Overcoming Setbacks Like A Boss! – Harmesh’s Story

Walking on a tightrope balancing personal and professional life is not an easy task, especially when you’re a strong, determined individual who always aims high. For Harmesh, the year 2020 brought the wave of lost opportunities and the consequences that followed.

Harmesh is an outspoken person who loves watching ‘Netflix’ in his free time and even socializing! This 26-year-old is someone who knows his goal and isn’t afraid to take that extra mile. Harmesh used to work in the hospitality industry but had taken a fall when the deadly covid-19 pandemic was at its peak. Harmesh had to let go of the job he loved and take a pause on his dream of pursuing an MBA from a university abroad.

“Three years of my life where I dedicated myself to my workplace had to let me go due to the lockdown, and on top of that, my relationship with my girlfriend also went sour.”

Harmesh had hit rock bottom when he realised all his work was going down the drain. His behaviour also began to change when his relationship with his girlfriend took a toll on his mental health. Harmesh never shies away from interacting with people, but he doesn’t like to share his problems with anyone. So when things started affecting him, he did not know how to lift the weight off his chest.

Under such circumstances, Harmesh joined UpGrad as a senior admissions counselor and restarted his professional journey. However, with all the negativity surrounding him, the new job increased his stress levels, and he started getting sleepless nights. Having to take a step back from pursuing his dreams, Harmesh was on the path of substance abuse and found it very hard to let it go. Fortunately, YourDOST is UpGrad’s emotional wellness partner, and one day while going through his emails, Harmesh began to pay attention to YourDOST more proactively. Harmesh thought to himself, “I’d rather go seek answers to my issues from an outside person than simply stress eat and feel heavy-hearted.”

A generally calm and collected Harmesh started snapping out at people, and that was when he decided to reach out to YourDOST and seek professional help. Harmesh had already been exposed to therapy, and hence he was very open to taking guidance from an unbiased, non-judgemental professional.

“I first chose the chat option with YourDOST counselor, and once I met my counselor, Annabelle, I decided to go for video call (Skype) mode of counseling.”

Harmesh knew the issue he was facing but could not connect the dots. Annabelle helped him by asking him to give it time and that everything can fall back into place if given enough patience and practice. For Harmesh, the first thing that caught his attention was Annabelle’s great listening skills. Having to fall in the same age group, Harmesh was also very happy to relate to Annabelle and had an aligned thought process.

“In the first few sessions, I talked for about 40 minutes, and Annabelle only spoke for some time. That made a huge difference because I needed to spit my things out.”

Annabelle suggested various techniques to Harmesh, such as yoga, meditation, journaling, etc. The most beneficial technique for Harmesh had been positive orientation techniques.

Positive orientation technique emphasizes the positive influences in a person’s life. These might include character strengths, optimistic emotions, and constructive institutions.

Along with the positive orientation technique, positive affirmations also helped Harmesh to a great extent. He was glad to see a significant decrease in his substance abuse habits, helping him rekindle his relationship with his girlfriend. Harmesh started taking breaks for 5 to 10 minutes every one and a half hours whenever he was working and got overwhelmed. This helped him create a healthy work-life balance.

“There was a time when something triggered me, but luckily, unlike previous times, I was able to manage my calm and handled the situation in a better way than before.”

Upon asking where Harmesh sees himself in terms of improvement and benefits from counseling, he rated himself a solid five on five. We at YourDOST are in awe of Harmesh’s improvement and sheer confidence! Harmesh has a positive outlook on his life, and he owes the shift completely to his counselor, Annabelle. Harmesh even mentioned, “The counseling sessions used to be highlights of my week, and I kept eagerly looking for the next session to learn more about myself.” 

As a word of gratitude to Annabelle, Harmesh said, 

“By counseling me, Annabelle did not just help me; she also helped a lot of people around me.”

Today, Harmesh is back on the track of pursuing his MBA degree from abroad and rarely feels stressed out.

From all of us at YourDOST, we wish Harmesh great success in his endeavors and the bright future he holds ahead of him!

Harmesh’s Warrior Tips:
1. Considering today’s lifestyle, everyone should give counseling a chance to learn themselves better and implement the changes.
2. If an average individual spends one to two hours over a movie or a show, they can easily find time for a 45-minute counseling session and should consider giving it a try.
3. One should always take the first step for ‘a better you’!

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.