Early years
Life has always been a
rollercoaster ride for me. Considering the fact that I grew up in a
conservative Marwadi family, I was breaking barriers and standing up for myself
since I was 13 years of age. I was intrigued to explore different mindsets of
people around me. With time, I grew fascinated with human psychology, and my
desire to learn everything about it became my primary goal in life.
Usually, when girls slip
into their teenage years, they have colorful dreams of a life that they have
imagined. I, on the other hand, was falling in love with the mystery of how and
why people think and react differently in various circumstances.
Even my family started
noticing that I'm unique. My mother supported me to pursue education in the
field of Psychology.
Family hurdles
The community mindset
was my first and biggest hurdle. We were four sisters in a traditional
Marwadi joint family, and it was challenging for us to pursue higher
studies and work initially. We just couldn't see ourselves as women who
would just stay home and do things around the house. We saw ourselves as women
who would do household work and also live our individual dreams of being
successful. A good balance of both!
I really had to fight my
way through all the naysayers. I even defied the idea of getting married at a
young age. It was something quite unconventional for a girl in my community. My
parents had a difficult time accepting the fact that getting married is not my
first priority, and that I want to focus on things that are much more important
to me in the grand scheme of things. They were incredibly disappointed at the
time, but today they are extremely proud of who I am and what I do - and
support me more than anyone else does.
Journey as a Mental
Health Professional
My first gig in the
field of understanding human psychology was at a child guidance clinic through
which I was placed at a school. I worked as a counselor at this school for nine
months. The education system in India heavily relies on the western influence,
and that's not applicable here in the real world. I realized that working with
children wasn't something that I wanted to do. WOrking with the youth and
adults came more naturally to me, and I wanted to achieve greater things.
I also discovered some
exceptional loopholes in the overall mental health system and I wanted to
bridge these gaps by enhancing the way people function.
And that's when I
started my own practice. I registered and started my own company Out Aloud in
2015. Being an entrepreneur, the initial phase was quite cumbersome. I received
help from a lot of people, and this added value to my work. As a person, I've
been a team player and have believed in the wonders of collaboration.
Today, Out Aloud
Wellness is a team of 7, along with approximately 100+ mental health and
holistic wellness professionals that are affiliated with Out Aloud.
Throughout my journey,
I've always intended to help people live a better life holistically. Self
awareness, freedom and compassion being the foundation of them all.
Importance
of mental well-being
For me, mental health is
a lifestyle. Taking care of your mental health doesn't only mean attending
therapy sessions. It's a holistic lifestyle that you're actively, consciously
and wholeheartedly focusing on.
I hail from a therapeutic
background, and have extensive knowledge related to food and mental health.
Food is medicine. You are what you eat, and that directly impacts your mental
health. You need to be cognizant of what you're eating, how you're eating, and
when you are eating. Exercise is crucially important to stay healthy. Being
with the right kind of people also makes a lot of difference to your mental
health. I love collaborating with mental health professionals, nutritionists,
doctors, fitness experts, mindfulness and meditation experts - so that I can
facilitate the best health and mental well-being services to people.
My practice greatly
involves the importance of self-love and positive affirmations. These practices
not only benefit the mind and the body, but also fortify the soul.
A healthy mind, a
healthy body and a healthy soul results in a healthy life.
The importance of mental
well-being in copious detail has been discussed in my upcoming book as well.
Wellness and its myths
There are various myths
about wellness that can lead to confusion and misinformation. One such myth is
that wellness is only about physical health, when in fact - it subsumes
multiple aspects such as mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
I believe wellness is a
lot more than solving one problem. You may be having a back ache, but that back
ache could stem from deep-rooted traumas that you may have gone through.
It's important to
understand wellness and consider it to be an ongoing process, instead of
looking at your issue as a temporary concern that needs to be addressed
momentarily. Therapy should continue even after the problem is solved. You need
not have it every day, but at least once a month you can catch up with your
therapist and check if you are on the right track.
Some people also believe
that wellness is only for specific people or that it requires a significant
amount of time and money - when, in fact, wellness is accessible to anyone and
can be achieved through simple, daily practices.
Mentors and guides
Your mentor, your guide,
your therapist, your counsellor - are a part of your life. In order to keep
healthy - keeping in mind your personal, professional and social life, your
physical and mental health - it's important to have one person overlooking
everything. This one person could change as you get older. It's important for
this person to be open-minded, receptive and non-judgmental. He/She is a neutral
person you can fall back on.
You can also have
different people for different areas of your life.
When it comes to my own
journey - I've had multiple mentors in my life that have guided me along the
way.
An incident that left an
impression and changed your life
In 2017-18, I went
through my own phase of depression. Times were tough, but what came out of it
is even more beautiful.
When I look back today,
I only have gratitude for the universe and God, for putting me through that
experience. It made me far more empathetic and compassionate as a human being.
It made me stronger than
I ever was!