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A few years back, I remember waking up crying for no reason, which surprised me because I've thought of myself as positive-minded and quite cheerful. Can relate with me?
I’m writing this piece as I really had that urge to put this out, about the contrasting thoughts and complexities of the human mind.
I, for example, am a corporate soft skills trainer. When you happen to see my Facebook or LinkedIn page, it’s all about my achievements and about how I’ve kind of created the perfect life for myself, or so you may think.
On one hand, yes, I have managed to create exactly the life that I wanted, but on the other hand, I do not post about my dark thoughts and anxieties which form a significant part of me, maybe even for others at least in their midlives (I guess), which is OK, and which is exactly why I want to write this piece.
I strongly believe that almost everyone suffers from things they don’t discuss. When you see the celebrity who seemingly has it all – the perfect spouse, the fame, the money, health, and a great social life, we think that their lives are perfect, don’t we? But it wasn’t until Deepika Padukone or Anushka Sharma or Shruti Hassan or Rashmika Mandanna dropped some truth bombs and openly spoke about their mental health, that the air around this “taboo” topic was cleared and hopefully has given people the confidence to approach and deal with it by seeking help.
Taking my own life for instance, there are times when I’ve felt absolutely grateful for all the things am blessed with – my family, my career, my money, my house etc. As much as I’ve felt grateful and blessed, there are also times I feel quite empty and have my anxiety pangs for no obvious reason, feel confused about life, overthink things that I blow way out of proportion and end up being sad with my own thoughts.
A few years back, I remember waking up crying for no reason, which surprised me because I’ve thought of myself as positive-minded and quite cheerful. Can relate with me? (About my anxiety, was prescribed vitamins medically, I recommend a doctor visit than let yourselves assume things).
Although I’m clear about the purpose of my life. I want to be an inspiration for my daughter, by never giving up on things that matter to me like my career, my interests, even life, so that she sees and hopefully takes after that quality to never easily give up on things that are close to her heart. I also love living for all its uncertainly which is what makes it interesting, for life is precious, beautiful, and magical. I also have some long-term goals for myself which gives me a solid reason to look forward to life every single day and work hard to achieve them.
I just wanted to share this post to make it clear that all that glitters can just not be gold. But that doesn’t mean we stop pursuing the gold. When life seems overwhelming, take a pause, and look at the larger picture and try to find a meaning to it – to live for yourself to experience life in all its glory and mess, to write a book, to publish your thesis, to support your family, to serve others, whatever gives you a reason to wake up every day Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, which made a lot of sense to me). And some days even when you think you can’t, remind yourselves that you’re stronger than you think, and always remember that you haven’t seen some of the best moments in life yet.
Sukanya Raghunathan is a leadership trainer and a faculty of management. A mother of an eleven-year old girl, she also teaches Carnatic music and her hobbies include singing, dancing, playing keyboard, reading fiction/non- read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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