Today we’d like to introduce you to Payal Desai.
Hi Payal, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2020, I welcomed my second son home at the brink of the pandemic. At the time, I didn’t realize I was embarking on the hardest chapter I would endure. Early on in lockdown, my husband and I were indulging heavily (as we always had) in drinking wine/relying on alcohol. I always knew I drank differently than those around me – I realized this even in my college days. I knew I had a dependency, and it caused me to make reckless decisions. Alcohol was really important to me, and it dictated a lot of my decisions. Even as a mom, I used it as a crutch – I justified drinking because “mom life is so hard.”
In August 2020, I was beginning to recognize signs of postpartum depression, and my loved ones encouraged me to see a therapist. I made a virtual appointment and began unloading about conflict with my husband, overwhelm from the pandemic and not seeing family, and just feeling drained. I shared that the only thing my husband and I had in common was drinking together, and she asked me to share further on that. She was the one to recognize my issue with alcohol, and when she said it out loud, she released something I knew to always be true. It took a stranger saying it to me for me to have a wake-up call.
And a wake-up call it was along with a gut punch. I knew I had to change. I knew there was only one way to do so – and that was to cut out alcohol and other mind-altering substances completely,
Since August 2020, I have witnessed a transformation in my mind, body, and soul. As a content creator, a teacher, a wife, and a mom, every single role in my life is improved. I am motivated and willing, I am capable and strong. I’ve been given the chance to share my story, an all too common story, and I believe it has reached some people when they needed to take a microscope to their own habits as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The largest of struggles has been welcoming the new me into spaces of my past. It has redefined relationships, and some have simply been lost along the way. As we were able to re-enter social situations, it was hard for me to align myself – the new me. I put so much of my life on social media as a content creator, so that also played into redefining myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a teacher of 14 years. I am passionate about education, impacting students, and working with young people. I am not sure if I’ll continue in education next year, but my career has been fulfilling!
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t think it is luck. I think I had the fortune to meet some integral people who guided me well. That coupled with my hard work, ability to change, learn from my mistakes and give myself grace has shaped my life.
Pricing:
- 150 story post
- 500 reels/tiktok
Contact Info:
- Website: www.payalforstyle.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/payalforstyle
Image Credits
Payal Desai
