Hi a little background info about me is that I come from a well off background not too well off just enough to replace an old fridge. Lately I've been hurting myself for a while now, and I only do it when I'm stressed out.

I've been going to therapy and I feel a lot better however I told my best friend about it and she said that she doesn't understand how I could get depressed because I'm more financially stable than everyone else in school (I got a government scholarship so my family only needs to pay half the school fee) and that I'm more privileged than they are. She also said that she goes through a lot of things but she never once thought about hurting herself and that I'm selfish for doing so. My friend asked me what else I could ask for and I felt really guilty for ever thinking about it.

I felt really bad about it, like I didn't deserve the scholarship and that I'm depriving the future of someone less fortunate than me. I'm depriving my friends future. I haven't been able to sleep well because I keep thinking that I don't deserve going to see a therapist so I asked my family if I can stop seeing the therapist.

If so, what effect did it ultimately have on you?

Sorry for such an overly sentimental post; I just felt like sharing...

I’m a 19-year-old guy. I don’t have a girlfriend or any friends at all, and I often feel quite lonely. My moderate depression doesn’t make the situation any better, either.

But today, a sweet video popped up in my Instagram feed - a father playing with his daughter and her stuffed animals. The comments were lovely too. After that, Instagram started showing me more videos like that - people sharing sweet, innocent moments about their relationships, their children, and so on. It made me so happy...

You see, most of what I’d been seeing in my feed lately was pretty toxic, so this shift in my recommendations felt like a breath of fresh air. I sometimes hear that seeing happy couples makes lonely people feel sad, but that’s not how it works for me - if anything, I find myself energized by their happiness. I just hope that one day, I’ll have someone in my life whom I can love just as deeply.

Have a great day everyone!

I had an incredibly distressing experience with Dr. Dokucu at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s Interventional Psychiatry department. His lack of empathy toward a vulnerable psychiatric patient was shocking.
I sought help for treatment-resistant bipolar depression, hoping to explore options after struggling to find relief. The resident who initially met with me was wonderful: kind, attentive, and genuinely helpful. Unfortunately, the atmosphere changed the moment Dr. Dokucu entered.
I found him cold and dismissive. Rather than having a collaborative conversation about my options, he strongly pushed electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), leaving me feeling pressured instead of informed.
ECT uses an electrical current to induce a seizure under general anesthesia. While it can be effective and even lifesaving, it carries real risks, including temporary confusion and memory problems, and in some cases lasting gaps in autobiographical memory. ECT also has a troubling history: it was once administered without modern anesthesia and sometimes without meaningful consent, including coercive use in psychiatric institutions. Modern ECT is very different, but that history makes informed consent and respect for patient autonomy especially important.
I am not opposed to ECT or evidence-based treatment. I wanted a thoughtful discussion of the benefits, risks, and alternatives, with space to ask questions and express concerns.
As Dr. Dokucu continued speaking, I became increasingly overwhelmed and began having a panic attack. This was the worst part of the appointment. Instead of slowing down, acknowledging my distress, or giving me a moment to regain my composure, he continued delivering information as though I could fully absorb it.
I was having a panic attack IN A PSYCHIATRIC CLINIC, in front of a psychiatrist, and felt completely unsupported. I experienced no meaningful attempt to comfort me or adapt the conversation to my emotional state. I felt spoken at, not spoken with.
I did not expect him to agree with every concern I raised or avoid difficult treatment recommendations. I expected basic compassion, patience, and an understanding that someone in acute distress may not be able to process complex medical information.
Patients seeking interventional psychiatric care are often already exhausted by years of unsuccessful treatments. They deserve to feel safe, heard, and involved in decisions about their own care. The resident demonstrated that kind of professionalism. In my experience, Dr. Dokucu did not.
In my opinion, a physician who cannot respond empathetically to a patient experiencing a panic attack should not be working with vulnerable psychiatric patients. Clinical expertise is no substitute for compassionate care.
I left feeling shaken and more distressed than when I arrived. I would not recommend Dr. Dokucu to anyone seeking collaborative, patient-centered psychiatric care.

https://healthsciencehub.net/research/research-notes/mebufotenin-5-meo-dmt-treatment-resistant-depression-2026

I keep seeing the sentiment (irl & online) that one needs to be mentally healthy & essentially have no traces of bad upbringing left.

" you have to work on yourself, people can tell...& it puts them off"

Does being depressed make one unlovable? I mean I get it, no one wants to deal with that. It's just disheartening & kind of a self fulfilling prophecy, you're depressed that no one really loves you & no one really loves you because you're depressed.

What makes it worse, is if you don't have family, because there TRULY isn't anyone who loves you.

Because now my head is gonna explodeee

Im in a dead end minimum wage job at 23. I fell for the scam that is college and majored in something i thought would be worthwhile but was really stupid in hindsight. Ive somehow locked myself out of every job a high school dropout can do from what i can tell given ive easily sennt out 1500 apps in the past 2 years and im still stuck here. People talk about what they want in life like settling down, having hobbies, growing old but i dont imagine ill make it to 40 with where i am and the state of the world. I just keep lying to myself that everything will be ok but i know deep down it wont. As soon as my family has had enough of me and makes me move out some day ill be as good as dead given i live in a rural area with no resources for the homeless (this is honestly probablly a good thing ultimately though so my suffering wont be dragged out).

I literally have zero plans for life or goals even out just 10 years from now, i really have no idea how ill live that long. Absolute best case scenario is i work minimum wage till i die at 80 all alone while being homeless and never being able to retire since retirement in general is becoming a thing of the past.

Warning as well (teen self harmed)

So I need help from someone with experience in a situation like this.

My 15 year old daughter went pretty bad last night, it started off as been very down and then as I went to bed and doom scrolling, I heard some noises coming from her room, I was literally about to go to the toilet and then check in on her, but as soon as I put my phone down on the side I heard her yell for me, so I ran in her room, she was hyperventilating and hysterically crying, I jumped on the bed and wrapped my arms around her but felt something on my hand, I pulled my hand away and there was alot of blood, pulled her arm towards me and took on look at her sholder and saw it. Pretty deep and pretty big. I panicked for a split second, got her off the bed and told her to raise her arm, took her straight downstairs, boyfriend (her step dad) was awake by this point from her crying. Saw us at the bottom of the stairs im holding her arm up and said call and ambulance. Grabbed a tea towel from the draw and wrapped it up and started applying pressure, gave her a big hug while holding her arm up and keeping the pressure, told her its ok, im here, while shes apologising like mad. My legs start shaking at this point and I take her into the front room, sit her on the sofa while keeping pressure, and keeping her arm raised, helping my partner explain what has gone on, the size of the wound, where it is. After hes done on the phone his gets mine from upstairs and I call her bio dad, he starts getting dressed waiting on my partner to go get him. Partner stays until the ambulance leaves with me and daughter so he can help get things ready while im keeping it raised and pressure. They wrap her up and take her in the ambulance. We get seen by 3 different doctors and they sitch her up, 2 inside, 7 outside, wait for the out of hours emergency cahms worker to arrive and talk to us, then call partner back up to pick us up, all in all 3 hours at the hospital.

Shes in cahms already atm, and under early intervention to physios, is there anyway of getting her medicated any earlier than this?? Is there anything else i can do?? She cant keep going on like this, this isnt the first time, but what if that was her wrist?? What if that was the final straw and she ended it?? Im u.k based too, cause I know England is different to u.s.a and things. She dont want to be sectioned in a mental hospital, northeast ones aren't great apparently, and her dads sister had similar experience in a mental hospital and she was worse.

My grandmother died from cancer just three weeks ago...i regret not spending enough time with her, i regret being a selfish teenager who couldn't understand the depth of what was really going to happen. She died, right infront of my eyes, i remember every single second. I can barley get to school anymore, and i'm going to a new school were i have to catch a train at 6:30, and a bus...i'm still harming myself, and very severely. I feel so lonely, and so empty. Nothing even feels real anymore. Everyone thinks im getting better, but im not. I get random hate comments on my innocent posts, and im so so sensitive that it hurts me. Im trying, and i've tried, its been a year since my attempt, and i dont feel any better, i feel worse. It all doesnt even hurt, its just numb. And i really need some kind words, even just a one word comment, or a full sentence or paragraph, it doesn't matter. I just need some genuine words said to me, just anything.

I (20f) have been pretty shy since I was like 11 and throughout my following school years I have developed social anxiety. Then from like 14-16 I tried to fight my social anxiety by putting myself out of my comfort zone and eventhough it didnt fix it obviously during that time I was the most expressive and happiest but then since I was 17 and now the last few months it became way worse. I am scared to look people in the face, I think about peoples facial expressions for weeks, I just feel off. I am in college right now and everyone seems like a full person and I am just there. I am so scared of being perceived by others. Its not even that I think I am ugly. I got a nice part time job recently after searching for a long time and it covered my rent perfectly and was a very nice and fun job and I tried so hard to act normal and extroverted but they fired me after a month (its a social job not retail or waitress job) because they think I look like I dont wanna be there and like I am in my own world and hate the job basically, which is not true. They even said out of all the student workers they had I was the least open etc. I dont know whats wrong with me, even when I try my hardest I am still the worst basically.

And sorry for my bad grammar, english is my third language but I am improving it.

When it comes down to it, when things get really bad, are we alone? I feel abandoned. Abandoned by friends, family, doctors, therapists, hell, even my own husband, that I'm his only caregiver since a hospital left him paraplegic. I'm exhausted in every sense of the word & know in my entire being that the only person I can count on is me. I'm almost 50, I feel too old to be my only backup anymore.

i have BPD and major obsessive issues and i struggle with understanding permanence even in distance. i feel like such a selfish human being as my boyfriend is going through a hard time and i keep making it about myself because i dont know how to cope. hes been distant for the last few days and i have no one to talk to about it and i’m just so lonely, i think im under psychosis right now and i just need to vent to someone or get some advice, please.

Hi idk it feels kind of weird asking someone to talk to me but I would like if someone with the same situation as me could like talk to me abt it or smth. Im a teen and ive had this negative depressive feeling for all my life and it has come to a point that these days I really js feel like dying and i see no purpose at all anymore. All hope I had is just gone now and everyday for me is a just a fog. I wont die on purpose tho. Its not even that i have a bad life or anything i just can't live. It feels like everyone around me knows nothing abt me and its actually probably true.

They only care when they can see it. So really if someone is going through the same thing or has went through the same thing pls like tell me abt ur experience or maybe what you've been like ever since you've been experiencing all of this

These past couple years I feel like I’m becoming more and more paranoid, I often feel like everyone around me hates me and I need to constantly hide my feelings around everyone(especially my family) to stop them from turning on me. I’m also just generally very afraid of the possibility that I’m being watched when I’m alone at night, I don’t know if that has something to do with the first thing, but I’m worried about it.

I (19F) honestly can’t take this shit anymore. At least once a day, I hear some grown-ass man or a guy my age telling me to smile more. And most of the time, I’m not even mad, it’s literally just my resting face. I genuinely don’t understand what they mean by that, but it’s so fucking annoying... btw I don’t even know these men. They’re literally just random dudes on the street or at uni.

I’m going to be honest because I need what I need, and I’m too afraid to seek it in the real world. I’m too afraid of people altogether, even this is tough. I’ve had many accounts on Reddit but I’ve never posted, simply because of fear of judgement, or rejection, or already coming from a place of not belonging. I need to talk to a woman. I’m a 21 year old man since September 15th and have had no maternal guidance in life since, well even before I left home and I’m beginning to recognize the void that’s left in my life. And before you think I’m psycho or something, no I did not come here seeking a mother. I came here seeking a strong feminine voice in my life, for the reason mentioned earlier, and that throughout my life, I haven’t had good experiences with men. I have an easier time talking to women, and I have things I need to talk about, and someone who doesn’t make me feel like I’m weak or foolish for hurting. So if there’s someone out there who this isn’t too weird for, please know your response is appreciated more than the expenditure of words merits.

I cant believe I'm venting on reddit but idk where else to go.

My mental health has plumeted. And its been like that for months.

I'm trying to hold on and let it pass but its so hard. I feel like i am going to have a heart attack or a stroke most of the time that's even if bad thoughts don't return.

Everything feels like its burning around me.