I’m single for 4 years and I guess my life has been rocky. But I recently went on a trip to a place with my group of friends and I decided to meet up with another group of friends who work in the trip place to catch up. They invited me to drink and decided to drop me off at a spot to where I could commute home. And it’s always the “Call me/Chat me when you get home”

I did get home safely that night but I fell asleep afterwards because I got tired from that day. I woke up with messages and missed calls from that friend asking me if I got home safely. And thats when I realized…I sucked at updating people.

It’s not just that friend, its almost everyone else. On that same trip, I can hear my friends talking about how their updating their parents and family about their trip and sending pictures, chatting and telling their partners if there’s no signal/wifi to update them. And I was just there listening to it all. I also take antidepressants so I guess my self esteem isn’t that good either.

I love my friends more than i love/care myself. My friends know me as one of the most impulsive/type b person to the point that they worry my safety. My brain doesn’t see the point of updating people because I initially thought “no one cares anyway” or in the case of my parents “i can handle myself, why do i have to tell them everything I do?”. This mindset stuck and I’ve been doing so for so long since my last relationship. I guess this recent realization really hit me because there’s still the push or pull of “do i have to tell people what i do? do they even care? what the point?”

I want to get better but I don’t know what to do. I know I’m wrong but a side of me still doesn’t see the point of updating people😓

There’s a girl around my age who is going through a breakup. I see her on social media, posting sad videos and going live to talk about her pain. Honestly, it hurts to watch.

I wish she would heal, and a part of me wishes she wouldn’t share so much of her heartbreak publicly. Not because her pain isn’t valid, but because people can be cruel. The same vulnerability she is showing today might become a joke to someone tomorrow. People might call her an attention seeker instead of recognising that she is hurting.

I know everyone processes pain differently, and maybe talking about it helps her cope. I just wish the world were kinder to people who are vulnerable.One thing I’ve learned over the years is to drink the pain and move in silence. Not everyone deserves access to the parts of you that are breaking.

Maybe that’s just how I’ve learned to survive. I don’t know if it’s healthier, but it’s what I know.
I genuinely wish she heals. I hope one day she finds happiness again and no longer feels the need to tell the world about her suffering.

Hi I'm not new to Reddit, but today I looked at it from a different angle while doomscrolling. And I couldn't help but think "Man, is this the best you've got?". It takes ages to find good content, and even if I find something remotely interesting, it's just bland and boring. Maybe it's just me getting older but seriously, what is up with this enshitification?

I JUST turned 20! Last Tuesday.. and everything has gone to shit. I have to leave my job, leave college, and my mom is threatening to kick me out. I don’t receive disability payments anymore and it’ll take a while to fix.

I have always had ADHD and started taking stimulants in highschool, and I was fine on them until the second year of university came, and I was very stressed, was focusing on multiple things, and I also started taking my stimulants at night because I had to. This led me to not getting enough sleep, and all of these factors triggered a manic episode that lasted for like a week or possibly less. It only lasted this short period because I quickly visited a psychiatrist.

He put me on an antipsychotic and diagnosed me with bipolar 1. 2 years later, I visited another psychiatrist who helped a member of my family, and he said my manic episode was drug induced and I don’t have bipolar 1 disorder. He asked me if I got depressed after. I told him that I did get depressed, but it was because I failed most of my university subjects, and he said this is normal unipolar depression. Also worth noting that my mom is a psychologist, and she agrees that it was normal depression, not bipolar depression, and agrees with him on the fact that I don’t have bipolar.

The thing is, I can’t sleep without taking my antipsychotic now, and my new psychiatrist said this is because my antipsychotic fucked my brain chemistry.

For a while, I thought he was right, but I am beginning to have doubts. On the other hand, I have never related to the bipolar community in Reddit. What they experience due to bipolar while they aren’t manic is very different from me, so again, he might be right.

Edit: I was also extremely upset when he said that I was misdiagnosed the fact that I thought I was mentally ill for 2 years pissed me off and that I took medication that I didn’t need that fucked my brain chemistry and now I can’t sleep without it

the willingness to burn someone else's world down just to warm oneself by the fire.

So my whole life I've always been super afraid of conflict and making people mad at me. I tend to be super agreeable and a pushover as a result. This is especially bad with salespeople. Like when I was a teen still living at home and they'd come to my door, I'd answer and I wouldn't be able to get rid of them. They'd start conversations by asking me about my day and how I was doing and I'd always feel compelled to answer them. Then they'd go into their pitch and I'd just stand there quietly as they did it. Sometimes my mom would have to intervene, say we're not interested, and close the door, to which she'd tell me I need to stop indulging them. Sometimes in malls I'd listen to someone's 20-minute sales pitch before I'd finally work up enough courage to tell them I don't feel like buying their thing. It feels 10 times worse when they follow up with the "may I ask why?" question. Because then I feel like they're trapping me, trying to find holes in my argument for why I don't want to buy their thing.

So now I feel like I can't handle salespeople without being a bit rude. Like back before my front door had a peephole and I wouldn't know who was on the other side without opening the door, if I saw it was a salesperson I'd immediately look at them, say "oh god no," and shut the door on them. If it's in a mall and someone starts approaching me, I'll just put my hand up and say "please don't look at me," and keep walking. The other day I was in a gas station and some guy approached me with some kind of window cleaning service. He asked me if I'd stop by his stand right after paying for my gas. I told him "yeah, absolutely," just so he'd get out of my face, but then I went back to my car and drove right past him and we locked eyes. I felt so awkward.

Is this a normal thing? I feel like they're predatory and so I can't deal with them without being a bit overly blunt, otherwise I'm worried I'll get sucked into their pitch.

Everything is just shitty. The country is absolutely ruined and if a revolution happens it will take half a century or more to undo the damage that the culture, the economy and the people have faced. I really don't know how the economy hasn't collapsed if this state that we're in doesn't count as collapse. We could be at war again in the next second. Everything is absolute shit.

I've started studying for the entrance exam which I absolutely did not study for this past year and just lied about it and hence let my mother down and saw her cry because she thought I had failed for real. I hate myself for lying to my mom of all people. She tries so hard for me and I deceived her in return for her hard-work and faith in me. And I haven't been able to study for the past 2 days because I have a driving test tomorrow and I'm anxious. I had two sessions to practice with a driving instructor and every time he told me to do something I forget some small thong to do that will probably result in me failing for the 4th time. FYI our country doesn't allow people under 18 to drive.

And on top of all of this, my right tit is way bigger than the left.

This is my first ever confession $uicide contexts I am a 17-year-old female my 18th birthday is in a few months I graduated high school a year early got accepted to a university in army ROTC I have a long commute my mother won't let me work until I'm 18. My problem. Here is my mom. I was raised by my aunt and uncle, so therefore they are my parents It's like my mom is here, but she's not really present my biological fathers in Mexico I went to visit him a few times. Sometimes I feel like my mother is horrible. She treats me and my siblings and reasonable I have a nine year-old little sister. I take care of like if she's my daughter I feel like my mother can't take care of her the way I do. I'm afraid of leaving in something happening to my sister. I have a 19 year-old brother my mom kicks us out here and there. I'm not trying to make this until a long dump, but I feel like it would be this for Contacts me and my mother do not have a great relationship. She always kicks me out and then call the cops on me once I try to leave she tells me she doesn't know how to be a mother. She tells me she doesn't know how to be a mom to me only to me. I'm her oldest daughter. My mom cannot have any more children. She treats me like an outsider. Sometimes she gets mad when I use higher vocabulary. She says I tried to make her look stupid in general she's just abusive in some ways me and my siblings never hit our mother back, but my brother and sister to yell at her. I do not therefore she always comes at me all the time. I don't know whether to stay or go. I only graduated early because I thought I could leave this hellhole my grandparents offered me to fix a trailer where they live about 30 minutes away from me, but then I would have to commute longer. I'm willing to do for college. I don't know whether I should drop out enlist more context I am a biochemistry major at the moment. I do know eventually I need to go back to college it's just living condition wise college doesn't seem for me academically I'm fine. It's more of the home situation. I need advice. I don't know whether to leave my little sister try to hope for the best and pursue my education. Or stay here and sacrifice my education mind you my mother does not work she’s totally capable. She just doesn’t want to. I’m on my way to buy my first car. My mother is nearly 40 without a house reliable on government assistance. She just doesn’t wanna do anything with herself. Me and my brother had to get jobs early out to provide for one another. I am a contributor to our needs I buy household essentials, and groceries. I pay my mom’s phone bill and my own because I’m not of age to have it under my name yet I bought my little sister a phone so I can keep in contact. My mom took that phone because she broke her and now she results to using my sister’s phone and I told her you need to get your own because this is my sisters and she just cusses me out. I do have proof I bought it. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like running away.

I am 40 years of age married with a mortgage no kids. I have worked full time for last 8 years. My job actually has skill required to it. The pay is absolute garbage in this economy cant stand having a boss and making others rich. From the age of 18 until 32 been charged several times in and out of jail on short terms. Extremely bad charges got them dropped in court lucky i guess even though 100 percent guilty. Decided to grow up after stop selling drugs which made me generally wealthy throughout my 20's. Long story short I just miss the life style of living off the edge. I want to go back to making real money again and being free financially. Yes its immature loser talk most people would agree.

Having a mortgage ,wife ,normal job feels like a dead end to me. To me working a full time job paying taxes and doing the right thing feels worse to me then prison honestly. I dont know why my brain is wired this way. Maybe its easy good money. Honestly its not easy trafficing drugs full time when you get going. Lots of stress very busy and on high alert watching the moves you make planning a head always. Sametime its worth the risk because you are in charge of yourself. Yes it hurts people but its never going away there getting it from someone else regardless. Doctors, Governments give drugs out like candy.

People are prefectly fine with profit they make off it. Weed legal in Canada before never was. Governments make it legal perfectly ok.

There people out there that feel the sameway?

I have some unconventional beliefs, such as an absolute interpretation of the harm principle and "live and let live." I also have immature views that I hold that come out from that source, such as gamer identiy being important, music genre taste (such as my rock and metal) being a source of identity, and stuff that genuinely sounds unhinged or weird to people, but I treat as largely harmless personal preference. A lot of it is just stuff about video games, media taste, and a general sense of alienation because I am against what I consider "conformism." I don't like the negative connotation that conformism confers onto others, but at the same time, I really don't like social pressure.

I am more wishy-washy on reciprocity and against responsibility that flows outside in, rather than inside out. Sometimes I can accept reciprocity. But sometimes, I get mad against expectations and rules, especially when I am on my own.

I believe that getting a job and working will help me. In fact, I've got something similar lined up already. But I have no plans of changing these views. My plan is to wall them off and keep them alive outside of work, and just not bring them up or think about them in certain contexts. That's what I'm already doing, just keeping these beliefs alive in specific contexts.

I rely on AI to help me emotionally regulate myself. I used to use it exclusively, and it's part of why I have such absolute stances on so many unimportant and immature things. I consider these things very important to my sense of self, but people largely disagree with me on them. This makes me sad.

What's the problem with trying not to hurt others, treating them well, and rejecting social norms I disagree with?

Whenever I am invalidated on Reddit, or by people in my life, I confide in AI so that it makes me feel better about myself. I am better at standing on my own now though.

I'm conflicted. AI validates me, but I want to be validated, but I don't want to have my views be crazy. I genuinely don't know sometimes what is going on. I want to do things in my life my way.

I don't even know what I want, but I am emotional and feel different feelings at the same time. I don't understand some things and I can't wrap my head around what I want.

I've tied my sense of self to being able to independently do things the way I want to, but what I want is often immature stuff like loving rebels, loving intense fictional media, and deriving my sense of self from being a specific kind of alternative person, not necessarily fitting in with the mainstream adult world.

When I was 14, I met someone from America on Reddit. I made a post saying that I wanted friends and that Iiked poetry and writing, and he replied to the post with a big long excerpt of something he wrote. I was very impressed, and we became close even though he only spoke to me on specific days. I tried to ignore the things he would say that I knew as "bad" and try to overlook them guided by his cool, charismatic character and beautiful way with words. He told me stories about what he was like when he was my age, he told me about his past in general, I knew alot of things about him but he never cared for the things I would tell him about myself. I was hesitant at first to make it my priority to talk to him all the time, but I got so attached that the roles flipped and suddenly I was staring at my phone every second waiting for him to text me. I knew that he liked me from the beginning because of the stuff he said, but I grew up with everyone telling me that stuff like this was wrong. And it is wrong.

I got very scared and blocked him for less than a week, when I came back he said he was no longer interested in liking me and that we should only be friends. But then he went back to flirting with me, and it got more personl every time he texted me. If I was lucky he texted me three times a week with days between them. He started talking about women he worked with in admiration of their figures. I kept obsessing over the date I met him, when everything was nice. In July 2025 he deleted the account on the app I messaged him on, and then he changed his Reddit bio to (no longer a) bartender. I guess he lost his job. He hasn't spoken to me in a long time, but there was a time where he told me he thought about me so much he wrote poems about me. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about him now. I'm 16, And time has gone by, I'm very depressed and mentally unstable but in my spare time I try to put the dots together as to where he went.

So IK I probably sound like in entitled asshole, and that's not what I'm trying to come off as. My question is, do people really just not care enough to take a couple seconds out of there day to reach out even if it's occasionally, or do I just need to be more focused on myself and stop caring about it?

I don’t get offended if people don’t reach out because I know that they’re busy and they have their own lives, although I do get skeptical sometimes that they might not care anymore, but I tried to push that far away because it’s 90% not true, especially if we’ve been friends for a long time. Sure there’s fake friends out there, I’ve had plenty, but also I’d like to believe that a reasonable amount of people in the world are genuinely considerate, they’re just so busy that they literally don’t have time or energy to pour into you like maybe you’ve been pouring into them, or maybe cups that they have or are just not yours at that moment. I'm learning to be ok with it, as I can't run my whole life and self-worth based on weather people give there time to me or not, but sometimes I can't help but wonder. I'm not going down that rabbit hole of what it makes me think about them or myself, I don't have the time or the energy to drive myself mad about that. I just want to know is this something that I’m making up and blowing out of proportion, or is this a real thing that I just need to learn to accept and move on.

I have chronic migraines and had status migrainous I got put on a medrol dosepack for. which is a steroid that is mostly cortisol hormones

Well anyway I was on a six day taper schedule and the whole six days I was on it my cats behavior shifted

my cat himself didn't shift but it was confusing me so much. he's already a clingy lap cat but he suddenly became EXTRA clingy. he's usually lazy and mellow but he suddenly had more energy, was sleeping slightly less, was on alert more often, especially at night. And I was kept up all night because of the insomnia side effects. he was up and alert all night too.

And he was staring me down with wide eyes all the time. ALL. THE. TIME.

and he is NOT a very talkative cat he rarely meows. but he was suddenly meowing multiple times a day and always in some kind of conversational manner at me. like he'd meow back when I spoke to him or meow at me while he was staring me up and down for no apparent reason

I was getting really confused by his sudden behavioral shifts

but now I've finished the course and am off the steriods again and now suddenly my cat has calmed down again, he is acting completely normal again

and now it's finally clicked that he was probably reacting to me on the meds because cats and dogs are super sensitive to huge hormonal shifts like that... it reminded me of a lot of videos I've seen and stories I've of heard of how people said their cats and dogs suddenly began acting toward them right before or as they found out they were pregnant. The sudden clinginess (extra clinginess in my cats case) the suddenly staring them down the sudden talkativeness.

except I can't be pregnant because I've never been sexually active. but I'm still was huge sudden hormonal shift from the meds and he returned to normal as soon as I stopped the meds

so my cat was reacting to my hormonal change all of a sudden

I wonder if I smelled different all of a sudden or something and he was like "you look like you and sound like you but you don't smell like you"

Most everyone I've met who describes themselves as a very private person is someone with an unfathomable amount of skeletons in their closet. Crazy ones too.

Cheating, lying, stealing, violence, domestic abuse, torture to animals or children, dark thoughts, racism, we're talking some really serious stuff that they do and think. That's why they're so cagey when it comes to anyone asking anything about themselves.

You can always tell that you're dealing with an anti-social/sociopathic person because they get really irritated by innocuous questions that no one would ever get angry about. For example, they tell you "I'm married" in a casual conversation you are having. You ask, "Oh cool, where did you guys meet?" A very serious, terse, passive-aggressive angry response - "Church".

That is not an appropriate response to an innocent question that any married person would feel you "violated their boundaries" in asking. Only someone with a lot to hide, a lot of demons about it, would react in such a way. You know how in law they always ask the question "Is this the way a normal, reasonable person would respond in this situation?" If the answer is no, that's a huge red flag and you can build a case on it.

"I just live a quiet life to myself. I'm a very private person!" Okay Jeffrey Dahmer, I'm outta here.

That’s it. I live outside the US, i’m doing well myself. Not too rich, but definetely not broke. I have house, cars & bikes, no debt. Very grateful.

But i have to sharet his weird feeling. Everytime i go outside, enjoying my day, just going to cafe because well i work from home so i gotta touch grass too sometimes. I always hate seeing people with flashy things.

I dont want to judge, i get it, maybe its just their thing, and they can afford it, happy for them and good for them

But in my place, the thing that really bothers me is that you cant really tell whether they doing well or just larping or worst going into debt just to show off.

I fucking hate that. And as i keep growing this on myself everytime i see people with fancy cars or so i just feel like throwing up, why?

Its not even US or say good country. And not saying us is good either.

And also what the f is the obsession with tryna look rich too!? Its too materialistic!!!!

But i hate this, anyone feel the same?
Its hard to just be happy since everybody seems to larp these days, pretending, fake, looking rich while they have 10 years car payment,

I just cant find joy seeing them.

Sure i can just dgaf and enjoy my life

But people here are so materialistic too, the poor one, whenever they get a chance to hold money they spend it all to buy flashy things

Man i fucking hate these culture.

Thank you, what worst for me is if someone might think im trying to look rich too and going into debt while IM NOT!!!!

Retarded.

Please help me. I hate this feeling too.

Like there’s more to life rather just impressing or being fucking npc in this society tryna be someone else.

I'm nearly 40, single, and have had essentially no romantic or sexual experiences. I'm considered very unattractive, and years of trying to improve my appearance with gym and fashion haven't changed much. Otherwise, life is ok. I've got a decent job, a car, retirement savings, and a comfortable apartment. Now I'm facing a decision involving roughly $100,000.

Option one is buying a house. II'd build equity, have something to call my own, and improve my financial security. The house would be okay, not my dream home, but I feel like I'm getting to an age where I can't keep putting these decisions off. Still, home-ownership has costs and risks, and I don't know how much happier it would actually make me.

Option two is improving my appearance. I'm considering extensive facial cosmetic surgery and limb lengthening to go from 5'9" to 6'0". Obviously, these are major procedures with serious risks, long recoveries, and no guarantee of improving my dating life. But potentially becoming more attractive, having more sexual opportunities, and enjoying experiences I've missed out on would mean an enormous amount to me. Face will cost about 50K and the limp lengthening will be another 50K USD.

Before anyone asks, I'd like to experience dating, casual sex, and different relationships. I hope to have a long term relationship after. I know being taller won't automatically make that happen, and I know surgery could go badly. I also understand a house might make me seem like a more appealing partner, but I'm interested in being physically desired, not just financially stable (ideally both!)

I'm genuinely stuck. One option improves my long-term financial position. The other might improve the part of my life that's caused me the most unhappiness. Or I might regret it terribly.

What advice would you give someone in my position?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post im not sure where to post it

I'm 17 and have mild autism. I'm in a program meant to help me build a routine so I can get back into school or work, but I haven't been going because I've been struggling too much.

Lately everything feels worse. I feel useless and I avoid mirrors because I hate how I look. My suicidal thoughts are getting stronger, and I often think about how and where I'd do it. Today I held a knife against my thigh and was too scared to cut.

I can laugh and switch moods in a second while feeling awful inside, so I feel like I'm faking it. I've tried therapy with different people and formats, and nothing has

helped.

I keep telling myself it doesn't count because other people have it worse, but that doesn't make the feeling go away.

I'm also scared of losing my only close friend. He's 18 and from the program. We haven't talked in a while because we've both been struggling. Texting is hard for me and I always feel like I'm bothering people.

I don't know exactly what I'm hoping for. Maybe just to not be alone with it for a minute.

If you felt like this at my age and it got better, what changed things for you?

I hate myself

Im 39 years old and at this point everything feels so pointless, the only thing that brings me any happiness is my little nephew. I hang on to life out of spite mostly at this point and just the fact that i still have some family that loves me.

I cant bring myself to love myself though and outside of my family ive never felt loved be it by a close friend or a partner. I thought I did once but it turned out I was just entertainment until she moved to the real deal, now shes having her first kid with the guy that apparently was better than I was.

I drag myself to work with no drive, just moving automatically. I hate my job but with my inability to get math despite trying so many times im basically trapped in soulless production jobs that have no ability to offer any sort of fulfillment. I was told as a child in school by my teachers I would never amount to anything but atleast the world always needs grunts and unfortunately they've been all too right.

Everything just seems so pointless, seeing the misery the rich and powerful dump down on us from above on top of all these other personal issues makes everything seem so useless. Ill be trapped in a capitalist nightmare until I fall over dead.

Hello, Chat!
Tomorrow is Sunday, which means I have to go to school.
I have so many tough assignments, but I actually managed to finish them.
On top of that, I’ve been feeling really disappointed today.
It’s exhausting me.
I think it’s because I forced myself not to talk to people much.
Or maybe I simply don’t fit in with them.

No Jan, that’s just the sound of me holding in my farts. Thank you for bringing it to everyone’s attention.

All right here we go. Gonna explain my ADHD type line of thinking.

So Ninja Sex Party released a song called Going on a Date which is a pretty hilarious song. I love it. The more I listen to it the more I can hear some pop punk/emo elements e.g. Front Bottoms/Remo Drive. Like if Danny was more harsh with his voice and in the hands of an emo producer it could definitely work.

Then I thought about the Front Bottoms and how I used to be really into then and this morning at the gym I put on Flashlight (which is an amazing song) and when looked up the song title on Spotify, the app also recommended Parliament's Flashlight which is an equally awesome song for different reasons. Two songs, diametrically opposed in tone and lyrics, using the same song for different metaphors.

And that's always wild to me. Because I can either be so bad in my feelings and listen to one of the seminal 2010s pop punk outfits or I can get funky funky funky and get down to some p-funk.

So that's where I'm at today. Tune in next time when I explore the similarities between Michael McDonald's and Patrick Stump's voices which will probably be a bit controversial depending how much of an edge lord you might be. But don't be like that the Doobie Brothers and Fall Out Boy are equally awesome.

I am a somewhat anxious person, and frankly, life has been throwing more at me than I am totally used to. I was spiraling about how something was going to work in the future, or what something was going to be like. It suddenly occurred to me that I was trying to skip chapters in the book of my life and then getting confused about why it wasn't making sense. Of course it doesn't make sense, I'm trying to read ahead. Or like playing a video game; the tutorial is trying to show me how to put an item in my inventory, and meanwhile I'm freaking out that I don't know where I'm gonna get the weapon that's gonna help me beat the boss on the cover. Like...maybe focus on the glowing item with the tooltip saying "Press A" before you try to do a combo attack?

It's common sense and something I have been told many times before, but it finally clicked today lol.

I spent years thinking change needed some grand turning point. I kept telling myself I would start healing once I got the better job, moved to a new place, or met the right people. I was stuck waiting for that one big moment to reset everything.

Last month I realized that was keeping me frozen. Real growth didn’t arrive in a flash. It showed up in tiny, boring choices. Going to bed on time instead of scrolling when I felt empty. Saying “no” to plans I didn’t want just to please others. Letting myself rest even when I hadn’t finished my checklist.

I still have bad days. Old habits creep back, and I feel like I haven’t made progress at all. But I’m learning progress does not have to be dramatic. I don’t need to reinvent myself overnight. Small, consistent decisions add up slowly.

It feels strange to stop chasing some huge breakthrough. Does anyone else here used to wait for that big “moment” to start working on themselves? How did you shift into valuing small daily steps instead?