Archana is a 27-year-old senior executive who used to work at Uplers.
Archana originally comes from Uttar Pradesh; her family includes her mom, dad, and sister. Archana explains that she has always had a good relationship with her family, and they look out for each other. She also likes to dance in her free time.
She adds that even though she was born in Uttar Pradesh, the family has lived in Delhi, Mumbai, etc. Since they kept moving, Archana couldn’t form real connections with people as a kid, which led to her having very few friends throughout her childhood.
“I used to be a shy kid, and since I didn’t have many friends, I also had issues with communication. Growing up with these constraints, I became an introvert who prefers small circles and avoids crowds.”
As she completed college, she built her professional life around the human resources department. When the pandemic changed the entire dynamics of the global economy, it also introduced the idea of working remotely in most firms in India.
When Archana started working from home as well, it became a major stressor as she was glued to the screen for more hours and had no social life.
“Being an introvert with no friends, the only acquaintances I made were my office colleagues. Sitting nine hours a day for work and being alone all the time seemed extremely hard. I was distracted a lot, and there was no way to unwind and refresh.”
Archana says the situation took a toll on her mental health and put her on an emotional roller coaster. She was filled with anger and loneliness, which burst out in tears every day as soon as she shut her laptop at 5 pm.
Understanding the stress the changes might cause, Archana’s company announced the employee well-being assistance they provided through their subscription to YourDOST. Archana took the opportunity to connect with the available experts on the platform.
She elaborates that she loved how patiently the counselors listened to her in the initial sessions. Archana also admired the unbiased nature of their advice and continued to accept their support. She opened up to them about how the stress led her to question her profession and career choices.
As Archana was having a lot of overwhelming emotions, the counselor helped her narrow it down to the anger she was feeling. They taught her ways to manage her anger and helped her calm herself down.
Slowly, the counselor suggested a few tasks to help her pay attention to her patterns. They made her notice her most productive hours and suggested that she do her important tasks between those hours. The counselor also helped her plan her day and start the habit of scheduling her tasks by writing them down.
“The counselor helped me shift my focus from work once I shut down the laptop. I eventually started paying attention to my self-care and growth. I began practising yoga and restarted my dancing sessions after work hours.”
Eventually, Archana explains that she learned to regulate her emotions by being organised, keeping a diary to vent out and taking time for herself. She even took a break to understand herself better and work on her improvement.
As she developed a healthy lifestyle, she thanks her counselor for understanding the things that seemed complicated in her life and for giving their assistance when it was necessary. Considering improvement a continuous process, Archana took it upon herself to make sure her graph has an upward curve throughout.
She rates herself 4 out of 5, and we are glad to be part of her process. We wish her all the best for the future.
Archana’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Do not overthink the downslopes of life; there’s always a way to solve them.”
2.“Nothing is more significant than your life; pay attention to where your path leads.”
3.“Always have a hobby to de-stress and unwind.”
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