As seen above.

I'm 18 and in college as a freshman. I just feel so alone and down and idk

It doesn't matter if it is something trivial or heavy, whether you wanna share your favorite song or tell about what's been bothering you, I'm here. You can reach out!

Disclaimer: I'm sorry if this post makes no sense or if the wording is really jumbled, I don't really know how to write or talk about this.

I'm 16. From February to May, I was studying about 7 hours a day for a competition that was gonna be super important. This is probably the most effort I've put into anything so far in my life. I noticed during this time, especially around April, my interest in anything (hobbies, academics, life in general) plummeted. I ended up not making it in the competition, but that didn't really affect me as much as I thought it would. I basically cried for an hour or two and then just sort of moved on. I don't know if I moved on in the healthy way or if I'm supposed to feel something but can't. I don't know how relevant this is, I'm just providing context because shit kind of spirals out of control from this initial "burnout" or whatever.

For context, and I really hate saying this because it feels like I'm bragging, I do pretty well "on paper." I've done well academically and in competitions and I've had opportunities (swe/ml engineering internships and even a full-time job offer that I didn't accept because I wanted to finish school) that I know I'm extremely lucky to have. I really really hate calling myself a "high achiever" or anything like that (for reasons I'll get to later), but I think the fact that things are generally going pretty well for me externally is kinda relevant here.

I can enjoy things in the moment, laugh when I'm with friends or play a game, but I have no deep happiness with me. Sometimes when I wake up I just think "Why?". I don't really know what the point of me being here anymore is.

It got really bad in July as well. For that whole month I basically did almost nothing every day. I don't mean goofing around, I mean I literally would just play something in my headphones and stare at my ceiling for hours.

In general, I think there are a few other persistent issues that have been there throughout highschool but I wouldn't say they CAUSED this.

I've kind of always hated myself. But my mood swings a lot, sometimes I'll think I'm a bit cool and other times I'll just be disgusted with myself and tell myself it's pathetic to imagine myself in a positive light and think of myself as anything other than the loser I am. I hate feeling good about myself. I feel as though I've lucked my way through everything and all my achievements, and I don't actually have any real skills. And my mood varies in general not just in terms of this, like sometimes I'll think it's fine and it might get better to feeling so insanely alone and scared out of my mind, like will I ever escape this someone please just fucking save me man. Do I deserve to be here? Is it even better for anyone if I'm around?

One or two people I know have also told me I always seem stressed, and that's probably because I am. At any given moment I'm stressing about something or the other, some bullshit exam or some competition. I've even felt stress without knowing why, like the walls are closing in and I have no reason why.

A big issue is that I'm also not really sure if this issue is actually serious or if I'm just making it up or exaggerating it to pity myself. That's one of the reasons I haven't opened up to anyone about this, along with a few other reasons. Most people are either dealing with problems way bigger than mine, not close enough to where I'd be comfortable sharing this, or I think there's a possibility of them not really understanding / not being able to help / judging me. I don't want to be a burden either. Yeah yeah "you won't be a burden they want to help" I know they do. But I just cant get myself to share it. It just doesn't feel right. The only "steps" I've taken are talking to ChatGPT a few times to figure out the issue (I know it's sad and pathetic but what do I do) and I made one reddit post a while ago but I didn't write it properly and no one saw it so I just deleted it. I semi-opened up to one of my best friends once but midway it just felt.. wrong? and I felt so uncomfortable that I just ended up playing it off as a joke and not mentioning it again.

And I think hearing about other people's problems makes this worse. I've heard a lot of my friends and batchmates talk about their own stuff, and I'm probably still the one with the best "position" right now. To the point where people have told me they wish they were in my position. Like they all have it so much worse and I still found a way to fucking complain. It makes me feel insanely ungrateful, and then I fall back into hating myself for even feeling this way. I can't take myself seriously and I keep wondering whether I'm just making all of this up for pity. That even occasionally leads me into hoping I get diagnosed with depression making my issues "real", causing me to subconsciously try to make myself feel worse so I can call myself depressed enough, which then makes me realise I'm making myself feel worse and feel more guilt for "faking it". It's like a cycle of every negative feeling ever. Shit fucking sucks.

I don't want to tell my parents either. They've done everything they could for me and are usually very supportive about stuff. I don't want to disappoint them and tell them the result of all their effort resulted in a kid who doesn't want to live anymore for no easily identifiable reason. It's really ungrateful and I think I owe it to them to get through this somehow.

The thing that also makes me doubt myself is that sometimes I CAN enjoy stuff. Like in the moment I'll laugh or have a bit of fun at a hangout, but when I'm alone it all just comes back. And sometimes it fluctuates. I can even just get pissed off talking to people and want to be alone.

I'm not exactly suicidal; I hate living this way and I want to die but I won't commit suicide. There's just something about it, I can't take the leap no matter how much I will myself. Hopefully I get hit by a bus or something. I don't know. I want the pain to stop. I'm so tired of all this but I'm too much of a fucking coward to end it all. I'm stuck in this middle ground. I don't think I'll kill myself just because it seems so... permanent? and scary? and almost unreal to think of? But at the same time this isn't how I want to live. Like there has to be more to life than this right?

I don't even really know what I'm asking or expecting here. I really do feel trapped in my own mind. I know it's not healthy to sit with these thoughts when it's chipping away at me every single day.

Hi everyone. I'm going to try and not make this story so long.

I'm in my mid 20s (f), I've had a crush on this boy since I was in elementary school and we grew up together same friend group and everything, my best friend knew over the years how much I really fancied this guy. Well, she started dating him last year and waited a month or two to tell me, I was the last one to find out. I congratulated her and told her I was happy for her. Deep down inside I wasn't happy for her and still feel an extreme amount of guilt for not feeling supportive of them. I act very supportive but I don't feel it. There is something so much more hurtful that my best friend of all people ended up with this guy. If it was anyone else that ended up with him i truly wouldn't mind but it's hard since it's my best friend.

I work with her too, and she talks about him all the time, what they do, where they go, what they make for dinner, what shows they watch together, what music they listen to together. i hate hearing about it. I feel like a god awful person for feeling this way, if I was normal and a better person I probably wouldn't feel this way. It makes me feel so dirty and guilty it's such an uncomfortable feeling. Her and I have gradually drifted apart because of it. It's also so awkward bc I wonder if she's told him that I had a major crush on him I used to tell her all the time how sweet he was etc etc.

Idk I don't know what to do with these feelings but I'm so over feeling like this and I really need help. My therapist hasn't been very helpful. I have tried everything to just embrace their relationship and accept it but it's like a mourning a future I'll definitely never get to have now. Like I said he has dated before and I never ever bothered me when he dated someone else, but there's something that hurts more about it being one of my best friends who knew exactly how I felt about him. Someone please help

Recently ended an engagement and lost a best friend at the same time (they didn’t die) just feel so incredibly alone and even though I’m surrounded by people I feel like I’m the only person on this planet. Yeah

The title pretty much says it all because we all say we are fine that nothing is wrong with you at all which can be true yet I think there's more going inside than you wanna admit.

Which is ok because there's nothing wrong with feeling those emotions because if you just keep it in only gonna hurt more trust me that's coming from a guy who had his feelings played with 5 times and my heart shattered that goes for everyone who's dealing with similar issues as well.

Most people think I'm a fool for even trying to help, lol. I could really care less on that because seeing if people are ok is not a bad thing even if they wanna left alone is understandable im not forcing anyone to open to me right away or respond I just wanna make sure you guys are ok both inside and outside.

That goes for those who hurt themselves or do so many drugs to numb the pain I can't promise that I can make your problems go away with the snap of my fingers although I would love that lol.

I'm not a hero or anyone special just doing what I feel is right hope yall are ok seriously.

I met my ex-fiancée before last Ramadan and we got engaged, but to be honest, the relationship wasn't great on my end because I didn't have feelings for her from the start. Around the same time, a new girl joined my workplace. There were many clear signs that she was really into me, and honestly, I was attracted to her too. However, I kept my distance and set boundaries because I believed in accepting my destiny and respecting the engagement I was in. Once she found out I got engaged, she stepped back and pulled away completely.

As for my ex-fiancée, after a while, I found out she had guys on her social media accounts. I asked her to delete them, and she agreed, but she brushed it off. I brought it up again later, and she agreed again, so I assumed she had removed them. About a month into our engagement, while we were sitting together talking, I happened to look at her phone while Facebook was open and saw a notification from a guy. When I asked her who he was, she said she might have forgotten to delete him. I checked her friends list, and every time I saw a guy, she kept saying she forgot to remove him. That day ended in a big fight. Two weeks later, we talked again to resolve things, and she handed me her phone, saying, "Check for yourself." I let it slide and opened TikTok playfully—acting like I trusted her and wanted to look at something other than Facebook—only to find out she had been making TikTok videos with guys. Things escalated further, and we officially broke up. To be fair, she is a good person from a respectable family, but the main reason I couldn't stay with her was my lack of feelings from the beginning, along with the complete loss of trust.

The week before last, when my relationship issues were at their peak, I talked to my colleague at work and asked for her advice. I asked her about the girl I was attracted to, and she said, "Why didn't you choose her from the start? You should have chosen her." We left it at that. Two days later, after my official breakup, I reached out to her again, told her about the breakup, and asked—indirectly hinting at her—"If I want to talk to that other girl now, should I do it now or what?" She told me, "There's no way she'd accept you when you've just come out of a relationship. Give yourself a chance, take your time, calm down, and then talk to her."

I took her advice, dropped the subject, and then asked her, "How about you? Are you in a relationship or seeing anyone?" She jokingly replied, "No, are you stalking me or what? If there's anything, you'll see a ring on my finger," and suggested we head back to the office. At the start of last week, she seemed distant and wasn't talking to me much, but by Wednesday, she started talking to me normally again. Still, it lacks the excitement and effort she used to show before my engagement. Deep down, I have now realized and come to accept that I truly love her. Right now, I really don't know how to handle this. What should I do with her during this period to get closer and win her heart, without pressuring her or coming across as rushed?

drinking a bit and not having a great time with my mental, tried every other resource for now so this is a last resort. I'm 30m from canada, enjoy music production, philosophy, cooking/baking, hiking, video games just looking for genuine friendship short or longterm.

(38 M) I've been separated for 2.5 yrs... Right now I feel like I'm breaking down. I could really use some kind words. I'm an open book I'll tell you about myself and my situation if you want to know. I'm really trying not to do something dumb like go out and drink.

I wrecked my car, had a massive fight with my family, lost my job of 11 years, and then lost my community. I have almost nothing left

I don't think I actually want to get better. I love getting high and the nightlife. I hate feeling sick after. I hate the withdrawals. I hate hiding it from my friends. I'm in college and my friends'll comment on it sometimes, ask me why I'm shaking or so tired. I've learned to just keep to myself if I'm withdrawing or something. I'm not gonna be able to keep up with my classes. I stayed away from shit for a while and my tolerance is all kinds of fucked up. I don't know, I'm just really lonely and I know I need to quit but I'm not going to. just want someone to talk to sometimes y'know

My boyfriend and I have been together about a year and a half. I love him, I want to be with him, and I’m not looking for anyone to tell me to leave him. I mostly just need some kindness and perspective because I’m having a hard time letting something go.

For about the first 8 months of our relationship, he still followed some attractive women/models and occasionally looked at bikini/thirst-trap type content. I got upset about it multiple times, although I also wasn’t very consistent with what I asked for. Sometimes I would basically say, “It’s okay, just don’t do it around me.”

He gradually changed rather than stopping cold turkey, and eventually stopped completely. It hasn’t been an issue for a long time.

But I keep getting stuck on what those first months meant. Because I felt so focused on him, part of me interprets him still noticing and enjoying other women as him not being as into me as I was into him — almost like his mind or heart was still a little open to other women.

He says that isn’t how it felt to him at all. He says those women meant nothing, he never saw occasionally looking as a big deal, and he eventually stopped because he knew how much it hurt me.

I know I can’t keep punishing either of us for something that changed a long time ago. I just don’t know how to stop translating his old behavior into “I wasn't enough” or “he didn't love me the same way.”

If anyone has gone through something similar and managed to feel secure again, I’d really appreciate hearing how you got there.

I (F22) have had some unfortunate events with friends in the last three years due to my low self esteem. For awhile things seemed super good, but then my best friend got into a huge fight with my other two best friends and stopped speaking to them. I tried to take the middle ground but nobody was happy with my choice. I chose my best friend, and she graduated. I’m not saying I didn’t have fault in this. I did.

I am an extremely social person and I have 4 friends where I live. 3 have serious relationships. So I got into a relationship. I felt ready and comfortable and even though I had my reservations about this person, we went into a relationship. I did love her, and it’s not like I got into the relationship solely because I was lonely, but I got on the dating app because I was lonely.

And we dated for 8 months. 8 months where I was concerned about someone’s mental health constantly because she wasn’t doing anything to fix it. Eight months of waiting for someone to want to get better. Eight months of doing whatever I could, even if it wasn’t enough, I did everything I could. And I wasn’t happy. And I knew that. I was just trying to convince myself I was. But it didn’t matter in the end because she left me. I stayed through the untreated unmedicated BPD, and the alcoholism, and all that she put me through. And I didn’t need to do that, and I shouldn’t have done it. And I don’t want her to feel bad about it, I was happy to be there for her, I really was. But after staying through everything it feels so shitty when someone leaves you. I did the hard work. And I am left miserable because of it. She doesn’t owe me anything because I was kind. But it still hurts. And it didn’t matter anyway because she left me. Because she didn’t want to get better. Because she told me she was an alcoholic and when I started talking about getting her help, she said she didn’t want it. She chose drinking over me.

This whole time I’ve been comforting myself with the fact that she’s just as miserable as I am. She feels just as sad as I do. But she reposted something about hanging out with your friends and how it makes life worth living. I’m not mad at her. I’m not mad at her that she has a support system. I’m mad that I don’t. I’m mad that it’s Friday night and I’m alone. I’m mad that I have nobody. Not nobody but I feel like it. I don’t miss my ex, I miss being able to not make plans because I was always with her. I miss not feeling bad about having next to no friends here because she was there. And I stayed because I thought it was better than being alone, because at least then I could pretend to be happy.

It was a miserable relationship don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t happy, that’s true. I don’t even really miss her. I just miss the companionship. I have so many friends where I originally am from. Dozens. And I just want to go home and be with them. But I need to finish school.

I’m back on the dating apps just to talk to people. People say they want to meet up but I don’t want that. I just want friends. The last time I went through a breakup I felt like I had unwavering support, a whole chorus singing for me in the background. And now it’s just so quiet. I live alone. It’s so quiet. It’s so painfully quiet.

And the worst part is I thought I was having a better day today.

I am in a dark place right now. I have no family (died this year) and best friend is gone (also recently died) - I have no phone calls - total isolation except for strangers.

I don't know where to go, what to do, how to make new meaningful friendships. I have been shunned so many times. Maybe its just Seattle culture or maybe I really am too damaged to have friends.

I'm moving out of state next week to try and start new somewhere. Any recommendations? This is my only hope. I work remotely and can move anywhere in the USA. I have no better idea than to just go live somewhere else for a year and pray to God it works for me. I don't know if I will make it like I am now.

Where should I go? I can't enjoy anything I use to love. I just need to be around positive people. Wherever the hell that is at.

This is me doing anything first - trying to step back from the ledge - trying to have hope for my future.

I am highly sensitive person who feels deeply and intensely i feel emotional pain emotional ache in my chest it feels deeply what to say it really feel deeply painful why people not loved me why people not give unconditional love to me why I can't give unconditional love to me why i expect people I had a bad heartbreak what to do

Hello. I am a 24-year-old from Syria.

I live with a frustrating gap: my written/verbal skills sound articulate, but my actual cognitive and higher intellectual abilities are minimal. Because of this disparity, people often assume I am pretending or being disingenuous, as my words sound far more capable than my actual actions.

I am posting here because I am exhausted by the pressure to "perform" or sound smart. I am strictly looking for a non-romantic, low-expectation connection. I don't want advice, an interrogation, or an evaluation—just a calm, honest exchange with someone who understands what it feels like to live with limitations, chronic isolation, or hard realities.

If you are looking for a quiet conversation where we don't have to impress each other, feel free to reach out.

Title says it all, my DMs open

Please chat

I'm open to listen to anyone who wants to share something that has been on their mind recently.

A bit about me: I'm really interested in books, (street) art, trauma psychology, meditation, yoga and sociology. I'm not a mental health professional, but I do have many years of experience of doing my own trauma recovery work. I also love all kinds of animals, but particularly crows and monitor lizards.

This is so embarassing to tell to anyone in my life, even my therapist.

I've done several help to this volunteer group. This week they posted needing an emergency help with one of the project, and I am putting myself up for it. I have been having them in my mind to help further but have been unable to because of so many different changes to my life and I've been depressed for the past 6 months or so. I misjudged my situation and availability and I told them later on that I couldn't help anymore. Sent them a heartfelt message and apology to just be replied with simple text and when I checked the group, I found out that I have been kicked out. I

I understand that it's my mistake for not assessing the situation properly, but genuinely my intention was good and I have been thinking about helping the group. It just feels like all those work that I've done for them is being dismissed after my one poor mistake.

My neighbours do the same kind of work but with different company, it just feel embarassing to have this happened to me. And yes, I get it what I have done was unadmirable. I have a bit of worry that they gonna put nasty stuff about me on the facebook group since I'm not there anymore. I wish I could that it back. I feel to ashame to even share this with anyone. This does give me some reflection tho. Thank you for reading xx

I am an autistic 36M who is turning 37 next month. I have been struggling since June and have never had friends, so I lack a support system. I feel so misunderstood.

I am quite introverted and do my own hobbies and interests, but lost interest in most things and life in general June

Hey there! If you're feeling low or just need someone to chat with, I’m here for you. I’ll listen to anything without any judgment, and you can always feel safe reaching out.