Originally reported and written in February 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.

As you scroll through Samriddhi Malhotra’s Instagram page, it is almost like watching a movie in frames — one whose plot revolves around self-love, being kind to your past and hopeful towards the future.

A reel catches my eye as I scroll past. A girl around 25 years of age is in front of a laptop screen, quizzically looking at the screen, perhaps in the middle of another corporate day. This image bears little resemblance with the 32-year-old Samriddhi of the present day with her hair shaved off, living the beach life.

As she tells me, the last five years are what transformed her from the corporate girl who had her entire life charted out to now someone who takes one day at a time. Based in Goa, Samriddhi now works as a yoga teacher and breathwork facilitator.

When asked how the past few years have taken shape, “I am happier,” she says. “That’s what is different.”

It started with being unhappy

In 2018, from the outside, it would seem that Samriddhi was living the perfect life, but things were very different in reality.

“I was married and had an HR tech startup in Gurugram. While I did have it all, I was unhappy as my marriage was abusive,” she says, adding that she went back home to Kolkata at her parents' persuasion.

“I did not know what else to do. At the time, I had no plan of creating a new life for myself or moving somewhere. My body and mind felt numb,” she says.

Samriddhi recounts the trauma of having spent days lying in bed, feeling........

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