Most schools would have a biology project early on in a student’s life where they grow a caterpillar and feed it until it forms a pupa around it. The children usually get impatient after some time and rush to rip out the pupa to see the butterfly inside.
However, teachers strictly forbid them to do so as a caterpillar should tear the pupa from inside on its own and emerge as a butterfly as a part of a healthy metamorphosis process. Similarly, some transformations in life need to be faced as they are to ensure a smooth and productive life ahead.
Meet Ajay J, a young man of 22 who graduated from the prestigious NIT Trichy with a B Tech in Production Engineering. Born and raised in Chennai, Ajay has moved to many cities towards the north like Orissa and Delhi owing to his dad’s job, as he was in the Air Force and describes himself to be fluent in Hindi due to his shift in various cities.
His family consists of his parents and a sibling and shares a close relationship with his mother and sister.
Ajay has a deep passion for games like chess, basketball and football and also has participated in various chess tournaments and swimming competitions.
Ajay recently graduated from college and entered the big bad world of adulting and is having a hard time adjusting to it. He is currently working in Gurgaon after graduation.
“Our college had a subscription with YourDOST as their official mental health partner, and my friend got me introduced to the platform. Here I met Ms Sharanya, my therapist, who held my hand through the tough days.”
Ms Sharanya helped Ajay understand the basics of therapy and what to expect from the sessions. She was extremely empathetic and made him feel comfortable sharing his concerns.
“I used to share my concerns with my sister or friends in college, but after a time I started to feel as if I was burdening them with my problems. However, Sharanya never let me feel the same and helped me throughout my journey.”
Ajay used to experience low days in college, but usually just talked to his friends or family for help. However, after he transitioned from a college boy to a young working adult, the new environment overwhelmed him. The corporate job, work pressures and adulthood made him anxious and he couldn’t analyse his emotions as well as he used to earlier.
“Last December served me my breaking point and it was way too much for me to handle myself. I realised I needed professional help and that’s how my friend suggested YourDOST to me.”
Ajay worked with Ms Sharanya through various concerns he came across, including facing taunts from others and how to deal with them gracefully.
“Journalling became my safe haven and I felt like talking to myself through it. Sharanya helped me get acquainted with similar techniques that helped me regulate my emotions and analyse my feelings before acting on them.”
Ajay started writing down his feelings and thoughts which helped him understand himself better. It felt like spending time with his own self and discovering the root cause of every emotion and thought that crossed his mind.
“I started feeling more separated from my work pressures and control my emotions better than ever. Working with Sharanya’s techniques helped me trust myself and be my own support through tough days.”
Ajay started forming a structure to the plan formed by him in his sessions and introduced action plans to move it forward. He started talking and expressing himself more confidently in the workplace and his confidence shot up a notch.
“I’m eternally grateful to Sharanya for helping me be able to believe in myself and my work. I can disconnect from work pressures now and reduce self-doubting thoughts to an extent. Sharanya helped me gain the confidence to approach therapy and I will forever be indebted to her for that.”
Ajay’s metamorphosis from a student to a working professional was made smooth and natural with the help of therapy and he is enjoying the fruitful effects of it. He rates himself a Golden 5 in terms of feeling better and envisions improvement as not solving the problem but rather understanding that the problem has nothing to do with himself.
We at YourDOST are proud of Ajay’s beautiful transformation and wish him all the best in his future endeavours!
Ajay’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Don’t think that therapy is the last resort to help. It should be a part of our normal routine, where we just book an appointment and feel comfortable sharing our thoughts.”
2.“For bigger mental issues, therapy is an unavoidable remedy. Therapy will help you immensely while undergoing new changes in life like working for the first time as a little hand-holding can go a long way.”
