Kavya (name changed) is a 22-year-old bachelor’s student at Manipal Bangalore Campus and believes in making her own choices. She is from Pune but had to move to Bangalore for her education, and shares a cordial relationship with her family.
Kavya also prefers her own space at times, is a dancer and enjoys art and design.
“My hobby is also my education and it is an escape. I like dancing too because when I dance, I feel confident.”
Kavya mentions that she continued living her life to the fullest, a series of events changed things. With everything moving fast around her she was taking her time dealing with things one by one but it all happened at a pace that she could not really keep up with.
There were panic attacks and anxiety due to academic stress and the transition from school to college and this often affected her overall well-being putting her through severe stress.
“I called Mum in the middle of the night crying as I needed help. This stressed them also and I did not want to put them through this.”
This sowed seeds of anxiety into her but with dedication, she started doing what was necessary by deciding to approach professional help for her mental health.
Deep down, Kavya was still the strong woman she was. She tried to clear her head as much as she could. Fighting each day like a warrior, Kavya continued to tackle her issues until one day. It was around this time she took active steps to seek help and she heard about YourDOST.
From here, Kavya’s betterment chapter of life began. After 3 months into counseling, she got to know the underlying issues.
“My counselor Sujitha is great. She’s a great listener and patient. She’d tell me things to reflect upon. She’d tell me things to follow and I wouldn’t follow them because of my own fears. Then she’d repeat the same with patience, without making me feel bad or judging me.”
With Sujitha’s help, Kavya discovered a fact that while she’s empathetic towards others, she’s not so much towards herself because of trying to be perfect and being there for others. Her counselor on this note helped her face her trauma and make sense of it.
“Sujitha said that whenever some negative emotion comes, just write so that you don’t forget and you can retrospect it later. She told me to write things and I was able to.”
Hereon, Kavya started noticing positive emotions. Earlier, she never used to understand her point of view and validate her emotions.
“Sujitha made her realize that her emotions are valid be it pain, anger, happiness, anything. I needn’t always have material reasons to feel them.”
Her counselor suggested with psychological techniques like practising journaling, speaking with her inner child, tools to re-kindle self-love in herself and adopting affirmations into her daily routine.”
As part of gratitude towards Sujitha, Kavya thanks her and YourDOST for being her lifeguard. In both, she could find a friend who understood her emotions on her behalf when she didn’t want to.
“My counselor believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. She’s a great guide.”
Today, Kavya is indeed on a path to building self-love. She’s a 3.5 on a 1 to 5 improvement scale and only keeps moving forward. For those who hesitate to ask for help, she asks them to talk their problems out for themselves.
Kavya’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Love yourself, you deserve it.”
2.“Talk it out for yourself.”
3.“You solve your problems on your own in counseling with guidance.”
