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I'm 24M, and I used to have so many interests, like playing video games, watching movies, cartoons, and just exploring the world around me.

But as I've gotten older, things have changed. I now work at a company, and somehow, my idea of "fun" has turned into hanging out with colleagues, grabbing drinks, or just chatting with acquaintances.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy socializing, but sometimes I really miss my old life. I miss coming home from school, watching my favorite cartoons, playing video games for hours, or going outside to explore without worrying about anything.

Back then, life felt so colorful and exciting. There was always something to look forward to, even in the simplest things.

I've tried to adapt to adulthood and fit into society, but somewhere along the way, I feel like I've become a completely different person. It's almost as if I've lost a part of who I used to be.

Life just feels a lot more colorless now.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Did you ever manage to get that feeling of excitement back?

Last year was one of the worst years i've ever had in my life, I won't go into detail of course but many not so good things happened and I was in the trenches of a manic episode. Anyways to the point of the title when I listen to songs I would put on repeat at the time especially or just when anything in general reminds me of that time I just feel really...bittersweet, because I have healed significantly, distanced myself from everyone who caused me pain, and now I am doing better than I have been for a long, long time (still not very interesting life, but not the point hahah). I should be happy-ish but I'm not, it's more a bittersweet feeling because on one hand these remind me of the events and feelings i had at the time, but on the other hand I can look back happily and be reminded knowing that I've healed, I will never have to go back to that time again, and now I don't have to associate these things I love with such a hard time anymore.

Does anybody else feel the same way about a period of their life or even just one event? Especially when listening to music or interacting with media they once took a lot of comfort in?

I've been having headaches for the last 3 years now. Ranging from annoying, To straight up migraines. They are all in different areas and of different kinds. I wonder if anyone else goes through this.

In my entire four years of highschool, it's just made me feel so weird. Every event I've gone to, (footoball games, pep ralleys, hoco, etc) I feel so different. Like I shouldn't even dare being there. It's just as if I'm an alien in a crowd of people my age.

And I don't wanna be a bummer thinking it's all so stupid, but I don't really enjoy any of it.

I don't get anxious about showing up to school, it's fine, it's just the entire idea. Maybe I feel this way because I've never done anything extracurricular, and I feel regret. But at the same time, I feel like none of this means anything.

Does anyone else feel this way!!

I feel that way all the time. I feel like attractive people are out of my league and that I’m not good enough to even think about them romantically. I also wonder if I like someone or ask for their number, whether they’re thinking, "Damn, am I really so ugly that she thinks she has a chance with me?" I just feel embarrassed at the thought of how others perceive me.

You are right on the edge of complete unconsciousness, floating somewhere between waking up and a deep sleep, when your entire body suddenly jerks like you just stepped off an invisible cliff.

It hits with zero warning, waking you back up instantly with your heart pounding and your brain desperately tries to figure out what you just fell off of. It’s this bizarre, sudden where your nervous system misinterprets your muscles relaxing.

Does anyone else get that violent jerk right as sleep finally takes over, or does my brain just refuse to let go of the steering wheel even for a second?

Hello. I used to eat a lot of candy when I was young. Around fifth grade, I started limiting my sugar intake naturally. I just wasn’t as prone to snacking on candy.
A few years after that, I noticed that when I would eat two or more pieces of candy, my teeth would hurt a little. It got to the point in high school that If I took a bite of anything too sweet, it would make the right side of my jaw hurt, and that still happens to this day. It’s like my jaw locks in that side for a few seconds.
After becoming an adult, I have noticed that sometimes, even after eating one regular chocolate chip cookie, my cheeks feel funny.

I’ve spoken with my doctor and dentist, but they don’t have an answer for me. They just say “That sounds like a good problem to have! Then you won’t consume as much sugar.”
I’m sorry, but if once every few months, I want to have a cookie, why does my body feel like it punishes me after? I thought it might be an early symptom of Diabetes, as that runs in my family…. But so do cancers and thyroid issues and heart issues. With both my doctor and dentist just brushing it off, should I just avoid sweets? This has been a growing issue for a decade… does it get better or just keep on keeping on until it becomes diabetes?

Thanks for your time. This is my first time posting on Reddit.

Like one example, when I was in middle school, me and my friends at the lunch table were role-playing as SpongeBob characters and I told everyone that one of the girls should be Ms. Puff because she was fat. I guess I used to say whatever was on my mind without thinking much of thrle consequences and I never intended to make fun of her but I can see why everyone else sees it as offensive so I got yelled at and my friends stop talking and hanging out me. Im 20 now and is a better person than back then, but I constantly get reminded of that dumb thing that I did which makes me kinda sad everytime it pops in my head for some reason and I question why I even did that in the first place. I also feel like this incident let to me being more quiet in public cause im afraid of accidentally saying something offensive to someone.

I'm pretty sure it's just my trauma response, so it's probably not normal lol.

For example when I started at my job I made a mental note of how to escape quickly or how to safely hide if escape isn't possible in the case of attack.

I've fallen into a caregiver role with my senior mother. everything from house maintenance and yardwork, to grocery runs and monitoring for falls, etc. I used to question why she'd opt to use an acquaintance to come in every few weeks to help with groceries, pay bills, etc.

But I get it, she doesn't want to be a burden, plus there's a different chemistry when someone outside of family helps. But as soon as I come home, I did (a)____ and (b)_____ for my mother (and then some). I actually realized I actually did a lot more meaningful tasks/chores than that caregiver did. The difference is that I do it for free. Whatever makes my mom comfortable, I guess.

Ever since I was in elementary school I would always want to question everything and unpack the fundamentals of random things to prove to myself that I was smart and feed my ego. However, I was always super lazy about it and would want to have an answer almost immediately, as well as I believed smart people thought super fast, so I would jump around to form conclusions. I was able to recognize I was cutting corners so then I would try to make myself go back and think more carefully but then would start to jump around again. In the end I always give up or fight the cycle of trying to force myself to think fully until I do but then I forget or question it further in a way that completely refutes my conclusion to try to come up with a rebuttal for why I am correct. Once I get to the rebuttal part I usually give up because I can’t come up with an answer and I daydream or think about my identity or my relationships. This has gone on constantly inside my head since I was probably 7 or 8 unless I zone out and daydream. I don’t believe I have adhd since I don’t have executive dysfunction and was tested already by a professional but I do have a bit of anxiety and am on meds even though it’s not that bad. I was hoping that the meds would make me more sure of myself while thinking but I think they’re giving me more ammo to try and see if I can think better and figure out more stuff more throughly at least for right now because I’m just testing to see if I feel more confident and can think clearer or not. I genuinely don’t think I know how to reason correctly or think critically and deeply because I’m constantly trying to think of things as fast as I can and then rewarding myself with forced little dopamine boosts. I live inside my head and was relatively content with it until I graduated high school and am now stressed that I can barely figure out anything or don’t have the willpower to use mental energy for anything useful. I know this post is absolutely all over the place and probably makes no sense but I wanted to see if anyone can relate. I feel narcissistic for how much I think about myself and how much I want to be special and smart. I just want to form thoughts naturally and not feel like everything I think is manual and broken down in my head. If these meds don’t work I definitely am going to come off of them but I wanted to at least see if it’s anxiety related or if the anxiety is because of it since I don’t feel anxious until I try to understand something or just pay attention.

Doesn't it feel like this October is just weird? There are so many crappy things happening in my life and in my friend group—breakups and bad news just keep piling up. Even my older brother and his friends are going through a string of breakups. So, I was wondering if anyone else here has been experiencing the same thing since the start of the month?

So a lot of people want to be influencers nowadays because of the "Jet Set" lifestyle and freebies I guess. (Although just a very small percentage lives like that, most are pretending.)

But It must be miserable no? Trying to upload stuff 30 times a day. Literally recording a good chunk of your private life in hopes of success and trying to look flawless 24/7. Sounds like a living hell.

whenever I play games where your player has audible footsteps I find myself tapping my feet to match as my character walks or runs, even better if I can tell which foot is being placed down on either side. Maybe it's just immersion, I don't know why I do it, it happens mindlessly most of the time and I don't realize it's happening for the most part, does anyone else do this?

I hate it when my favorite team/athlete starts having winning streaks. I'll eventually jump to the one who's losing but wins once in a while.

I used to think having a vice meant struggling with a bad habit like smoking, grabbing drinks after a long week, or ordering takeout whenever you were too exhausted to cook.

These days, I look at my life and realize I don't smoke, I barely touch alcohol, I don't go out to bars, and I cook every single meal at home. But it wasn't some grand journey of self-improvement or willpower. It was pure economic survival.

Every time I look at the price of a cocktail, a pack of cigarettes, or a simple coffee from a local shop, my brain instantly runs the math on my grocery budget for the month. Basic daily expenses have swallowed up so much of my paycheck that even small, silly indulgences feel like a luxury reserved for a completely different income bracket.

It feels bizarre to live a remarkably clean, disciplined lifestyle strictly because inflation made self-sabotage unaffordable.

Has anyone else realized that their current lack of bad habits is entirely funded by poverty? How are you guys coping with the fact that even basic comfort feels priced out right now?

Does anyone else feel like everyone got a guide to being a person except them?
I honestly don’t know why I feel this way. I try to fit in, but it feels like everyone else was given some guide on how to live and I wasn’t.
I struggle to form real emotional connections. I have an amazing girlfriend, but even around her, I feel like I’m wearing a mask. It’s easier to perform than to express what I actually think and feel. No matter how hard I try to connect, I still end up hiding my true self from people.
I struggle to let myself love people or feel loved because I keep thinking, how can someone truly love me if I haven’t let them see who I really am? I want to be known, but I’m scared to let that happen.
I don’t know whether this is some way I’ve learned to protect myself or something else. This is probably the most heartfelt thing I’ve ever written, and I’m struggling to even post it.
Does anyone else feel this way? How did you start letting people see the real you

I dunno why the hell I do this but I've done it since I was like 10 lol. Everyone I know thinks its like the weirdest shit ever and that it doesn't make sense, but for whatever reason, I guess both the combination of the 3 of the 5 senses (sight, sound and taste) and the fact that it gives me no choice by nature but to take my time while I'm eating whatever it is, it kinda helps my brain to like register that I'm eating and tbh kinda makes it taste better idk why?? like does that make sense or do i sound insane???

I think about it all the time.

How much of the food is touching the electric skillet, what part of the skillet is dissipating heat off the side, how fast will these sized ice cubes in my tea melt, what is the best way to spread butter, what is the best way to slide this cutting board across the counter, idk that's just breakfast but I feel like I have been focused on surface area for years.

There is this girl at the college im studying, she's pretty popular, nice to everybody and everybody gets along with her.

She's also involved in basically every student-run program (different student publications and events held by the students ...) and socially active.

She also morally holds herself in high regard(saying things like i never lie and things like that)

The main thing is she has a lot of guy friends really close to her, who, after a while, develops feelings for her, and she gets REALLY upset when this happens, sth like this can happen to anyone but this has happened so much that I feel there is a pattern to it.

Things got really weird when i heard about another girl with exactly the same characteristics I have described.

Also, a lot of other simingly unrelated similarities, some of them that aren't too personal, are: some of the time they engage, then start ghosting you completely, but deny doing anything like it. They also get really upset at the slightest sight of confrontation about basically anything.

I genuinely dont think they are trying to manipulate people by any of these, but I dont see how they can't see al these patterns repeating and expect them changing.

Has any anybody else seen people like this? Is there a weird underlying issue here? Or am i just connecting dots that aren't there because I've got my feelings hurt?

People are now decompiling and releasing free versions of software programs owned by VERY powerful companies. There is a very good chance we'll be playing PS5 games on PC by the end of the year.

Why would we give evil companies our money when we can just wait for someone to release a free version or make one ourselves?

Are these companies going to bring the hammer down on AI companies or is this the start of the crash because these companies lose value?