Manasi is a 27-year-old Senior Client Success Associate who loves to live a slow life in this fast-paced world. She works at Phreesia in Pune and balances her work-life by giving herself the time to take a refreshing walk, sit under a huge tree in the park nearby, and find her aesthetic moments by cooking her favourite meal.
Growing up, she lived with her parents and grandparents. She explains that growing up, she was close to her mom and grandmom, but after 6th grade, Manasi found herself feeling disconnected from her family.
“My relationship with my family has been strained since my teenage years. They couldn’t be more present for me or be a better role model in my life. Although, once I grew up, we all worked towards improving the bond and avoiding the conflicting environment we had before.”
Manasi adds that she loved athletics and cycling growing up. Despite society’s stigmas, she has always actively participated in sports as a hobby and interest.
As Manasi moved forward with her career, she found herself in an upsetting situation during the pandemic. She noticed that she was sleeping for more than 12 hours a day and never wanted to move out of her bed.
“Seeing my behaviours, it was evident that I had clinical depression. My ex-partner used to care for a lot for me. He was the one who pushed me to see a therapist.”
She elaborates that although she was still competent at her job, getting through her days seemed challenging and emotionally draining. Manasi decided to take his ex-partner’s advice and sought a therapist. She wanted to check her options first, so she contacted a few experts through her company’s tie-up with the YourDOST platform and a private psychologist outside the company.
Eventually, when she connected with Ms Rineeta Banerjee, she could see a difference in the way sessions proceeded compared to the others. Manasi explains that she liked the counselor’s vibe and her listening skills. She also found her to be genuine and empathetic.
Manasi says that just as we try different jobs until we find the one that fits us, the same goes for therapy. She felt that Ms Rineeta was the right fit for her, so she continued with her for the following sessions. She also shared everything she was going through with the counselor.
“I was in a place where I needed a lot of affection, emotional validation from my partner. Unfortunately, my ex-partner was the epitome of my childhood trauma. He represented every dark experience I had as a child, and it brought out the worst in me.”
She explains that even though he cared, he couldn’t understand what she was going through. She felt hopeless and wasn’t sure what to expect from life. She told the counselor how anxious all of these made her. Understanding Manasi’s problem, the counselor first built a good relationship with her and suggested solving the issues from the roots.
Ms Rineeta primarily helped her with the anxiety and overwhelming emotions she was feeling by giving her grounding techniques like the sensory 5-4-3-2-1 method. She also asked Manasi more intrusive questions that would make her think and introspect, which helped her better understand her thought process and feelings.
Manasi explains that there were some sessions where she was completely disconnected, making it difficult for her to even sit through them. She recalls the counselor being patient and calm, regardless of how difficult it was.
“Ms Rineeta saw me as a person rather than just a client. She was solution-oriented but also empathetic and caring. She brought in a lot of changes in me.”
She adds that before therapy, Manasi used to hate herself and be hard on herself. She elucidates that she wasn’t even aware that she was doing that to herself. Once she understood her feelings and shared her experiences, she realised her old patterns and also started working on them, and she considers this to be a big win.
Eventually, as Manasi became courageous and confident, her ex-partner ended the relationship, and through her conversations in therapy, she could feel supported and move on. She adds that she doesn’t feel anxious anymore.
“The counselor enabled me to identify the kind of people I want to interact with or would be happy without even directly stating these to me. I started paying attention to the emotions that pop-up within me in someone’s company.”
As she crosses the hurdles of her life, Manasi thanks her counselor for helping her move on and credits her for all the progress. She explains that her counselor’s openness to feedback was also extremely helpful and rare in experienced people.
She defines herself as ‘still a work in progress’ and rates herself 3 out of 5. As she continues her journey towards improving herself, Manasi has also recommended Ms Rineeta to her friends, who took sessions from her and benefited as well.
We are delighted to be part her process and truly believe that she will continue to improve and be successful in endeavors.
Manasi’s Warrior Tips:
1.“We run after materialistic goals, but true happiness comes from long-term emotional success.”
2.“Therapy is a sensitive space; try to give it a chance and address your traumas and issues.”
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