Growing up as a young adult, colloquially known as ‘adulting’ is a rollercoaster journey. We have new challenges and responsibilities to commit to, be it in our career or personal life. Sometimes it can get overwhelming. Rashmi Gupta, 28 and a faculty member at O.P Jindal Global University, knows this feeling too well. A set of personal setbacks caused her depression to relapse.
My personal issues were affecting the quality of my career. My dad was diagnosed with a terminal illness and I was his primary caregiver which added a lot of pressure in managing my mental health.
Having been diagnosed with depression a while back, Rashmi was coping quite well until this point. However, following her father’s diagnosis, she could feel herself spiralling again. She spoke to her parents about her stress. But they were not very supportive of her struggles which pushed her into developing trust issues against them.
“I remember telling my parents how I was not feeling okay and they shrugged me off like it was nothing. I was drained out, physically and emotionally but my parents did not see my suffering.”
This broke Rashmi, for she thought that her family was supposed to be her support system but they did not empathise with her situation. This was when she decided to seek support and connected with YourDOST expert, Ms Anita Eliza.
“I was aware of my problems and what was causing them but did not have the strength to get through them. But with my sessions with Anita, I could see a visible change within myself. Earlier, I had no energy to commit to any of my work tasks and felt incompetent. But after my sessions, I began feeling lighter.”
Through her sessions, Rashmi spoke about the pressure she was feeling due to her father’s health and the burden of responsibility on her professional, personal, financial and domestic lives and how all these responsibilities were leading to her feeling burnt out.
“During our sessions, we discussed various techniques about practising self-care, methods to manage my anger and how I could take care of myself first, before everybody else. I was able to modify these techniques to fit my life and it did help me reduce my anger outbursts. My mental health was affecting the quality of my physical health as well and therapy really helped me get better.”
Therapy helped Rashmi in handling herself, and she began prioritising her needs over those of the ones around her. She began opening up to her friends about her struggles and they were very supportive. Rashmi feels a lot better these days.
My therapist pushed me to move out and live alone. In the beginning, I would go back home once I felt better and the cycle repeated itself. But I forced myself to stay away which in turn helped my relationship with my parents.
“In comparison to other therapy services out there, YourDOST is very flexible and accessible to its users. They always sent me reminders for my sessions and were okay with me cancelling my sessions due to any emergency. On the whole, it was an amazing experience.”
Are you someone who has gone through a difficult phase and emerged stronger and better, with some professional help? Share your story with us to encourage thousands of others who might be struggling. Click here to submit your story.
Rashmi’s Warrior Tips:
1.Practice self-care whenever you can. Put yourself as a priority before others.
2. Always remember to seek help when you do not feel okay.