Hi everyone, I'm 23, living with my parents, and currently unemployed. I deal with severe anxiety and AuDHD.

My academics aren't great as im below GCSE level in maths and English, so every time I sit down to apply for a job, I feel inferior.

My memory is also really bad. I forget half of what I learn even after eight hours of trying, and sometimes I can't remember my own sister's birthday. I'm assuming it's brain fog.

On top of that, I keep sleeping in, and some days I'm on a screen for 13 hours just to get the thoughts out of my head.

So if anyone has any advice on how I can get out of this unhealthy/isolating bubble it would be much appreciated.

I just love to complain. I was going to write an elaborate post about not being liked, but let’s flip it instead. One day I am going to find a friend that appreciates me, fully. That LOVES hanging out with me. Someone I LOVE hanging out with. Someone who invites me out. Someone who I feel comfortable inviting out. Someone I’ll experience girlhood with. Not someone who tries to change everything about me, not someone who ignores my texts, gossips about me, not someone who teams up with someone else to try and erase my humanity. Not someone who isn’t enthusiastic to see me, not someone who drains me.

That’s why I am rightfully so my OWN best friend.

I watched a movie with two people who were talking and laughing in german amongst each other. They discussed it after it ended, and didn’t bother to look in my direction. It’s the fact that they were speaking a language I didn’t understand and they were aware of it. I felt like neither of them valued my presence at all. I could barely focus during the movie because I was so frustrated and hurt that I was left out of myb a 2min conversation. I ended up commenting on and sharing what I thought of the movie at the end, and after I did, they made probably the most obvious clarification which pretty much suggested I didn’t understand the movie at all and wasn’t worth talking to. Or myb that I was too dumb to understand what happened. The annoying part is that I’m so wildly annoyed and mad at someone that I shouldn’t be mad at. They weren’t being mean to me at all, they just weren’t giving me attention, and thought less of me. To compensate for feeling neglected and inferior I needed to invalidate who they were as a person so as to soothe my wounded pride. I told myself that they were dumb, immature, or had bad judgement because if they did, their opinion of me wouldn’t hold as much weight. Why do I feel this strongly. Is this narcissism?

I'm 22F, and lately I've been grieving the person I thought I'd be by now. I was always a sincere, academically good kid with big dreams. Then COVID happened, I gained a lot of weight (90 kg at 5'3" at my heaviest), and somewhere along the way, I lost my confidence. I've spent years hiding behind clothes, avoiding pictures and waiting to lose weight before allowing myself to feel comfortable in my own skin. I used to dance and post TikToks at 16, lol. I barely recognise that version of myself anymore.

I'm five months out of my undergrad degree, unemployed and living at home. I'm struggling to find a job, didn't make lasting friendships in college, and feel like everyone else is moving forward while I'm standing still. Girls my age are travelling, dating, dressing up, partying and making memories. I genuinely admire their confidence, but I envy it too. I don't necessarily want their lifestyle or to dress provocatively, but I hate wondering whether I'm living the way I want to or simply letting fear and insecurity make my decisions.

I've wanted to move abroad for years, partly to experience the world and partly because I'm a queer woman who wants to experience life somewhere I might feel freer being myself. I had this whole timeline planned: graduate at 22, get a job, gain experience, pursue a master's abroad, make friends and become independent. Now I'm unemployed, doubting my choices and terrified that I'm falling behind. I've even started avoiding Instagram because seeing everyone else's lives makes me feel worse about my own.

What hurts most is the regret. I feel like I wasted four or five years being scared of judgement instead of working on myself, making friends and actually living. I keep waiting until I lose weight, get a job or become confident before I let myself enjoy life. I'm scared I'll turn 25 and still be waiting.

For those who've been through something similar, how did you rebuild your confidence and stop hating yourself for the time you feel you've wasted? Especially women who've struggled with body image, loneliness or feeling left behind, I'd love to hear your experiences. I don't want to force myself into a lifestyle I don't even like, but I don't want fear to keep controlling my life either. I want to make friends, take risks, experience things and finally start living on my own terms. I just don't know how to begin.

I've recently become genuinely ambitious about my life and career, but I can't shake the feeling that I've woken up too late. I see people who started earlier and are so much further ahead, and I wonder what my life could have looked like if I'd found this drive sooner.

It's not about comparing myself to others. It's about wondering how much further I could have gone if I'd started sooner. How do you let go of that feeling and focus on what you can still become, instead of mourning the person you could have been?

Hey, I'm a 23-year-old guy, and... I've barely had any romantic experience at all. No teenage love, no relationships, no mutual feelings, nothing. I've talked to girls and had crushes, but they've always been one-sided, or things never got to the point where I could actually call someone my girlfriend. And yeah, I'm a virgin.

Honestly, it's really hard dealing with the loneliness. All my friends are either in relationships or married, and I feel like I'm falling behind everyone else. On top of that, I've spent the last couple of years struggling with terrible depression, which made it difficult to meet new people and build connections. I'm doing better now, but I'm still terrified that having zero experience will make me undesirable, or that people will see it as a red flag.

My friends say good things about me and think I'm a good, interesting person, but this loneliness makes me question whether I'm even someone who can be loved.

I've spent most of my life trying to work on myself and become a better version of who I am, but I don't know when this awful feeling of loneliness is going to go away. How much longer am I supposed to put up with it?

I'm genuinely trying. Depression made me drop out of university, but I've since gone back and graduated. I've also started taking better care of my health and appearance, little by little. And yet, I still feel so sad.

People have told me to focus on building a career, but I don't know. I want someone to love me for who I am, not for how much money I make. Maybe that sounds naive or childish, but what's the point of having a good career if I'm still alone? I don't need that much for myself.

And please don't get me wrong. I'm more than willing to give a lot and do a lot for the people I love. The problem is that there's no one in my life like that.

I dream of having a family and children someday, but fuck, I'm already 23. People keep telling me I'm still young and that I have my whole life ahead of me, but there's no way of knowing when I'll meet someone, how long it'll take us to get close, or how long it'll be before we're ready to have children. Sometimes I feel like I'm just going to run out of time.

I'm genuinely scared. I really want to be loved by someone and have someone to give all my love to.

Thank you for reading this.

I'm 21, almost 22, and I know and understand I'm relatively young. Everyone says this like it's good but it's not - if I feel like this already then what the fuck else is coming that's worse? I already struggle and suffer and I'm supposed to have it easy now?

I've tried everything except ketamine therapy. That's my last option.

I have a useless art degree , I'm a transvestite, I make 24k a year working full time and going to school full time just to hear more and more about companies replacing the roles I'm grasping at straws at​ to even think about getting one day.

I've worked in customer service since i was 15 years old and I've gotten abused , harassed, sexually harassed and hate crimed, stalked, etc. And I've been told it's just the fucking way it is in that job.Its also the only thing people tell me I'm good at and everytime I hear it I die a little inside - is this all I am? Am I fucking doomed? Am I going to be a clerk until I retire? I have dreams. I want a life. I live to work at this point - I can't afford not to. That isn't a life worth living. I'm not currently living a life worth living.

​ I send out hundreds of applications a month and I try to freelance but AI is one step ahead of me.

My aunt is a creative director and she's laid off hundreds of her coworkers she's worked with for over 40 years - for fucking claude or something.

I've relayed and confided in many people, professionals and non, about this. The only FUCKING ANSWER I get from anyone is "most everyone feels like that, your not alone" or the sorts

my therapist actually said her and her colleagues have done and read research showing that the reason I'm dreading waking up in the morning, my suicidal ideations core, is what most people feel now. She told me that to make me feel better and I burst down crying.

I wish I was alone in this because then I'd know I'd have something to strive towards. What's the fucking point now? There's nothing to strive to except another tomorrow I don't want.

I want to know there's something I'm actually working towards. I've made 0 progress - negative progress- in over a decade.

My first suicide attempt was at 9 years old.

Please only reply with success stories or anything. ​​Talk about how you got your dream job in a creative field. Talk about the fact you know you have joy.

Tervist, people of reddit! I come to you with a question on how I can become better in terms of being capable of controlling my temperment. Now, I'm not sure if this is the place to post, but it seems like the right one..that aside. The situation is as follows:

When in conflicts of any kind, I notice a lot of the time that my anger comes from a place of self doubt and what I consider to be a desire for control. (Not like the kind that controls others' actions and thoughts, but one of outcomes for my own headpsace) When faced with any conflict, friends, family, or even my partner, I feel my body temperature elevate, and I get upset without realising it, and that causes the other people to become upset or elevated in feelings, which i'm sure is normal, but for me feels like I should be able to handle it more effectively. I'm really tired of causing a misunderstanding in tone, body language, and communication amongst my peers. What i'm really asking is how can I come to better control my emotional output? I've been told it comes off as too much all of the time, that it makes me look like a child, or an immature brat. I need to become better, not just for others, but myself especially.

Do give me any corrections if I need to edit a typo or anything.

and, hope you all have a nice day!

Antes de que naciera mi hermana, tuve dos hermanitas que fallecieron prematuramente cuando yo tenía once años. Recuerdo que mi madre lloraba a diario y mi padre tenía que cuidarla; me partía el corazón verla así. Cuando mi madre me dijo que estaba embarazada, me sentí frustrada. No quería volver a verla tan destrozada, así que no entendía por qué querría pasar por aquello de nuevo. No creía que mi hermana fuera a sobrevivir, por lo que, egoístamente, me distancié y me preparé mentalmente para lo peor, hasta que mi madre trajo a mi hermana a casa desde el hospital. Ella me pidió que la sostuviera, pero me sentía nerviosa y un poco culpable, así que dudé hasta que mi madre insistió. Sin embargo, cuando por fin lo hice, ella rodeó mis dedos con los suyos y rompí a llorar. Sentí muchas emociones, pero sobre todo felicidad y alivio al ver que estaba allí. Prometí hacer todo lo posible por cuidarla. Aquello me enseñó lo importante que es tener fe en lo increíble y que protegerme del dolor también puede impedirme experimentar el amor y la felicidad. ¿Cómo te ayudó tu difícil experiencia a aceptar las incertidumbres del futuro?

The best way to describe it is I am the rabbit that always loses to the turtle.

It's the same pattern i can't get out of, i start strong, run ahead of others pretty quickly in the beginning, then start slowing down believing now they can never surpass me again.

For instance, if i scored the highest, i ignore the effort that it took to get that result, and delude myself into believing that I'm such a genius that my brilliant mind will make it impossible for anyone to surpass me again, and so the slacking slope begins

I’m trying to improve my life, and one habit I keep struggling with is porn and masturbation.
I do it almost every day, sometimes twice. Usually, it starts with boredom or being alone. I watch porn, masturbate, and then feel guilty or empty afterward.
It’s affecting my focus and making me feel like I’m not in control of my own decisions.
I’ve noticed that the more I promise myself I’ll never do it again, the more frustrating the cycle becomes when I eventually slip up.
I want to change, but I don’t want my entire self-improvement journey to revolve around shame, streaks, or feeling like a failure every time I make a mistake.
For those who’ve worked through a similar habit:
What helped you build lasting change rather than relying on willpower?
How did you stop attaching so much guilt to setbacks?
How did you replace the habit with something genuinely fulfilling?
What did progress look like after the initial motivation wore off?
I’d appreciate honest answers, including things you wish you’d understood earlier.

I'm almost 25, I feel completely stuck in life, and I'm genuinely scared of my own future.

I don't even know where to begin. For the longest time, I've had absolutely no motivation to do anything. Sometimes I wonder if I'm depressed, but I don't know for sure. All I know is that I've been feeling this way for so long, and I don't know how to get myself out of it.

People around me are trying to push me to do something with my life, especially my mom, who's trying to get me into a job. And the thing is, I WANT to work. I want to build a career and become independent. But at the same time, I'm terrified of getting into a job that I don't want, getting stuck there, and eventually losing whatever little freedom I have left.

My family already depends on me in many ways, and I feel like if I take on more responsibilities, I'll never get the chance to build a life for myself.

I had so many dreams. I wanted to study abroad, work abroad, get into fashion marketing, explore the world, and actually experience the life I've always imagined for myself. But now I'm almost 25, and I feel like absolutely nothing is moving forward.

The worst part is that I don't even have the motivation to work towards those dreams anymore. I know I should be doing something. I know time is passing. But most days, all I want to do is sit in my room and cry.

I've also developed a really unhealthy relationship with food. Eating gives me temporary happiness, and I've started binge eating, which has contributed to significant weight gain. I know this isn't helping me, but I don't know how to break the cycle. It's like I'm trying to fill some emptiness inside me, and food is the only thing that gives me a little relief.

I'm scared of my future. I'm scared of making the wrong decisions. I'm scared of wasting my life. And I'm scared that I'll wake up one day and realise that I never actually lived the life I wanted.

I feel incredibly lonely, too.

My friends have their own lives, relationships, commitments, and people they can turn to. And I'm genuinely happy that they're moving forward, but I feel like I'm still standing in the exact same place I was years ago. I don't feel like I have anyone who can really help me navigate this phase of my life.

I don't think my parents would understand what I'm going through, and I don't think my siblings would either. I feel like everyone expects me to figure things out, but nobody really understands how difficult it has become for me just to get through the day.

Sometimes I feel completely useless, like I'm taking up space without doing anything meaningful with my life. I've even had moments when I've thought about dying, and that scares me because I don't know what to do with these feelings.

I'm frightened of the world, frightened of the future, and sometimes frightened of life itself. I feel anxious about what will happen to me and whether I'll ever become the person I wanted to be.

I don't know if I'm depressed, burnt out, afraid of adulthood, or just completely overwhelmed by everything happening around me. Maybe it's a combination of all of it.

I'm not looking for someone to tell me to get my life together or remind me that I'm getting older. I already know that. I put enough pressure on myself every single day.

I just want to hear from people who have been in a similar place and somehow found their way out.

Did anyone else go through their mid-twenties feeling completely lost, unmotivated, lonely, and terrified of the future? What actually helped you get out of that phase?

How did you start rebuilding your life when you didn't even have the energy to begin?

I could really use some advice, some perspective, or even just the reassurance that I'm not the only person who has felt this way.

I "try" to be better than I was yesterday, and I "try" to be the best I can be every day. But alas, I'm human, and to be human is to err.

What does help is a belief I have that there's an afterlife. What it looks like, or whether it truly exists, I don't know. But if it does, and I'll see everyone again, I want to make sure that when I see the people I care about, I can face them standing tall. Especially the ones who left this life before me. I want to be able to say thank you. The time and energy you spent helping me, guiding me, teaching me, and just being there was appreciated and not wasted. I didn't waste the time you spent on me. You truly helped.

Every day I wake up, look in the mirror, and imagine my brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and friends looking back at me. Some days I see a smile reflected. Other days my head bends down because I'm ashamed to look at them. It's the mirror that keeps me in check and deciding to be better.

Hi, I’m 15 years old, and this issue is weighing heavily on me; I also have a brother who is a bit younger than me.

I had bullied him in the past or months ago I would hit him in the stomach when he made me angry my bad behavior is due to the fact that bad things were happening to me at those ages that is the explanation, and I also said mean things to him. I feel incredibly guilty and can't stop thinking about it. I need help dealing with this guilt and making sure I don't do it again and I think I need some advice. so I started going to therapy and working on other problems of mine as well. He used to hate me, and rightly so, because I bullied him when I was 12 and 13 and even when I was 14

I changed when I turned 14 and we got along better, my little brother calls me into his room now because he wants me to see what he's doing in his games, and he sends me videos and stuff like that, but over the last six months, bad things have happened because of me only a few times before turning 15. It’s not as bad as before, but it’s still really wrong.

I already apologized to him two months ago, though it was a brief conversation because he doesn't like having long, serious talks; sometimes he brings the subject up jokingly, and recently there was a misunderstanding where he thought I was going to do something like what I used to do (though it became clear that same day that I wasn't going to do anything). I feel guilty about that, and that’s why I can’t stop thinking about what happened

I apologized again recently, but this time in a better way, and they told me it’s fine because it’s in the past

months ago, when I was 14, I hurt him; I had already told him that I wouldn’t hurt him again, even though it hadn’t been my intention. Since then, now that I’m 15, nothing bad has happened for months, but I remain very much on guard because I don’t want anything bad to happen again, even though I’ve already apologized and have changed, I feel very guilty, and I’m afraid that I might be giving him a false sense of security

I’m not sure how to properly finish the text, but if anyone could offer some advice, that would be great.

Any YouTubers that give you inspiration to do better? Anybody you watch trying to better themselves or better their life?

I'm in the unfortunate position of having lost what I thought was the love of my life over some deep-rooted self-hatred and inability to let go of the past, a mere few years after I lost both my well-paying job and my friend group at the time over these same issues I've exhibited recently. It is hard to move on from this; to tell myself I'm still trying to do better; that none of this defines me, so long as I do still put in the work.

I find I can motivate myself better to do something if I have specific examples to turn to. Who do you look up to in terms of their ability to move on from the past? Who motivates you to do the same?

Because at some point, I had everything, and my life should have been moving in a certain direction if I had held on to it, or at least not let things slow down. But now I have almost nothing.
I can’t say I had a perfect childhood. I lost one of my parents at an early age and suffered from severe anxiety, but my life was full. I had a big family, I was always visiting relatives, spending time with kids of my age, celebrating holidays, going on picnics, having birthday parties, and so on. Some parts of my childhood and teenage years were bright and full of life.
But now, in my twenties (23), I feel like I’ve fallen into an abyss. My anxiety has become so severe that I’ve fallen out of so many aspects of life. I struggle with OCD, I keep myself from doing things I genuinely want, and I’ve lost almost everyone.
I can picture my happy future, but I’m weighed down by the feeling that I’m starting all over again instead of continuing where I left off. It’s as if I didn’t exist before this, as if all my happy experiences meant nothing, as if anxiety and OCD erased them, and I don’t even have the right to talk about them because I wasn’t able to hold on to what I had.
It hurts to think about who I could have been if it weren’t for all of this.