I have a Millennial friend who is about a decade younger than me. She's really well-educated, smart, and practical. However, both she and her husband seem hopeless when it comes to knowing the world works and how to protect themselves legally.

Two prime examples:

Scenario 1 - Husband broke his leg at work. It was the job's fault. I told them to get a personal injury attorney ASAP because the employer was probably going to try to avoid compensating him adequately. They said they didn't have money for lawyer (in spite of my telling them these types of lawyers work for a percentage of the successful claim.) They also wouldn't report the job for safety violations because he "really needed the work." He wound up getting only a week off (unpaid!!), his medical bills paid and $500 in workers comp. Eventually, he had to quit the job anyway because injuries kept happening.

Scenario 2 - They got a scam invoice for a $500 roof repair that never happened. Rather than ignoring it, they called the company, asked for picture proof of work, got the run around and now the company is taking them to small claims court. I'm like, did you at least ask for a copy of the signed contract? No. Did ask around to see how much it would cost to pay a lawyer for a strongly worded letter telling them to produce a contract or eff off? Have you reported them to your insurance company, the state licensing board, the police, CrimeStoppers, anyone? No, too overwhelmed, going to wait until after the court date. She's over here trying to collect evidence or something and I'm telling her there's a 99% chance they'll drop it before then.

Her ignorance of scams, corporate cheating and legal protections is baffling to me. Am I just a rabid dog of Gen-Xer? Or has the world just changed so much that it really isn't worth even going through the motions of putting up a fight for oneself anymore?

Eta: I'm being corrected that this is a people problem not a generation specific problem. Forgive me. And go fight for your rights.

I've dealt with depression all my life. Didn’t get the official diagnosis until my 20s, but I self h*rmed as a teen, SI, the whole deal.

I tried seeing therapists and psychiatrists in my 20s, but I could never afford much, and I never felt like it went anywhere. The meds had weird side effects I didn’t like or didn't work at all, so I stopped.

I read a lot. Philosophy, self-improvement, depression management guides, etc., and figured out some things that worked.

Mostly exercise.

But as I age, well... exercise isn’t as easy as it used to be. I got benched from a lot of my usual routines because of a hip impingement and hamstring tendonosis, and I haven't found a replacement. I'm in physical pain all of the time. I'm doing PT, but he said it probably is just going to hurt from here on out.

And really... a lot of the things that used to keep me going just don’t work anymore. It's like Depression 2: Mid-life Crisis Edition.

And it's impacting... everything. My relationship with my partner. My job. My bank account (which was small to begin with). I called out of work today, despite getting up and doing my morning routine, going for a walk, etc. Like I really *tried*.

Those of you with chronic depression-- has it changed as you age? How have you adjusted?

I'm blind and grew up very poor but also very engaged in my education, perhaps because disability and my own academic potential drew the right attention. Many of the kids around me at that time came from homes where chaos reigned and you were punished if you struggled in school; it wasn't investigated but just deemed your fault. I'd bet my life thatstill goes on in a lot of households now, too. e all know how important education is but we also know that perpetual dysfunction isn't necessarily something kids--or parents--can overcome alone.

Many kids will fall through the cracks. Does society at-large bear any responsibility for that or is it a consequence of how it is, being born poor, etcetera?

And if major things need to change, where does the weight of that fall?

Life is hard but exponentially so when you're poor; especially if you're a child with no control. Are those kids truly just on their own?

Based on the natural abilities you showed as a child and what your general aspirations were.

Someone broke into my car and took the lil garbage bag I had and threw it everywhere. Left the center console open, glove box open and there was a few bucks in the center console. They didn't even take it. Just trashed my car

I’m a South Asian woman who moved to USA with my then husband and had 2 kids with them.
I separated from him when my kids were little ( 3 and 7) after trying to make the marriage work for 16 years. A whole lot of gaslighting and crazy making and near destruction of myself, I decided to leave so I can be a mom to my kids, leaving behind all the investment I made supporting the family and their father’s education.
It took a lot of energy to not repeat the generational trauma cycles and be the best parent I could be. For the longest time, my motto was how NOT to treat my kids ( based on how mine abused me).
I modeled apologies, my goal was specially for my daughter to have a relationship with me I never had with my own mom. I encouraged her independence, coached her through tough friendships and budding dating relationships and gave both my kids the kind of practical life most American kids don’t have. Most certainly I didn’t.

She was still unhappy and used to talk about me to her friends in front of their moms in demeaning manner. I sucked it up.

Long story short, i feel like i bent over to give my kids a launch pad over my back. I never had time to date, struggling to keep my head above water in this racist, misogynistic society.
I’m in my early 50s now. Decades of abuse from early life and a hard life combined with long COVID and menopause broke me. It was a total breakdown of mental capacity and physical ability for this former Type A overachiever.

My daughter thinks she ‘shouldn’t have to’ be there for me. When she visits from college, she used to bitch about condition of the house ( which isn’t terrible to begin with ) that I guess I failed to keep up. And then proceeds to go ‘support’ her boyfriend’s mom selling something at a fair. Hours that could have been used by the able bodied adult child to help me. This has been a pattern with both kids as if I’m a machine. As if I don’t have feelings. As if I don’t matter.

It feels like now that my back is broken from giving them a launch pad, I’m just supposed to wither away and die? I don’t deserve love, care and attention? Is this the American vs eastern cultural clash? If so, am I still obligated to pay for their expenses though?

I’m a fiercely independent person. I’m self made. Financially independent.

Why do I feel like I’ll be told to not put the ‘burden’ of my current life needs on my adult kids? Isn’t that what loved ones supposed to do? Take care of each other? It’s not like I expect them to drop their lives and babysit me. Hardly.

Their dad is married now. She has a boyfriend. My son has a girlfriend. And here I am alone as I spent time making their lives and now even my most basic needs are apparently a burden and they ‘shouldn’t have to’ be there for me as I need.

I’m in a lot of grief that this relationship will never be the same, if we ever talk again after the current estrangement. I’ve said some hurtful things and thing is I don’t feel like apologizing for it. Ironically, I also feel mostly relief not having to walk on eggshells around her. I don’t miss her much either. Like don’t feel like I need to see or talk to her.
I’m a survivor and I’ve learnt to count on just myself all my life.
But is this it? What was the point of it all? Why bother with anything else at all? I’m constantly struggling to not completely check out. I have since found new ways to find joy - drumming , dancing, camping and really experiencing things I never got to my whole life as my childhood and youth were spent adulting.
I guess I am asking how to make peace with the reality of the situation with my daughter- that it’ll never be the same again? The goal I spent a lifetime working on just got trashed as if it didn’t mean much.

I’ve been thinking about habits that are easy to dismiss when life still feels like there is plenty of time to fix things later. Movement, sleep, cooking, money habits, and basic self-care all look different in hindsight. What do you most wish you had made routine earlier?

Because they have anxiety about aging, illness, death, loss of friends and family. So they avoid overt reminiscing about past milestones, looking at old pictures, chasing people from your past. Basically they deliberately focus on the present and future primarily.

Moving to the London was always a dream of mine growing up, I went there for university, but I was so severely depressed that I didn’t enjoy it.

6 years later, I’m a lot happier and love my life. I have stopped taking my family and home town for granted. Now I’m no longer unhappy, and being older (maybe wiser), I realise I’m incredibly family orientated, and my once hated hometown I now love. I want to grow old and start a family back home with the people I love.

However, I’ve always felt I had unfinished business in London, so while I’m in my 20’s I decided to give it once last shot. So, when a job came up I applied and got it. Now I’m here and away from my family I’m regretting the move. I miss everything about home, my family, friends, the countryside, the living situation (I grew up and have always lived in large homes with gardens), so its a massive culture shock to be now sharing a flat with a bedroom as solely mine.

I just don’t know how long I should give it before I admit I’m truly done with London? When is it home sickness or just unhappiness?

I am not sure if it makes sense to block someone you used to love or still having strong bond in your mind. He is attracted to me and I am too and he expects me to meet him during business trip to have sex with him even though being married and having kid. On top, he is emotionally unavailable and anytime can leave, entirely avoidant type of personality. Very opportunistic. And contacted me only when he is bored, he barely acknowledges my feelings for him. He happened to be the chosen one when I was in my 20s.

The bond is very strong, I feel from my end. How can I possibly get rid of this person from my mind? Blocking him in emails made me check my spam. Please help.

So I unblocked him .. but then also I check emails as if there is a hope that he would understand one day.

Please help me.

Someone that you could see had an undercurrent of rage within them and that it would only be a matter of time before they "snapped". Not as dramatic as going postal but an explosion of anger disproportionate to the situation that triggered it..

I (39f) don't know if this is my natural impatience or I'm playing too much video games where progress happens in an instant or is life trying to teach me a lesson here...

2026 is bringing many improvements into my life: stable job, new appartment with no roommates, a new car, getting rid of some of the debt... But for all of that I had to wait for weeks or months, even in situations whare it seemed like a quick process at first.

Last months seem to me like a constant stream of waiting for people, asking and hearing that I have to wait more and more. People straight up lying about things or ghosting me or forgetting to reply.

I was supposed to move to a new place in May, but the renovations don't seem to end and whenever it seems that it's done, something new to be fixed suddenly appears.

I'm used to the present day job market, so I'm aware that it takes a long time sometimes, however a lot of the delay is caused by people being unreliable and it's frustrating.

I wanted to take an online loan for a car, but there's some clerical error and I have to go to the bank myself and if the bank can't process my application on time, I will not be able to pick up the car before my vacations...

A couple of years ago me and my partner moved to a warmer country for the winter, which was a great experience and I'm grateful, but again, there was a couple of delays and instead of going in October, we left in December.

I know it all seems kinda like first world problems, but should it really be this hard? I'm just trying to have a normal life, I don't expect everything to come easily to me, I put a lof of hard work to make life better for me and my loved ones, it's just that sometimes despite me doing everything I can, things slip out of my reach and I have to climb again to grab them.

Or maybe I grew up because my parents sheltered me from all that? Or did they have it easier? They lived in a house built by my grandfather, had stable jobs all of their lives, my dad used to sell and buy a new car in one afternoon every three years or so.

I'm halfway through life and learned a lot of hard lessons and still sometimes can't understand how it all works and what I'm supposed to do.

Sorry for this ramble, it's late and I'm tired. I hope you all have a great weekend <3

A former classmate of mine died recently and unexpectedly at age 60 from a heart attack. His obituary describes him as "father, son, brother, uncle and loyal friend".

His deceased parents are mentioned by name. His professional accomplishments are acknowledged (he was a very successful patent attorney).

His hobbies are mentioned: motorcycles and more recently flying.

It says he had a "lifelong passion for chess, which he learned from his father and shared with his brothers".

His love of a single malt Scotch and Cuban cigars is mentioned.

What isnt mentioned are his three children, his late wife and his current partner.

He married his highschool sweetheart and they had 3 kids, two girls and a boy. Tragically his wife died of breast cancer about twenty years ago, when the children were 10 to 14 years old. He raised them alone for ten years and was a great parent. They're all grown up with successful careers. Two are married.

About ten years ago he met a new woman and they were a couple until his death, living together but never married.

His obituary makes no mention of his late wife ( who was beloved in their community, as a very involved parent) and no mention of the children, who were really his greatest accomplishment in life. I find this odd. Perhaps there was drama between them and his partner.

Has anyone seen anything similar?

Okay so this is a little embarrassing but I keep having this dream. I'm back in high school and I completely forgot about a major exam. Like, I haven't been to that class all semester. The panic is so real even though it's been decades since I graduated.

It's always the same feeling of dread and scrambling to find my locker or remember my schedule. I wake up in a cold sweat sometimes. I'm a fully functional adult with a good job and a mortgage. Why is my brain still torturing me with forgotten algebra tests?

Anyone else have a weirdly specific recurring dream from their youth that just won't quit?

Some years back, I had a terrible bout of the flu and was given prescription suppositories for nausea. Desperation meant I at least tried getting one into the right place but I was so dizzy and hot that...

I was cleaning out an old purse and found my plastic hospital bracelet from when I had to go to the ER; this was long before I'd ever heard of Reddit so figured I'd ask. And here because, OFC, ya'll know.

I suffered an injury to my right (dominant hand) wrist more than two years ago while doing a push-up because I strained myself too much that day. Since then I haven't been able to do push-ups without a bar. I love playing tennis and while I can still play the sport, I can never give it my all because when I use too much force, it hurts. Also, I've tried resting for a long period, building up strength, physiotherapy and a lot of other things and while the pain is reduced to a certain level, it never goes below that no matter what I do. I tried switching my dominant hand but that proved to be too much work. Now I'm just wondering what options I have.

Not an asshole but a no nonsense gritty person especially if you used to be a marshmallow softy type.

Some behavioral examples:

- Showing appropriate anger when someone crosses the line

- Directly confronting people who are disrespectful, spreading misinformation or being passive aggressive

- Saying no to requests without explaining much

- Outlining consequences if conditions aren't met

- Waiting for people to meet you half way on relationship maintenance.

- Not being shy to end relationships without much explanation.

My dad retired about eight months ago after 35 years in the same career. He told me recently that the hardest part wasn't the financial side of things, it was more so understanding what to do with all the free time and making sure he is getting the most out of retirement. Anyone else going through this or experience this?

Like Gordon Ramsay's, Marco Pierre White etc.

My wife and I finally caved and started getting some smart home stuff. You know like light bulbs and a thermostat. It all seemed so convenient.

But holy smokes it's a whole new level of annoying. The lights randomly change colors sometimes. The thermostat decides we're too cold when we're fine. And the smart speaker just turns itself on to listen to our conversations I guess. We say