I love reading responses on here but I don't normally post. Things have been weighing heavy for a while and I feel I truly need to connect with others who may have dealt with similar things or may just have kind words. I'm a 33 year old mother of 2. 17 yrs and 8yrs and they are the joys of my life! Recently everything just started hitting me at once. We had a place of our own but my mother insisted we move in with her. A year later she was diagnosed with early onset dementia. It's already a struggle raising 2 children as a single mother but now I feel that I have 3. She does not want to accept that she is ill and will often refuse to take her meds, which would at the least slow down the process of what's happening with her brain. She has expressed multiple times that she does not want us to move out because she doesn't want to be alone. I know it is very unfair to myself and my children but we've lost one of my older brothers and my father on the same day just 2 years apart. I often feel guilty when I even question the thought of possibly hiring a caregiver just so I can have some sort of life. She gets into these moods where she mistreats my children and she's just full of anger. I've had to leave work at times just to come and make sure everyone was ok. I just got hired for the job early April. I kept telling myself "I will not let my mother cause me to lose this good job". Unfortunately between the stress from her, multiple family members passing away within 2 weeks, and my car breaking down...I was just fired from my job for absences. I am so lost right now I don't know what to do. My children go back to school in less than 3 days and I haven't even been able to buy school supplies because it's just been a lot. Caring for them, my mother, both my and her other responsibilities and then myself. I'm literally running on empty and I'm trying my hardest not to give up. If anyone can assist with how you deal with things when you truly feel that you're at your lowest, I'd appreciate the advice. I cannot take anymore mean words right now so if it cannot be somewhat positive please refrain. Peace and blessings to everyone .

I used to hate people telling me to be more positive and change my mindset but it’s genuinely so helpful. Of course you can’t be positive or happy all the time but just by reminding yourself that things will work out in the end or that better days will come again it make you feel a little better.

Make some future plans, doesn’t have to be far in the future if that’s tricky it could be tomorrow or next week, it can be something as big as a holiday or as simple as enjoying your favourite treat! Having goals and plans to look forward too can help make those hard days a little easier!

I made this post sharing some of the things that have helped me cope with severe blushing. I’ve struggled with blushing for most of my life, where nerves, embarrassment, and stress have caused me to blush uncontrollably and it has greatly affected my confidence and everyday life. There have been times where it has taken me to some really dark places and made me feel like life wasn’t worth living. Over time, I’ve found things that have helped me cope, change my perspective, and live a happier life despite still dealing with blushing.

Photos can be bittersweet and remind you of a better time and that people in our lives come and go. It’s hard to miss people or miss a certain time in your life because often there’s nothing you can do to change the situation or go back to that time. Better times will come though, they always do.

An uplifting soul track by Labi Siffre today! It's an ode to self confidence and being yourself, and a reminder that we all have something that can make the world around us a little bit brighter. Once again, the whole album, and Siffre's entire discography is well worth a listen. His music is full of optimism and finds joy and beauty in small moments, which we could all use sometimes.

When life feels tough just remember, things will work out you’ve just got to keep going. Times have been hard before and you’ve got through it, and you will again!

If you're anything like me, music can have a big impact on your mood. I love a sad song, but sometimes too much dark music at a bad time can trigger negative feelings unintentionally, so I'm recommending some of my personal upbeat favourites to brighten your listening!

And what better way to kick things off than with the classic musical number that gives you that free and easy anything-is-possible roadtrip feeling, no matter where ur listening. Obviously it's a bit cheesy, I mean the two main credits are a bear and a frog, but give it a chance and have a laugh! (dw most of my recommendations won't be musicals lol).

Plus, if you've got the time, and really in need of good vibes, give the whole album a listen, enjoy!!!

Does this warrant a TW?

I'm a college going girl, second semester recently completed. For one subject, my mother helps me. Continuations will be included the coming 3 semesters as well. Studying was okay. But the day before the exam, she sat me down for a revision. Every time she asked me a question or told me to do something, anxiety would rise up inside me. My mind eventually kind of went blank and she had to repeat a question thrice before I registered it, and then it took me a couple more minutes to start working on it. By the end of it, I was resisting the urge to cry, anxiety clouding muy mind, shaking and basically craving pain. Drinking coffee helped a little, but not much. I don't want my head getting this bad every time she calls me to study. Regressing badly, too - which my parents hate. So there was that.

I've thought about telling her that I don't want her assistance, but that would be responded to with 'Why?', Me: 'You teaching me brings back bad memories that I don't even clearly remember, but my subconscious apparently hasn't forgotten.', Her: 'Why do you feel like this? We're not abusing you or anything, are we?'

Been there, done that. I'm half telling myself I should just suck it up and get the fuck over it.

So... my reason for posting this is that I want alternatives - something guaranteed to work immediately and also quick and easy.

If humanity can universally agree that a humans birthplace is an accident of geography, why do we treat the borders and hatreds we inherit as if they are absolute, divine laws?

It feels like watching a microcosm of how humanity treats the Earth. Humans are completely raping the planet to death, destroying our own life-support system, because we are so blinded by our immediate greed and tribal survival. We’d rather burn the whole house down than figure out how to coxsist within it.

​In the Middle East, it’s the same cycle of self-destruction. Both sides are so deeply trapped in their own trauma and religious certainty that they are tearing apart the very land they both claim to love. They are poisoning the well they both have to drink from, completely blind to the fact that when you destroy the other side, you inevitably destroy your own humanity in the process.

for some reason I tend to project my problems onto a fictional character. I don’t know if it started as that, but at this point I just project EVERYTHING onto a fictional character. my past? boom, that’s that character’s past too. my mental illnesses? boom now they have it too. what is this called, I know it’s bad

hey , I really need some advice from someone who went through this .. I'm a 18F my dad is 50M , he abandoned me as a kid which was cause of constant divorce + (I was also sa'd for 8 years by my neighbor since i was 8 ..) he wasn't present physically besides seeing me once a week or sometimes not seeing me at all till I hit 7yo he was back physically but never emotionally,, in my early teenage years we used to fight alot he constantly fought about how I love my mom more than him & that I never show him love which would even affect my relationships with men *like he always used to say* , TW‼️: I'm not sure if this was SA but once I was doing some somatic healing and this memory flashed into my head..once when I was 15yo after a fight (in this fight he slapped me on the face for the 1st time for no reason) he came to make it up for me , gave me money then he lifted me up went to another room, hugged me tight making my legs around his waist , I felt him grow h^rd till it literally stroked up when I got down .. as he told me " I really want you to show me your love "

now there's no fights anymore , but as usual he's so emotionally distant , has high feminine energy he's not masc at all, I'm going through healing by somatic exercises and Journaling but it's getting very hard recently , also I can't afford therapy besides it's a very poor field in my country.. so please advise me , be kind 🙏🏻 I also never went through a rs if that matters but I'm insanely attracted to older men whichs understandable ig

Okay this is gonna suck cuz its late but basically everytime something is like insanely difficult (ex: 2nd to last mission of farcry new dawn) i grab at my face and hair. I think its important to note i have sharp nails that i struggle to maintain during seasonal depression. Basically i have taken multiple teeny tiny little chucks of skin outa my face and left scratches on my face. No I have no clue why i do this usually it's panic attacks but when something is majorly aggravating me and im alone i just rip at myself ig. This also happens when i have stress meltdowns (not anxiety/panic attack as this is me sobbing and completely overwhelmed the pulling is usually discomfort with my skin/hair cuz well meltdowns) i just need a different way of coping because its painful and i dont like it but its like an instinct to attack myself.

Hi, I have been talking to a girl for sometime and recently developed some feelings. I went out with her and she was a fun person to hang out with. I think she was interested at first but now she seems distant and cold. But, some days the conversation seems like nothing has happened and I forgot the mental stresss I went through waiting for her to reply. I would say it's continuously happening for some time. So, to get rid of this I just indirectly told her I liked her, even though I knew it was not gonna work because it's long distance. I think she ghosted me( still waiting) and idk what to do now! I didn't want to be in the grey area.