Manik (name changed) is an Engineer from Everstage, Chennai. He grew up in a middle-class family. Manik has been working from home for the past few years, which he finds comfortable.
Manik was raised in a large family, where he was celebrated for his victories and held accountable by each family member for his mistakes. He explains that he had a typical middle-class Indian family where affection was not verbal, but everyone valued the ‘family is family’ mantra.
Manik describes himself as an average student in school and college who got an average job afterwards. He adds that it was with his hard work that he rose to a decent-paying job currently.
“Being in a middle-class family, I couldn’t take private drawing classes when I was good at painting. When my dad could afford it, my interest grew in computers, and eventually, I became a workaholic who was in front of the screen except for when I slept. Recollecting my childhood, I consider myself successful for the level I’m at right now.”
As Manik went ahead with his life, he started experiencing the symptoms of panic attacks, and he was not sure whether it was a physical or a mental health issue. This was around the same time his company began getting subscriptions from YourDOST.
Manik heard from his colleagues that it was helpful. He made appointments with the available experts as well.
“Initially, I thought the experts would suggest and give advice when we have wrong perspectives, but after my first session, I realised therapy is about invoking thoughts in our mind with the right questions.”
Manik explains that his counselor paid complete attention to what he shared, and he felt more comfortable and friendly with her.
Eventually, Manik realised with therapy that he wasn’t having any panic attacks, but he thought that way because he had witnessed others experience anxiety attacks. He adds that he was instead feeling anxious for no reason. He also discovered more about his thought patterns and mental blockage as the sessions proceeded.
Manik describes therapy as a ‘master health checkup’ as he was able to unravel even the things that affected him during his childhood. When he started experiencing a lot of stress and felt despair, all these had to be resolved for Manik to function better in his daily life.
Apart from prompting Manik with the right questions, his counsellor also helped him organise his thoughts and suggested different types of journaling. The counsellor suggested Manik write a goodbye letter with specific instructions to resolve thoughts related to his past relationship.
They also had targets for the sessions and rapid-fire games to determine what was more important. All of these helped Manik gain introspection about himself. He discovered that most of his mental blocks were caused by not giving himself enough time.
“Being a workaholic, I didn’t give much thought to important things and kept everything jumbled. Suddenly, one day, it all overwhelmed me, and I presumed it to be a panic attack.”
Manik elaborates that sharing and writing journals in therapy helped him clear his head. He adds that his emotions and mood have been enhanced after the sessions, and he wishes to continue making progress as he feels he has overcome his first mental hurdle.
“After getting all the perspectives from therapy, the emotion of despair I used to feel is completely gone, and I see a point in life now. I’m thankful to my therapist for all of these.”
As Manik is in the process, he rates himself 3 out of 5 in terms of feeling better. He assures that after six months, he will be at a 4. As he improves daily, we are confident that Manik will reach a 5 out of 5 soon. We wish him the best in his process.
Manik’s Warrior Tips:
1.“People fear letting someone know their true self; therapy can help break that barrier in a less overwhelming way.”
2.“There is no magic pill; things take time, and we should keep working on them.”
3.“The best investment you can make for yourselves is therapy.”
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