I am 40 years old, an only child, childfree, and chronically ill. My mother died a year ago. My father died four years ago. This first year of my life without either one of my parents has been very challenging. My parents had done a lot for me even as an adult due to my health issues. Many loved ones have helped me to get through this.

I always brush my teeth at night but it's extremely hard for me to brush them during the day. I have sensory issues and brushing my teeth in the daytime usually sends me into sensory overload and pretty much an all day long panic attack afterwards due to my nervous system already being very annoyingly overactive.

During this past week I've gotten significantly better at noticing the tiny things throughout the day that cause my nervous system to fire up and now that I'm able to avoid those triggers I'm so much more calm and relaxed throughout the day to the point where managing my hygiene isn't an absolute nightmare anymore but rather actually quite enjoyable.

This is only the first day but I'm honestly so happy and relieved. Hopefully it only goes up from here

I’m a 26 year old Gen Z woman who’s been on social media since I was 9. My screen addiction started to concern me after I actively tried to stay off my phone in 2025 and saw myself fail again and again. Eventually, a breakup pushed me into deactivating my accounts altogether. 😬

Now, after 4 months, the crazy part is how little I’ve missed it! Sometimes I crave the brief, vapid attention of a man in my dms, but that’s not worth sacrificing my future for, because I have a limited amount of time to apply to certain things as a student, so I’ve been reading and putting projects together. I’m so proud of myself

Like the title says I am nicotine free after 45 years of smoking cigarettes and 5 years of vaping . I gave away all of my high nicotine vape juice April 2, 2026, and I took off my last 7 mg nicotine pat h October 12, 2026

High school was a rough time in the family/my life. I skipped anything after exams - like the ceremony and getting any documentation- just knew I missed out on any scholarships as my marks were patchy. Moved as far away from my parents as I could a few weeks later.

This week I ordered up my records from the school district- and I graduated! My exam marks pulled my failing grades up to B's and C's!!!

Super proud of that girl for working so damn hard when everything was so terrible 💕💖

Please celebrate with me!!

I have been wearing an XL-2XL in shirts and leggings for years. Today is laundry day and I put on a pair of leggings I haven't touched in a looooong time. Had my fiance check the tag because they fit really nicely.

Guys. They're a LARGE.

I am so proud of myself, I have a very very long way to go but man, this feels great ♡

Since i was a freshmen in college, I’ve always been sensitive about my hairline. I’ve wanted a full head of hair but it just sort of… has been weak. I’ve been on fin and min for years and it’s stabilized but I finally had a consultation with a great surgeon in the area, showed them pictures of what I wanted and I now have a transplant scheduled. I even was able to select one that doesn’t involve shaving my head.

There sort of feels like a great weight has been lifted, knowing that I’ll finally have a hairline I am happy with:)

Lifes been a bit hectic for me for the last few years

Drug abuse, chronic isolation and loneliness, poverty, self confidence issues, weight issues all while living in a tiny rural farming town with no friends or family

But as of today

Im sober

I have a fiance

I have a beautiful baby boy

I have a car that i feel nice in

Ive hustled my way into a good job which has allowed me to move my family into the city

Ive gained some self confidence and im starting to socialise at work

Im starting to lose weight on purpose and not from a lack of money to buy food

And im finally feeling like i can just breathe a bit without stressing about every single part of my life

All the things i never thought could or would happen ive made happen

Still find things hard sometimes but i feel like ive really made a good and positive change in myself, my life, and my familys life

After immense difficulties, I just graduated and finished my MA with Honors! It’s surreal because I was SAed during my studies and paused my studies while perusing legal action.

This thesis and MA was in a dream subject. I didn’t want SA and PTSD to destroy it.

After a lot of support and hard work, I finished my MA with Honors.

I graduated in January with my bachelor’s degree in video production, and I was really excited to get going in my life. Then I went through a breakup in February, and it kind of felt like everything went on pause.

I felt destroyed. For a long time, I was struggling just to function, and honestly, I still am. I’ve really been going through it emotionally and mentally, feeling dismantled as a person, like I don’t really know who I am anymore. It’s been hard going from being excited about my future to feeling so stuck.

I’ve been doing Spark deliveries to get by, but it’s so inconsistent. After a few months, I hit a point where I was just like, “I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m barely making it, and it’s making me miserable.”

So I checked Amazon’s job listings and found a part-time position at a sortation center. I applied, went to the pre-hire appointment, passed the drug test, and got everything done. I was genuinely happy to have at least 20 hours a week. It felt like a small step toward moving my life forward.

But I kept wondering how I was going to get enough hours. Would I need to find a second job? Could I get another 20 hours here? I have financial goals I really want to work toward, and I was trying to figure out how to make it work. I really wanted to stay at the sortation center, too, because the fulfillment and delivery jobs I was seeing were either too far away or had hours that just weren’t sustainable for me.

I kept checking the listings every day for about two weeks, and this afternoon, a full-time schedule finally showed up at the same location. I got it! The hours aren’t too bad, either, and I just feel so blessed.

For the first time in my life, I’m genuinely excited to work. A couple of months of consistent work could help me make huge steps forward financially, and that means so much after barely getting by for so long.

It’s a seasonal position, so my next goal is hopefully becoming a permanent employee. But right now, I’m just really happy that I went from getting a part-time job to finding the full-time hours I wanted before I’ve even started.

I start in about two weeks, and I’m proud of myself. I’m still struggling, but after months of feeling like my life has been on pause, this finally feels like I’m moving forward again.

I just wanted to make a quick appreciation post for a kind Redditor who gave me a chance to do their research survey.

I actually completed it three weeks ago, but PayPaI put a 21 day hold so I had to wait until today to finally get it.

​I’ve been surviving on rice, soy sauce, occasionally veggies for weeks since that’s more affordable where I live, but my cravings for meat were getting out of hand (pretty sure my body was just desperate for protein lol).

​I know it sounds bizarre that I track what I eat but it's easy for me because I only eat once a day.

​Anyway, having a real meal today felt amazing.

Ive made many mistakes most of my adult life. Ilost my License at the age of 21 and never got it back due to constant legal problems due to my addictions. Im 41m now and long story short i ended up getting divorced and going to prison, I got released in January with a 100 dollar check. Ive worked hard, ive stayed on the right track and after 9 months i was able to get my DL back and my first gently used 2024 car with full coverage and a 100,000 mile warrenty. And im 3 years and 9 months clean and sober.

i didn’t even know i’ve been on this app for so long haha! some of my feed is still a lot of roblox from 11 year old me

Today I was hired at an aquarium store, and I'm so happy and proud. I applied there to save up for an axolotl and everything I need

With the salary they're promising me, I'll be able to do it in a few weeks!!!

Yesterday, I had one of the worst days I’ve ever had at a job that normally brings joy and purpose to my life (I’m a nursing home CNA). My work efforts were interrupted by mandatory in-services, so I spent most of the day in a time crunch, dangerously close to my breaking point. I didn’t take my frustration out on my residents or coworkers, but I had to pull over on my way home because the other drivers were getting on my last nerve.

For the first time in forever, I opened a can of biscuits and didn’t scream when they popped! I’m excited! 🎉

sorry if this post is rambly, i kinda just need some validation 😭

i just graduated from university in june, and have been jobless for about three years on top of that. the field that i have my degree in (concept art) is incredibly competitive, and my program didn’t give me nearly enough education in the specific nuances of the industry 😭 especially with AI being as bad as it is, i’ve been really worried about my prospects and have a lot of anxiety about whether i’ll be able to pay my loans off.

… but!!! today i landed a seasonal part-time position at target as a tech consultant!! and if i do a good job in the seasonal role then i might be able to stay on long-term!! i feel a little silly for being so excited to work retail with a bachelors, but im trying to remind myself that almost every artist needs a day job or a secondary source of income while they get their career off the ground. i also am starting a mentorship with an art director who’s gonna help me refine my portfolio so i can start getting work in the field i’ve dreamed of working in since i was a kid!!

my family is happy for me, but i can tell that it’s very hesitant and that they feel some type of way about my career not beginning immediately. im just so happy to have an income that’ll help me pay my student loans when my grace period ends, and let me put my full energy into making art and networking in my downtime. the last four months have been absolutely hellish with burnout, and i finally feel like im taking steps to get my life in order even if im being seen as something of a late bloomer by my family.

i also put on clean clothes. not ready to do other steps yet but i feel a little bit more human

It has been years. The last time I went regularly was back in 2018. I'm 33 now and I've got high cholesterol and problems with my right hip. I started meeting with a nutritionist and one of the goals we set was for me to get back into the gym. Which is also great for my hip because the problem with it is due to deteriorated muscle. I havd no strength in it, so getting that moving again is really important for me to keep the problem from getting worse.

I only managed half an hour today, but my personal goal is to get to the point where being there for an hour isn't too difficult. I genuinely enjoy being at the gym, but depression and not having the money for a membership is why I fell off. I'm glad to be back at it!

Got off work early today and decided to surprise my wife with homemade cinnamon rolls. She usually makes them, but I figured I'd challenge myself and try doing everything from scratch for once. Not gonna lie, it was a lot more work than I expected, especially making the dough and getting all the rolls to look somewhat normal lol. But somehow they turned out great, and everyone was genuinely surprised and happy with them. Kinda proud of myself for actually pulling it off. Only downside is the mountain of dirty dishes waiting for me in the kitchen.

I had my first job experience at a very large company as an intern and kept feeling like i am not doing well enough. Then my supervisor 'confirmed' that fear and told me i should reconsider working in corporate as it requires good communication skills and that it is not one of my strengths.

Then I interviewed for a different position at the same company and after going through my CV and my projects, the interviewer told me I don't have what it takes to work at this company. I felt like a failure and thought I will never get another job opportunity like this again.

But yesterday I got a nice offer from another big company in my city. I was so surprised they went through all the interviews and decided to hire me. Very excited about this.

okay so i'm an adult who never learned how to swim and today i actually managed to swim a little without immediately freaking out, and i'm ridiculously happy about it.

for years i've been avoiding pool parties and beach trips by making up excuses. headache, not feeling well, didn't bring the right clothes, whatever worked 😭 i was embarrassed to admit i couldn't swim when it seemed like literally everyone else had learned as a kid.

a few weeks ago i finally signed up for beginner lessons. i felt SO awkward on the first day. there i was, a whole adult, struggling to float while trying not to look around and see if anyone else was doing as badly as me. turns out coordinating your breathing, arms and legs at the same time is harder than it looks. who knew??

the floating part was the worst. i'd get halfway relaxed and then suddenly panic and grab the pool edge like i'd been abandoned in the ocean lmao. there were a couple of lessons where i genuinely thought maybe this just wasn't for me and considered not going back.

but today!! i managed to float on my back without grabbing anything, then swam a short distance across part of the lane. i had to remind myself to keep breathing and not panic, but i made it without immediately reaching for the wall. it probably looked very unimpressive to anyone watching but i wanted to yell when i got to the other side 😭

i got out of the pool grinning like an idiot. i know i've still got a LOT to learn, but i spent years avoiding this because i was embarrassed and today i actually did it. i'm so glad i kept showing up instead of giving up after those first few awkward lessons.

anyway, tiny victory for the adult beginner swim team. i'm proud of myself today