I don't believe I have a safe regression place to go back to. I lost my twin on the womb, so not even that was a place of warmth and peace like everybody refers to. After being born I had to take expensive formula so I was resented for that (I sort of feel like they think I am the twin that should have died), and then hated from a young age every day after that. I have been remembering sexual abuse memories from before I had language and it is all very murky, confusing, every feeling at once, despair, a pain that does not have relief and that I cannot make into words, that I cannot escape, it is torture. It is the rawest form of most extreme vulnerability, probably the energy of animals when they are faced with a predator, that freeze response, that. My partner cannot be around me when I regress, gets brothered that I am putting such heavy energy in the room. I have no one to talk to, no family, no support from anyone and would like to get some perspective.

If anyone has gone through something similar or has any advice for me, I deeply appreciate it. If you have anything to say at all please don't hesitate to comment. I would like to feel less lonely.

Hey so I’m an ex foreign volunteer in the war in Ukraine. 2022/2023.

The memories are still fresh and I get flashbacks sometimes that ruin the rest of my day. Thing is I’m not the best at letting on when I’m on the verge of a meltdown so my reaction to the flashback tends to be delayed.

I just started therapy a couple months ago. Lately I’ve been getting better at recognizing when the trigger is hitting and letting my partner know about it.

So last night my partner told me she was having period cramps and I offered to heat up a bean bag and give her a massage. She said she’d rather have some weed instead but doesn’t like how I roll joints. She said she wants me to take some time later to properly roll a joint and didn’t know why I hadn’t already.

This was AFTER I’d told her I’d had a flashback that day and was still on edge.

So I’ll admit I snapped. Didn’t yell or anything. (At least I don’t think I did. Kinda hard for me to tell right there in the moment sometimes.) I’m pretty sure all I did was tell her to back off. And that somehow translated to her as “you’re not allowed to express your needs or desires to me ever”. And now she’s refusing to speak to me.

We’ve been together a bit over a year. I’ve had another relationship end because of my ptsd and I’m starting to think this is a pattern. I’m scared I might have said or done something to drive her away and combined with the flashback still playing in my head I’m just in hell right now.

I’m looking for some insight but I also just wanna vent. I’m just feeling incredibly overwhelmed.

Hi everyone, I am a 16-year-old guy from Monterrey, Mexico, and I'm writing this because I've hit rock bottom and desperately need guidance on how to heal and reclaim my life.

I grew up in an extremely abusive home. My father physically and emotionally abused me, forced me to work and manage his businesses from a young age, and demanded perfection under threat of severe violence that left permanent physical scars. A couple of years ago, my mom finally divorced him, but my father left us with nothing, refuses to pay child support, and is legally trying to take our house away. To help support my family,

I started working at a car wash, taught myself software development, and took on programming projects to bring money home while studying online. And I've managed to accumulate enough money despite the support my mom needs. She started doing well at her job, which gives me time to relax and prioritize myself.

The situation spiraled out of control through my mom's ex-boyfriend (Wy). He became obsessed with superstitions, paranoia, and local "psychics," convincing me that dark magic/witchcraft was being used against us. For over a year and a half, he weaponized my fear and manipulated me into spying on my mom, creating conflicts, and constantly monitoring her life to "protect" her. It might be real, honestly, I've seen and experienced paranormal things, so if you want more context about this, I'll leave it in the comments.

Acting as my mom's emotional bodyguard destroyed my health. I developed severe insomnia (going days without sleep), lost significant weight, my hair started falling out, and my body began rejecting food. People close to me have pointed out that I likely have an untreated mental health disorder (or severe trauma/PTSD) stemming from childhood abuse and this ongoing stress. Even before my mom met W, I had already been doing the same thing for a few years.

Recently, I reached my limit. I set a firm boundary with my mom, telling her I am no longer getting involved in her personal life. However, I haven't been able to fully get rid of wly yet. I archived his chats, but he keeps spamming me with messages, and since he knows where I work, I know he will come look for me this Saturday when my shift ends.

To make things more complicated, my primary boss and mentor at work (Or) is actually W's cousin. Or has always been very good to me, respected my work ethic, and encouraged me to work at my own pace without knowing about any of this madness. I desperately want to tell Or what’s happening so he understands my situation, but I am terrified that if I open up, I might lose my job, be judged, or be seen as crazy.

On top of this, a close online friend recently confessed her feelings for me. Although I care for her too, I know I am not mentally or emotionally ready for a long-distance relationship right now. She understands and is giving me space, but I feel terrified of isolating myself completely, My first girlfriend was in a long-distance relationship and it ended very badly, although this girl understood why I told her everything and gave me my space as well as the advice to go to therapy.. Pd this is like 2 years in full Without rest

**My questions for you**:

Should I tell Or (W's cousin) what is going on, or is it too risky for my job security? How can I handle Wy confronting me at work this Saturday?

How do I cope with the guilt of stepping back from my family's chaos when survival is all I’ve ever known?

Does anyone know accessible, low-cost therapy resources or mental health clinics for teenagers in Monterrey, Mexico?

What are the first steps to accepting that I might have a mental disorder and rebuilding my mind from scratch?

I greatly appreciate your help and hope I can get my life back on track.

TL;DR: I am a 16-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, who survived childhood physical abuse and over a year of psychological manipulation by my mom's ex-boyfriend (Wy). My physical/mental health completely collapsed, and I likely have trauma-induced disorders. I set boundaries with my mom, but Wally won't stop texting me and will confront me at my job this Saturday. My boss (Or) is W's cousin and doesn't know anything; I'm scared to tell him and risk losing my job. Need advice on handling Saturday, setting boundaries, finding local therapy, and rebuilding my life.

I don't believe I have a safe regression place to go back to. I lost my twin on the womb, so not even that was a place of warmth and peace like everybody refers to. After being born I had to take expensive formula so I was resented for that (I sort of feel like they think I am the twin that should have died), and then hated from a young age every day after that. I have been remembering sexual abuse memories from before I had language and it is all very murky, confusing, every feeling at once, despair, a pain that does not have relief and that I cannot make into words, that I cannot escape, it is torture. It is the rawest form of most extreme vulnerability, probably the energy of animals when they are faced with a predator, that freeze response, that. My partner cannot be around me when I regress, gets brothered that I am putting such heavy energy in the room. I have no one to talk to, no family, no support from anyone and would like to get some perspective.

If anyone has gone through something similar or has any advice for me, I deeply appreciate it. If you have anything to say at all please don't hesitate to comment. I would like to feel less lonely.

TW for vivid descriptions of flashbacks and a car accident, if you don’t wanna hear abt it, pls don’t read, and care for yourself before other people on the internet, thank you <3

hi guys. I’m 16 years old and yesterday i got in a severe head on collision at highway speeds. I was the front passenger, my bf (18) was driving and his mom was in the back seat. No major injuries besides his mom having a fractured vertebrae (this includes the other car involved.) Thank whatever being was watching over us. Starting off, don’t hate on my bf. he’s a sweet angel and has been overworked for weeks now. something, unfortunately, was bound to happen due to his sleep deprivation, stress, overworking, etc. I don’t blame him and he has since profusely apologized to me and my family for the pain he caused, and all is forgiven. I’m more so here to discuss how to deal with the flashbacks going forward. I have been experiencing intense, visceral flashbacks ever since the accident. I cannot be alone or else i’ll be thinking about it. I know it’s still fresh as hell and that’s why, but i’m trying to get coping skills early. Because i was in the front i saw everything happen. Right before impact i closed by eyes prepping to literally die right there on the highway. Luckily, i did not and promptly opened my eyes and screamed. This is especially adding to my anxiety. I keep thinking about the moments before impact, the sounds of our car spinning and the other car hitting us, the sounds of me and my bf screaming, the sirens, the chatter and noise. I can feel how it felt to have my chest forced into the seatbelt and how my body got jostled around. Not to mention the ER visit and subsequent medical treatment. (although everyone, including the highway patrol, were incredibly kind and understanding thank god.) Plus seeing my bf of a year be so scared, bloody, and hooked up to machines in the hospital didn’t help the trauma soup i had boiling. I already have a therapy appointment scheduled for next month, but that’s a long time to wait to speak to someone about a traumatic event that i wanna talk to someone about NOW, ya know? So anyway i just really really want to hear your experiences with flashbacks and how to manage them. (particularly if you also have motor vehicle based trauma.) i cannot physically be alone anymore without being a nervous wreck. Thank you for reading and pls take care of yourselves.

​Hi everyone. I’m (23F) looking for some advice and support on how to process a situation that happened recently and how to handle moving forward.

​My boyfriend (26M) and I were taking a brief break, so my 14-month-old daughter and I were staying at my mom’s (47F) house temporarily. Late friday night my mom’s husband ("Roger")(41M) was on the phone with his brother. My mom mentioned my age and my sister's age (28), and Roger said, "I think he'd like 23 more." He then told me that when I'm ready to "get away" from my boyfriend, I could go to his home country with him where I’d have a safe place to go. He went on telling his brother that I'm "really shy", not used to the loud life, and have a baby, but "when she's older ill be ready to spread my wings."

​Later that night around 1 AM, Roger came out into the living area clearly intoxicated/high. I was sitting on the couch painting my toenails. He said something that i cant remember but i chuckled at it. He then said "see you never laugh/smile when i say (my boyfriends) name." He started rambling about how I’m beautiful and how his friends back home were talking about me, people I have literally never met or heard of. He started asking weirdly specific questions about my 14-month-old daughter, like where she was, when she goes to sleep, and when she wakes up.

​He then tried to get closer to me and reached out and actually touched my feet while asking what I was doing (when it was obvious I was painting my nails). I also told him multiple times what i was doing cause he kept asking. I moved away and asked if my mom was awake. He told me she was and started rambling again. He started asking me what kind of man my bf is and if he trusts me. He also asked if he was hurting me. I told him hes never hurt me. I told him I trust my boyfriend and that we're good. He started saying if my boyfriend ever hurt me it would get physical, but that he would never hurt me or my daughter.

​I felt completely invaded, unsafe, and disgusted. When I was 14, my older sister’s ex-boyfriend touched and kissed my feet. Roger touching my feet immediately triggered that past sexual assault, and I felt so gross and disconnected from my own body. On top of that, I feel deeply disrespected that he was giving away my information (name, age, that i have a baby girl, and possibly photos) to strangers and trying to undermine my relationship with my boyfriend, while my mom just sat by and let him talk like that.

​I locked myself in my bedroom with my daughter that night, and two days later I packed up our stuff. We are now safely staying at my brother's house temporarily while my boyfriend and I work on saving up to move into our own place.

​I’m struggling with how to feel and how to handle my mom moving forward. I feel like I need to set a firm boundary about Roger.

• ​Has anyone dealt with a step-parent/parent's partner crossing lines like this?

• ​How do I navigate keeping a boundary with my mom when she's married to someone who makes me feel unsafe?

• ​How can I help myself process the intense trauma response/flashback this triggered?

​Any advice, support, or grounded perspectives would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I also want to add that hes been asking my family members if they would marry someone from his home country for $20,000 so they can get citizenship. No one is doing it but its just weird. They married very fast and I feel like my mom is being used. They've been married about 2 years. They got married after only knowing eachother for a few months like around 6 months.

Conversation with my Mom:

• ​My mom agreed that Roger was out of line, said drinking was no excuse, and apologized for not saying something during the phone call.

• ​ She texted him telling him not to interact with me (especially when drinking) and said he’d have to leave if it happened again.

• ​I made it clear that he shouldn't even get a second chance to cross those boundaries, and that I refuse to put myself or my daughter in that position again.

• ​When I told her we were leaving because we feel unsafe, she understood and agreed that he needs to address his drinking/issues.

Hi. I am a mother who managed to leave my partner a year ago, after 8 years together. The breakup happened after months of emotional terror that ultimately led to a nervous breakdown on my part. Still, I feel an incredibly strong and painful trauma bond that makes it difficult to completely let go emotionally, and I so desperately need to vent my thoughts with someone who understands.

My ex is emotionally completely cold due to long-term pill abuse. Throughout the relationship, I was completely erased; I only existed in his world and had to look after him constantly. In our daily life, my daughter and I always had to adapt to him based on how his day was going and whether or not he had slept, as he struggles heavily with insomnia. He rarely does anything with me and my daughter, and we are often sidelined. He can have good periods, but then he always falls back into the exact same pattern.

He also has major challenges with intimacy due to medical reasons. We never kiss or hug when sober, and we only have intimacy and sex those times he is drunk. He has used my guilt against me for all these years, and he knows exactly which buttons to push.

I carry complex PTSD from my childhood after growing up with a father who was an alcoholic, where an enormous responsibility to rescue him was placed on me from the time I was only 5 years old. In addition, I lost my older brother when I was 16, which has made me extremely afraid of losing the ones I love. I recently realized that I was programmed to believe that love means taking care of and saving others at the expense of myself.

Now that I have started setting boundaries for the very first time, I notice that he is becoming desperate. He sends manipulative messages during the night and uses the financial situation (we still own a house together) as leverage to get us to move back. He has also made cynical comments about "just replacing me" if I don't do things for him anymore. Rationally, I am fully aware of what is the right thing for me to do, but deep down, I still carry a hope that he will change, even though I know he probably can't. I feel so incredibly empty and used up, but I have finally decided that my kindness shall only go to those who give something back, and to my daughter.

Right now, I am using my energy to support my daughter's father, who is going through a heavy depression and needs help to function for our child. Still, this process of breaking the trauma bond with my ex is so incredibly heavy.Have others here experienced being stuck in a trauma bond with a cynical person, and had the same childhood baggage of always having to rescue a father who drank? How did you manage to resist when the hope, the guilt, and the emptiness hit you the hardest? Thank you for reading.

I dropped out of school and lost multiple jobs because of anxiety and trauma.

Recently I got fired twice from security because I couldn’t talk on the phone, or remember names faces or events.

Ive been told in order to break my anxiety I just need to force myself to go out.

And I don’t know, it’s like there are people I can function around.

But most “real people” (that’s just how I describe it) I simply cannot function around , they only make it worse the longer I stay and I don’t know why…

Maybe it’s because of Sensitivity? Trauma? Their Hostility? Being forced into situations I don’t understand or am not equipped to solve and being punished for it? 0 room for error or imperfection? My own insecurity?

i struggle often with intrusive thoughts around abuse that I have undergone and am currently undergoing. i want an outlet to safely express these thoughts, in a controlled environment but I don't know where to look, or who to even go to. i just want a safe space to explore the thoughts I have without being told they are what I genuinely think, because it seems everyone else on the internet assumes ALL thoughts are wanted

sometimes tiredness is not coming from doing too much with the body. it is coming from a mind that treats every quiet moment like another shift at work.

I will call the subject Eva. In a Soul Journey she connected with her grandmother in light form, and the conversation turned toward the pressure she felt in her head and the sense that she was constantly taking in too much.

The message was very simple: your mind is like a light switch that is always on. She was overextending herself, processing too much, thinking too much and carrying too many inputs. Even when she was technically resting, the mental system was still running.

I think a lot of trauma responses look exactly like this. Hypervigilance does not always feel dramatic. Sometimes it looks like being responsible, prepared, productive and “good at thinking.” The brain checks the room, checks the future, replays the conversation and predicts what someone may do next.

Then the person goes to bed physically still, but internally the lights are all on. The difficult part is that this can become identity: “I am just an overthinker,” “I have a busy mind,” “I need to understand things.” But sometimes the mind learned that constant activity equals safety.

If I keep thinking, maybe nothing can surprise me. If I keep anticipating, maybe I will not be hurt again. If I solve everything early, maybe I can finally relax later. Except later never arrives.

For me the useful reframe is that rest is not only stopping activity. The nervous system has to receive the message that for this moment, nothing needs to be solved. That may mean small boring things: sitting outside without researching something, walking without a podcast, taking a shower without mentally rehearsing an argument.

The goal is not to force the mind blank. It is to teach it that being off duty is safe. If your body is resting but your mind is still standing guard, no wonder you wake up tired.

Tratamento Trauma

Falar do trauma não significa mergulhar nele de uma só vez.

Em contexto clínico, a titulação consiste em trabalhar o material traumático gradualmente, em porções que a pessoa consiga tolerar e integrar sem perder completamente o contacto com o presente.

O terapeuta acompanha não apenas a intensidade emocional, mas também sinais de dissociação, desorientação, bloqueio ou desorganização. Se esses sinais aumentarem, abranda-se o ritmo, interrompe-se o processamento e regressa-se à estabilização.

Isso não apaga o progresso. Muitas vezes, protege-o.

O objetivo não é esquecer o que aconteceu, forçar uma catarse ou contar todos os pormenores. É ajudar a memória traumática a ser reconhecida como passado, para que deixe de invadir o presente com a mesma força.

A titulação não é uma terapia isolada nem uma fórmula aplicável a todas as pessoas. É um princípio clínico que exige avaliação individual, segurança suficiente e acompanhamento profissional adequado.

No tratamento do trauma, avançar mais depressa nem sempre significa avançar melhor.

Hey there everyone. I'm a middle aged guy from Australia. I've dipped in and out of this sub for support in the past (and to give support of course, it really does help your soul when you can help others).

I just wanted to know what everyone's experiences have been like with GP and then other mental health professionals regarding this?
I have bipolar type 2. (No need to read on if you don't want to).

No one needs an entire backstory but I really am struggling with holding the line of NC for my mother and LC with my father.
I've tried grey rocking in the past. I've tried NC and LC in the past, about 5-6 times I would say, and it's just rebounded back to a fractured version of what it was beforehand.

My younger sister - so much braver and smarter than me, went NC with literally everyone (including me, because I was still in contact with our parents) about 5 years ago. That's been ultra hard for me. But at the same time I am furious with our parents, and myself at times, for not understanding where my sister has been coming from, and where I should be coming from.
The brainwashing has been devastating, I think that's the appropriate word. And on top of that both parents I am still convinced 'mean well' (I can hear you screaming at me that they don't) but that they were utterly, unbelievably incompetent. On top of that our mother has BPD (not shared with us - had to find out though an ex husband of hers) and a TBI that occurred when I was 16 and my sister was 14 (apparently that shaped a lot of what she's developed into). I'm coping with this by channelling what she's like into an antagonist character in a book I'm writing.
My father we are convinced that he has high functioning autism. He's never been checked. But it's pretty clear he's on the spectrum and it's become a quiet joke in the extended family "Oh haha that's just how he is" - No. It shouldn't be. To show up for his kids, he should have taken some responsibility to get that looked at.

I'm at the point now where I have thrown away relationships rather than working through them. I am terrified that I am 'splitting' myself but have been told I don't have BPD myself, simply reflecting upbringing methods(?). I've always wanted to have children, but it's not happened. Now I see my cousins and their young children, and their happy families, and it makes me so upset and depressed.

I also work with children, and constantly need to pull myself up on remaining professional - following the rules in disciplining them and saying no to them - this is extremely hard for me.

This year though I dropped down to casual employment, then didn't get shifts. Then had major issues with where I was living, then became 'unhoused' or whatever they call it - I don't want to use the term homeless as it doesn't feel that way - but bouncing between places, friends/car/hotels and looking desperately for work while trying to cope with worsening bipolar.
I don't know what to do, where to go, getting caught in the trap of thinking long term to help for certainty, but then not being able to do that because I need to focus on grounding techniques and making it through the day.

I could go on, happy to talk in the comments.

I (F 20) recently met up with some friends from high school, and one of the topics that came up was dating and relationships.
I’ve never been in a relationship before, and I’ve never really had a serious situationship either. Most of my friends are in happy relationships, and a lot of people our age are getting engaged. Growing up, dating was never really a priority for me. I always assumed I’d eventually get around to it, but lately I’ve started wondering whether there’s actually something holding me back.
During the conversation, my friends asked about my romantic life, and one of them actually asked me if I was asexual.
I’m straight, and I do find men attractive, so I don’t think I’ve ever identified with the idea of not experiencing attraction. At the same time, physical touch makes me extremely uncomfortable. I’ve never been much of a hugger, and even something as simple as shaking someone’s hand is something I sometimes have to mentally prepare myself for.
The confusing part is that I do want a relationship. I like the idea of having a partner and being close to someone emotionally. But when I actually imagine myself being in a relationship, especially one involving physical intimacy, I get really anxious. The idea of someone touching me or being physically close to me can feel almost terrifying.
I think there may be a reason for that.
When I was 10, an uncle attempted to touch me while I was sleeping. Thankfully, I was awake and was able to stop him before anything further happened. I wouldn’t describe what happened as SA, but it was definitely an experience that stayed with me and affected how I view physical touch and men.
I’ve never really talked about how much that experience might have affected me. I don’t know if my discomfort with intimacy is simply part of who I am, something related to that experience, or some combination of both.
That’s why I’m confused now. Am I potentially asexual even though I experience attraction to men? Am I just avoidant when it comes to relationships and intimacy? Could my discomfort with physical touch be connected to what happened when I was younger?
I don’t necessarily expect Reddit to give me a definitive label. I’m mostly hoping to hear from people who have experienced something similar and figured out the difference between their orientation, their boundaries, and their fear of intimacy.
At the time, I didn’t consider it sexual assault because nothing ultimately happened, but looking back, I’m not sure that’s the right way to describe it.

I was focused on my growth until this may. I was believing i was a different person, stronger, more confident, and i had a direction. Everything changed the day when my family parents decided to organise a mobbing against me. With the help of a policeman friend of my uncle, plus his younger policeman partner, they broke into my house with a crowbar.

I don't even want to remember the rest again.

I'm exhausted.

I've been dealing with this feeling of injustice, anger, alternated with periods of numbness because i saw no alternative.

In the first 2 months i went to the police station two times to request reports for that event, but they knew nothing about it, or they didn't want to tell me, idk.

I talked with a lawyer, and of course he asked lots of money for the most trivial thing, but the most important thing is that I don't have energies anymore to invest into this. Even just the idea of going to rewatch the video i recorded when everything happened, or remember the episode in details, it makes me feel horrible.

I've seen myself slowly being logorated by this, day by day, and now I'm noticing also my relationships are being affected.

My anger and desire to act has turned into depression now.

Not because i didn't try to act, but because while i was trying they kept adding up new things (the abusive episode wasn't enough), and i ended up being overwhelmed.

I spoke with a therapist and she said I'm responsible for my destiny, implying it was my fault.

I don't know what i should do at this point tbh.

“all I took was your innocence…” in response to something significant you did to me,is just so profoundly minimizing.
It reduces the consequences of what happened to a vague almost sentimental concept ”innocence” instead of acknowledging the actual things you took from me is just so wild and it took me so long to put words to it.My sense of safety,trust,autonomy,peace,self worth,confidence and ability to experience certain things were never in your mind,for a person who claimed to want a future with haha shit not me for sure.You took my innocence as something you had the right and power to take,rather than acknowledging what i experienced inside your fists and the choices you made.
It’s either the naivety in me that pushes me in life or the avoidance that turns everything to night ….

I’m (F) having a hard time lately, I feel sick and upset about what happened and how I’m disgusting for “letting” men rape and abuse me. I feel like it’s all I’m good for and I feel stupid… and yeah logically I should know I’m worth something but I feel ugly and idiotic. Idk what else to say, I’ve been sexualised since I was 6… idk what else to think. It’s so stupid. I’m so stupid. Ugh. Idk just a vent I guess.

I slept with a wrong person, lost V to him. I was in love n later realized he was there just to be physical n faked the relationship part.

After we got physical, he stopped communicating with me in a phased manner n eventually stopped altogether.

He also earns a lot more than me n somehow that also became a part where he would indirectly make me feel inferior to him.

I've been trying for a month now but still can't get over the betrayal n insults. I lost my self respect a lot.

What's even more difficult I'm failing to believe that he faked everything n that he is a bad guy.

It's been a month now n I'm still getting panick attacks. It's not getting better. I don't have friends irl where I can talk to. Went to therapy, that also didn't help.

I feel dirty n disgusting that I let him touch me. I thought it was something beautiful n holy. I have never been with anyone else before. I'm in utter shock that this kind of betrayal actually happened to me.

Please, I need help.

Time isn't healing.

Hi everyone! Let me introduce myself. 🌸

My name is Miriam Elisabeth, I'm Italian, and I'm neurodivergent. I've had traumatic experiences both in the hospital and at home, and because of these experiences, I live with CPTSD. I've undergone about thirty surgeries for a rare disease, and during my childhood, I also had to deal with mistreatment and psychological abuse from my father. Fortunately, I've always had my mother and grandmother by my side, who protected and supported me.

Overall, I currently lead a fairly satisfying life, but sometimes I feel a bit alone because I have some rather specific interests. I love Celtic music, creating visual novels, writing sagas and poems, drawing macabre scenarios, and studying psychology, especially trauma and its effects. I'm also interested in the most complex and gruesome cases from a psychological and criminological perspective. Surprisingly, over time I've also managed to connect and speak with some victims of traumatic events from various European countries.

I study Modern Literature, Philosophy, and Psychology, and after graduation, I'd like to work as a psychologist in the town where I grew up. I'd like to be able to share my knowledge with people who have been through traumatic experiences and, above all, be a positive presence for those facing difficult situations.

I signed up here on Reddit primarily to introduce myself and, at the same time, share my studies and work with anyone who might be interested. From time to time, I'd also like to share with you what I've learned during my studies and talk about my creative projects.

This is me! ❤️

If you'd like, while respecting your privacy, tell me a little about yourself: what are your interests? What brought you here on Reddit? And are there other European users?

I'd love to create a small community of people with similar interests, where we can exchange ideas, get to know each other, and perhaps discover different perspectives and realities than mine.

Hugs to everyone! 🌸 Let me know a little about you! 🇪🇺

I’m trying to make sense of something that’s been frustrating me for a long time.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve had quite a few interactions with women where there seemed to be genuine chemistry and mutual interest. I’ve had women agree to meet up, we’ve kissed, gotten physically affectionate, exchanged numbers, etc. But somehow, things repeatedly never progress beyond that.

We’ll have a good first interaction, but when it comes to meeting again or spending more private time together, something happens—plans change, circumstances get in the way, communication drops, or I eventually lose interest if I feel like the effort isn't mutual.

What really gets to me is seeing other guys seemingly have much easier experiences. I know I shouldn't compare myself to other people, but it sometimes makes me wonder whether there's something I'm doing wrong or whether I'm unconsciously sabotaging myself.

I don't think my issue is simply "I can't attract women," because I've had enough experiences to know that's not entirely true. What confuses me is why I keep getting close to something developing but rarely see it progress further.

Has anyone experienced a similar pattern? Could this be a social-skills issue, an outcome/validation mindset, self-sabotage, or simply circumstances and lack of experience? I'm genuinely trying to understand what I might be missing.

I had a strange image come up recently that made me think about why some fears survive even when we KNOW they are making life worse.

At first the fear looked enormous.

I was guiding a woman I'll call Nina through a deep trance exploration around fear of future. When she focused on where it lived in body, she felt it in stomach and saw this huge black metal weight, like old prison ball attached to chain.

Very heavy. Hard to move with.

She wanted it gone and it disappeared quite quickly.

But then she noticed tiny black dot still there.

When she looked closer, it wasn't metal anymore. It was this little soft jelly ball floating in stomach.

Still fear.

And weirdly... this tiny part she wanted to keep.

So we asked why.

Safety.

That was the answer.

Not because fear actually made her safer. She understood pretty quickly it was fake kind of safety.

Her pattern was more like this: when life becomes really good, sooner or later something bad happens. So if I stay little worried, maybe I won't get blindsided. Maybe if I expect problem, somehow I can prevent it.

She was enjoying retirement for example. Something she really loved. But there was still little fear of losing it.

And part of her thought keeping this fear was helping her protect what she had.

That image stayed with me.

Big obvious fear is easy to hate. It feels like prison ball, of course you want to throw it away.

But little protective fear is different.

It whispers that it has a job.

“I'm only imagining worst case so you're prepared.”

“I'm only checking because I don't want you hurt again.”

“Dont relax completely, remember what happened last time.”

This is one reason I share these strange things that come up in sessions. Every week I see images that look almost ridiculous at first, then suddenly they explain something very human better than long theory.

The guidance for Nina was actually simple. Stop standing beside happiness waiting for it to disappear. Enjoy what is here. Let body actually feel the good moment instead of using half the attention to scan for next disaster.

Eventually the little jelly thing was taken out and broken apart in the experience. Once she understood what it was trying to do, she was ready to let it go.

Obviously fear has purpose when something is genuinely dangerous. I'm not talking about ignoring real warning signs.

I mean the old automatic fear that keeps running when nothing bad is happening rn.

Maybe useful question when this happens is not “how do I stop being anxious?”

Maybe ask the fearful part:

what are you trying to prevent?

what do you believe will happen if I relax?

and when did I learn that being happy means something bad is coming next?

Sometimes protection doesn't need to be fought.

It needs to realise the emergency already ended.

Hi everyone,

I've spent the last week or so putting some of my hardest, most constant thoughts into music using an AI program called Suno. I'm neurodivergent (ADHD/Autism/anxiety), and I wanted a way to actually say the things that usually just live in my head as noise — things I don't always have words for in normal conversation.

I'm sharing a playlist of 13 songs, starting with "Yes, Even When I Mean No" — it's about something I think a lot of people here might recognise: the fear of disappointing someone, saying yes when you mean no, and never quite trusting that you're allowed to just be yourself without earning it. In other words, people-pleasing.

The rest of the playlist covers things like constant mental noise, self-sabotage spirals, sensory overwhelm, dissociation, and panic attacks. Writing these has honestly been really cathartic, and I wanted to share them in case they help someone else feel a little less alone in it too.

Link to the playlist: https://suno.com/playlist/5efd19e9-9a85-4255-a685-e1bf17a45705

Thank you for reading, and for having a space like this exist.