Have you heard of the saying, “The smallest of the seeds grow into the biggest trees”?
If not, we want you to meet Manish, a 24-year-old from the prestigious IIIT Delhi, doing his M-Tech. Born in a small town in Madhya Pradesh, Manish went from being a small-town boy to a young man with sheer determination in the “City of Hearts”.
Childhood is a time that shapes a child’s personality and prepares him for the complexities of adult life. Manish describes his childhood to be pretty good and normal. He completed his 14 years of schooling in Ashok Nagar and then set out to Kota for JEE preparations.
“Life in Kota was hectic as it is a very high-pressure environment where children grind their brains to get into the most reputed institutions of the country. It was completely different from the life I had lived till now.”
As simple carbon turns into a glistening diamond under high pressure, Manish learnt to deal with the environment in his way and handled the situation pretty well. Gradually, he moved to Indore for his Bachelor of Technology.
“After graduation, I began preparing for higher studies and the GATE examinations. I passed the examination with flying colours and got into IIIT Delhi.”
Although Manish was proud of his achievements, he sometimes longed for someone to understand the burden that drained him internally. He had a super supportive family and they saw him as the brightest of the lot, but Manish could not share his concerns with them, as they were sensitive and could push them into great distress.
Sometimes during the race of life, we skip some elements that we regret in the future, but that’s the way of life. We lose some parts to achieve even greater things.
Likewise, Manish recalls that he’d been lonely in his childhood, even though he had all he ever wanted and was happy. He did not have a strong support system outside his family as his house was far from everyone else. This resulted in minimal interactions outside his home and he failed to bond with anyone exponentially.
Feelings of isolation and a high-pressure environment pushed Manish to seek help. From the well-being cell of his institution, he learnt about the platform of YourDOST and its services. This was just the start of his healing journey.
“When I first met my counselor , she assured me it was a safe space to share anything. She sensed that I was sceptical about sharing with a stranger and made me feel comfortable in the first session.”
Manish describes his therapist as a great listener and feels comfortable with sharing his concerns. He formed a deep connection with her and felt heard.
He shared how he had issues maintaining boundaries with anyone and would either overshare or undershare without sensing his emotions. He wanted to learn how to maintain boundaries without seeming too out there.
As said earlier, even if a diamond is the hardest substance ever formed, it is prone to chip or fracture from an equally heavy blow. In the same way, Manish had started experiencing anxiety, sadness and even procrastination from all the built-up emotions.
“I did not know how to deal with different relationships and felt extremely lonely. I couldn’t bring myself to deal with all these overwhelming thoughts.”
It was when he shared all his thoughts and feelings with his therapist that she shared several techniques to overcome his problems. Manish started journaling as per guidance from his therapist which helped him analyse his emotions and let them out in the open.
She equipped him with the 5-4-3-2-1 technique and shared several articles about the necessity of boundaries and anxiety. All these activities started giving results and gradually helped Manish move on to the positive side.
“When you don’t have a listener in your life, you tend to bury things, but I understood the power of sharing feelings when they had a positive impact on my mental health.”
Even when a simple pressure cooker lets out an occasional whistle while cooking, to release the built-up pressure, Manish wonders why people like him do not share and vent about their problems more. His mental health took a turn for the better when he got opinions from a third person and was happy he could find a solution to his concerns.
“The YourDOST platform has a clear blueprint of who to approach for a certain issue and was extremely helpful to me. The whole process was well-streamlined, and my therapist made it even easier by creating a safe zone for me.”
Manish is happy with his progress and extremely proud. For him, improvement meant being better than the previous day and believes he achieved it with the necessary help. In terms of feeling better, Manish rated himself a solid ⅘ and we are sure that it’s just one more step that will take him gradually to a golden 5.
Manish’s Warrior Tips:
1.“Steer clear from stereotypes, especially mental health stereotypes. ”
2.“While it’s true that you are strong enough to handle things, sometimes when you take a fall it’s alright to seek help. There is nothing wrong in seeking the help you deserve”
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