I left the house.

The first time in a couple of months! I went to Halfords (a car accessory and consumables shop) and Sainsbury's (a supermarket chain).

The older I get, the more I feel like life is becoming a never-ending list of responsibilities and obligations.

I have to work, deal with people I don't necessarily like, put up with workplace drama, gossip, and all the unnecessary stress that comes with it. Sometimes I honestly just don't want to deal with people at all.

I feel like I'm constantly doing things because I have to, not because I want to.

Sometimes I wish I could just walk away from everything. Quit my job, move somewhere new, escape all these responsibilities, and just feel free for once. Free from expectations, obligations, stress, and the constant pressure of having to keep everything together.

But then reality hits. I can't just leave. I have responsibilities, commitments, and things that depend on me. And that makes me feel even more trapped.

What bothers me the most is the anxiety that comes with all of this. I feel like I'm constantly worrying about what I need to do next, what could go wrong, and how I'm supposed to keep managing everything.

I know this is just part of being an adult, but sometimes I wonder, is this really what life is supposed to feel like?

Have you ever felt like you just wanted to leave your job, change your environment, and start over somewhere completely different, but couldn't because of all your responsibilities?

How do you deal with this feeling? Because lately, I genuinely don't know what to do.

Hi! I’m a 22f patient care technician without any kind of degree, and I’m currently working as a nanny. Recently, I’ve felt lost, and I don’t know what to do with my life. I’ve tried going back to school and doing little classes here and there, but nothing seems to stick. A lot of my friends recently graduated from college and started getting job opportunities within weeks. And seeing that has made me feel like I’m running out of time. I tried going to my mom for help but she just mostly blamed me and told me to figure it out on my own. I don’t even know what i’m doing anymore if i’m being honest. I just need help with figuring life out. How do i stop feeling like a loser?

I'm with a girl I really love and I know she loves me too. She's in med school and is going to be a doctor in a few years. I am so proud of her, genuinely.

My situation is different. I don't have a degree because I had to step up and help my family when they needed me. I now I'm working an office job that pays and helps me keep going

I don't know what my earnings will look like in 10 years. She is going to earn significantly more than me and I worry about that.

I want to give her the life she deserves, but I'm terrified that I'll only ever be able to provide the basics and not much more, unless I somehow make it big. I love her so much that I don't want her to be stuck with someone who holds her back.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where one partner (especially the woman) earns way more? Did it work out? Did the guy manage to feel secure?

Should I break up now to not waste her time, or keep going and hope I figure it out? I don't want to make a decision based on insecurity but I don't want to be selfish either.

Any honest advice appreciated.

On September 5th while hanging out with some friends and my wife, I had a seizure that caused me to aspirate and left me not able to breathe. The paramedics were able to get me to emergency in 5 minutes and 50 seconds. I spent 29 days in a coma and technically died 4 times. I was intubated, had a PICC line, had a pacing wire and later had a tracheostomy. The doctors diagnosed with me pretty severe pneumonia in both my lungs. They had to pump 14 lbs of liquid from my body. There was times where my oxygen levels were in the 40's

The amount of fighting and advocating my wife did for me while I was out is nothing short of life saving. If it wasnt for her I'd be dead. That's a fact. I stayed in the ICU for another 3 weeks. I lost 60 pounds while there. My healing has been a miracle. I've since been released from the ICU straight to home and I'm recovering.

This doesnt feel real to me. This feels like an episode of a medical drama. And I also feel like I time traveled. So ya, thats my story.

Does it feel strange to know you're going to die at some point? Does it make you feel sad or make you feel motivated to keep going and live life to the fullest?

I've been thinking about this because of my poetry course (most themes have been about death or someone acknowledging the fact they are going to face death at some point). Some themes view death as a monster, though other themes view death as an indifferent force that has no ill will. In some poems, death is a friend that lends you a helping hand.

I've been interested in our own understanding that we are going to die at some point–this is inevitable and unavailable. But how we view the end is so different that I can't help admire it in a weird way.

What do you all think?

I think society puts too much pressure on people to forgive. Saying “sorry” doesn’t undo years of disrespect, betrayal, or damage. Sometimes the healthiest response isn’t forgiveness or revenge; it’s simply cutting someone off permanently and moving on. Do you think everyone deserves a second chance?

How do you tell the difference between a close online gaming friend and something more?

​Context: We’ve known each other online for almost 2 years, but our dynamic has gotten significantly closer recently.

​Daily Contact: We text constantly throughout the day she shares details about her work, everyday life, and personal experiences.

​Nightly Calls: We get on Discord VC to play games (like League of Legends) and talk for 3–4 hours almost every night. She routinely sacrifices sleep (getting only 4–5 hours) just to stay on the call until dusk, and we always wrap up with "talk to you tomorrow."

​Vibe: She giggles constantly at my jokes, shares personal history (including past relationship trauma), and updates me on her daily interactions with other people.

​My Question:

I'm catching feelings, but I can't tell if these are clear signs of mutual romantic attraction or if I'm just overthinking high-level platonic friendship habits after 3 years.

​What are the key green flags you look for in an online connection before bringing up your feelings?

​How would you recommend testing the waters or bringing this up without making our gaming dynamic awkward if she doesn't feel the same way?

At what point does an age gap become a problem?

Not talking about minors. I'm talking about two consenting adults.

For example, if a 19-year-old dates a 32-year-old, a lot of people immediately say it's wrong. But if you ask why, the answers seem all over the place.

Some say it's the power imbalance.

Some say it's the different life stages.

Others say that if both people are adults, it's nobody else's business.

What I find interesting is that people often focus on the number itself. A 13-year age gap sounds huge at 19 and 32, but almost nobody cares about a 43-year-old dating a 56-year-old.

So where do you personally draw the line?

Is it the age gap itself, or is it the age of the younger person that matters most?

I'd be interested to hear what makes a relationship "too much" of an age difference in your opinion.

I’ll try to put this into words as good as I can. I have this feeling that my life is in pieces instead of an ensemble? It doesn’t feel coherent if that makes sense, it’s like there’s a piece here a piece there and some of these pieces aren’t even logical for me or doesn’t fit what/where I want. It’s like my life isn’t flowing, ofcourse I know there’ll be bumps along the way and it won’t always be smooth going but there has to be atleast some sort of coherence?
Has anyone had this and did you solve it by getting a purpose or practicing something else?

First day was yesterday. Today was the first day of actually questioning jurors and seeing who to dismiss. I didn't get a single question from the lawyers, while they grilled other people about their answers to questions and dismissed a number of people. I think it seems somewhat likely that I will get selected being an opinion-less blob, and it's a trial that they project to last until the week before Thanksgiving.

This isn't even a cool criminal trial. It's a civil trial contract dispute between a company and a former executive. I could have been honest speaking about this. I could have said that the last thing I care about is if some rich fucking asshole gets even richer from some contract payout. I could have said that the industry the company is in makes it the scum of the Earth and that everyone at the company should burn in hell. I'm not biased against either side in the trial, I think both sides are assholes. But I held my tongue... because at least by doing jury duty, even not getting paid... it will bring something different and perhaps a little bit interesting to the monotony of my pathetic life. Maybe I can sit there for a few weeks, not have to go to my terrible job (except on Fridays), and actually discover something interesting about society and feel like I'm making a bit of difference unlike the rest of my life.

Idk how I got here, but I really miss the life. years ago.

I was always a loner, but back then, I'd watch films, listen to music and get into new genres, read books, explore Substack, watch YouTube, sketch, write, scroll through Pinterest, and just learn random shit that probably had no meaning or purpose whatsoever. I was so connected to art back then and i sorta liked it

I really fucking miss those days.

Ofc, it wasnt all good. I had days when I'd worry about my future, question what I was doing with my life, and feel like I wasn't going anywhere. Things were different back then, and I had my own problems, but at least I was doing something. I was curious about things. There was always something I wanted to watch, read, learn, or make.

Now, idk how I ended up here. I barely consume anything, let alone create anything. I feel like I'm just living in nostalgia, missing a version of my life that I can't seem to get back to. All I do now is go to the gym, eat, and repeat. And don't get me wrong, the gym is alright, but I didn't join it to fix my mental health or anything. Idk why I even joined in the first place lol And honestly, I don't think the gym, or any other habit for that matter, can magically fix your mental health when your surroundings aren't great. Having to deal with people you don't wanna be around, feeling like things aren't great at home, and knowing your family isn't particularly happy with you either. Idk, it gets to you. The gym might make you feel a little better, but it can't fix everything.

I'm not looking for sympathy or anything. I jus dont really have anyone I can call a friend, someone I can talk to about random shit, share things with, or genuinely connect with. I barely socialise anymore, and maybe that's part of why everything feels so dull. When you have people around you, even if it's just casual conversations, their opinions and the desire to be understood by someone can make you more curious about the them and even about yourself. You have things to share, things to discover, and reasons to look beyond your own head. At least that's how I see it.

Maybe this is just what turning 19 feels like. The end of being a teenager, I guess. You're supposed to figure out what you wanna do with your life, but I'm sitting here feeling like I've barely done anything with mine. There's still so much I wanna do. I wanna make music, write, film amd stuff, learn new things, explore art, and a hundred other things I can't even list rn.

And it's not like I've stopped wanting those things. That's the weird part. I still want to do all of them, but somehow, I just don't. I cant remember anything about this 1-2 year that i have done something for me and lol idk even remember

What i did at all.

Idk, maybe I'm just rambling at this point. I don't even know what I'm expecting by posting this. Maybe I just wanted to put these feelings into words somewhere, or hear from people who've felt the same way.

For context I am 18M and live in an apartment with a roommate. I am in college although I never actually show up to classes or do work. I don’t have a girlfriend and I don’t know too many people where I live.

I don’t know what I’m doing or where i’m going. I don’t have a job and everything i apply for i get rejected. Me and my parents aren’t big fans of each other so running back to them is not really an option; i don’t have a shoulder to lean on.

I just recently got a kitten that I can’t afford and i feel bad that i’m going to have to give her away to my sister since she was once homeless (the cat).

I say i’m in college but in reality all i do all day is skateboard and play the game with my friends online. I am able to make some money online but it’s not enough to live comfortably. I barely eat because i can’t afford it.

After this lease is over I really only have a couple options: Move into very cheap apartments with another roommate, Join the military, Or be homeless and just travel the US in my car (this is what I want to do the most.)

I am just kind of stuck and I don’t know what path to take in life and what to do. I’m resulting to coming here to see if anybody has any advice but please don’t just say something along the lines of “you’re still young you have time to…” please give me actual advice or what would you do if you were in my situation or have been in my situation.

So... let me get to the point.

I fixed up the house I inherited a few years ago cause I no one would buy it (old house, close by a church).

I was paying a lot of money for keeping it alive and it was too late to decline the inheritance at that point.

So I dicided if I fix it up properly (new windows, good ones, insulation etc.) I might hear the church bells inside a little bit but not too much.

Problem: I spent 500.000 € to fix that up, live in it and I can't really sleep anymore since 2 years.
I also can't sell it.

So I am too poor to move away.

Was probably a bad choice but I was hoping the construction dudes were right and they can make it sound proof. I don't hear it "loud loud" but loud enough that it wakes me up at 11 am a little bit and at 12:05 pm the next 3 minutes bells go again.

The bell plan is basically 24/7 and the bells start at 05:30 AM (morning), 11 AM, 12:05 pm, 6:00 pm for each 3 minutes. The other bells go every 1/4, 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 + big gong for the whole hour.

So if it is lets say 10 in the morning, it gongs 4 times small and 10 times big cause it's 10.

Sometimes really I think I should end it, because I have no sleep and no escape. I am locked here in this huge house that is great but the bells are ruining me.

I tried contacting the church for help but 2 neighbors out 6 close neighbors want the bells to stay on. The other 4 don't really care but 1 of them is also annoyed.
In my country the bells aren't considered "noise" and can't be put to court.

So I have no legal right to win in a law suit and I have 2 neighbors who want these bells.

I know that ending it isn't an option, but does anyone else see an option for me? I can't afford buying a new place to rent cause of the mortgage. Maybe I am blind and just lost and not thinking clearly anymore. I am very sad and sleep deprived.

My brother jokingly says gas is expensiv, but not that expensive. I say na man I'm not made for that lol.

My dog died two months ago and my family brought a new one

I had the best loving and cute labrador ever,he was the best dog I could ever ask for honestly,he was there when I hated life,from my childhood to my teenage,and he died two months ago due to kidney failure and I couldn't be more sad about..however my mom learned from her friend that her dog gave birth to puppies and was giving them away for free , a Shih Tzu , I told her I wasn't sure but she brought him anyway,I just don't know how to feel about it cause I might seem cruel or a "animal hater" or smthg yet I don't like this dog,I have to pick up it's pee and poop everytime it pees whenever put on a bed,and iam sick of it,and mostly because during the last few months of my previous dog I had to clean his pee and poop too cause he had lost his control over the bladder and I just hate to do it all over again sure it will be for just a few months,he is three months old now,but iam just so overstimulated and tired because I did not want his responsibility I had told my parents to bring a new dog when we were ina better place mentally ,as I suffer from anxiety and depression,but they just think I hate the dog,and my mom just blames herself saying "I thought it would make y'all feel better" and just gets upset everytime I bring anything I don't know what to do,I find this dog annoying too,he follows everywhere,bites my ankles and growls at every stranger,I might seem cruel but I don't want it

My entire life was and is purposeless, I don't have any hobbies, nothing seems fun, I don't know how to talk to anyone, especially when I don't have any clue about anything because I'm dumb. I don't care about what will happen to me. There was and probably still is this stupid thing about me when I want to do something I want to do, I won't do it, because I'm ashamed of it (I'm talking about simple things like listening to music or cooking). My life is boring, like I said, nothing is fun for me. I don't go out because I probably have enormous social anxiety, I'm stressed almost all the time when I go out. I don't see my future. I'm thinking that I should not be born, I'm just a parasite. I could probably tell more, but who cares. I'm just an NPC which is just existing.

It's always how to live a fulfilling life or what makes a fufilling life but why? Why do you live a fulfilling life or why do you want to live a fulfilling life?

It's easy to find answers on how to live but I don't often see or hear people discuss why and want to know why others think so.

I’m gonna start :

-I wish I’ve done scouting, I am now too old to do some but I am always envious when I see some in the street. It’s something I would’ve love so much. Obviously there were none scout groups where I lived when I was young.

-I wish I just sticked to a sport when I was younger and didn’t do 1year =1 new sport to try. I would’ve love to master something like figure skating, classical dance or baseball.

-I wish I just forced myself to see my grandpa at the hospital and didn’t just stay in the hall because the Covid restrictions were a bummer and seriously I was lazy. He died two days after.

I am in my twenties so for now there is not too much things that I feel my heart hurting when I think about it.

Hi (22F)

I'm writing this as I lay down in bed crying at 6:51 AM.

As the title said "Feeling lost."

It's been 2 months since I moved to an unfamiliar city for school. Alot of ups and downs during the first month but I was still able to pull through and went to school. But then October came and I just lost my will to go do anything else.

I've been in bed for the past three weeks unsure of what to do with my time anymore. I've come to the conclusion that the program I'm pursuing isn't really what I wanted. I just took the opportunity because my ego couldn't handle the fact that I got rejected for the program I wanted. So I decided to let this program go and try to pursue the program I got rejected in.

But I'm still in limbo. Now I'm doubting if it was right to drop out all of a sudden and just do whatever. I've lost weight, my mood has been up and down to the point I pick random fights with my boyfriend, my sleep has been really messy, I'm feeling lost in everything.

My thoughts have been all over the place like self doubt, comparison, and just wanting to disappear from the face of the earth. I keep comparing my past to the present because I feel unsatisfied and that my present feels super empty that I can no longer show up for myself even if I try to.

I know how to pick myself back up except it gets a little harder and harder as the days go by and I feel like a total burden for my mom just because I decided to withdraw from my program. She's not mad, she's supportive of it. But I can't help but think of her being disappointed.

How do I get through this? I have no one to talk to.

I feel like I have nothing going on in my life. All I do is work and then go straight home. I try to go to meetup groups and its either all old people or people who just came with their friends and only want to talk to their friends. I don't have any big hobbies except for browsing the internet I guess. I want to go out to parties and music events but those are no fun when you're all alone. I wanted to go back to school to maybe meet some new people but I feel like I'd stick out like a sore thumb being 10 years older than everyone else. Also nothing is really worth studying anyways, it would just be a waste of money. I wish I could date but no one wants to match with someone on a dating site whose pictures are all frumpy selfies. Is this really all there is to life?

SOMETHING broke in society after 2020 and nobody wants to talk about it.

And I'm not talking about masks, lockdowns, or COVID. I mean the FEELING of life.

Everything reopened. We went back to work. Restaurants filled up. Events came back. But somehow life still feels... different.

Years disappear faster. People feel more disconnected. Everything feels more expensive, stressful & rushed.

And somehow we're all constantly exhausted. I can't even explain exactly what we lost. I just know life before 2020 felt more ALIVE.

I used to have a business, a business partner, and what felt like a shiny life. Then the crisis came and flipped everything upside down.
For eight years now, I’ve been in court. I’ve sold almost everything I could sell to keep fighting my former partner. He keeps attacking me, and now he wants to take my house. I owe friends and relatives around $500,000. Yesterday my car was blocked, so I can’t even use or dispose of it anymore. On top of that, bankruptcy proceedings are underway—and the debts won’t be discharged.
I often sit on the edge of my bed before sleep and think about what to do next. Just me, the silence, and the next move.
Please don’t blame me for something I did wrong. I’m fighting alone against a much stronger enemy. I don’t even know what advice I’d want to hear. I just know I’ll solve this too. I don’t know how, but I know I’ll come out of this victorious.
Maybe someone out there has been through something similar. I’m not asking for sympathy. I’m just telling the story.

Is there anyone else here who, even as an adult, simply doesn’t care about wealth, property, cars, vacations, etc.? Almost no material possessions matter to me, and I feel that my life is so much richer because of it.

I should add that I make a comfortable living from my hobby. I also have enough savings to maintain my current comfortable lifestyle for around 5–7 years, which is an important factor too. I’ve spent decades doing what I love and pursuing personal fulfillment. My hobby is my job. My husband and I chose not to have children because neither of us is interested in parenthood.

We love sleeping until noon, going out to restaurants, doing what we love (which also happens to be our work), and enjoying culture.

Are there many people here who think the same way?

(Sorry for the clickbait title, but I was trying to reach as many readers as possible this way.)

Sometimes a dream doesn't end. It simply moves into the background while other parts of life need our attention.

Family, work, caregiving, financial responsibilities, and personal commitments can all shape when we have room to pursue something new.

I've been exploring this idea through a short cinematic scene featuring Candice Noelle Sarka, a fictional married mother of five who pauses during an ordinary morning at home. She looks at her notebook, remembers something she still wants for herself, and begins writing again.

Nothing is solved in that moment. The significance is that she allows the possibility to return.

It raises a question I find interesting:

Have you ever returned to a dream, idea, or ambition after a long period of putting it aside? What helped you reconsider it?

I'm interested in the experience itself, not just stories with neat endings. Sometimes the dream changes, sometimes the timing changes, and sometimes we discover that what we wanted still matters in a different way.