Sriraj is a 30-year-old student pursuing his PhD at IIT Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.
He hails from West Bengal and grew up in a small family of his parents and elder sister. His father is a proud farmer, while his mother is a stay-at-home mom. Sriraj finished schooling in his hometown and moved to different cities to pursue higher education.
He explains that although he is an introvert, he used to have sufficient friends during his childhood. Sriraj elaborates that he hesitates to start a new conversation with people because he used to question his socialising ability.
Eventually, Sriraj completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies and moved to Mandi for his PhD, while some of his classmates started working in different cities. Sriraj explains that he started feeling lonely in his new surroundings even though people were around. Eventually, this led to him feeling depressed.
Sriraj learned about his college subscription to YourDOST through his collegemates. They suggested that he share his problems and emotions with the experts available on the platform. As Sriraj was feeling overwhelmed with emotions, he took their advice and started taking sessions with the therapists on the platform.
Sriraj found the counselor on the platform to be a good listener. His ability to choose the experts according to his reasons made him feel comfortable. He says the counselor made him feel heard and discussed every incident and aspect behind his emotions. She also used her experiences to help him feel retable and work on each issue.
“I was impressed by the sessions I had with my therapist. She made me feel like I’m not alone in this and that there are people who feel the same way as me.”
Sriraj elaborates that they kept missing each other while being away from his close friends. They both had different schedules and routines and couldn’t even have a phone conversation once in a while. He started feeling weak and as though he had no support system.
Sriraj adds that he started employing negative coping mechanisms that were affecting his health and routine, and it was with therapy that he slowly came out of such habits.
The counselor also helped Sriraj start a proper sleep and exercise routine, along with therapy, to make him feel refreshed and calm. She also made him write down his thoughts and emotions to analyse and work on them.
“One thing my counsellor always told me that stuck to me till date was – You can control your action but not your reaction.”
Sriraj explained that this quote fits every aspect of his life, and he started improving himself as the sessions proceeded. He says that he eventually recognised his weaknesses and learned to deal with each one.
He elucidates having a fear of judgement everywhere he goes and tries to interact with people, which significantly reduces after his sessions. He recollects having a beautiful experience throughout his process and credits his therapist for getting him acquainted with his surroundings.
“Before knowing YourDOST platform, I would have rated my confidence as 1 out of 10, but now I feel my confidence is 9 out of 10, which I never imagined.”
Sriraj adds that he is hugely grateful to the platform and the expert for bringing these changes in him and helping him heal and improve. As he feels better and rates himself 4 out of 5, we are proud of Sriraj for breaking out of his shell and sliding into the world.
Sriraj’s Warrior Tips:
1.“When you have negative thoughts, move from there and don’t stay in the same place.”
2.“Change things in your control, and let go of the ones you cannot.”
3.“Believe that time will heal; tomorrow will be better if today goes bad.”
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