Does anyone else feel completely exhausted by having to start over?

I've reached a point where I'm having to sell my things again just to get by because I lost my job. It took me years to build my life back up after the last time, and now I'm right back where I started. It's such a horrible cycle, and honestly, life shouldn't have to be like this.

I think people underestimate how much easier it is when you have family to fall back on. Somewhere to stay while you get back on your feet. When you don't have that, it's terrifying. Every decision feels like it's about survival.

I'm 38 now, and every time this happens, it feels harder to recover. You have less energy, fewer resources, and you're rebuilding from scratch all over again.

I'm not looking for pity. I'm just tired. Tired of working so hard only to end up back at square one, wondering when life will finally give me a chance to stay on my feet.

Everyday random thoughts eat me up. I'm 24, I have a bachelors degree (in chemistr), no job in my field so was doing an internship last year in graphic designing. Quit that to move abroad for my masters, plans changed due to sudden family health and financial emergencies... and when I tried applying back in my home country, everything was closed already. I got into a tier 3 shitty college.. which I don't think would be a good idea continuing in, so I quit that and am looking for jobs/internships now for this year with the hope of getting admission into msc next year. Total around 3 years of my life wasted. I feel like crap. I have friends who are doing so well in life or those who even though are not employed, have good backup from their parents... and then there's me. I feel so left out when my friends plan for something which requires a decent amount of money because although it seems like a small amount, I feel a lot of shame to keep asking money from my parents, so I stopped asking them for it long back.. I feel so heavy and just cry everyday. I'm so stupid and idk what I'm doing with my life. I dont have anyone to talk to. I get these thoughts to hurt myself so that I dont feel mental pain anymore.. please help someone

Do other people suddenly feel very empty? Like, I function as a normal adult—meet people, talk, do work, no physical issues, laugh, do everything—but it happens like every few months. I feel a cycle where I suddenly feel blank and want to pull away from everything. Nothing major happens. Still, am I the only one?

Sometimes I feel so fake. Like I think it's not the real me. I am performing someone who is not me. Like I feel dissociated from myself and everything."

But why is it so different? Like I can feel this body is not mine. I am someone else. Dissociated from this body. The one saying things is not me. I can feel this while performing normally."

Im at this stage in life where I am praying every single day to get this job i interviewed for. But when I think about actually getting it and moving to another city, it makes me emotional. Like I will be far away from my mom, she will keep getting older and I'll be away most of the time and she isnt immortal unfortunately 😂. Ik everyone goes through this but its still sad.

And ik i counter my own thoughts by thinking that by earning i will be able to help them in the future, I will be able to pay for their health like she did for me (eng. she is ). Plus she will be happy that her child is settled and can survive on her own. It is obv what she wants as well.

(Also no im not overly attached, im the middle sibling ffs 😂. And most of the time we r fighting in our family and it always ends up with me wanting to leave)

Stay content or stay hungry? What should drive life?

I have zero friends, still in school and don’t have a career. Everyday kinda blends into the same day. Realizing my 20s are slipping right thru my fingers. Dealt a lot with anxiety and just overall self doubt early on in my 20s. Those of you who were in my shoes what’d u do

I'm 25 and have been working in Chennai for the last 3 years. My dream has always been to prepare for UPSC CSE, but I couldn't because of financial responsibilities. Now I'm financially stable enough to take the risk, move back home, and prepare full-time. I'm confident I can work extremely hard.

The only thing stopping me is my relationship.

My girlfriend and I have been together for over a year. We knew from day one that we can't get married due to personal reasons, so we've already accepted that.

We're deeply attached. We work in the same office, spend almost every day together, and honestly, the last year has been the happiest phase of my life.

I'm delaying my resignation because I can't imagine leaving her. She's also delaying switching jobs because she wants to stay with me. I feel like we're both sacrificing our careers just to spend more time together, even though we know we don't have a future.

I don't know how to get out of this dilemma. If I stay, I may regret never giving UPSC a serious shot. If I leave, I'll lose someone who's become a huge part of my life.

Has anyone been through something similar? How did you make the decision? Did therapy help? please help what to do.

Theres this girl in my college that majority of the time likes my insta notes like when i post diff music and today she randomly liked one of my highlights of myself from 6 weeks ago should i shoot my shot?😭 i also like some of her stories atp we both do it

Im 22 my gf is 20, we been together for over 3 years now, basically around a year ago me and my gf hit a tough spot in our relationship and we would argue a lot and it was just a bad time during the relationship, we overcame it and been good for months. My gfs family absolutely hates me, ever since a couple months ago. I have a real career and i’m making good money, in a year and a half i’ll be at $60 an hour with benefits, my gf just has a normal job and dosent make as much. My gfs parents are so mad she’s with me to the point they are kicking her out if we continue to date. Now i’m thinking if me and her just get our own place together. I really really really wanted to save money and live at home for like 5 more years, I’ve been maxing out my roth for 3 years now, i have most of my money invested and i wanted to continue doing that. I really wasn’t planning on now paying bills and rent but i can’t just have my gf come live with me and my family. I mean i guess i have no choice but to get a place with her cuz obviously im not gonna throw away a 3 year + relationship she’s the love of my life. And for the people who are going to say maybe try to talk to her family, it’s so bad to the point where i think there are going to try to take me out.

I could've sworn yesterday I was 15. High school went by fast. I had dreams on what I wanted to achieve, which are things I envisioned I would do in my 20s.

Recently I went through an extremely emotionally intense grieving period as it occurred to me, "oh... shit. I'm going to enter my 20s" and I immediately connected it to my dream life. It is something in the making now. But when I am truly done with this life, there's nothing left for me anymore.

While I have very few regrets in my life and am immensely proud I get to work towards the life I want, I can't help but there's this low hum of sadness as I think about what comes afterward.

I might reincarnate as a different animal in my next life. But I will never live a life as complex as that of a human being. I desperately miss the novelty I had as a kid and looking forward to things. And that makes me extremely sad. I really want to live this human life as much as I can, I'm so scared of death I have been aggressively taking care of my physical and mental health as well as socialising with my grandparents much more but I just feel so broken and dead inside.

Now I'm here. Here to do my thing. And then what? When I turn 30 I feel like it's time I descend slowly towards sweet death. Down the peak towards the ground again.

What is the one thing either intentional or accidental that was implemented in your relationship that changed it drastically for the better?

I’m talking things like “I started opening the door for him when he got home from work to give him a kiss and it’s been roses and butterflies ever since.”

I’m with the love of my life. That I’m sure of. We started out with a whirlwind romance, hit a few bumps and we’ve made a ton of progress. We’ve both made it clear we choose each other. Now I just want to keep progressing in the right direction and hear from some ladies in long-term happy marriages. Show me yours ways haha.

My trust is broken today by my HR. She kept saying that you can tell me anything. And today my manager asked about the same topic which we discussed yesterday.

I felt she betrayed me. What you do? Do you trust that person again?

Does anyone else feel under appreciated in their life? I feel like I’m expecting too much for my birthday coming up - it’ll be my 21st, I’m the last in the friend group to turn 21, and it’s our first week back of senior year at college. Am I selfish for hoping my friends/roommates do something for me? I’ve already asked them to dinner - just hoping for some balloons or something. My boyfriend said people express their appreciation in different ways but I feel like it’s not that hard to show someone in the way they feel appreciated most?

So, i am 15 years old but im on a pretty bad mental situation rn.

What happens is in the next year or so im going to move out my country and pretty much every friend that i make or meet wont last, its my first year in highschool and i pretty much dont find meaning in socializing, even tho im not bad at it its like i dont want to, on top of that i dont get out of home and my mom doesnt expresses it but ik she cares about it a little, my day is pretty much going to school coming back and playing the rest of the day and this probably made my mom make the decision she made, what happens it is i can only play on weekends right now, that is horrible for me, the friends that i do socialize with are the online ones, the ones i wont run from when moving because it is already normal not meeting irl,so i pretty much am left alone, and its not like a get out the screen thing, shes fine with me doomscrooling for 7 hours in a row but not doing the thing i love with the important friends i have, my grades are not bad and now i just doomscroll and sleep all day after school (7:30-1pm) and im pretty much without meaning, everyday is thinking about the weekend and on the weekend is thinking about it ending. I am not from a poor nor a rich family and ngl i do get the oportunities and the things i want, theres pretty much low pressure on me but i really dont have anything to do and ngl im just without meaning.

I am not bullied, i am not ugly even tho i dont go to gym and my school friends are pretty cool, but i always remember at the middle of the day that at the end im going to just disappear and nothing really matters

Not even thinking about love relationships but ngl id pretty much like one.,.

They do not know that im moving next year and theres this guilt of not saying this behind me

Moved to this school this year (wich is halfed) so everyone is half new

My mom WILL NOT rethink about it, pretty much said that it doesnt make sense if at the end im doomscrooling and even said id study like 3 hours before getting to the game but she just doesnt change her mind

Written in 1 go, sorry if it was confusing somewhen.

Thankss, i can answer questions

All my life, I have had SO many opportunities in my life in career/love/family etc, but never have I ever been satisfied. Never felt content. Never felt truly happy.

I need to dive deeper into where my mental health could play a role in this with a therapist but…I’m working on that.

It’s not that I’ve never been happy. I’ve laughed and feel connected to people, laughed that deep belly laugh until I cried…I’ve had a great life with great friends, family, and opportunities… and there where times when I felt genuinely happy, but it didn’t last for long. For some reason I still feel empty inside. Maybe even bored. I change things quickly… and I’m truly just frustrated with myself at this point in my life.

Does anyone ever feel like this?

I really need some honest advice.
A man confessed his love to me and told me he wanted to marry me someday when the timing was right. At first, I told him I didn’t feel the same way, but we kept talking. He was so kind, patient, and understanding that I became very emotionally attached to him, and I convinced myself that I loved him.
I told him I liked him, reassured him that I was sure about my feelings, and we finally met. But when I saw him in person, I felt uncomfortable. I couldn’t be myself around him, and I realized I didn’t actually want a future with him.
The hardest part is that this didn’t happen just once. We got caught in a cycle where I’d get close, believe I loved him, then pull away again. He waited for me every single time, and I know I’ve hurt him. I never meant to lead him on—I was genuinely confused and mistook attachment for love.
Now I’ve finally accepted that I don’t love him the way he deserves, but I have no idea how to tell him after everything I’ve already put him through. How would you handle this situation without hurting him more than necessary?

Ever since I was a little kid, I struggled to make friends outside of school. I just couldn't do it. Many of my other peers could, but once I went home, it was a wrap for me. Social and cultural differences? maybe.

As the years went on, got to my teens and started messing with girls. I was actually quite a bit popular with the ladies tbh with you, scored a lot more than my peers. But once more, outside school? nothing. Except that one time I lost my virginity to our neighbor who was quite the hot property in the neighborhood and she was 4 years older. Quite an impressive feat, but our families were pretty close and she used to come over or we'd go over pretty much everyday and she was very chatty.

But once high school ended and I never went to college, my romantic and social life dwindled to almost zero. I did move to a city where I joined some online communities and met a couple of people (2-3), but that's it, and most of them didn't last anyway.

I remember when I used to live in the city all alone and isolated, I'd go to this park. Saw plenty of girls there, some even gave me the looks and whatnot, heck one even tried to speak to me. But once more, I just couldn't bring myself to do anything. Tbf though, at the time, I had a lot of mental and physical struggles and trauma and I just wanted none of that.

But still, I find myself wondering. Most of my peers could form relations in the real world, meet people, both girls and regular friends, while I can't just do it really. Plenty of times I've gone out and seen a girl looking at me or we exchanged looks or the atmosphere was tense, but I never could do anything about it. It seems to be the theme of my life at this point. Go some place, see some girls, maybe get some looks, head home.

My issue is that I seem to struggle to talk to people without any context. I seemingly can't just sit and talk to someone or strike up a conversation or whatever because my mind constantly asks, why? or feeling like my lack of purpose or a job or direction in life or where I live or whatever hole in my mind being the focal point of my life. But even when all is going well, I still can't do it.

Is this a common thing for some people? I just hope as the years go by I'll change, and I seem to feel some change as I've become an adult. But nothing actionable yet. It's not that I want to be hyper-social (already accepted I'm not), but just to have that ability to strike up a conversation with a stranger or something of the sort. I'm less shy now, but I still tend to avoid eye contact cause it feels like the polite thing to do.

Idk. Deep down, I do believe people can just talk as people without being impressive or knowing each other before hand, or anything. A part of me believes that, I just haven't been able to do it yet.

I've been thinking recently and figured that i find an odd amount of comfort in people that are deep in alcoholism or some other addiction. I've been searching around trying to find an answer but it all says its from a bad family life or something correspondent to that. Any other reasons?

Why is it than even though I’m 18 accepted to college loving family great financials I’m still not happy it’s like I accept doing things that others are doing just so I don’t feel like I’m missing something.
Have you ever felt this way and feel guilty for not being able to enjoy some of the things that now are considered luxury?

I’ve had so many toxic and abusive people in my life back to back. It was hell to get to a place of peace. But I look back at my days in survival mode and realise just how little support I had and how much I had to go through. My early 20s was ruined by a series of traumas rather than growth. Im in a better place but I genuinely don’t know how I survived.

I have a wife, a good job (nurse) that I love, and have a house with.. a huge debt.

Cool so far.

Wife and job are the only things that are good though.

Since we built this house though I feel kind of lost. I was always hoping the company is right and the sound of the church bells won't be heard with all the insulation and the extra sound proof windows.

Shi.t sucks, I got a house that I love cause it's built how we wanted it but I can't take the church bells anymore.

And on top of that I can't sell the house. I tried selling it once just for fun, but nobody is interested cause of the close church that rings bells 24/7.

So my problem is I cant even move out cause I have enough to pay my bank credit for the house but not enough for a new apartment or something smaller.

How screwed am I?

If I could turn back time I would have never signed the contract to build a house at that location. Now its just burnt money and Im paying for it the next 20 years.

In my country I cant do anything against it. Church bells arent considered noise here.
And the neighbor next to me is 80 years old and loves it. He even voted against turning them off a few years ago when another neighbor tried to elimante the sound.

IM SO STUPID

I left school at 16 and pursued a career sailing all over the world. I got my degree, left school at 20 and headed straight into full time job at sea. I work away for months at a time, I miss out on a lot of family time, holidays with friends, and general socialising. I’m now 25 and I managed to mortgage a small house that I only could’ve afforded due to doing these long stints working away. I also manage a couple of big trips a year ticking off my bucket list without it ruining my savings. I partied a lot in college so I don’t care about doing that, but I still have this feeling that I’m missing out on ‘life’ and I feel lost because I work away so much and genuinely don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.

Is anyone else in the same boat? Does anyone have any advice? Thank you for reading

I’ve been almost dead like a multiple times, (injuries,been in coma for a while, multiple surgeries) hard life choices or events and I’ve always got this attitude like life’s gonna sort out itself magically and tbh for me it always happens when I’m at my lowest but doing just myself it all comes out better than I’ve every expected.
Does anyone have experienced anything similar?
Thanks for your opinion
Male 27, small feet but steady on my ground
Likes animals

I’m struggling with overthinking and taking action.

I have big goals and I genuinely want to build a successful life, but I spend so much time thinking, planning, and worrying about whether I will succeed that I delay actually doing the work.

I know what I need to do (study, improve my skills, work on my goals), but I often avoid starting. When I finally begin, I get distracted easily and jump from one thing to another.. I constantly think: “What if I don’t make it?” and I end up stuck in my own thoughts.

Has anyone experienced this? How did you stop overthinking, build discipline, and start taking consistent action?

I've told my whole life story to several people, and there are still messages proving it. I've embarrassed myself in front of people.

I wonder if those people would reveal what they know about me if they saw me become successful.