the crowd wherever he went, Harshit too faced issues. Sometimes, people are not equipped to handle individuals who have different personalities and that is never their fault.
“I felt like I made a mistake yet again, as my academic progress wasn’t good, the teachers weren’t motivating me enough and I had no friends to talk to.”
The regret of not doing well in his academics, the regret of not performing well in entrance exams and the difficult times pushed Harshit to seek help from YourDOST. He approached his therapist Ms Sameeksha who developed a combination of techniques and exercises that would help Harshit improve significantly.
“Ms Sameeksha helped me with grounding techniques to help me with the stress and anxiety I faced. She also taught me the 54321 exercise to help regulate my emotions and help me feel calm.”
As Amy came into Sheldon’s life and helped him navigate through the difficulties of life, Ms Sameeksha held Harshit’s hand and helped him walk through the darkness towards the light at the end of the tunnel.
“I started feeling better and was able to look things at from a different angle. I’m still working on myself and my healing journey but I am hopeful.”
Harshit is extremely grateful to his therapist for being empathetic and helping him move forward in life.
He rates himself a solid 4 out of 5 in terms of feeling better after his therapy sessions and envisions improvement as being able to face difficult situations in life. In the same way, as Sheldon came out of his shell and started feeling better in his world, Harshit is on the journey to feel better soon. We at YourDOST could not be more proud of him and wish him luck for his future!
Harshit’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Don’t care about what others say and just seek help whenever you need it.”
2.“Just give therapy a chance and experience the positive changes within yourself.”
3.“Reach out to professional help even if it means ranting.”
