“Hey Life, Meet the New Me!” – Says Jaya 2.0

As often told by her friends, “Tu paagal hai kya? Kuchh bhi kar leti hai!”, 25 years old Jaya Sinha is one happy-go-lucky person who never forgets to smile and make others happy. Jaya proudly calls herself an extrovert, to an extent that she’d not hesitate to initiate a conversation with a panipuri vendor! Jaya loves theatre, anchoring and had even hosted her own radio show in college!

After completing her graduation, Jaya joined Infosys back in 2018 and worked for 6 months. Despite having a great work culture and other perks, Jaya shifted to a popular ed-tech company, to fulfil her desire for career progression.

“As soon as I joined the new company, my anxiety began. I was someone who will always be happy, but the new change was very alarming to me.”

Jaya joined the said company for a  better career progression, and an exciting payscale, but she surely did not sign up for arrogance and unnecessary judgements passed by her superiors. With the monotony that the new job brought, Jaya found herself stuck in a loop of waking up-opening laptop-sleeping back. She tried communicating her concerns to her manager, but it was of no help.

“I had lost focus in my work and eventually stopped smiling too. My parents also observed this change, but my unempathetic manager couldn’t.”

Jaya was low on self-esteem and self-confidence. This was a very unusual feeling for Jaya! For someone who’d never stop talking, it was getting tough for her to even initiate a conversation.

As an add on, Jaya also developed anxiety. While riding in an auto, she started getting scared of a bike hitting her. Jaya’s father is in the medical business, so it was easy and comforting for her to talk about the issues openly. Jaya was unable to sleep and eat on time, she was constantly under stress and to avoid such, her father suggested she take stress reduction tablets, but they too did not help her.

“Couple of years ago my family and I went for family counseling. I was very glad to have such family members who supported me to seek professional help. With their support, I reached out to YourDOST.”

Jaya had already reached out to YourDOST back in 2019 out of curiosity but did not find the need to seek further counseling. Now that the company she worked for had tied up with YourDOST, she was eager to explore more. Jaya started her counseling journey by getting connected with one of the counselors from YourDOST and needless to say, she was excited to see what the future holds for her!

“My counselor was a fantastic listener. I was easily opening up to him. In a long, long time, I was being heard.” 

The counselor understood the root cause of all of Jaya’s issues and the answer was simple – her job! So, her counselor diagnosed her with anxiety and advised her to leave the current job, as soon as she could. He also advised her to limit the usage of the phone right before sleeping, to regulate her sleep cycle and reduce anxiety. Jaya’s counselor also suggested a 1:2 breathing technique, to calm herself down whenever she starts getting stressed or anxious.

1:2 breathing technique also called One to Double Breathing Technique, where the person has to exhale at a duration twice as long as they inhale – for example, breathe in for 5 seconds, and then exhale for 10 seconds. This technique is extremely helpful in calming oneself down and having a goodnight’s sleep! 

Jaya also complained of being too conscious of the food that she was consuming during anxious times, and she now feels proud to share that she has gotten rid of the habit of stress eating through counseling and her own will!

“Small affirmations helped me too. I’m more focused now and I even resigned from my job. I have never felt better! I’m even smiling now! Counseling truly made me realise my skills and interests so that I can cut my toxic job and do something much better in life.”

The improvement was not just limited to Jaya’s mindset, but other people were also able to notice the positive behavioural changes in her.

As a part of a fun rapid-fire round with YourDOST, Jaya gave herself a 5 on 5 for how far she has come in terms of getting better after seeking therapy! She’s finally the happy-go-lucky girl that she was, preparing for her further studies. As a word of gratitude to her counselor, Jaya says, “He didn’t just ask me to be positive, he showed me ways to be positive”, and she urges everyone to be happy and live their life to its fullest!

Jaya’s Warrior Tips:
1. It’s ideal to cut down toxicity from one’s own life. Be it friends, or a job – never shy away from that.
2. People often realise if something’s wrong with them, but they hardly take any actions to change that.
3. Never think you are incapable of something, even if there’s a speed breaker on your road, with the help of the right counselor you can always reach your destination.

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.