Priya's pain started when she was a child, far too young to carry it. Her parents went abroad for work and in their absence, she was abused by someone in her own family, someone who should have protected her. When she tried to tell others what had happened, she was blamed instead of believing. She was made to feel it was her fault that happened.

            She left home at ten. First she found comfort in cigarettes, then in stronger substances to cope with her loneliness. Even when her parents called her back and asked her to continue her education, lack of adequate care and emotional support compelled to left her home again. On the streets, she faced more violence, sexual exploitation and heartbreak including painful relationships and losses she had to cope with alone. For years, no one ever asked her about her condition. Substance use became her way of coping with pain that no one had noticed.

            Eventually, her family found her and brought her to a women rehabilitation center. It was there, during a mental health orientation, a counsellor finally asked her about her mental health, gently, without judgment, without rushing her.

            At first, she found it difficult to speak up. But slowly, she began to speak up in a comfortable and trusted space about everything she had carried alone for so long. For the first time, someone helped her understand that what happened to her was never her fault not then, not now.

            She started learning new ways to cope with difficult emotions, instead of running from them. She began to realize that reaching out for help wasn't weakness, instead it was possible, and it was allowed. She can't undo her past, but she hopes for a beautiful future. Today, she keeps learning new skills, keeps asking for support when she needs it, and is slowly trying to get rid of the coping habits that once felt like her only option.

            Her story is a reminder of something simple, For twenty years, no one had asked her how she was really feeling. Now, someone finally has.