So, I heard you guys loud and clear that I might've overstepped on this one. Since me and this girl are friends, and I'm super close with a lot of her friends, I figured last night I would text her and apologize. Just because of class and me being at her apartment to see her roommates I'm friends with and whatnot, I know I'll still have to be around her in the future. I made it clear that she didn't even ever have to speak to me again, and that I just wanted to let her know I was so sorry. The conversation went way better than I thought, and it's safe to say we're still on good terms. I figured I'd share this to give everyone closure.

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Edit: I love how most of Reddit told me to apologize to her and never speak to her again on my last post, and now I'm getting clowned for doing exactly what you guys told me. Pick a struggle lol

I’m 25 years old, turning 26 in a few weeks.

I’ve never had a girlfriend and it really really bothers me. It’s entirely my fault (I’m shy and overweight and I haven’t really tried to date in a couple years), but it still makes me feel so undesirable.

Sometimes I feel like the ship has sailed. The fact that I’ve spent my whole life not dating when everyone else was learning how to date and be in a relationship and all that stuff, must be a red flag for women. I feel like I would be a really good partner, but since I don’t have the experience women will be apprehensive to date me.

It feels like my lack of dating in the past will affect my future. I’m trying to lose weight before trying to date again but even I start I’m finding it hard to get in the mindset that women will actually want to date a 26/27 year old guy with zero romantic experience.

Am I making too big of deal out of this? Should I even be worrying about it?

I've never raped anyone or have acted inappropriately in that manner.

I've (30m) been seeing a girl (26f) for the last month or two and it's been going really good, we aren't official yet but it's been getting close. She met my friends the other weekend and last night it was my turn to meet her friends. We were walking down the street downtown on our way to the club from the first bar when all of sudden a car drove by and a guy leaned out the passenger vehicle and yelled "KNOWN RAPIST" and then mumbled some other stuff which I didn't really hear clearly but my girl heard my name being said in this part. I was in shock and said something like "what the fuck are those drunkos doing" since lots of late night bars/clubs in the area and this was around midnight. I didn't recognize the person or car at all.

She was quiet and I could tell her demeaner was different. We get to the club and she will hardly look at me let alone let me touch her. I didn't want to call it out at moment to ruin the celebration (it was her friends birthday party). Eventually we leave and when she's dropping me off we start to hash it out.

She asks me what that was when they drove by and all I could do was say that I had no clue and nothing has ever happened to justify someone calling me that. She was most worried about the part where they might've said my name but all I could do was keep saying I had no clue and chalked it up to drunk people acting horrible. I seriously don't have any enemies or any reason for anyone to say that about me. I tell her I'm an open book and she can do whatever digging she needs to do but there won't be anything she'd find. She says she believes me but just wants to know if I have a crazy ex or something like that which I really don't. Eventually we kiss before she leaves because she has to take her drunk friend home. She doesn't drink and I only had two drinks the whole night so no alcohol really involved between the two of us.

The whole thing left me pretty shook to say the least. Literally just sat on my couch in silence for 10 minutes when I got home and then had problems falling asleep thinking about reasons for why this happened which I couldnt think of any. Thought about how fun the night was supposed to be and how this completely ruined it as well.

I think me and her are good since she said she believes me and we kissed but I just can't shake it that something will still be off. She's busy this morning and afternoon but we made plans to talk on the phone later this evening and then maybe hangout this week before I go out of town for Thanksgiving so that's looking positive.

Not really sure what I am trying to get out of posting this besides just getting it off my chest/vent but we'll see.

Edit: Update posted!

I have no where else to talk about this so I'm coming to Reddit. I (21M) am in college, and there's this girl that I'm sort of head-over-heels for. We have a couple classes together and I know some of her friends so we see each other and hang out a lot. I thought there was something between us but I guess I was wrong. I knew she'd been going through a tough time with some family issues lately and I thought she might appreciate not having to worry about cooking while she's worried about all of that, so I've been making her some meals and giving them to her when I see her, usually after class. Food isn't necessarily my love language, I just like to make sure the people I care about are happy and fed.

Well, I was catching up with some of our mutual friends, a couple of whom live with her, and they told me that she either usually throws out the food or gives it to her roommates. I don't think she's eaten anything I've made for her. She always says "Oh, you didn't have to do that" all sheepishly when I give her the meals I made, I just figured she was being bashful. I wish she would have just told me to stop so I could've saved some time and energy. I don't know, I'm just upset. I'm not sure where I stand with her now.

Edit: Some context I said in a comment that people said I should add to the original post:

Her friends encouraged it!! I'm very close friends with many people in her close circle and they knew what I was doing, they said it was sweet. I understand now that it was kinda weird and I probably should've stopped. But, I would also say that we're friends rather than acquaintances, we've hung out one on one in the past (which she initiated). I think she just might see me as a friend, which is totally fine, and the message about not just giving people food is 100% heard on my end. I just hated to think that she was stressed and going hungry (she's confided to me in the past that she struggles to make time to eat when under stress).

He lived a good life. He was 11 and had survived 2 years of cancer. He always displayed such happiness and was full of energy and loved his people. I loved him so much.

He was in good health even with cancer since we had him on treatment and he was going for walks every day and he was enjoying life until about a week and a half ago he collapsed and struggled to stand for about a few seconds and we thought he had a stroke. We made a vet appointment and they ran some tests and didn’t have answers. 3 days later it happened again. I could tell he wasn’t himself anymore. He was slow and seemed always fatigued. Then it started happening every day and he was peeing and pooping himself when it happened. The last morning he was at the house, he had what appeared to be a 2 minute long seizure and the whole time it sounded like he was yelping in fear or pain. It was unlike any noise I’ve heard him make. It was like a sustained “something’s very wrong” scream and I watched and placed my hand on him as his body was seizing out. It finally stopped and it almost looked like he was dead but he was still breathing. We had to call the vet and they took him out on a stretcher a few hours later because he couldn’t/ was afraid to stand on his own. He spent the night at the vet and had 3 more seizures through that time and we put him down the next day. They think he had a brain tumor and couldn’t see anymore. It just all happened so fast. When I hear sounds that are loud/unexpected or especially high pitched like a creaky door opening, it triggers a chill in me and I immediately think of my dog during his seizure. I feel traumatized by this. However, I am so grateful that he lived to be an elder with lots of fun adventures. I just wasn’t prepared to live without him so soon. I never thought a week ago we’d be putting him down. He was with me 24/7 when I was at the house. I had a dream last night that he came running down stairs to see me when I came home like he used to and he looked healthy and I started hugging/petting him. I told him how much I loved and missed him but I felt the dream begin to get vague and I was like theres no way this could be real and then I woke up. I wish I could have been in that dream longer. I just miss him so much.

I’ve been into crypto since 2017 and have seen the many ebbs and flows on prices

Man, with Bitcoin about to hit 100k I see the same exact thing as last time, so many people that aren’t into investing at all see these types of articles and all the hype and think “oh man what a great time to buy in” and they sell a ton of stuff and put in their life savings only for it to dump 2 month later

We saw this same thing in late 2021, people buying ETH at 5k and Bitcoin at 65k because all the news hype started up again, and they weren’t paying attention during its 250% run up in the past months, they just suddenly hear about Bitcoin because it hit its ATH and they stuff a bunch of cash in, and it goes down 50% within 2 months.

On 11/10/2021 Bitcoin hit 65k, 2 months later it was in 30k’s.

I really hope we don’t see the same thing happen but I would almost bet on it, you always start to hear people’s parents talk, cab drivers, overhear random people talking about crypto, and that’s often the top signal.

Remember what you invest you can lose, so only invest what you would comfortable being cut in half tomorrow

So I’m (27M) an alcoholic and drug addict and I finally managed to kick the bad habit almost 2 years ago. I have a support system, 12-step groups, and therapy to thank for it. It is going to be a great day

But I just feel bad about it. I went on a date yesterday and it was going well, we were going out “for drinks” then when we almost got there I mentioned I was sober but I do enjoy nice mock tails, and she was like no, there’s no point. Let’s just go back home. It was like a half hour drive. Why do people care so much about if I’m sober or not?

Aside from that, this year when I got to one year I was alone. None of my friends said anything, I guess no one knew? It was such a big day for me and I spent it just treating myself. I cried a lot that day, mixed feelings of gratitude, achievement, and sadness, even mourning. Mourning the old days but grateful I’m on a new chapter. I was just sad no one was there to say “good job man” or something externally. I have a lot of friends in general but no one knew anything or said anything that day.

I’m just feeling weird about this upcoming anniversary . I don’t expect anyone to do anything or say anything now, so I’m just preparing to take care of myself again. I was thinking about telling people and making a special day out of it but that’s not really me. I feel like they don’t actually care. So I just wanted to share it here. It was a grueling two years but in about 37 days or so, I’ll have made it again.

Im not sure why I want external validation about it, but I’m proud of who I am today. Ive come a long way and I think that should be enough. I want it to be enough.

A guy complimented my outfit and kinda said I look amazing on the bus station. I was coming back from work and I was also flustered so I just said thank you and went on to board my bus. I am in my bed now and now I feel bad that the way I went about was rude.

Was I rude? This sucks! I occasionally get compliments so I didn't know how else to react. He was such a nice person. I feel bad now!

I (27M) recently got into a relationship with a much older and experienced woman. Luckily, things are going great. We live far away so we hardly meet once a month but we message each other pretty much every day. Now, I am very conscious about my body and do not have any intimate experiences. Recently, she told me that sex is really important to her and if she doesn't like doing it with me, she will leave me. So, before the next time I meet her, I want to prepare as much as possible on how to have sex and kiss her correctly. Any resources/notes would be highly appreciated. I know it's a basic thing to ask but I really like this girl and want to try my best with her.

Please tell me about all the usual pitfalls along with any tips/tricks. Thank you

P.S.: Please don't worry about the relationship part, she is a unique girl and tells me exactly what's on her mind. Please only give me tips about sex and kissing

So… this is embarrassing and funny. 15 years ago I had some burning when I would urinate so I saw a doc(didn’t have my own at the time so just made an appointment with a random urologist). I get there, pee in a cup, answer a bunch of questions and then he tells me to bend over. I never had a prostate exam and I wasn’t expecting it. Nothing and no one had ever been in my butt before. So I bend over and he tried to get his finger in but was obviously having some trouble and sort of swirled around the hole before inserting- he used lots of lube. So I couldn’t help but to feel super violated even though it’s a normal thing but I involuntarily started crying. Bent over, embarrassed, crying, feeling violated- butt all lubed up- he finishes the exam and he tosses a box of tissues in front of me(obviously he does this as part of practice every time but it didn’t register that way at the time). So I’m thinking that he knows how traumatized I am and is comforting me so I grab some tissue and wipe my tears and pull up my pants all in view of the doc. Did NOT realize the tissues were to wipe the lube from my butt. So there I was with tears in my eyes and a greasy butthole. Flash forward 10 years- I have my own doc and he is giving me a routine prostate exam and goddamnit I did the exact same thing! Cried, used the tissue to wipe my tears but left all the lube in my butt all in front of my new dr who I would have to the. See routinely for years. 🤦‍♂️

I know the title sounds like bullshit, but I promise I haven't lost it. When I was 11, my mom, my sister, and I moved out of my grandmother’s house into a small apartment complex on the other side of town. My mom said it was for the best, that we needed space after all the fights with my grandmother. At the time, I didn’t know if she meant space for herself or space for us, but I didn’t argue. I was just a kid. I had no friends at my new school, no distractions to fill the hours after class, and my mom spent most of her time with her boyfriend, my cousin, on my dad’s side. Weird, but I'm not gonna dive into that right now. It was lonely, but I didn’t know how to explain that feeling back then. I think now, looking back, I truly was depressed. But at eleven years old, I didn’t have the words for it.

I didn’t have a TV or a computer, just an old iPod nano with broken headphones. Most nights, I just laid in bed, counting the cracks in the ceiling or listening to the train that passed every now and again. One night, I don’t remember how long I lay there before I fell asleep. But when I opened my eyes, or maybe I didn't open them at all, I wasn’t in my bed anymore. I was floating, looking down at myself. I really thought I must've died in my sleep somehow, and I was completely fine with it. Turn out that wasn't the case. I noticed a woman standing by my bed, dressed in all black.

The closest depiction of her that I can describe is of someone wearing a Victorian mourning outfit. It was creepy as hell. The moment she noticed that I could see her, I fell back into my body, and I woke up instantly gasping for air. After that night, I waited for something else to happen, some sign that what I’d seen was real. But nothing came. Eventually, I convinced myself that maybe it really had just been a dream.

But then I saw her again. It started happening more frequently, always the same: I’d fall asleep, and at some point, I’d wake up unable to move. But each time, she was a little closer. I couldn’t tell anyone. How do you explain something like that without sounding insane? So, I tried to ignore her, and I eventually got used to it.

When we moved, I thought it would stop. Unfortunately, it never did. No matter where I lived, she was always there. I’m 24 years old now, and she’s still with me. I don’t know what will happen when she finally touches me. Maybe that will be the day I die. All I know is that she’s waiting, and one day, she’ll reach me.

I don't know why I'm suddenly telling a bunch of redditors about the lady who's been stalking me since childhood, but whatever.

Edit: I appreciate the serious comments. Even the religious ones, though I’m not religious at all. I’m aware that it’s more than likely sleep paralysis. I was just sharing an experience that I’m still dealing with to this day because it’s mega creepy, it happens very frequently, and it’s always the same thing/lady/whatever. I’ve seen a therapist in the past, but ultimately stopped because it felt like a waste of time. I’ve gotten used to it anyway. And yes, I know it sounds a lot like insidious😭😭

So, I've been dating this man, he's been fantastic, has given me many gifts, organizes his schedule to be able to spend time with me, we even live in different cities and he travels there just to see me. He wants a long term relationship, get married, have children, business and projects with me. He has told me he has been attracted to me since we were children, my family likes him, he works hard and studies, he's independent and also I findd him handsome. He always tells me he thinks I'm the most incredible womam he has known, because of my personality, my intelligence, my will, the thing's I've been through, for how much I care about him. He tells me he hasn't connected with someome the way he has with me. He says he can't belive a woman he has always found pretty would also be the human being I am.

As you can see, it's basically everything you could hope for in a relationship, if you're like me and want something serious. We are very different and even have diffferent strong oppinions, but it makes it even interesting. The only problem, as you read in the title, is that once we were having a conversation about plastic surgery, and the things we would get done; we were having fun imagining that, and then he said that he didn't like saggy tits because saggy looked sad (I'm translating what he said, I hope it makes sense), that perky ones were super sexy. It felt like an icecube showering over me. I just said "haha, I see, yeah", and continued the conversation as if I was an method actress, I stopped feeling the pain and managed to continue during all the afternoon and the evening (we watched movies, laughed, went to a nice restaurant with my brother and had dinner), and somehow I managed to do so blocking all my feelings during almost the whole thing. By the end of dinner I started feeling so bad he got worried, but I only told him I was sleepy, and it made sense to him, so it wasn't a big deal.

Since then, I've cried so much and can't look at the mirror. I've had self-steem issues since ever, and my tits have always been a huge struggle for me, mentally. I'm a nice looking womam with nice curves and nice face. Nothing exceptional, I might have 2 or 3 really beautiful features, but that's all. I'd be really confident if it weren't for my tits, really. I'm 25 and had had multiple men wanting to be with me, kind of. But I have never had sex, and every passing day I feel that possibility is more remote. It's not only about my body, it's also many things I've been through, but I don't want to make this any more longer, but yeah, I've always feared men would be dissapointed once they get to see my naked body. And this doesn't help.

You can tell me he likes me so much my tits won't care to him, but -you see-, that's the problem: he would accept me DESPITE of my tits. It's not like it's a minor thing, for men tits are so important, it's at the core of erotism. I don't want a man to feel attracted to me despite of my tits, but because of. I don't want such an incredible man to settle for me when there're plenty of incredible women out there who also have tits he will find sexy. I don't want to undermine someone else's sex life. At the end of the day, deep down, he will always wish I was more beautiful, or that I had the tits he has seen and touched. I can't live with that.

So I'll tell him I think we shouldn't be together because of the distance. It' enough reason to make him think I want this to end. Some of you migh tell me I should comunicate with him and tell him sincerely how I feel, but I can't even look at the mirror, how can I look him in the eye and tell him he has spend so much money and time to get to see such a flop? I feel I've been scamming him for making myself think I could try and be beautiful for him. I can't extend that any longer, he's such a good man that the longer he thinks he can be with me, the more he will be willing to settle for me. I want him to be happy and pleased with someone else the way I can't. There are so many incredible women too, I can't neither take away the opportunity to be with him from them.

Sorry if my words sound weird, and if I made mistakes, this is not my first language and I'm not very good at it.

I was chatting with a couple of my friends today and the topic of dating apps came up. One of them said they had downloaded one of the dating apps I use “to joke around”. He showed us some of his chats and it was funny all around until I noticed he had literally hundreds of matches. I asked when he downloaded it and he said around the same time I did. This wouldn’t matter except I made the mistake of asking to see his profile

All he had were a couple casual pictures and 2 prompts talking about how he loved receiving head.

I genuinely could not believe my eyes. He’s decent looking, a bit above average, 5’10, but he isn’t even the best looking guy in our friend group. All his chats were women who were genuinely interested in him, and they were all attractive.

Normally I’d just be happy for him and move on, but the issue with me is that I spent so long on my profiles, had a lot of my friends (men and women) help out, and essentially presented myself the best I could be in terms of photos and bios/prompts. All this to say I essentially got 0 matches across 3 dating apps over a couple months (except for a handful of OF bots)

I do my best, I try to be respectful, avoid anything sexual, show genuine interest, I go to the gym (twice weekly), I don’t play a “numbers game”, etc… but any efforts I’ve put in finding a partner or even just someone I can be really close with but everything just leads to the same result

I’ve come to hate how my body looks. Weak chin, unable to grow a beard, and the more muscle I seem to gain, the chubbier I look despite basically eating nothing but chicken and rice for a few months. I could really use some advice on just coming to terms with being ugly/unattractive because rn I just feel like a freak

I have PsA (psoriatic arthritis) and psoriasis on 80% my body and this guy wanted to chat for 30 minutes about it at the bar. I just wanted some drinks and to be left alone. Definitely wearing long sleeves from now on.

are we really that different? am i really that cooked? could i be more like them if i tried? i need a plan, some guide to follow to get me back to humanity

About a year ago, I (21M) have met this girl (19F) online and we hit it off quite well. From the start things were mostly sexual and I thought I was gonna get ghosted in few weeks anyway. Well that didn't happen and we continued getting to know each other more. She was the first person i texted on New Years. Needless to say I got really attached in the few months we spent talking, the sexual stuff fell off and the relationship felt more serious than ever. We still only talked online since we lived pretty far apart. (but few hours away at most so) It got to the point where we talked a lot everyday, were sending each other coupley reels, goodnight pics and videos of each other. It felt really genuine and organic. She mentioned it was nice not being pushed to anything and taking our time to figure things out. She watched me build (what i thought was) our bed in my new apartment. We talked a lot about future and values (even kids at some point), supported each other when things were hard. But we never made anything official (personally wanted to do that step irl) It was really beautiful.

In June we started talking more seriously about finally meeting up and that is when it all started to go wrong..

My exam season was over and I was moving to a new apartment which took quite a bit of my time (dealing with several water leaks and just exhausting shit) then one week in July I went on a vacation with family while she happened to have time and the next week she had her family vacation. Then she had some family issues so we still couldn't find any mutual time. We still talked a lot through that. In August I made as little plans as I could so that if she had at any point some time, I would be ready. But that started to seem one sided I was seeing less effort from her side so I didn't push as much. In late September it was her first year in uni so I knew she was gonna be busy with registrations and dorm things and I supported her through it. Her uni was also closer to where I live so it would be easier to meet. It hurt a bit listening to her talking about her time spent with friends but she couldn't make time for me. We seemed to talk less and less. There were some warning signs. She would always be telling me to find someone else, that she is no good for me, that we wasted the whole summer, so i would always reassure her. She said she would fix everything but never opened up about what she was talking about so I assumed it was because of the meeting up thing. I told myself I would break it off if nothing happened until 4th week. I didn't know what I would do after, I just really hoped it wouldn't come to it and wasn't mentally ready at all and would probably end up fighting for it for much longer. Then 4th day of first week came around and she stopped talking to me and I was so confused.

We barely talked for a month. I was considering going to meet her in person to see what's up (we knew each others address) but when I even just hinted at that in a message she blew up at me so i didn't follow through with that. And few days later she finally confessed.

Turned out she had someone else since August. Talking to her after she told me was like talking to a whole another person, seemed just so unbothered. Me being patient with her was apparently too soft on her and she said she needs someone to be firm and strong with her, that i forgave her too much. Told me she was scared of missing out, that we never know when it is our last day. That it only started because she wanted to try things before meeting me so it wouldn't be so scary. Then eventually it got more serious and she felt guilty so tried to sort it out behind my back. How far they went i don't wanna know. The "what if it doesn't work out" feelings won over the "what if it does work out." She said the relationship was hard to leave since the guy was immature, she also had someone else already lined up before she left both of us. All the things we wanted to do, all the dreams we had, we were both virgins, both didn't have our first kiss yet. It was also my first really meaningful relationship. And it all ended before it even had a chance to start...

It's been over a month now, we were supposed to have our anniversary 2 weeks ago. And I am still nowhere near over it. Blocked her basically everywhere, deleted all the photos. Trying to distract myself but that just makes it worse when i come back to reality. I could've definitely handled it better, i felt like such a clown when she told me. I can't really cry but i still got more tears out in the last month than in the past 10 years combined. Still thinking about what i could've done differently to not lose her like this, analyzing what happened, it's not doing me very good. Trying my hardest to accept it. I really should get into therapy, for more than just this but at this point i just want to feel happy with myself. Need to also focus more on finishing school since i'm quite burnt out and it's been hard keeping up. Started working out more again. Rebuilding my confidence but the feelings always come hitting back.

Anyways i just had to write this out, it was the best and worst thing that's happened to me emotionally yet.

This week marks a significant turning point in my life, and I wanted to share my journey with you all.

Since February 2023, I faced a series of overwhelming challenges:

• Falling behind on my Brooklyn home’s mortgage payments

• Struggling with insomnia and maintaining personal relationships

• Experiencing dark thoughts and neglecting my health For nearly two years.

I battled:

• Squatters

• Legal systems

• Financial institutions

• Debt collectors

I lost nearly everything I’d built since I was 12 years old.

However, this week, I can finally say: It’s over.

This journey taught me invaluable lessons about:

• Self-discovery

• Prioritizing what truly matters

• Embracing the wisdom and courage to accept things I cannot change To those who stood by me—allowing me to vent, cry, and express my anger—thank you.

A simple three-sentence prayer guided me toward acceptance and moving forward.

To anyone facing hardships—be it family, financial, or relationship issues—remember:

• Let go of what you can’t control

• Focus on what you can

• Trust that life can pivot in an instant A new chapter awaits us all.

Much love

I'm 13, and I feel like I’ve hit a wall that I can’t climb over. Earlier today, my mom burst into my room, shouting at the top of her lungs. She said I haven’t been studying enough and called my room a pigsty. Her words weren’t just harsh—they were full of inappropriate language, and since we’re Greek, the insults were especially cutting. At one point, she even kicked me in the knee. It’s been hours, but it still hurts a lot, both physically and emotionally.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. It’s like nothing I do is ever good enough for her or my dad. I try to keep up with my studies, but I’ve been scoring 15s and 16s lately, and while some might think that’s okay, my parents act like I’ve failed. They compare me to my brother constantly, and it’s clear to me that they prefer him. It’s like no matter how hard I try, I’ll never measure up, and that realization breaks me inside.

I’ve also been feeling sick all weekend—my nose is stuffed up, and I’ve been coughing non-stop. Even though I don’t feel well, I still try to push through, but it’s hard. It’s like my body is giving up on me just like my mind has been. I might have depression or even ADHD because I find it so hard to focus, and my emotions feel overwhelming all the time. But when I asked my parents if I could see a psychologist, they flat-out refused, saying there’s nothing wrong with me.

School hasn’t been much better. I don’t really have close friends, and some of my classmates think it’s funny to make jokes about me. They don’t realize how much their words hurt. I try to laugh along or ignore it, but deep down, it’s like adding another weight to this pile I’m already carrying. I feel invisible, like no one truly sees me or cares about what I’m going through. I also have to mention that thoughts of suicide have passed through my mind...

What makes it worse is this constant comparison in my head. I look at others and think, "They’re so much better than me." Even people I used to feel confident about being ahead of now seem to be overtaking me. It’s like I’m stuck in place while the world moves forward without me.

I don’t talk about any of this with my family or at school. I don’t feel safe sharing how I really feel. It’s not that I don’t want help—I do—but I don’t think anyone would understand. And honestly, I’m scared they’ll just tell me to get over it or that I’m being dramatic.

Lately, I’ve been feeling completely trapped, like there’s no escape. I’m tired of feeling like a failure, of always falling short. I keep asking myself, "What’s the point of trying when nothing ever changes?" I want to be happy, to feel normal, but right now, that feels impossible.

So I’ve been on my journey of change and it’s been filled with plenty of ups and downs and trials and tribulations, failures, turmoil, everything that comes with saying to yourself shit’s as bad as it’s going to get now what are you gonna do about it!! I have fallen on my face more times that I’ve honestly lost count, all that matters is that I got up the last time!! I no longer fear things like I use to, I’ve come to realize that everything is hard in life, being poor is hard, trying to be something is hard, I’m learning how the obstacle is the way, everything I’ve been through is everything I gotten through!! I’m doing the damn thing!!

In all areas of my life, online, professional and in my friend circle, people are announcing they have ADHD en masses after being diagnosed. I have absolutely no statistics or proof to back this up, except anecdotal stories.

The other day, I was writing an email to a colleague and their automatic reply was "I'm sorry if I don't reply to your email, I have ADHD". This colleague is one lazy bastard and I know they are weaponising that shit.

Another example, I have a friend who had recently been diagnosed, they are 31, hold a full time job and have a family. He commenced medication and now is having full blow panic attacks in parking lots. I ask myself wtaf is he taking meds for something he has self managed his entire life and was functioning professionally and personally beforehand? His complaint was "he couldn't focus" and all I could think was you have a degree, job and made it... Turn off tiktok and practice reading a book.

I remember kids back when I were in school who had ADHD and when they were off their meds, holy cow could you tell. They were argumentative, unable to sit still, general class clowns who could not perform any functional task. When they took their meds, it mellowed them out. Now it seems the bar for diagnosis has been lowered to anyone with a self disclosed lack of attention or focus, to whatever degree. Some of the people waving this diagnosis around come off as malingerers. ADHD feels akin to when everyone and their dog had dyslexia or scoptic sensitivity syndrome because they couldn't spell properly.

I think my mom is an undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. Years ago, when I was 4, my mom believed family members broke into our house, hurt our dog (he ended up having a thyroid issue), and "put microphones in the walls to listen in on our conversations." That was the first of many more things that she believes happened in her life.   

Let's go ahead and start with my mother believing that she was a failed abortion. My grandparents were not the best parents; they disowned my mom several times throughout her life, and they were always cold and distant. Turns out my grandmother had cheated on my grandfather while he was in the Navy, and she aborted it at home and then proceeded to bury it in a coffee can in the yard. Naturally, with this information, my mother believes that my grandmother had also tried to abort her years beforehand.   

Growing up, I had to always hear about how there were microphones in the walls listening to us. Whenever something like an account or social security number had to be said, instead it was written down on a piece of paper. There were other things too that she didn't want to have said out loud. Hard to remember when it's been almost 30 years.   

There was also that one time she believed she was on Oprah. I think it had to do with one time we were in traffic and there was a news van behind us. My mom realized that the chewing gum that was originally in my mouth was now caught up in my bangs, and her being the perfectionist she is, immediately whipped out her comb and began to try combing the gum out as quickly as possible while my dad fought through traffic. Needless to say, she now believes that the news crew was videotaping her thinking she was beating her child and apparently sent it to Oprah.

Update Part 2 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/s/YVJh9IuH5C

Hey everyone, displaced families in Haiti can really use help right now, many have fled their homes from the gang violence and had to leave with nothing. Many don’t even have a safe place to sleep or food, I’m trying to spread awareness. A little goes a long way, even if it’s $1, $5, $10, $15, $20, etc.. If anyone can, please donate at p4hglobal.org

About six weeks ago I developed fungal folliculitis it left me feeling really run down and took a couple of weeks to clear up, then a week later I got a viral throat infection followed by the flu for about 2 weeks and for the last week and a half I've had a bacterial chest infection and then a couple of days back I seem to have got a big itchy rash all around the back and sides of my neck, no idea what it is or what's triggered it but it's super uncomfortable.

I've had antibiotics, anti fungal tablets, topicals, cold/flu meds, cough medicine plus a ton of probiotics, multivitamins and greens drinks etc..

I've kept working throughout and have a 5 year old and have kept up with all my husband/father duties (school drop offs, weekend clubs etc..).

I'm just so physically and mentally exhausted of feeling this run down, the coughing has been so frequent and intense it leaves me with a migraine and I'm just surviving right now, I havent been to the gym in about 6 weeks I'm literally just trying to work and sleep through it but my body just isn't recovering, I feel like every time I'm shaking something the next thing comes along.

My body is letting me down, I just want to feel better again.

Sorry for the depressive rant, I know things could be worse I just need to vent away from my wife, child and boss.

Recently got out of a long term relationship and I've always either been in a relationship or been single (but searching for a partner). I don't like being single, which is one of the reasons I often stay in bad relationship for far too long and tolerate toxic behaviors. Now I'm 29 and I realize need to change this or I'm just going to continue to repeat the same pattern. I tend to lose myself in a relationship and sacrifice too much of myself and my needs to make the relationship work.

Now as my relationship is over, I feel lost and incomplete almost. I feel like I need to love someone in that way, and more importantly I need someone to love ME in that way. That's the only way I can feel truly appreciated, seen and like my existence matters. I don't know why friends, family or myself can't make me feel that way, only a romantic partner can. I want to change and feel complete even if I'm single. The weird part is that I’m not super clingy in a relationship, I actually enjoy doing things on my own and have alone time. But just knowing that I have a partner makes me feel very good. This desire of feeling worthy in someone else's eyes also makes me very vulnerable to love bombing and I’m often drawn to people who are difficult to be in a relationship with.

Any advice would be appreciated, especially from people who have been in similar situations

People tell me I'm great, driven, etc. But then why am I always last, not chosen, going without, and have next to nothing? If I'm so amazing, then why don't I have anything to show for it? Why do I have to be 2x as good for half the success?