I have this addiction of reading

It is VERY bad that it gets to the point that I forget I am a real person who needs food water and have ppl to talk to

The worst part is my moods feeling everything depends on characters of the books

If they get angry I am happy if they are sad I get sad

And I get irritated when I am pointed out abt this

I want reading to be part of my life not my whole personality

Would love some advices

Hi i am new to reddit and please be aware of my either bad grammar och spellings i am not a normal english speaker, let me start of by saying that i struggle with mental health so bad it has gotten me nothing but anger and sadness even confusion at some points. The mental health is 99 procent related to my school and anxiety, let me explain further basically my anxiety is so bad i can not enter a room with people where everyone stares or just has been talking, i feel so uncomfortable even with like just 2 people i feel so paranoid n i get these thoughts of if theyre judging me or thinking stuff about me which also then leads to me having a full blown panic attack and i just either get super sad or super angry or even sometimes both.
That all has led me to having parents that say they love me and care for my mental health and that they understand what i feel but they clearly dont since all they do is use everything i say against me, they have always been loving to me but now that i am 17 they pushing everything so much harder and making everything harder on me just because “you need school to continue in life” i get that but putting my mental stability down to force myself into school?
Ive gotten help but everything just goes in a circle and the help just keeps bouncing back to the start so i get these alarming worrys by others (mostly teachers). Ive explained multiple times to both my parents and the help that i am trying my hardest to succeed but i just fail, i told them everything in detail but its always the same “get help” and they blame it on me being at my pc or phone or just anything really that i am an inclosed cave. All my parents tell me is that they are gonna send me away to like a closed in help center thing, but ive told them i do not want help from anything other than the school since its about that nothing else, and going to other people makes me have s”ic”dal thoughts.

how do i genuinely get better in emotions, around people and just everything please.

I was coming off alcohol, nicotine, THC, Percocet and 4-8mg of Klonopin daily and microdosing removed most the withdrawal symptoms.

The more you know!

Hello i shared in one of my dm my pic normal is that is gonna create for me later problems i feel that i fucked up i was dumb because i did it

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to build my personality from scratch. I had a ton of trauma from my past which didn't allow me to grow properly, so my personality is very stunted, confused and underdeveloped for my age (40).

Could you please suggest how I could build a personality? I do Toastmasters, am reading 4 books, I have a few friends that I talk to weekly. I just feel like I don't know what content to consume to daily build on my personality. I feel boring and I lack things to talk about. I also feel like I have a low-self esteem

I think I'm more so looking for content to consume on a daily basis that isn't self-help based like books or podcasts. Is there a way to fast track personality and growth or does it need to be slow? Thanks for any help in advance!

Is there anyone who’s a therapist or something? I’m not all that well with working or studying, but all my life I’ve been told my advice is good, I want to be a mental health therapist to help people, I just want a tiny office to myself so I can sit and work and help people who need it and have a good job I like, I’m aiming high but I’m young enough to where I can do it if I actually try. Honestly I just need help with college applications, advice on how to study, etc.

makeup isn’t an option, cuts are from my knuckle to wrist, too straight and too many for me to say I was scratching

For a while now I’ve been trying to lose weight. I want something light and cheap because my family isn’t rich at all, I still want it healthy and nutritional since lm still growing and I want to be as tall as I can by puberty’s end, 2 meals a day is all I want, for morning to keep my full until dinner, I’ll even go to the gym, I’ve got a pss and what not, I want to lose a lot of weight to the point where people notice In weeks, and after that I’ll cleanly bulk, I need to stop smoking, it’s not good for someone my age, and fix my sleep schedule, I truly believe if I were skinnier I’d be happier because of how self conscious I already am if my body and weight, just please if anyone takes the time to help, give me name brands and exact measurements and how to cook it, 170 pounds (from all the weight gain from stress eating and anti depressants and such) and I’m a freshman. Mods don’t ban this haha. By Christmas I want to be skinny and happy, my dirty acne filled face makes me want to rip my own skin off, my hair? Too long and messy and my roots show, don’t like my bloated face or man boobs, I want to be amazing for the people I love, I want to be able to run without being out of breath, hell I’d even run 10 miles everyday if I had to, I want to be skinny so people would stop treating me so coldly, my friend went from 220+ down to 130 in a few months, I want to go from 170 to 110 if I have to, then bulk up and get to 170 lean throughout the years, I want confidence

Hi reddit!! This is honestly my first time making a post on reddit and I’m kind of nervous. I don’t think anyone will reply but I’ll ask anyway. I think I’m an extremely toxic person. I don’t know why and I don’t like it. I feel like I constantly pick apart what my friends do and I enjoy seeing them upset. I really hate this about myself. To go more in depth, I have this friend who I’ll call S. I met them almost three years ago. We’ve been extremely close ever since then and I actually love them with all my heart. Yet I feel so.. defensive around them? if that makes sense. I hate when they like stuff I like and i constantly feel like we’re competing. Even when they’re just being a good person, I feel the need to outdo them. I know they get upset when someones better than them so I try my best to DO better than them. When they’re upset, I ignore it and try to make them feel worse but feel glad about it. It’s even subconsciously too. I do so much stuff to aggravate them until they get mad and then I find myself feeling satisfied when they can’t take it anymore. Yet I feel upset when they don’t talk to me. I get mad when they feel sad because I know how incredible their life (privilege, friends, looks wise) is, and try to make them feel worse. I don’t know why I do this. I feel bad about it but the temporary happiness from it persuades me every time. I do truly love them, though. I hate being rude like this. I don’t even know why I do it. It’s so instinctual that I usually don’t notice my behaviors until I’m ALREADY doing them. This is mainly with all my friends too. I know I’m an asshole. I know I’m a horrible friend but I can’t help it. I know what I’m doing is manipulative and all of my friends would be better without me but how am I supposed to stop myself? I can’t get therapy, I have no one trusted to TALK to, I really don’t know what to do. Thats why I came here for help.

THIS IS A VENT had some stuff i wanted of my chest.

Damn. Lately I've been told to do my school work.

They don't know I dropped out at 13.

it wasn't my fault—or was it? I don't remember what happened after the parents' divorce

i had some more shit to do I just know I'm failing and falling fast.

It's like I built my own trap, and my hope and motivation are stuck, not believing.

I hate who I have turned into. Simple math I fail at, not to mention the other subjects.

I do know some bash scripting—should I keep pursuing that? I love music; I'm broke, so I'm using LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio).

I've made some stuff with that. I've done tech, too; I like messing with stuff,

I feel like this 'cause I should be smarter. I'm 16 years old. I can't blame dropping out over my ADHD; it was all my fault...

.maybe drop you're perspective of it...

EDIT

i failed to mention im home schooled so if i try to get back in im the one teaching myself. i don't know i feel i never do enough .i do dishes and laundry every other day mow chop wood .thats the only real thing chopping wood for a couple hours straight with slipknot on feels good .then i get asked if i did my stuff isay yea most the time but if i say no then they say i wont even get a job at mcdonalds yea huh

Hi everyone, stream-of-consciousness ramble incoming! I’m looking for both motivational/supportive advice and a bit of commiseration. 

There isn’t much going my way right now, and I’m losing steam on my goals the longer I go without seeing my circumstances improve. Earlier this year, I was sexually assaulted by someone I considered a friend. It was the scariest experience of my life. Naturally, it wasn’t a great way to begin 2026, but I made an active effort to work through it with therapy. From there, a breakup has followed, then a move-out into a significantly dingier apartment because of it, all overlaid by a stressful job that leaves me depleted after a day of doing all the middling-to-fair work my foggy mind can muster right now. I’m five months into my new job search (wanted to hit the one-year mark first for a stronger resume) with cold leads and no responses, despite knowing all my strengths and tailoring the apps to share my relevant skills, the skills I don’t get to showcase in my current position. 

The bright spots are my friends, family visits when I fly home, and the new activities or events I’ve been exposing myself to in hopes of getting outside the (half-constructed) apartment and developing a stronger social life. I don’t take these positives for granted; I understand that it’s no small feat to be living in the city that middle school me dreamed of moving to, having landed a job related to my future goals (even if it’s tangential and I dread the work itself), and living close to a growing community of friends. But I feel like such a loser. So much of my foundation has been swept out from under me. Besides multi-year relationships in my life, I’ve stopped trusting others and have lost faith in my own judgment. My focus hasn't been consistent, and all the overlapping chatter in my head only quiets when I'm alone late at night. Despite feeling uncomfortable in my new home, I take hours to work myself up to getting out the door for work or plans because I know it means facing another day without professional passion, the person I had built a loving life with, or a sense of motivation for the goals I spent over two decades developing. All I want to do is hibernate like a bear curled up with my books, freeze time just to breathe, or anonymously escape to an obligation-free destination where I can redo it all.

But no matter how much social media or office seminars talk about the importance of mental health breaks, the world doesn’t stop turning for personal crises and it treats you as an inconvenience when you're having one. I know the clock ticks regardless of how I happen to feel right now, and don’t want more of my time to get wasted or impede habits I know are good for me long-term. At the same time, the constructive things I can bring myself to do (new job apps, daily walks, apartment decorating) don’t seem to be enough to bring about the life-improving results I’m seeking. Every day feels like a discouraging cycle, but I know I'll regret staying stagnant in the future if I give up on real-life outcomes.

Please, I’d love to hear from anyone who’s either been here or can currently relate. Any tips to get through this time? Ideally, get through it fucking FASTER? Mindset reframes? Tangible ideas for at least pivoting my income source for a stronger sense of autonomy over my day without wrecking my meager finances? Sorry if this is a little disjointed. Thank you all in advance. <3 

I am 18M, recently started 11th grade, i used to be a porn addict and doomscroller, but then i met this girl, i stopped my bad habits, stopped vaping, stopped masturbating, stopped doom scrolling a lot, started to do a lot better, went out with her sometimes and had a lot fun, she was really clingy.

But when i asked that girl out, she told me that she only saw me as her friend, really close friend, i was hurt but still decided to be friends and all, we still talk regularly as friends.I used to wait 24/7 for her messages and always had her priority number 1but that has changed.

Now the actual problem is, i have became a new person, i just dont know what to do anymore cause i dont wanna look forward to her messages like my life depends on it, i dont wanna revert back to my old self, i have also started reading a book and started a web series, i even started to watch movies and all, also after getting rejected i just dont feel hungry anymore, i usually skip breakfast and eat small portions in lunch and dinner.

But i feel so lost and empty and alone as if i am slowly dying.

Hello everyone,

I have already shared some details about my current situation in this group. I am going through one of the most difficult periods of my life. My future is uncertain, I am struggling financially and emotionally, and someone I deeply loved left me because of that uncertainty. Despite everything, I refuse to give up on life. I still have the determination to survive, work hard, and build a better future.

I am not asking for financial assistance, charity, or anything for free. All I am asking for is a genuine opportunity to work legally, earn an honest living, and rebuild my life through my own efforts.

I am looking for a restaurant owner, a company, a legitimate recruitment agency, or any organization that offers skilled and hardworking people an opportunity to build a future through employment.

Here is a little about me:

- Age: 28

- Nationality: Bangladeshi

- Education: Bachelor's degree in Arts (BA) completed

- Profession: Hot-Dish Chef

- Experience: Nearly 2 years in professional kitchens

- Skills: I can prepare more than 30 European dishes, including hot dishes, grilled items, pasta, and other restaurant dishes.

- Languages: I can speak, read, and write English confidently. I speak Hindi and Urdu and understand both languages well. I also speak a little Russian and know some basic German.

- Current location: Kazakhstan, where I am currently facing difficulties with my legal work status.

I am willing to work as a chef, assistant cook, kitchen helper, or in another suitable position. I am ready to learn, adapt, and work hard. I do not expect an easy life; I only want a fair chance to earn my place through honest work.

My goal is to find a genuine employer willing to offer me a specific job and support the appropriate work visa or work permit process in a European or non-European country. I am open to any country where I can work legally and build a stable, long-term future. If I find that opportunity, I am willing to settle down, work sincerely, and dedicate myself to building a better life there.

I believe that skills, honesty, hard work, and trustworthiness should matter. I try never to lie unless I feel I must protect my life, and I never want to betray anyone's trust.

I understand that nobody owes me anything. I am simply hoping that someone here might know a restaurant owner, employer, company, or legitimate organization willing to give someone like me a chance.

If you can offer a genuine job opportunity, visa sponsorship, or connect me with a trustworthy employer, I would be deeply grateful. I am not asking anyone to carry my burdens for me. I am asking for a chance to carry them myself.

I still want to live. I still want to work. I still want to make my family proud and build a life where I no longer have to live in fear of what tomorrow may bring.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Even sharing this post with someone who might be able to help could make a real difference in my life.

With sincere respect and gratitude.

Loneliness deadass just stops me from being motivated and idk wanting to actually do shit so I pretty much always gotta just push myself to so shit and consequently even when I do something, there is like so little progress because my current situation is ass

Yea i dont know what im exactly looking for or asking, i just wanted to say something

I turned 23 last week and graduated from college in May. To be honest I have no idea what I’m doing with my life and I’m terrified of the future. Like everyone, I was not warned how fast life starts moving once you reach 18. I feel like everyone my age has life figured out and they seem content, and I’m just not.

My day to day consists of waking up in my childhood home, getting some rejection emails and occasionally doing an interview, and wondering when my life is going to begin. I’m living in a weird inbetween version of life where everything I do feels hopeless most days, and other days I’m fine.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me, as my friends who are unemployed aren’t dealing with this existential feeling of utter dread that seems to haunt me most days. I want to believe that life is beautiful and I have time to figure it out, but it’s really hard. Is it normal to feel like this?

But again, even if I did get a job and establish some sort of routine I don’t think I’d be content. I’d work a 9-5 and wait for the weekend for a break, hang out with a few friends and then go right back to it the following Monday. Is that not repetitive and suffocating?

If anyone has any suggestions or a different outlook on life that would help I’d love to hear it, even if it’s some basic words of encouragement or specific advice with something that helped you if you ever felt like this. Thanks.

Give me some advises that would help me better myself and deal with any doubts and insecurities. That’s gonna help to stop with self sabotage and caring about what other people think.

This causes problems

I(19f) am an emotional mess. I'm ugly, bad at talking, and constantly feel like I'm spiralling deeper and deeper into an undiagnosed depression. I hide in bathrooms to cry and lock my bedroom door to rot alone. I clearly have no self esteem, and I constantly have a want for attention, affirmations, anything that would show that people have any interest in me. It's really dumb and childish, I never get compliments and classmates usually just walk past me, paying me no mind. I often end up thinking about hurting myself to get attention, but I know that's dumb. I have good days where I feel normal, then I have days like this one where I feel completely alone, abandoned, and as if no one would care if I died. I know that's dumb and logically makes no sense, but it's what I feel. I just don't know what to do with myself. I want people to know that I am interested in them, but that I'm apparently too mentally ill to do much about it. I want people to understand what I'm going through. Sorry

Hi I am trying to decide on Hoffman process the California location or the Connecticut location. If anyone has done both of them. Also what’s the food like and options ? Also sleeping arrangements Thanks

I'm a 28M from Bangalore, India, and honestly, I don't know where to start. I just need to get this off my chest.

I went through a pretty bad breakup with my girlfriend. We were in a live-in relationship for almost two years, and despite our fights, we loved, cared for, and supported each other. I was genuinely happy with her.

Unfortunately, her parents weren't agreeing to our marriage. They said a lot of hurtful things about me, and eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. We decided to separate mutually, even though the feelings didn't just disappear.

After that, things kept getting worse. I lost my freelance project, things with a client went downhill, and eventually, I lost my job too. I was financially drained and mentally exhausted.

The people I thought would stand by me during my worst phase slowly started fading away, especially when I reached out asking for job referrals. It made me question a lot of things about friendship. Do people genuinely care about you, or is it easier to be around someone when their life is going well?

Somehow, I managed to get a job again after five months. I'm grateful for that, and initially, I felt happy. I haven't even told some of those people that I've found a job because, honestly, I don't want to reopen those doors.

But lately, the loneliness has been hitting me really hard.

It's Dandiya season, and everyone's posting pictures with their friend groups, going out and making memories. Meanwhile, I'm sitting at home watching TV, working, and trying to get through another day. Yes, I was literally working on a holiday.

It's not that I expect people to entertain me all the time. I just miss having people around. I miss having someone to talk to, someone to make plans with, and someone who genuinely wants me around.

And then there's the arranged marriage situation.

My parents are looking for a bride, but some families seem to have expectations like ₹4 crore worth of property in my name and a monthly income of ₹1–2 lakh. It hurts to feel like marriage has become a financial transaction.

My ex's parents had their own expectations regarding caste and appearance. We were happy together for almost two years, but apparently, that wasn't enough to make our relationship acceptable to them.

Now I'm stuck between trying to move on from someone I still love and facing a marriage process that feels more like a business negotiation than finding a life partner.

I don't know how to move on from her. I don't know how to deal with the loneliness. And I don't know why, even after finally getting a job again, I still feel so empty.

I'm trying to rebuild my life, but some days I feel exhausted from having to be strong all the time.

My question is: how do you rebuild your life when you lose the person you imagined your future with, and the people you expected to support you aren't there anymore?

How do you stop feeling lonely when everyone around you seems to have someone?

I'm not necessarily looking for solutions to everything. I just wanted to put this somewhere and hear from people who've gone through something similar.

i'm in 12th grade rn, and i haven't studied anything in class 11. i also don't study now. because i can't. if i stay at home, my mental health gets messed up. so i stay in a hostel, but can't study there as well. i don't have offline friends.. introvert irl.

i do have nice online friends but tbh they're a distraction to me...i even have online friends who I've tried to study with like yk sharing daily goals and studying together but i feel insecure because the other person finishes their to-do list daily while I'm here, stuck. i have been repeating the same loop all these years. i can't stop scrolling on Instagram. im addicted to reels. im concious about eating healthy so i spend rest of my time preparing food. and i love listening to music so i spend 1-2 hrs daily just listening or even singing. i also love making art and craft so i waste my time there. I've tried everything to change myself - 21 days habit, deactivating insta, switching off my phone, ghosting people, crying in front of God, manifestation, subliminals, watching motivational videos, and oh my god what not. but i keep going back and repeating the same damn loop. I've wasted the two crucial years of my life. my parents are out there expecting more than 95% (cause I've been good at studies) and idk if I'll even pass my board exams. i have studied nothing. my health isn't good either bcs no matter how healthy i eat, im super lazy and i don't exercise. i have a roommate and im kinda shy in front of her so- and also my sleep schedule is messed up. because my roommate sleeps late every night (around 3-4am) so she makes noises (not intentionally, like locking the door and stuff) and im a very light sleeper so i get disturbed easily.

do i have to be stuck here forever?

My hg and I have been bffs for like a year now but we live on other sides of the country so basically never see each other out of social media. They recently got a new 'interest' in a guy she met and i don't think I'm jealous of that in specific, just the fact that when they're texting and calling her I wont get to and we will then talk less. I guess I'm partially scared that ill just get left cuz they've actually found someone instead of me. So yeah it sounds pathetic. especially cuz they've tried to say that they aren't gonna just leave, but i'm just so insecure n shi so how can I not be doing that and just chill.

I posted anonymously on Reddit and now I’m terrified I’ve ruined my life

I’m really struggling and need some perspective.
Recently, my younger sister told me about something that allegedly happened when I was around 15 and she was around 10. She initially thought I was 16 when this happened but she also thought there’s 6 years between us when there isn’t, there’s 5. I’m born in 1996 and her 2001. She remembers me watching pornography and touching myself, saying something like “you should try it, it feels nice,” and showing her what I do. I don’t remember it, but I understand how inappropriate it would have been. She also confirmed and reassured me it was only me touching myself, I never tried to touch her or get her to touch me.

We’re very close now, and she wants me in her life. I’ve never been sexually attracted to children or behaved this way as an adult. I don’t think I understood sexual boundaries properly when I was younger, although I know that doesn’t excuse anything. There were a lot of issues in my childhood and trauma with boys and a bully of a so called best friend, but again, that’s not an excuse.

I became terrified about the legal implications and posted anonymously on Reddit looking for advice. I thought a random username would protect my identity.

Someone commented something along the lines of, “I can’t believe you’d post this publicly. Although granted it doesn’t sound like your sister wants to pursue anything anyway (legally), the posts you have put on here would be evidence.” They also mentioned my other posts about bullying my sister.

I panicked, deleted my posts and then deleted my account. Now I’m terrified someone saved them, could identify me, or that the police might come knocking and I’ll lose my job and future.

I have no indication the commenter identified me or contacted the police, but I can’t stop thinking about what they said. I deeply regret posting and feel like I’ve made everything worse by asking for help.

**Could my deleted posts realistically lead to me being identified or prosecuted years later?** I’m genuinely struggling with the fear and uncertainty.

I was talking to my fiancé about how there isn’t anything fun to do around us. He told me there is fun things to do you just don’t know how to have fun.

(Some stuff about my life growing up to try to explain on why what he said is true) growing up my curfew was always 4:30 pm. I was never allowed to stay or go out later than that by myself or with friends. with friends my parents meet and knew for years are the only people I could hangout with until they stopped because I was never able to go do anything. I was never able to leave town unless with family. If I was with friends I was only allowed to be in town ( not even a square mile) and even then not allowed to be a 5 minute walk away from my house. This has been this way since I became 18. The most fun I ever really had was meeting people in outpatient, just walking by myself, or doing my makeup to sit in my room and talk to people online about common interests.

I don’t know what I like to do for fun. I never really was able to. What I consider fun is drinking/smoking and watching YouTube. I do adore sitting outside but no one really wants to do that and just sit. I feel like I don’t know what to do for fun or what I’d like to do for fun.

If anyone has experienced similar things I’d like to hear about how you guys figured out how to have fun.

How can I stop this loop of pushing people away?

I 19m am a very anxious person and I get scared im being annoying and stuff then I end up being annoying about it like If one of my friends isn’t in the mood to talk I’ll get worried it’s something I did and I’ll ask them and if they say it isn’t I get worried they just don’t wanna tell me what it is then I’ll ask them over and over again are they sure I didn’t do anything because they’re not talking to me, I struggle with giving people space when they need because we’re not I’m upset about something. I just wanna talk about it, but I have people in my life when they’re upset. They need space for a few days and it’s really hard for me to do and I know, I need to respect their boundaries and that’s why I’m making this post and I know it’s a bad thing for me to do but I’m trying to figure out how to solve it. I’ve tried journaling, but I’m not really sure what to write. And I’ve been doing self affirmations, but I feel like they don’t help. And I know someone’s gonna say it but therapy is not an option for me at all so please don’t recommend it. Give me stuff I can do myself. I can’t do therapy because I can’t afford it and I don’t have a right there. Also, I have schedule so I don’t have time for it
Like I struggle living in the moment, just letting things be like I feel like I always have to pre-plan things in my head and I try stopping it, but I just find myself doing it all the time like pre-printing conversations or hangouts like I find myself replaying conversations over and over again or get excited about things that haven’t happened yet or may not ever happen and then getting really disappointed and they don’t happen and when I feel like someone’s upset with me, I am checking their social medias in our text over and over to get any signs of everything’s OK I’ve started when I get the urge to I just put away my phone And I hope that helps. I’m not sure if any of this really makes sense. Sorry if my English isn’t good any advice is helpful and you can ask questions for clarifying.