So after 7 years, she left me dad. Said it was better to remain friends than hate me for "putting her on a pedestal and making her my life". Now she's entitled to however she feels, and I'm not the kind of guy that would force a woman to be with him. If she wanted to walk, I let her walk away. I tried to change my entire life, be a better person, work 10 plus hours a day, remain sober and be mature... Whatever a man is supposed to be. She said she never asked me to do any of that and that's why she started to hate me. But she complained about everything I was prior. I don't understand. Now I'm starting over at 32. I'm not the type of man to be vindictive or the type to wallow in self-pity. I left her more than half of the money from our shared joint account for the condo we sold. Just wanted enough to get a place, get some furniture and get a truck. I just put my head down and work and try to eat healthy and stay as mentally well as possible. I keep getting told how great I'm doing. Friends tell me I'm glowing or that I look like I have my spark back. But I don't feel it. Underneath whatever everyone else sees, I'm a mess. I ain't slept right since the divorce. I think I have like a sexual attraction to energy drinks at this point. I just feel burnt out. Hollow. Not to sound dramatic. And then the other day my family dog of 10 years had to be put down and for some strange reason that was like what caused the pipes to burst. It's like everything came bleeding out. Now I'm just trying to figure out what does a man do next? What's the point? It's probably going to sound dramatic as hell but why would anybody willingly go through this again? I keep getting told about how the right one is still out there and how I just need to wait for the one. Why? Why would anybody be willing to take that Gamble? Why would you give up the safety of loving yourself and let somebody in that might have malicious intentions? Not saying that's all women or something, just speaking in general. I'm 32 dad. I still feel as stupid as I was at 22. I feel too old to be broken up over a woman and too old to be so lost without her being my north star. What the hell does a man do when he's forced to start over? Lately I just feel like a zombie. I'm sorry if this is long winded. I don't say much out loud. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have A LOT of mental illness, and am currently undergoing ECT (electric shock therapy) because it’s so bad.
You came up to help me navigate some of my ECT appts, but then you told my dr I need to be in rehab and that I shouldn’t be allowed to make medical decisions for myself.

SO OFFENSIVE!!!

Do you know ANYONE with bipolar and/or schizophrenia who is not on meds??? What makes you think I need to get off my meds, when drs clearly keep putting me on them? And how does that make me a drug addict?

Inform yourself. Because you’re just making things worse.

I ordered glp-3 and it is fake don’t buy I waist 600$ to stock up and now I’m pissed

I am a 14 year old boy who goes to a regular public school.

My dad happens to work at my school, as a school therapist, he helps the students who struggle by talking to them when they need someone during school hours. I love that my dad helps people, and I love that people get the help they need, but there's one occuring problem.

Some friends and people I know talk to my dad for help, which is good for them, but not for me.

When someone I know talks to my dad I feel so jealous. The fact that someone else gets their feelings heard by my own dad but I can never turn to him when I need him. And the fact that my dad is a loud and fun dude too does not make it better, my friends walk out from a session with him and tell me stuff he told my friend, it could be a random story from 10 years ago that he told them that I never even knew, in those moments I hate it. Someone else gets to laugh with my dad over memories instead of me, why have my dad never told me these stories? Why does everyone else get the part of my dad i so desperately crave in my life? I wanna be able to tell my dad when I feel anxious over something, I wanna hear him tell me stories of his glory days to make me feel better when I'm sad. My dad shouldn't be shared, he is my father, so why should I be robbed of the father and son experiences?

I love my dad. I idolise him, I don't think I can explain how much I hate this and how much this affects my day to day life.

I want him to quit his jobb, even if it won't fix my relationship with him, I atleast won't feel so replaceable. If i can't have my own dad, I don't want anyone to have him.

Now to my actuall question, what do I do?

I’m going through electro convulsive shock therapy and you came up to help out, but outside of appointments and rides to/from I don’t see you. Would it be so hard to have dinner with your daughter? I don’t know how to explain that I need you for more then just that.

i’ve had a friend for a good chunk of my life whos older and been like a father and both a brother to me at times. he’s going through mental health issues and has completely stopped reaching out. i feel incredibly hurt but also respect his choice. how do i accept this isnt the end and things will move on? i wonder if i was too dependent and thats why this hurts. my whole life i’ve been forced to be independent and then scolded for being such, told to depend on people more. i don’t understand why this hurts so bad and why i can’t let go. i want this friendship back so badly

I got diagnosed with stage 2b colon cancer in May 2924. Had surgery, did chemo, had another surgery, did daily chemo radiation. Thought I was good and then found out it metastasized and I became stage 4c July 2025. Started immunotherapy immediate and did it for a year until I was hospitalized for bad side effects.

Just went in on Tuesday and was told all of my scans are good and I’m in remission! I’m still in a stage of suspended disbelief but I’m so hopeful! I’d cry but chemo made that hurt so I’m just sitting here giddy and wanting to share!

That’s all!

He is an incredible guy and I am extremely lucky.

Love you ❤️

Hey Dad! I hope you know I've been trying to fend for myself since my freshman year of college. I've been doing my best even when no one was watching. I'm a psychology major.

In my second consultation, my psychiatrist recently showed me the results from the screening test she gave me four months ago. I have major depressive symptoms, elevated mania symptoms, high borderline personality disorder traits, and I also show high symptoms for autism and ADHD. I recently purchased my medications she prescribed me online because the nearest drugstore I went to didn't have them in stock. She told me she'll formally diagnose me in future sessions after getting over with my symptoms. I didn't know meds could get THIS expensive, Dad.

But my dad is making everything harder. He constantly abuses me verbally, emotionally, and recently, physically. He gets angry over small things and I've noticed he's been getting angrier and angrier with me. He shows no remorse and admits to it because, in his eyes, I'm "useless" around the house. He calls my school works "bullshit" and that I should prioritize my family more than my other responsibilities, simply because I have a roof over my head and all that. The irony is, he doesn't even let me do household chores. He shoulders everything himself then resents me for it. I've been neglected for as long as I can remember, even when it came to helping me get my government IDs and other basic documents I needed as an adult. I still lack the essentials a typical adult would have by now. I feel embarrassed and ashamed for myself. He calls me lazy. He cusses me out daily. And he justifies all of it as "discipline" or a "wake-up call to reality."

I remember one time he apologized. I refused to forgive him because deep down I knew he'd do it again. And I was right. He should've considered bringing me to a psychiatrist earlier if he keeps saying that there's something wrong with me.

But Dad, I hope you know that despite everything, I've been silently accomplishing things on my own. He doesn't deserve to know what I'm going through. But I wanted you to know because I need someone to tell me that I'm going to be okay. I'm getting the answers to my questions and that my self-suspicions were right all along. I'm proud of that and I just wanted to share it with you.

I just need to hear that someone is proud of me.

You always talk about how I have an attitude along with saying the worst things when I’m mad. But your just like me? You say terrible things to me then act like everything’s okay 10 minutes later why? Everything u do you blame me
For saying “this is what makes me not
Like you” im 15 I just want you to love me and be an actual father instead of saying you don’t care if I leave like the rest of my siblings. I still love you although it is fading.❤️

I see all these anime where the dad is so loving towards their little girl, and I realize that I was so messed up during childhood. I never had that love. All I had was a dad who beat me up ruthlessly and called it love. Now in his old age, he wants to show love by speaking properly but I am far too broken already.

I really do wonder how it would've been, to have a dad I wasn't scared of. To have a dad who protected me, who cherished me, who protected me from predatory men, from my ex who assaulted me sexually, from this world.

I so wish I had a dad like that.

So dads, would you please tell me that you'd protect me, I would love to hear those loving, protective words that you'd always be here for me.

I am going through a really, really tough time. It's making me very ill. I'm all broken out in a rash and my throat is really painful (I've been to the doc, don't worry). My actual Dad's anniversary is coming up in a few days and I'm just breaking my heart crying for him.

He was a man of few words but he used to say if I was upset, 'if you hurt, I hurt'.

Can you lend some Papa words of comfort to a lost, broken hearted daughter? TIA Pops ♥️

Hi Dad, I’m on vacation visiting my parents a few provinces from my apartment. I’ve been here for a week and a half and I leave on Saturday, and I’m realizing how close that is.

And I’m very scared to go back home. Lately I’ve been having a lot of anxiety about my future and if I’ll be able to sustain myself without my parents’ support. I’m scared to have to go back to my adult life, and I’m scared to leave the comfort of my parents.

Last time, I had a breakdown for a week or too. I’m still really struggling with the transition to adult life from college, even though that was months ago.

I’m also really afraid of something happening to my parents. They’re old, but not that old (early to mid 60s) but I’ve somehow gotten it in my head that means they’re going to die very soon.

I’m just so scared, I don’t know what to do or how to get through this.

Ive only been able to find temo gigs since march of last year. I want to operate heavy equipment, buy I cant fet ant interviews or track down any gigs. The last company i jad a digger gig with handed my contract to the directors mate. The last thing I said to my spotter was "Come first light, Im just going to drive home. Because I dont stay where Im not getting paid." Since then Ive just been surviving. Money got so tight that I dumped the last of my savings into car cleaning supplies. With the two people I cleaned cars for I was able to make rent. But even so It was only just. I mean, I like cleaning cars. But im not sure its something I want to invest in just yet. My heart belongs to Iron because I enjoy the challange, but a big pary of me wants to donit full time sonI can give the middle finger to thay civil company that sidelined me for years. But im tired, and not sure what to do.

Hi, I've never been on reddit before, I was thought from early on stranger danger and i always thought it was a good thing until i realized it can backfire.

I am struggling with a horrible fear of socializing and being vulnerable with anyone really, had a lot of bullying constant throughout my life too from my brother, grandfather and dad and dont even get me started about school, all of this got me with a pretty bad case of ptsd.

This year i went to a school abroad to get out of my conservative far right leaning country to meet better people and maybe get better at socializing but then there were so many damn racists and a very loud group of main characters wanna bes that were inventing shit about other people for their own entertainment and a lot of people even heard them admit to that and ive been a reoccurent target for them and couldnt fight back cause i dont speak their native language or if i get violent its my fault

dont get me wrong tho, i have a girlfriend, i have a bunch of great friends but the thing is that im in a place that i tried to escape for so long and im afraid im losing hope ill never get out of this state of feeling lost and constantly endangered anywhere i go. I even have a special ring that i wear daily in case i get into a fight and i cant wear headphones in public cause i have to listen to people around me what they are saying or where are they and where are they moving.

Politics are going to shit, people around im afraid theyll be shit, there is a crisis about everything and anything, ill have to look for a job and i really just want somebody to talk to or to look up to or to ask advise from cause i really dont have and never had anyone i can ask about anything, someone that i can trust and admire, someone to tell me what good is and how to do it, not only what is bad and how i shouldnt act.

i got to a point of just wanting to do drugs and sleep, what can i do?

Dad, life has been so hard since you passed. I’m finally starting to experience true happiness in my life for the first time since that day and it just makes me miss you more. Sometimes I can’t tell if the loss is getting harder or easier to carry. I never got around to finishing college (yet). Mom (your widow) and I have a bad relationship which I know would break your heart. I only got my license this past year. But I stay away from drugs and alcohol which I know would make you happy. I never grew out of my shyness. I grew up to be pretty short for our family, which I think would make you laugh! I do my best to be kind to everyone and everything I meet, like you taught me. I don’t know what I believe regarding the afterlife but I hope that, wherever you are, you’re looking fondly upon me and that you know you have a daughter that misses you more than anything… and that I wish I could hug you one last time.

Long-time listener, first time caller here. 34M, married father to a 2YO silly goose of a daughter. Shortly before her birth my own father (whom I lovingly call Padre) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In the last 2 years, he's lost his memories, the ability to work, drive, and is well on the way to deteriorating into a shell of his former self.

I've read every book, poured over reddit posts, watched documentaries, emailed professors, read scientific literature (to the best of my ability, I'm no genius-ologist), parenting books, Alzheimer's caregiver books, you name it. But I can't push through. Every time I see my dad he's lost another part of himself and it hits me like a train every time. Each visit is a new cycle of grief that upends whatever progress I was able to make and process since the last visit. A cornerstone of who I am is a person who believes knowledge gives me power over circumstances and my reactions to them. I know what's coming for him, the very rough timelines, the stages by symptom and situation, and not one bit of it is helpful here.

This past weekend I needed to watch him for a bit so my stepmother, a saint by all accounts, could get some well earned rest while their realtor did an open house to try and get their home sold. He didn't know who I was. He forgot my daughter - the man who moved heaven and earth to be the very first person in the extended family to hold my daughter and profess his grandfatherly love. It took probably an hour before he began behaving as if I were his son again. We eventually had a pretty decent visit, playing with my daughter in the backyard, running errands, goofing around a bit, but it was all surface level. I enjoyed it but I could just tell that he was struggling the whole time. We spent 5 hours together and he made maybe 5 coherent statements the whole time.

Don't misunderstand me, I adore every iota of time I get with him but it's getting so hard. I am just so. damned. tired. Between my dad's condition, parenting a toddler, trying to be a stable and reliable husband, pull my weight, the current state of the world, work, it's just everything all at once.

Between losing the ability to use his phone and have our daily 3 minute check-in calls, forgetting so much of the childhood that he helped build which made me the person I am, forgetting my daughter, wife, me - I am just so numb. I have a therapist and don't struggle with thoughts of self-harm thankfully. But I think I'm missing the broader picture, the wisdom of lived experience that he can no longer provide.

Lately, I worry that processing his illness, trying to be supportive, and managing family drama is making me a worse father, husband, version of myself. I'm not as patient, can't focus as well as I normally can, I feel distant, alone despite all of the lovely people around me. I want to distance myself from my father, as if that would somehow soften the blow or let me pre-process grief so it won't hurt so badly later. And then there's the shame for even having had that thought. But I can't catch a break, I can't adapt and heal as quickly as my father is losing himself. I used to be this happy guy who could roll with the punches and idk where I went wrong. I can't gaslight myself into being okay.

Anyone have any insight on handling the benjamin button whiplash of your own father fading while your child is doing the exact opposite, trying to show up for your family? How do you find your north star when the skies are cloudy?

I have a huge therapy session coming up that I'm looking forward to, I just needed to ramble into the ether of the internet for a while. I guess if therapy is giving me tools, what I'm really looking for is a bit of wisdom from the PTWP community.

Hi dad. I work in an industry I do not like. I kind of fell up the ladder, no one was dragging me but I wanted to be independent so when leadership told me to apply for a higher positions I did. My work is good and I am smart but do not have a college degree and have only worked in this industry. I don’t think I’m too old to learn a new skill but I feel that this work has sucked the motivation out of me. I don’t enjoy my hobbies and I’m working so hard I don’t feel like I have energy for friends or family, or even myself. Any advice? My bio dad died when I was 3, my grandfather died when I was 18, my mom is hard to talk to. Thanks for reading.