“A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.” – Mary Karr.
This is the story of Nihal whose life has taken twists and turns in different ways. But his utter courage and will to fight have made him stand against the tide. Nihal is pursuing his BBA LLB from Jindal Global Law School, and currently residing in Bangalore. As much as he loves his academics, Nihal also enjoys watching Formula 1. But most importantly, Nihal has his way of channeling out his stress through singing.
“The transition from school to college was very tough. I went through a lot of bullying back in school. People whom I thought were friends turned out different and I couldn’t talk to anyone at home due to the family issues.”
Nihal described his childhood as not one of the best ones. He belonged to a family of doctors where mostly everyone was caught up with their work. But more than that, there prevailed a bigger issue. Nihal came from a family where the bonds were mostly dysfunctional. He was entailed in a plethora of family issues. The family issues centered around one common aspect, viz. abuse.
“Many people don’t understand what kids these days have to go through as they are bombarded with various things like peer pressure, social media, etc.”
There’s nothing much that Nihal could do as a child to bring peace within his family but he was deeply bothered by it. In no time, Nihal’s issues were creating problems at various phases of his life and all he could think about was some painful memories.
“I felt like there is so much injustice in the family. I was acquainted with that feeling which made me want to help people with similar experiences. Alongside that, I was more of a logical debater, so I chose law.”
As soon as the Covid-19 pandemic set in, Nihal also fell prey to it. As Nihal experienced Covid, he was isolated for more than 1 month. He was under a lot of medication and he felt like a prisoner having to wear a mask while attending a ton of online classes. But apart from all this turmoil, Nihal was getting buried deep inside his traumas. He was strained by his thoughts that kept coming back to haunt his present.
“I had lost my appetite with an extreme lack of sleep. The mornings were very difficult to start over and all I could notice were clear symptoms of depression.”
Nihal tried communicating his issues with his family multiple times only to get dismissed about the same. His family issues were the primary root of his present uneasiness and soon, Nihal realized the necessity to make a change for himself. Nihal believed that “If this problem ends, then the future generations will also be fine.” So, Nihal went ahead to approach counseling, hoping for a change.
“I was procrastinating on it for a week or two. Then finally I booked a session for myself.”
Nihal was initially skeptical about the idea of counseling. He was introduced to his counselor Nikita Aggarwal from YourDOST. His sessions started via video calls with Nikita explaining the entire process of counseling. Nikita told him that therapy could and couldn’t do for him. Having a clearer picture of therapy, Nihal went ahead with the same.
“The following sessions were all about listening to what happened to me all these years. This was followed by feedback sessions where I was given homework as well.”
Nihal had finally poured his heart out and started introspecting the consequences of his childhood issues. As the therapy sessions proceeded, Nihal was advised to start journaling to channel out his thoughts. He was also introduced to some breathing exercises and focussed a lot on Cognitive Behavior Therapy to beat his anxiety.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotions.
Eventually, Nihal was in a clearer position in his life where he knew every string attached to every problem. He started doodling which he enjoyed as a fun activity. He was advised to do the same by his counselor. Nihal’s appetite had taken the right road. Nihal also started taking thoughtful decisions unlike before where he tended to be impulsive.
“It was a great sense of comfort, knowing that someone was there to listen to you.”
Nihal describes his improvement through counseling with one word, “magical”. As Nihal stands at a comprehensible point in his life, he extends his hearty gratitude to Nikita, Nihal rates his overall improvement from his family issues to a mature and courageous soul with a 4 out of 5. We at YourDOST completely agree with this fact and wish him success throughout the coming years.
Nihal’s Warrior Tips:
1. Therapy doesn’t teach you how to solve those problems. They just teach how to identify the same and what to do about them.
2. Many people might not be sure about the services for counseling in the country. But the truth is that they genuinely do listen to you and they help 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.