This Wonderful Initiative Is Aiming At Spreading Happiness And Tackling Suicide By Peer Counselling

There have been moments, which most of us have been through, where we were on the verge of breaking down, giving up and letting it all go. Curled up in a ball of grief, hopelessness and despair, how dearly did we wish to hold a hand or pour our heart to any friend? We all are trying to make it in this world, and we know it is one hell of a task. There are times when we need help, sometimes, it’s a friend who listens, at times it’s professional help that we must seek to make it through.

Many of us go through the pangs of losing someone dear and have often cursed suicide as it continues to hit the youth as a plague. According to WHO, there are close to 80000 in India who decide to end their lives by committing suicide every year. Hence many millions of people have affected every year or experience suicide bereavement every year.

You’re Wonderful Project;

“You’re Wonderful Project;” was founded three years ago and it is based out of Delhi. They are striving hard to eradicate suicide from the society. It all came from the idea that suicide is not the answer to any of your problems and that problems can be shared, dealt differently apart from choosing to end your life.

The founding members, Ambikesh Sharma, Naman Vardhan Dutt, Akash Saxena and Akhilesh Nair thought something needs to be done to show people that suicide is not the only way to deal with a crisis. YWP; not just focuses on stopping people from committing suicide or eradicating suicide from the society, it also focuses on people being happy themselves and making happiness a habit. They are trying their best to make people realise that it’s not just one life that is being brought to an end, but it mutilates other associated lives in the process as well. This organisation is extending a helping hand so that one can take out a moment of out of their lives and speak up about the issues they are going through and encourage people in going to the therapist when help is needed.

Most of us hesitate in talking about our hardships even with our kith and kin, primarily being afraid of any judgemental opinion. This is where YWP; is doing an applaudable job. They work through the means of peer counselling run by psychology students or psychology graduates who talk to people in need as a friendly listener. Thus people can open up without having the premonition of being judged. Rather than suggesting a solution to the situation, they are posed with questions which they can reflect on and decide what they can do. There are helplines in social media, where people often pour their hearts out to an username, YWP;, on the social media and take recourse to help. They also have a network of therapists on their panel where they refer people to when the cases are a bit to complicated to be dealt by peer counselling.

Spreading Happiness

When The Logical Indian spoke to Ambikesh Sharma, one of the founders of YWP;, he said, “It is important to believe in oneself and create a sense of belonging. We are just there to be with you and will get you someone who will help you to get through this.” One of the greatest challenges they have faced so far is to make people open up. Some people have problems in opening up to strangers and often don’t seek help. To sensitise them about seeking help and making them reach out to a hand that is asking for it holds is one of the challenges they had to deal with.

The idea of eradicating suicide is a daunting task as it involves creating a platform for people to share, to communicate and understand why it happens in the first place. Thus they have people working tirelessly to spread happiness. They conduct sessions on creating awareness and have online campaigns on several related issues like dealing with Post Trauma Stress Disorder. They also hold meetings like Confession Unplugged where people come together and discuss their crisis to find out a measure to cope with it. They write it down in papers; planes are made from it and thrown on the road. Later one person picks it up and discusses the issue. Their online campaigns are a constant reminder to make one feel special, loved and cared. Spreading smiles and happiness has been one of the visions of YWP;. National Poetry Writing Month, PTSD day, One Act of Kindness and Happiness Week are examples of some of their online campaigns that creates a ripple effect to induce happiness.

“We want people to know this kind of an organisation exists; we are trying to bridge the gap between people who want to seek help and people who want to give help. Five years down the line we want to be available for anyone who needs help,” Ambikesh said. On asking about what YWP has to say for The Logical Indian readers, he further said, “Be kind and kindness shall come back to you. Let happiness slip away for a while, but be assured it’ll come back to you. Let it come to you now, at this moment.”

Aaj… se kal thoda alag hoga,

Kal se… kal thoda alag hoga.

Aasman tak jaane ki himmat rakho,

Kal haath mein falak hoga.