Strong Outside, Strom Inside

Hi, I am Aditi Kalra, 25, a teacher and strongly interested in English Literature. Reading books gives me the strength to stay with me forever. Here I am sharing with you my roller-coaster journey.

We may preach about being honest and vulnerable, but are we really ready to see a person’s vulnerable side? This is especially true in the constant hustle culture, where people are quick to spot weakness, not to offer support but to exploit it.

Strong on the outside, weak on the inside: Managing mental health struggles and professional life

We may preach about being honest and vulnerable, but are we really ready to see a person’s vulnerable side? This is especially true in the constant hustle culture, where people are quick to spot weakness, not to offer support but to exploit it.

Living with the constant fear of not letting our weakness slip even for a second.

We wear a mask because of this constant fear of showing our vulnerable side. A mask that showed her happy side. Masks that show our optimistic side, where we are ready to face every obstacle head-on and confidently.

But at the end of the day, only we know it’s a mask.

In this world of social media where everyone wants to preach about mental health, are we really ready to face the actual challenges, to have the nuance to understand someone’s pov about their struggles?

Coming from personal experiences, where I got diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder in 2019. My struggle with my mental health is a constant struggle.

However, along with the internal struggle, there is this taboo.

Tabbo about letting even a single soul know about this secret. The secret that may force people to look at me differently.

Differently in the way that “I am unreliable”!

The whispers that haunt me are, “She’s not stable enough,” or worse, silently disqualify me from opportunities for which I’ve worked hard.

So, here is what I did

I kept quiet. Smile when required, always behaving professionally. While simultaneously battling my internal thoughts. I may not have the energy to get up from the bed, but I would be at my workplace with my coffee and backup coffee in my bag.
All I did was be dependent on caffeine and do my best.

Until one day, the caffeine was not enough.

I hit my threshold. I broke down. And I had to ask for help.

I had to stop ignoring my battles and accept my struggles.

It took months to finally learn how to manage this.

Healing is not linear. I am still learning how to manage several aspects of my personal life. But I have learned how to ace my professional life while managing my internal chaos.

Here are 3 valuable learning from my therapy sessions that are my savior to manage my professional life.

The power of taking a step back:
Not everything requires an instant response. Sometimes the healthiest response is silence.

Taking a step back and letting your emotions and thoughts align may take time. But, it will save us from taking rash decisions or say something we may not meant.

This simple step has been the biggest change that has helped me in setting healthy boundaries and able to maintain good relations with my co-workers.

Learning the art of “Teamwork”

Before therapy, I believed that I had to do everything on my own.

My constant thought was that asking for help makes me look weak. But I have learned that the opposite is true. Playing by your strengths and letting others do the same is the game changer in the professional world.

It not only builds good relations with our colleagues but also helps us learn the art of collaboration.

Showing up is better than perfection.
Sometimes, we obsess over perfection. It feels like to get the praise, we need everything to be perfect. However, in my professional journey, I have found that showing up is more important. Showing up everyhti9gn at work, building rapport with our seniors, and making us look more reliable among our colleagues.

It may not look perfect, but it shows a commitment to be there and scope for improvement.

Conclusion
Sometimes it is difficult to understand our emotions. It may feel overbearing, however, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. It may be far, but with help and the right guidance, the journey towards the light becomes easier.

My message to anyone reading this—whether you’re silently battling your mind, or supporting someone who is—is this:

You are not alone.
You don’t need to have it all together to be worthy.
And it’s okay to not be okay all the time.

Healing isn’t a destination. It’s a practice.
Keep showing up. Keep choosing yourself.
And when you feel like no one sees your fight, know that I do.

And I’m proud of you.