Harsh is a 31-year-old Technical analyst at Birlasoft with more than eight years of experience in the field. He currently lives with his mother, sister, and wife. He occasionally enjoys bike rides, sketching, and singing in his leisure time.
He was born in Bangalore, and his family included his parents and sister. He explains that his family was close-knit and always looked out for each other.
He recollects being a studious kid in school who came and left right before and after classes. Harsh says he couldn’t stay late and participate in extracurricular activities as his parents were working, and their schedules couldn’t accommodate it.
“Despite the busy schedule of my parents, I pursued my interests, from singing and drawing to swimming and NCC with every chance I got.”
He adds that the family used to live on the main road, and Harsh had no friends in his neighbourhood. It’s the friends he made in school, with whom he continued his friendship even after he grew up.
Harsh completed his schooling and graduate studies in his native city, Bangalore, and continued his career there, too. As the years passed, Harsh found himself in a situation. He was dealing with issues in his relationship that affected his self-esteem and confidence. Around the same time, he also lost his father, which impacted his mental health even more.
“I’m an overthinker, so all these three things going on in my head pushed me into a bad state of mind.”
Harsh explains that he used to be sceptical about the concept of mental health and therapy. However, with the content around the importance of its awareness on social media and in his workspace, he felt open to the possibility of talking to a professional.
Seeing his situation, one of his friends gave Harsh the same suggestion. Considering it, Harsh booked an appointment with the expert available on YourDOST platform through his company’s subscription.
“I had preconceived notions about how it would go around because we’re not typically used to therapy as an idea and haven’t seen them without the lens of stigma.”
Despite this, Harsh sat in his first session with the simple logic that he wanted to talk to someone outside his known circle. To his surprise, he recalls feeling comfortable talking to the therapist as they were empathetic and easy to speak to.
“Sharing with someone without fear of judgement made me feel lighter, and I loved the option of being anonymous on the platform.”
Harsh elaborates that the counselor gave him logical approaches to deal with his issues in each session. They also gave him activities and tasks to try after the session, followed by assessing the impact in the next session.
The counselor also made him write down his thoughts and emotions to let everything out of his mind. He felt that the exercises were more practical and helpful.
“I liked the way I progressed with the sessions. It was extremely positive for me. Majorly, I felt that I was not alone in this struggle.”
Harsh adds that he realised he needed to move instead of dwelling on the past to protect his mental peace. He explains that he used to have regrets about the things he didn’t do and the way he reacted in some situations. The counselor’s right questions made him realise his patterns and move on from those regrets.
Moving on with a positive mindset, Harsh expresses his gratitude to the counselors for helping him deal with his problems and giving him professional techniques.
“I should thank them for changing my perception about therapy and giving me support during a difficult phase.”
He rates himself 4 out of 5 and tries to improve every day, and we are delighted to be part of his journey.
Harsh’s Warrior Tips:
1.“We should break the taboos around therapy and normalise talking to someone when in need.”
2.“Talk to a professional without any fear, as it’s confidential and non-judgemental.”
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