“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” – Gertrude Jekyll.
Susweta, a 21-year-old student from Kolkata, is unwinding herself in a new city, Bangalore, with visions of creating a magnificent life of growth. She is pursuing her Bachelor of Design (B.Des) from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bangalore.
“I wanted to be a cardiologist as a school kid. My childhood self will still be proud of my career choices and pleased that I found my love for art.”
Susweta loves listening to music and gaming in her leisure time. She finds herself more content with the friends she connects with online than in person. Susweta describes herself as someone who researches conspiracy theories as an intriguing table conversation starter.
She comes from a nuclear family of four, including her parents and elder brother. She was a timid child with a sensitive trait and is still introverted by personality, according to Susweta.
Susweta was closer to her mother and says she had always looked up to her brother growing up. From how she remembers it initially, Susweta constantly looked for validation from her mother as she felt her mom prioritised her brother before her.
Susweta explains that she hoped for a change in her thought process as she moved to a different city, but to her surprise, things didn’t become manageable even then. Additionally, Susweta also developed a misunderstanding with one of her professors, and she started having anxiety attacks during the night.
Being someone who prioritised her career above everything, Susweta realised she had to deal with her issues when she couldn’t concentrate. Her friend noticed the patterns in her, as her physical health was also affected, and suggested that she seek help through YourDOST, as they have access through their college subscription.
“I was sceptical about therapy as I’m not an expressive person, but my friend told me that despite results, it never hurts to try.”
Despite her doubts about prospering in the light of therapy, Susweta took her friend’s advice and booked a session with one of the available experts on the platform.
“I’m glad I sat for sessions with YourDOST. After my first session, waiting for the subsequent ones brought me immense pleasure.”
Susweta says she generally doesn’t like to talk about her issues even though she has people who would lend their time to listen to her. In the first session of her counseling, the foremost thing Susweta conveyed to the counselor was that she was nervous about speaking her thoughts out loud.
“My therapist was remarkably cordial and sweet. She made me comfortable and assured me that there is no rush and that I can take time to calm down.”
The counselor also eased her into the conversation by conversing in Susweta’s mother tongue. She elucidates that it made her feel relaxed and enthusiastic. From then on, they went into Susweta’s situations point by point and figured out how to improve them.
“My mom’s concerns are always around my brother, and he pushes his stepbacks onto me. With this trauma, not having cordial relationships with my teacher caused enormous mental pressure for me!”
Susweta interpreted her mother’s love for her brother as a direct cause of her inability to be her mom’s favourite. She also added that it was hurtful, as her mom is her favourite person. This led to her not having emotional support throughout her teenage life.
“I regret not enjoying my childhood because I wanted to be a good kid and match my parent’s expectations. I felt like I grew up too fast and had no story to tell my future generation .”
As the sessions went on, Susweta realised she was projecting these issues onto her relationship with her mentors. Her expectation for validation started stunting her creativity and created anxiety. She conveys that she couldn’t acknowledge the reason until it was discussed during her therapy sessions.
“Some days, I couldn’t even go to college, and since I’m a closed person, I cried in secret without my roommate’s knowledge.”
Susweta explains that all of those days, she could barely sleep for two or three hours, and her blood pressure started dropping as well. Even though she felt relieved expressing herself in therapy, her counselor employed specific techniques like box breathing to help with her anxiety attacks.
She encouraged Susweta to entertain only what made her comfortable and suggested she take frequent walks. She also explained that her counselor reassured her that preferring solitude is not unhealthy at certain times and helped her through some modelled behaviour by sharing her personal techniques in situations!
“I learned a lot from my therapist, and by shedding light on her experience, she helped me find my ways to deal with situations. I have done my deeds to fix things with my family now.”
She fondly describes how she found the courage to let go and got the motivation to face life, which she profoundly says was instilled through therapy.
“The best possible outcome with therapy was that I could sleep sufficiently again. I could feel as though the emotional trauma let out of my body.”
She points out that the differences were evident in how she dressed and carried herself during the first and last sessions of her therapy. As she regained her confidence and focus, she was very thankful to her counsellor and expressed her gratitude sincerely!
“I hope she lives a great life, especially knowing she helped someone permanently. She succeeded in her job!”
Susweta earnestly states that she is determined to live her life thoroughly and considers growth fulfilling, rating herself 4.5 out of 5. As she is set to attain her goals, we feel proud of her for nourishing herself daily and spreading her roots stronger!
Susweta’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Ignoring a situation is not the solution; analyse your problem and manage your emotions.”
2.“Be courageous in seeking help; when assistance is available, do it early instead of waiting.”
3.“Do what pleases you despite challenging times.”
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