“Never settle for anything less than you deserve, it’s not pride, it’s self-respect.”
This quote summarises the story of a warrior who chose herself and her happiness over everything else.
Meet Viral, a 25-year-old software engineer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She lives with her brother now and works for eClinicalWorks, a multinational company.
“I love writing and documenting my travel journeys. I travel a lot for new experiences and meet new people. I love activities like swimming and dancing for that extra dose of endorphins!”
Viral had a pretty great childhood and was a pampered kid. She lived with her parents, grandparents, uncles, and cousins in a large joint family in a small town. She loved her family and enjoyed spending time with each of them as and when possible.
Viral learned about YourDOST from her company, as they collaborated with the organisation as their official mental health partner. She met Dr Ananya Purkayastha on the platform and chose her as her therapist.
“She is an amazing listener, and I badly needed someone to listen. She helped me solve my concerns myself, and I like her for doing that.”
Viral began living with her brother for work and moved into a new house. She hadn’t had much experience taking care of a household till now and the sudden change in responsibilities overwhelmed her. She was also going through a rough patch in her relationship at the same time, making everything too stressful for her.
“The expectations in the relationship were too much, and we ended it mutually. I wanted us to take the next step in our relationship towards marriage, but he wasn’t ready to take a stand for us in front of family. We belong to different castes, so that became a problem for his side of the family.”
According to Viral, her partner failed to stand up for their relationship forming cracks in the relationship. They made the difficult decision of separating, and Dr Ananya helped her gracefully through the phase.
Viral describes herself as a happy and jolly person, hence a sudden change in responsibilities and the relationship issues got to her. She was always stressed and wanted to get better as soon as possible.
“My counsellor helped a lot through the difficult times and held my hand whenever I needed her. I needed someone to talk to about my concerns, and she was my comfort space. Even after improving, I kept updating her about my happy moments and progression.”
The first step towards any journey is acceptance of the situation and knowing what you want well before stepping onto the track.
Dr Ananya helped Viral journal her thoughts and emotions when they became unbearable. She made her join dance classes and motivated her to go back to swimming because these activities helped her calm down effectively.
“I always wanted someone to listen to me rather than tell me what to do. I am known as someone who pins my anger and anxiety onto other people and reacts to them based on it. It changed when I started writing down those thoughts rather than blatantly pinning them onto someone else.”
Viral started analysing the situations ahead and has controlled her tendency to act upon them on the spot. She began sensing without judgment and gradually became calm and patient.
“I’m extremely grateful for my counsellor, Dr Ananya, as she was the listener I needed my whole life. She wouldn’t pin her solutions onto me which helped me in the long run. I’m at a point where I can even joke about my journey like those stand-up comedians do!”
Viral is happy and content in her life now and rates herself a solid 4 out of 5 based on feeling better. She envisions the term “improvement” as the journey towards getting better.
We are glad we could help Viral in her journey and wish her all the best for future endeavours!
Viral’s Warrior Tips:
1.“When you encounter something stressful, do not create scenarios in your head and overthink, as the only person affected is you.”
2.“Let things out of your system by talking to someone or doing something you love.”
