Aishwaryhaa is a 34-year-old software professional and designer from Chennai. She is a senior engineer at Quest Global.
She comes from a small town in Tamilnadu, where her parents still reside. Aishwaryhaa lived there with her parents until she finished her studies and moved to Chennai to pursue a career.
Aishwaryhaa recollects being a shy, reserved person due to the little exposure she had in her hometown. She adds that only after she joined college did she develop confidence in herself because of her lecturers and teachers, who were like mentors to her.
“College wasn’t just about getting a degree; I had a personality development as well, which improved my interpersonal skills and stage to believe in myself contrary to what the environment taught me from where I grew up.”
As Aishwaryhaa progressed in her life, she experienced a setback. After a few years of moving to Chennai for her job, she began having some issues with her relationship, which started affecting her mental health.
“I never thought depression was a serious issue until I was severely affected due to my fall-out in my relationship. It affected my day-to-day activities and led to unhealthy coping mechanisms.”
Aishwaryhaa felt frustrated and constantly wondered why it was happening to her and why she couldn’t move on. She recollects feeling alone and insecure even when surrounded by her friends. She knew she needed help, but Aishwaryhaa felt hesitant to talk to a stranger because of the prejudice she developed while growing up.
She knew about her company’s partnership with the YourDOST platform. Setting her reservations aside, she surfed through the website and found the features interesting. When she booked her first session on the platform, Aishwaryhaa recollects her friends advising her not to go ahead with therapy as they felt she could just talk to them.
“Most of them told me that therapy is a scam and that I don’t need a third person telling me things that life will help me understand anyway. They told me it was all in my head.”
Breaking through all those stigmas, Aishwaryhaa sat for her sessions with therapist Ms Noreen Choudhri. Contrary to everything she believed and heard from her circle, Aishwaryhaa found her therapist empathetic, non-judgmental, and understanding.
She felt extremely comfortable sharing her problems with Ms Noreen, who listened to her with an open mind and helped Aishwaryhaa evaluate her emotions.
“After a few sessions, I understood that counseling was the same as going to a physician when we have a headache or the flu. There was no taboo or scale for how huge your issue has to be.”
Eventually, the counselor started helping Aishwaryhaa work on her emotions due to her relationship issues. She suggested that Aishwaryhaa sit with her feelings and acknowledge them entirely instead of suppressing them. Ms Noreen also asked her to write down all the negative emotions and thoughts that surfaced.
As Aishwaryhaa already had the habit of practising mindfulness, the therapist encouraged her to continue. She also suggested a few tips, including making a list of pros and cons to help her refocus and improve her career.
Following all of these gave Aishwaryhaa the clarity she hoped for, and she could feel her mental health improving. She says that the clearer her path got, the more she got rid of the confused state, which in turn made her frustration go away.
“Healing is a messy and long process. You feel better one moment, and there’s a trigger the next. I should thank Ms Noreen for being patient with me every time I stepped into square one and helping me reach the final box.”
Aishwaryhaa elucidates how she bounced back and became strong and resilient after the sessions. She says that she found the courage to face any issues after that and found her this too shall pass mindset. She feels grateful to her therapist for being unbiased and helping her make her life’s decisions by guiding her in the right direction.
As she rates herself 4 out of 5, we are happy for Aishwaryhaa for all the paths she crossed and for breaking the shackles of the stigmas surrounding her.
Aishwaryhaa’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Therapy can help even with the trivial things that affect our day-to-day routine.”
2.“Ignore the judgements and find the courage to acknowledge when there’s an issue and seek help.”
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