About unshackle
unshackle is not about jargon, or loudspeak. unshackle is not about lofty, unachievable dreams. unshackle is about you. Be it something as intimidating as a mental wellness issue, or something as simple as uncluttering your mind, unshackle is about you, dear reader.
Roll of cosmic dice
unshackle was born purely by chance, a roll of cosmic dice, if you please. With a successful career in Media, and with a paradoxical sounding ‘passive passion’ in psychology, I hadn’t ever seriously thought of Counselling and Coaching as a career choice.
My brush with OCD
My real brush with a mental disorder came when my wife was diagnosed with postpartum OCD. It was easily the worst phase of my life. I went through depression myself, also almost got divorced, went through hell. But with help, I began to accept it and realised that it’s ok to not have all the answers. But it’s not ok to wallow in self pity. My mantra now? – it’s ok to fail, not ok to give up. Unending trips to various counsellors for my wife’s therapy, extensive research, and being my wife’s co-therapist for 11 years helped me understand the nuances of OCD intricately and I became adept at the treatment option of choice for OCD – Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
My Ikigai
I started writing a book chronicling my experiences as a caregiver to my wife, and became an active evangelist on various online forums for Mental Health. A desire to provide direction to other sufferers made me form an online support group and helped many a sufferer get a grip on their problems through one-on-one counselling. That is when I realised that this is my ikigai, my raison d’être.
Motto of unshackle
The motto of unshackle is to, yes, unshackle lives. This is the reason why I get out of bed every morning.
I supplement my hands-on knowledge of ERP and experience of two decades as an involved and present caregiver with A Masters’ degree in Clinical Psychology (my second Masters’ degree), Certificate course in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Certificate course in Life Coaching, and, a business doctorate where my thesis was focused on proving that people with high functioning OCD can be a valuable part of the mainstream workforce.
Be it OCD, anxiety, depression, stress, or a general feeling of being stuck in a rut, you CAN unshackle. Talk to me and I will help you through it.