Young People, Hidden Internal Struggles
These individuals, spanning adolescence to early adulthood, are grappling with deep-seated emotional distress and self-harm tendencies, often stemming from early childhood trauma, unstable family environments, and feelings of isolation. The pain is masked by outward appearances of normalcy, creating a significant disconnect between their public persona and their internal suffering. They feel trapped, ashamed, and overwhelmed by their experiences.
SOURCES (60)
“Sorry for my English, I’m not sleeping and eating well because of the distress”
“I strongly relate, im also 15 years old and i always feel that my memories i fake i don’t know why like i don’t even have that good of a memory, i forget things easily and i czn’t really remember anything from only a few years ago like for me now i have consciousness but before i didn’t like it’s hard to explain but anyways and that’s why when i remember things it feels fake and sometimes im just existing but i feel like it’s not real but the difference between you and me is that i actually wish”
“Hit me up. I’ve been going through my own mental health crisis since I was 15., with no ending in sight. I get it”
“mental health is so fucked up that i dont even know how to respond to this. Im really sorry and i think the worst you could do is just stay there and do nothing, maybe tell your parents that you want to go to a psychologyst (if you dont wanna tell your parents what is wrong then lie, and tell the truth only to the psychologyst)”
“Your post confuses me a bit, sorry. Im dutch so maybe im misunderstanding. Cant you stay and have a confident inner dialog? Overconfidence is never good. Do you have meaningful unconditional relationships where you are now? Then you shouldn't leave.”
“I understand you well. I used to write down my thoughts and emotions in notepad. I just needed to get them out of my head without sharing with anyone. And as of AI, you can even have a conversation which you can delete afterward. It can also ask you a questions that help you process your emotions”
“It could be related to anxiety or a form of self harming behavior depending on the intention and impact Either way it is worth talking about because you deserve support and you have already shown incredible strength by staying away from more serious self harm for so long”
“This is so relatable and i just want u to know i do it too and you are not alone❤️ 🫂”
“not sure if this will help but my favorite anxiety reducing app is called Quabble. its a cute app with many excersizes and its free!”
“not sure if this will help but my favorite anxiety reducing app is called Quabble. its a cute app with many excersizes and its free!”
“I don't know what's going on with my life. I had a chance to move abroad after 12th grade, but instead, I chose the wrong engineering stream here. I wasted four years, and since it was during COVID, I don't even have many good college memories. College helped me get a job, but I'm still not sure whether I like it or not. I've been working here for three years. From the very beginning, I kept telling myself that I would do something better. It's been three years now, and I”
“my mom won’t let me go see him. she keeps telling me to just sleep and i don’t have a license [TW: SH] and i don’t want to think about it too much and cut myself for taking things for granted. i just don’t know what to do. it feels like everything is so out of my control and the only think i can choose is to either worry about it and being a risk to myself, or distract myself from it all”
“I have been diagnosed with hEDS and am experiencing more symptoms that we are slowly working on identifying the causes of. But my family doesn’t believe me. They don’t get it at all. They think I’m being dramatic and “everyone is in pain, so I shouldn’t need mobility aids”. Meanwhile I can’t stand in line to get my meds without it exhausting me. I want to dislocate something or end up in the hospital so my family believes me. So they get off my back about not having a job while in school. So I’m”
“They haven’t really said it but when I’ve tried bringing up the fact that I’m struggling with some things they just tell me that I need to keep trying and stuff which I mean I know that they mean well but it just feels like they think I’m overreacting”
“I’m 20M and I stutter, I have no friends, I have no hobbies, I’m bad at sports, I hate that i’m short, my voice is not deep, people assume im younger. I barely know how to drive. Virgin, never had a girlfriend…. I hate myself because I had “friends” in middle school and high school, but i failed at keeping them. When high school ended, so did the friendships. I wasn’t socially rejected. In college (in a different city) I have some friends too, but in my hometown I’m lonely. I hate that in my hom”
“I want my parents to know that I’m not doing very good but I don’t know how to bring it up, I’m scared they’ll just think I’m being dramatic and I’m scared that maybe I am, sometimes I want to get worse just so that they won’t think I’m being dramatic. submitted by /u/SimpleCor [link] [comments]”
Yeah i appreciate the replies man ill be a mess until monday😂
“Dont stop beliveing,even when its hard,God is there with you even if you dont feel it.You are loved and precious and even if it is hard know that the Lord is working things for your good.If you arr still breathing He is not done!”
“I am not a professional but it sounds like you're sti struggling with extremely heavy eating disorder thoughts. You need to talk to a professional asap so you can receive proper care. Your girlfriend calling you chubby is an awful thing to do, it's not alright. I wish you all the best, you deserve to eat and take care of yourself.”
“Hey there, i may not be as experienced in life as you, but i promise life gets better💕 im sure youve had your happy days, keep going for them and eventually theyll be your daily life🫡 shame is normal, just dont let it eat you up. Life is a balance and youre the key, im here to listen if you wanna vent”
“First of all I know it is a problem and I don't want to promote it I am simply asking for advice. I started again even tough I was clean for half a year. My family and friends don't know about it and I would like to keep it that way. I live in Europe so it is very warm here right now. How can I hide my scars without very long sleeves all the time? They are on the inside of my left wrist. submitted by /u/OkGrocery63 [link] [comments]”
For context im 16 years old, and earlier this year I started acting different. I thought it would pass but its only been getting worse. My dad had OCD, and I ve…
“I get random thoughts of killing my self well not completely only till the amount that I get seriously injured and in hospital so that people care for me. Am i selfish? submitted by /u/deadi_28 [link] [comments]”
“hi i am a teen and I am constantly being yelled at grounded and punished for having a messy room. its so miserable and its hate it. I wish I could just clean. im sick of stuff molding in my room its disgusting and I need it to stop. i am diagnosed with adhd and partially diagnoed with depression so thats probably part of it but it still isnt an excuse. I cant take my meds bc the side affects are emergency room worthy but idk what else I can even do. someone pls help me. I accept any tips im desp”
“I recently had a really concering nightmare about sex, and I dont really know what to do because im unable to seek out therapy. Its also not the type of thing I can talk to anyone, so I dont know where to go. I think i know why I had the dream I just dont know how to deal with the fact I had it, and this isnt the first nightmare about sex ive had submitted by /u/Scared_Cicada_9898 [link] [comments]”
Feeling so down about my body lately. I just need to vent to people who understand. I’m sharing this here because I’m honestly so embarrassed to say it out loud, but I…
“Hello, As a preface, I'm Australian, it's currently around 4am, I've been struggling to sleep. For context, I was raised by abusive parents and my childhood was rife with domestic hostility, leaving me with a few, somewhat-debilitating mental health disorders, of which eventuated into Alcohol Use Disorder (almost a week sober now). I've attempted 3 different university courses, only to drop-out, due to my father's disruptive demands/actions/comments. I made the mistake of fol”
“This made me tear up. I'm just getting this post and to see your response is just amazing. ❤️”
“Could also go the other way and be the push a kid needs to start. I know I only stared self harm after seeing scars an older sibling of a friend had. Asked my friend about them and had a "Oh that's an option" moment”
“I’m actually in the process of getting a genesight test so hopefully that goes well! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to switch psychiatrists since my dad got angry when I tried to switch therapists a while back, but I’ll try. Thank you for the advice!”
“marie, write down your thoughts cry if you feel like don’t bottle your emotions”
“*Preassure. sorry about "pleasure" word my english can be trouble when ım in anxiety”
“Guilt. I don’t want to be the reason behind my family’s pain. And sometimes hope that maybe my life could get better.”
“Yess I’ve felt the exact same. This distant friend of mine showed to up school one day with marks on her arm. In the friend group, I was always known as the one with scars and struggled with mental health. We looked at each other and It’s like I could tell exactly what she felt. She looked so hollow compared to her regular self. Sorry this sounds so corny but I get the feeling 😭”
“I don't have much friends I don't have a girlfriend I have a hard time finding my way in social situations I don't know how to talk to people naturally I look like a weirdo and I overthink every little conversation, no girl shows even the slightest interest in me I have a hard time making friends, I'm not a perfect person and I don't think for myself I have a best personality but I know how to be funny and I try to be nice around people but as soon as they see me I feel like”
“Turning 18 soon. Haven’t figured out life that much because it’s just been pretty rough. I’ve been felt like this almost 3 years now. I don’t remember how it started maybe from bullying maybe guilt trauma, even covid turned me into like this, i don’t know. I don’t understand myself. There is a big rock in me that dragging me down i can feel it. I can’t get rid of it. Pressure is hard and my parents making it even worse. The responsibility future planning interaction isolation all feels so draini”
“TW : SH I know this title puts my friend in a really bad light and makes the answer seem so obvious (“Tell him to knock it off”), but it’s naturally more complex than that. I (16F) have been struggling with SH on and off for about four years. Because of this, I have some scars. Some from years ago, but most are from the past few months as my mental health has gotten much worse. I am currently clean (3-4 weeks I think) after a relapse that landed me with stitches. A few months ago, I was out drin”
“okay before u jump me let me explain I know how the title sounds, and no, I’m not saying I want attention in the way people throw that word around. I think that’s actually why I’ve never told anyone this before, because I know exactly how it’d be interpreted. Sometimes I wish people would notice that I’m struggling without me having to be the one to say it out loud. Not because I want pity. Not because I want to be “special.” And definitely not because I think struggling is something to show off”
“I started self-harming in sixth grade. I was exposed to the idea while in a psych ward with much older teenagers when I was only 11. This is the age when that kind of thing begins sometimes. One thing to consider is that your scars show them the long-term effect of those actions, which may dissuade them. Also, I would think that maybe you notice them more than other other people do because you’re looking for them, so it may not be as big a deal as you think if they are flat and white as you say”
“i wish i didnt i just froze in shock and let him leave because i couldnt believe that just happened to me and i feel rlly ashamed of myself lmfao i should have yelled at him but i didnt”
“Hey.. improving our relationship with ourselves is about purposely caring for our feelings and emotions responsibly.. weening ourselves off our unhealthy vices and replacing them with something tha provides wholesome joys.. like creative expressions of our neglected values and virtues..”
“As in a few weeks I'll be moving out for college and I'm so fucking scared, i cry alot these days. I'm very close to my family, they are not toxic and I've never imagined my life without them. At this point I'm thinking of everything, having tea with my mom, gossiping with my brother at night, playing games with them, going out in the evening and everything. I'm feeling way too sad and scared. Ik it'll be tougher for my parents and brother and it's making me more”
“We are the same, I don't have a porn addiction though, I have an addiction to a few other things. Like my phone and social media. But I would love to get off of them and do anything else. I just graduated highschool, I'm 18, I have one friend who has others friends, though. Safe to say I'm mostly friendless. I'm trying to get my liscense but I do have a permit. I have been trying to find friends but we stop chatting after the first day.”
“My only reason atm is the thought of some poor person having to find my body. My dad found someone who took their life once and it significantly impacted him for months. I don’t want to do that to someone, I don’t want to traumatise anyone.”
Can ya please tell me your story i really am curious about it
“It’s just my disadvantages get to me, insecurity with photos dorsal hump small hands and feet feeling less masculine struggling to hold stuff and be a man comparison to other people, being incredibly short snd lots of other things I mentioned no matter what I don’t know how I can enjoy life with all of it, I have an incredibly hard life”
“Why not try to improve these bad habits ur scared of hurting her with before just giving up. If you do really love her then focus on that”
“I'm currently at pala thinking of dropping out of this hell, i can't continue this shit, I'm Not made for this, I can't do anything. My father is currently very angry with me after I told him this. I cried for two days. Anyone suggest me something. I'm from kerala got 89.75% in hse boards. Idk what to do. Is jain good? I was in bioscience submitted by /u/Broad_Set6219 [link] [comments]”
“I wish to have such savage claws, such vicious snarl and such sickening eyes that i strike fear and worry to those who know me I wish to be so ambiguous, to have no recognisable form, to be so uncanny that i may disappear from the lives of others I wish to be rotten I wish to be disgusting I wish to be infectious and if my desires cannot be fulfilled then i simply wish to be nothing at all submitted by /u/Sad_Winner7743 [link] [comments]”
“TW: SH thoughts, SI thoughts, hopelessness My health issues have been extremely rough these past few months. Worse than normal. About 3 weeks ago I passed out while on FT with my dad because of a severe low blood sugar episode. My mom happened to be staying at my apt that night so he hung up our call and called her to get me help. I’m better now though I have a compression fracture on T6 and T7. These fractures are causing excruciating pain. I am in agony. No one really seemed to believe my pain”
“I know i dont owe it to anyone to "act normal", ive also got autism and adhd but im at terms w that yk Today i was talking ab smth with losjng weight, i got a walking stick and was abke to walk 2k steps before j came insude and collalsed in the couch for half an hour cause i was so sore, but i was so proud because that was in one burst, thats more than ive been able fkr in nearly a year So i was talking in a gc and i brought ul the fact i was able to do 2k and that a new walking stick”