“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It Goes On.” – Robert Frost.
Sometimes life can show us things that we have not even dreamt of and it can come both ways. The people we trusted the most, the things we believed and the trust we had, all of it may tumble down the hill within a split second and we might not be able to do anything about it.
Sometimes the best way to not get hurt during these times is to move away from the path of the things that roll down and keep ourselves safe. Meet Khushi, a 22-year-old Btech student at Parul University, who is living proof of the fact that choosing yourself over others will always earn you a better life.
Hailing from the city of Surat, Khushi describes having an on-and-off relationship with her family and being close to no one other than her mother. She is part of a joint family but prefers to stay away from everyone and loves her solitude.
Childhood is a time when most people have happy and colourful memories of being a child, running around and having the time of their lives. Similarly, Khushi fondly describes her childhood memories of playing with siblings and going out with her parents and cherishes them to this day.
“I love playing badminton and can indulge in a game in my leisure time. My interests also lie in taking part in debates and voicing my opinions.”
A person considers seeking therapy when they have an overwhelming surge of emotions and feelings that they find difficult to handle themselves. A subtle push towards the end of the tunnel is all it takes for a person to get back on track.
“Earlier on in life I did not believe in the strength of therapy and only started my healing journey when it became too much for me to handle myself. I was facing difficulties in college and complained about it to teachers, but nobody paid attention to my struggles.”
Things started to go out of control when Khushi and her friends decided to complain against a faculty member because of their teaching methods. They shared feedback forms in WhatsApp groups to voice their opinions and collect signatures for the complaint. However, some student shared this with the teachers and it became a mess.
“The people who stood by me during the process ditched me at the last minute and the blame fell on me alone. I was denied attendance in classes and even my birthday was ruined which hurt me to the core.”
Khushi wanted to show her fake friends that she could be on her own and declared to cut ties with them.
However, what hurt her the most was the fact that they did not care about the loss of friendship, and hence she turned to therapy with YourDOST, as her institution collaborates with the organisation as their official mental health partner. Here she met Ms Divya who she chose to be her therapist.
“I was usually an ambivert, who became an extrovert in front of people I was the most close with. With time, however, I went from being a happy person to not even stepping out of my room for a month at a stretch. I started being a different person with strange behaviour that was nothing like my old self.”
Khushi recalls feeling like a person who is present for everyone around her and maintains no boundaries. She was available to everyone at all times and Ms Divya helped her change out of the toxic trait. She learned to say “no” when and where necessary and started helping herself rather than being there for people who hurt her.
“I used to forgive and forget very easily but that took a toll on my mental health in the long run. My therapist helped me understand the consequences of doing that to my mental well-being.”
Ms Divya helped Khushi understand the intentions of people from afar and helped her maintain boundaries for herself throughout. She helped her distance herself from all negative factors that pulled her backwards.
“I started journaling my thoughts and feelings which helped me analyse them better. Ms Divya created a comfortable environment for me where I could rant my heart out and help me feel better about myself.”
Khushi gradually learned to say no and distanced herself from the people who took her for granted. She became confident in her decisions in life and started to go out and live her life on her terms. Things also started changing for the better for her at college as the management decided to remove the faculty after the grievances were taken into consideration.
“I got clarity on a lot of things in my life which wouldn’t have been possible without Ms Divya. I’m extremely grateful that she was patient with me and my problems and understood me better than anyone else.”
Khushi became a much better version of herself after her therapy sessions and has learnt the fact of life that whatever happens, the show of life must go on. She is extremely glad and satisfied with her progress and rates herself a solid 4 out of 5. Khushi envisions improvement as happiness and we couldn’t agree more with her.
We at YourDOST are honoured to share her story and wish Khushi all the best for her future!
Khushi’s Warrior Tips:
1.“People feel hesitant to share their personal lives with strangers, but what they do not understand is that they are professionals who are equipped to handle your concerns better than you.”
2.“You will feel a lot better when you share your concerns rather than hoarding them until it bursts out.”
