- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
I can relate to how you feel. This disorder, combined, with depression, left me feeling way "behind" in life. Try not to pin your self-worth on those things. You still have the choice to work toward being a person who does good things. I know that feels difficult for you right now, but I suspect you're more successful at it than you realize ☺.
- Date posted
- 5y
Sometimes it feels like I'll never get there, I feel stuck
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- 5y
@Makki23 I hear ya. Hopefully, therapy will work out for you. Regardless, we'll be here for you ☺!
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- 5y
@Ben84 Thank you Ben :)
- Date posted
- 5y
I'm the same, I'm 6 years behind my peers in terms of education, as I dropped out of traditional schooling at 15 due to anxiety symptoms, and I can't hold down a low-demand job. I have a higher IQ than friends who are geneticists and a wider knowledge base than friends who are policy advisers. I am so *bored* with my life, I don't even have the vocabulary to describe it, yet I'm terrified of success and doubt my own ability to cope with the sudden cliff which inevitably comes at the end of this degree.
- Date posted
- 5y
I felt this.
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- 5y
So one thing I’ve realized is that there is no set timeline on how life should go. There are people who get married young and then divorce. There are people who marry later and they never get divorced. People switch careers in their 30s and 40s. I think social media makes this worse. It feels like you are falling behind from your peers but if you look at the bigger picture there’s so many different life stories going on and they aren’t the same. Be kind to yourself. I went to a prestigious university and 5 years after graduation I’m barely keeping my job and not making as much money as I should be making. I see people from my alma mater who are really successful and then I see others who aren’t even using their degree and working at McDonald’s.
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- 5y
You definitely have a point :) thank you
- Date posted
- 5y
@Makki23 Another thing is a lot of my friends partied too hard or had unresolved mental health issues and ended up failing or dropping out and starting again at another school when they were ready years later. I had too much pressure from my parents who didn’t take my ocd seriously and it made me party as well. The only reason I got through is because I bought adderall off of people and abused it to study and concentrate. I would’ve felt better going to college in a better mindset, even if that meant another school at an older age. I know people now who had the same kind of pressure as me and they are still struggling with alcohol and drug issues while trying to be high functioning. These are the same people that appear to have it all together on social media. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
- Date posted
- 5y
❤️ I know what it feels like to feel behind. Do you have any goals you’d like to work toward? Going from small to big? Stuff like: redecorate my room. Run a 5k. Learn to bake amazing chocolate chip cookies. Volunteer. Get a part time job. Go on a date.
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- 5y
Thank you, I'll try to start small :)
- Date posted
- 5y
Sorry you're feeling that way! It's very hard to meet external standards for yourself, usually you're imagining them anyway. What's most important is what YOU want, YOUR dreams, and YOUR standard for yourself. As long as you're listening to those things, you'll be okay ♥️
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
I’m 21. The 3 year anniversary of my graduation from high school is soon. Lately, I’ve been worried about where I’m going in life and if it’s even worth it because I don’t know why I exist or what my purpose is After graduating I lost a new job I loved due to poor management on my boss’s side, they failed to teach me my job then fired me for it, and moved from my mom’s house into my dads house due to issues with my stepdad, both of which put me into a depression. I got a new job 3 months later. But ever since being fired and moving out, I feel like I’ve been in a depressive cycle of Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat. I’ll get home and doomscroll for hours, and occasionally play games with friends at nights. Occasionally I’ll do my hobbies but usually feel guilty for it. I don’t see my friends and family nearly as much as I used to. I want to, but it feels like everything I want to do, my intrusive thoughts find a way to keep me at home. “It’s a waste of time.” “You need to be productive on your time off or you’ll go nowhere in life so stay home.” But then if I stay home it’s “you need to go out and do something.” “You’re being unproductive sitting at home all day.” “Seeing them wont make you feel better, you’ll never be happy” My girlfriend lives 6 hours away and is usually the only time I’d go outside and live and feel in the moment, but even then I’d feel guilt. I feel like my OCD makes me feel guilty for everything. She’s helped me a lot, but lately we’ve had a few issues we’ve worked past that made me fear for losing her too. I’ve felt depressed for years now. Before being fired, I usually felt pretty good and was almost normal feeling. I’d had control over my fears and intrusive thoughts of suicide and the meaning of life, and had accepted them and wasn’t afraid. I knew it wasn’t me. But lately I’ve been trying to push myself out of this depressive cycle, and it’s made my OCD and fears of suicide and if life has meaning, come right back. I’m handling it slightly better, but it’s still hard. I just want to move past this and stop questioning why I’m even doing anything, if I want to end it all, when I know for certain I don’t want to and that I get to make my own meaning in life. I have dreams, I want to get back into art. I want to move in with my girlfriend eventually and start a family. But my OCD makes me so scared to even try to make art, and it makes me so scared I won’t be happy or content with my dreams. I feel so alone and sad. I feel like life will pass me by while I’m stuck feeling this sad and scared. It sucks, but I’m trying my best to get there. Gotta keep moving
- Date posted
- 20w
I had a really stressful couple of weeks and it's all hitting me right now. I cannot for the life of me shut off my brain my thoughts for a little and it feels like drowning. It's 1 a.m. here and I'm feeling completely hopeless like this feeling is going to last forever. I'm feeling like I can't use the tools I've been given my my psychologist and my meds feel like they've stopped working. I feel like by the end of the end I'm going to lose my mind. I usually am able to find some silver lining but today has been so bad. Everything triggers me and I have really bad intrusive thoughts about dying and finding some peace but I know that's not what I want. It's just so difficult navigating life when your brain works against you. I'm so tired and defeated and I feel like I have no one to turn to, but even that is some form of reassurance and it makes me spiral that I decide actively against it. I just feel like I'm losing my mind and I'm going "insane" from the distress. All my failed friendships and relationships have come back to haunt me and I feel like I can't get out of the house. All my sort comings are layed out in front of me and I feel like I am the worst person in the world and nothing will fix that. I have some real bad thoughts about my friends and family. And I know alla of this is classic symptoms of OCD but even though I know I can't rationalize and come to peace with them. I'm so envious of people being able to lead a normal life without this burden and in my mind it's just highlights all my shortcomings. I've had moments like this before but the last really nasty one was four years ago when I was yet undiagnosed and I really felt insane back then. I was hoping that when this happened to me again I'd be more capable of handling it but I don't think I am. I'm constantly on a battle against my mind and some times I win and sometimes I lose. I'm sorry for the rant I just feel extremely hopeless right now.
- Date posted
- 18w
I'm just venting, but everything is feeling so overwhelming lately. Every day, I still find myself checking on my ex. I know it sounds obsessive, but it’s not coming from a weird or stalkerish place. It just feels like I never got closure, and I’m stuck in this loop. I read that “closure is a choice, not a conversation,” and I try to believe that—but part of me still needs to know what he’s doing, like it gives me some weird sense of closure, even if it’s just temporary. And I hate that I’m like this. On top of that, I’ve been wanting to see my Pap, who is in the hospital in pretty severe condition but I never have time because I’m always working. My job is stressful. I try so hard, but my grooms don’t turn out the way I want, and I just feel like I’m failing. Then there's my financial situation—my car payment is $713 a month, plus insurance and other bills. I can’t save at all. Thankfully my mom pays the rent, but she constantly holds it over me and threatens to kick me out. It’s never felt stable at home, and now it’s worse. Lately, my childhood trauma is resurfacing, and it’s affecting everything—my friendships, any chance of a relationship, even my bond with my pets. I feel like I’m falling apart, and when I finally get in bed at night, I just feel hopeless. I look around and see people I went to school with thriving, and I feel so far behind. I used to feel ahead because I was already handling adult responsibilities, but now it feels like I’m stuck while everyone else is moving forward. I’m losing control of my emotions—randomly lashing out, struggling with anger—and I can’t afford therapy or even regular doctor visits. Sometimes I can’t even afford groceries, and it’s frustrating because I work hard and still feel like I’m drowning. I just want a simple, peaceful life: a modest home, a normal car, a stable routine. I want a support system. I want to feel connected like my friends Jessica and Ashley, but I don’t. It’s just me, but it’s still lonely. It feels like no matter how hard I try, I can’t get anything right. Like I’m always doing something wrong in someone’s eyes, and I have no one to turn to for help.
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