Balaji’s Leap into College Life and Counseling – YourDOST Blog

“The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.”

― Benedict Cumberbatch

Balaji is a 21-year-old student at the prestigious NLU Delhi pursuing BA LLB (Hons.).  He hails from a town in Madhya Pradesh and has had a healthy relationship with his family and also was blessed with a good childhood. 

Hobbies play an instrumental role in shaping a person’s likes and dislikes and in Balaji’s case, he was a wanderer. From a palette of hobbies, he became fascinated with history and foreign affairs.

While you thought the list ended! It did not, he is also passionate about playing chess, football, and musical instruments like piano. He loves reading in his free time too. He is surely the jack of all trades! As a third person one would wonder what could go wrong in his life, he started facing a few concerns with his moods and decided to seek counseling. 

“I heard about YourDOST as my college had a paid subscription with them as our official emotional wellness partner. I decided to book my session to discuss something I was going through.”

Balaji booked his first session with Ms Anjali and sat down to begin working on himself towards progress.  He expressed that speaking with Ms. Anjali created a safe space for him and that it was heartwarming and he opened up better. 

“I thought I was rigid in sharing my feelings but with her, it felt different. She provided a non-judgemental and confidential environment and I was able to open up so much better.” 

In the course of his therapy sessions, Balaji dealt with negative emotions that would consume him. His transition from Madhya Pradesh to Delhi was hard, and the change in space and environment was not all that conducive for him.

The transition period is the beginning of newfound independence, endless possibilities, and incredible personal growth. Balaji was eager for it and found it overwhelming as anything new is always scary.

It’s normal to be clueless when you embark on your college journey, including knowing what you want to major in. This time of the year in life is the time to explore your strengths, discover your passions and find what motivates you.

Speaking with Ms Anjali helped him open up better and realise that he needed to work on his confidence and be open to change. 

He actively exhibited the changes he learned through counseling, like how he behaves with people, his self-esteem, and his self-confidence. 

“I connected with a deeper version of myself through Journaling and self-reflection questions that my counselor asked me to inculcate as a part of Psychological techniques and it was fruitful.”

Balaji said that he unpacked his behaviour patterns post-therapy, and these things made better sense to me. He was someone who would be swayed by everything and everybody but that is not him anymore. Furthermore, he has realised that it is okay not to have every day as a good day. 

Therapy brought him change and goodness in abundance. He mentioned that he has started practising self-care and follows the routine for exercises. 

When we asked him if he had a word of gratitude to offer to his counselor this is what he had to say: 

“I thank her for making me believe in myself and improving my self-esteem.  She has taught me to prioritise stuff by looking at the larger picture in life rather than bawling over trivial things..” She has been instrumental in making me practise self-care and appreciating myself frequently enough.

In terms of feeling better, he rated himself with a solid 4 on 5 and we are equally excited and proud of his progress here at YourDOST.

Balaji’s Warrior Tips:
1.“People who are facing the same problems don’t have the same solution. ”
2.“You tend to get inspired by the things you are close to so always utilise that and create an atmosphere around that. ”
3.“Acknowledge what helps you best to overcome problems and religiously practise that. ”