“Pursuing a PhD is not about the degree; it’s about the journey of discovery.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Saqlain (name changed) is a research student with a zest for the world of academia. He is pursuing his PhD at IIIT Delhi and hopes to make an impact through his research. At 24, he is one of the youngest students in his field, but he is determined not to let his age be a factor of difference.
His parents, whom he calls his most significant support system, instilled in him self-belief. He has lived in Delhi for the last two years.
While academics have always come easy for him, he remembers a time during high school when he experienced a confidence crisis.
“I was facing a lot of problems with my health and other things during my 9th and 10th, because of which I was unable to concentrate on my studies.”
During that time, another incident that left him shaken was the sudden demise of his grandparents. The trauma of this incident resulted in him experiencing OCD symptoms for the first time.
“When the symptoms got worse, I consulted with a doctor, and he diagnosed me with OCD”.
His doctor prescribed him some medication and also informed Saqlain’s parents about it. He mentions that he is still on medication, and his parents are very supportive of it.
After finishing his graduate studies, he moved to Delhi to pursue his PhD. He found the entire environment around the college to be very supportive, with great advisors and colleagues who allowed him to bring a lot of excitement to his daily work.
However, a research career can often involve stressful situations, and pretty soon, Saqlain found himself struggling with his daily work. To make things worse, his health started deteriorating as well.
To Saqlain, therapy was not precisely a new solution as he had been contemplating it ever since he had been on medicines for OCD. Since his college, IIIT Delhi, had a subscription with YourDOST; he decided to visit the counselor.
His college offered both online and face-to-face counseling, and Saqlain decided to choose the face-to-face option because he felt more comfortable sharing his problems in person.
His parents also supported his decision to seek help through counseling. He mentions that he felt the most relief during his first session with his counselor.
“There were a lot of things I had kept inside; sharing them with my counselor gave me a sense of peace and relief.”
The next aspect that he is grateful for is that his counselor was always empathetic rather than sympathetic about anything he expressed, making him feel heard.
“They didn’t say, this will happen, this will happen. They treated me the way I am.”
Slowly, Saqlain made some progress and found ways to deal with the issues he was facing. He mentions that with his counselor’s intervention, he could also work on his health side by side to ensure the lifestyle aspect of things was taken care of.
Saqlain rates himself a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of feeling better. We at YourDOST are proud of his decision to seek help during his struggles and come out stronger on the other side!
Saqlain’s Warrior Tips:
1.“If you have experienced something terrible or traumatic, be open to talking to people about it. Please do not keep it all in.”
2.“Many people want to appear strong and pretend nothing is wrong. But real strength comes from asking for support.”
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