Artists are god-gifted people who make the world a better place. Some become painters, and some create masterpieces. Some artists turn their passion into careers and are known as designers.
Akash, a senior designer at Liscious, is such an artist. He has worked with multiple design teams across companies and made his work established. He describes having a knack for painting and designing from childhood and proves to be a born artist.
“I was an only child to my parents and contrary to the popular notion, I was a kid who was extremely energetic and bubbly.”
Akash had a great relationship with his parents and they were quite welcoming and open-minded, however strict about his studies. They supported his career decisions and the fields he chose to study, with just one condition, excelling irrespective of the fields.
“I was close to my cousins as a kid because I had no siblings. I used to spend my time painting and designing when I’d be at home.”
Akash came to know about YourDOST from his company which collaborates with the organisation as its official mental health partner.
“Therapy was a pretty new concept for me and I was sceptical about it. My counsellors at YourDOST helped me get comfortable and share my concerns with them.”
The counsellors made it clear to Akash that healing and improving takes time, and he’ll have to work on it regularly. They made sessions transparent and approachable helping Akash get over his initial hesitation and begin sharing his concerns.
It is said that artists are a group of people in the world who experience several anxious episodes because they have a better understanding of their brains and how it works. Unfortunately, it became true for Akash.
“Since schooldays, I have been suffering from terrible anxiety issues and it runs in my family too. It got to a point that I started throwing up before each examination I had.”
Due to this issue, he even stopped having food before examinations. There was an instance when he did not have any nutrition for 12 long hours. Though this condition lasted only during examinations, it was utterly distressing for Akash. By the time he completed his graduation and got into a job, the frequency of it happening went down by a significant amount.
“Since the last 5 years, I’ve started noticing that although I don’t feel sick when I’m anxious, I’ve started choking or in Hindi, we’d say “thaska lagna”. My throat closes up and I struggle to breathe for some time.”
Post Covid, the situation started deteriorating even more. The anxious phases started returning and Akash began having gag reflexes now and then. He used to pop in candy or sugar to ease the discomfort but it returned frequently.
“2 years ago a big career switch also made me change cities, and it hit the nerve.”
Akash started feeling anxious even about getting ready to go to work or meet his friends and started having gagging reflexes 2 times a day.
The situation worsened with each anxiety trigger Akash came across, and he felt extremely exhausted and stressed. He started getting triggered easily and anxiety peaked during the phase. Concentration levels dipped and it affected his work.
“I needed someone to hear my concerns and tell me what to do. I didn’t think anybody understood me which made me irritable at times.”
Akash’s counsellor helped him with some techniques that helped him get better. It included breathing techniques, the 54321 method, and best of all, the Butterfly Hug technique.
“Among the breathing exercises and other methods of coping, I related the most with the Butterfly Hug method, which is done by crossing your arms over the chest and patting yourself gently on the back. I started feeling better gradually.”
Akash finally understood that there are better coping mechanisms than just popping candies. Although he did not feel a sudden change in life, the frequency of his anxiety episodes went down substantially.
“I even started interacting with friends and talking to them more, and it made me accept that people are different, and it takes effort to maintain relationships wholeheartedly.”
Akash expresses his heartfelt gratitude to his counsellors who helped immensely during distressing times. They helped him introspect to get clarity about the surge of emotions he felt.
“Thank you for being there for me when I ranted to you and being open to all kinds of possibilities of my diagnosis. I’ll always be grateful to you.”
Akash rated himself a solid 4 out of 5 for feeling better. He envisions the word improvement as overcoming things today that were terrifying yesterday. As a warrior who fell, and got hurt but still won the war, Akash is the epitome of sheer dedication and hard work.
We at YourDOST wish him all the best for the future!
Akash’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Don’t wait until your concerns can’t be contained and start hitting you in the face. Find help at the onset of issues.”
2.“It is always better to bandage the wound as soon as fell rather than waiting till it gets infected and aggravates the situation even more.”
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