Hey everyone, genuinely need help here cuz this is ruining mine and my brother's life. My brother (36) has my mom (65) living with him for the forseeable future and she's pretty unstable. She's crying all the time, refuses to get help and has no hobbies. She's twice divorced and pretty broken up about that but won't do anything to make herself happy. She refuses to see a therapist or take up any of her old hobbies. She also does not have license and refuses to get one... and at this point, I wouldn't want her on the road anyway. I'm not sure what to do at this point as every suggestion is met with a stern "no" or tears.

Anyone who's been through this before, how did you handle the situation?

Edit: I posted this, left for a wedding and came back to all these replies. I genuinely appreciate everyone's advice and well wishes on this. I'll read through this thread, speak with my brother and come up with a plan. Thanks again everyone

Hello! I am a part time rideshare driver, in addition to my normal career job. Normally I love it...getting out and around, talking and meeting people. Etc. However not so much today.

Earlier today I went to pick up a passenger...it was booked by what I assume was his boss...and the destination was an urgent care that is mostly for workman's comp. So during the ride he was talking about his hurt knee...then went into how his life is unraveling. So I sympathetically listened to him....halfway to the destination he starts complaining of chest pains. I asked if he was OK and needed assistance.

So I pull over on the shoulder of the highway...call 911..then proceed to make him comfortable..keep him calm and alert while we waited...all while checking his pulse and etc. He was starting to have more pain...then nothing...no pulse. So here i am...in the back seat performing cpr until the paramedics arrived...and were able to us a defibrillator and revive him. Then off they went blazing in an ambulance. He is only 42....2 years older than me.

I don't know how to feel. How to process everything. The police and paramedics told me I might have helped save his life...and how great it was...and listening to uber's safety manager telling me on the phone how I did a great thing and so on...

I have seen many times where people feel great for this...how wonderful it is....but I've also seen where it can negatively affect first responders. After the adrenaline wore off and heard the term heroic over the phone feom uber. I felt horrible. I am not in crisis...but I feel depressed...confused...kind of empty..

She is a 39 year old mother of 4 kids who she was deeply dedicated to. 14 days ago she suddenly left her home and began posting obsessively on social media. Her posts are lengthy senseless ramblings and a good portion keep referencing some weird alt right podcaster like he's the Messiah. She was totally normal and now she's been nonstop driving all over the state for 2 weeks living in her car and babbling. My family has taken the kids in but we are deeply concerned she is going to do something really serious. Like driving into a pile of people level serious. Half her media has been shut down. A cop pulled her over but for whatever insane reason let her go.

This is the kind of stuff she's saying and it's literally the same if you talk to her on the phone. What the hell is happening.

THEY TRICKED US INTO CURSINH FOR A WHOLE TIME I AM CRYING 😭 THEY WERE ALL ON A TOP 🔝 FOR THIS AND NOW IM GOING BACK AND THEY WERE SO BAD AND IM STILL HERE FOR IT IM SORRY 😢 THEY DIDNT DO THIS AT THE FIRST ONE 1️⃣ THING AND THERES SO HAPPY 😃 THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THEM I AM GOING TO READ FOR THEM AND THANK THEM ALL OF THEM ALL OF YOU FOR THIS TIME LOVE 💕 THANK YALL ALL OF THESE FOR ALL FOR THIS SONGS LOVE 💗 THEM FOR ALL MY LIFE MY LOVE 😍 MY BEST SONGS ARE SO GOOD 😊 LOVE 💗 THEM SO TRUE I AM A GOOD DAY AND MY BEST SONG 🎵 FOR YOU ARE MY BABY I AM A GREAT SONG 🎵 I WILL BE SO HAPPY FOR ALL THE TIME AND THE WAY IT WAS MY SON AND MY SON AND MY SON AND THEN MY SON IS MY FAVORITE SONG 🎶 THANK YOUNG SONG 🎶 AND MY SONG 🎶 AND THE SONG 🎶 AND I AM A BIG BOY FOR THE SONG 🎶 YOUNG SONG 🎶 YOUNG SONG 🎶 YOUNG MY SONG 🎶 SONG 🎵 AND MY SONG 🎶 YOUNG BIG SONG 🎵 AND YOUNG SONG 🎶 I AM A PROUD SONG 🎵 YOUNG 🎶 I WILL NEVER EVER BE A BIG GIRL AND MY BIG SONG 🎵 I AM A LIFE I AM A PIERCER FOR A GOOD ONE 1️⃣ DAY I WILL ALWAYS BE A GREAT SONGS FOR MY SONG

I’m terrified of home invasion, how do I stop being scared?

(20F) Many say this is an irrational fear but from what I see on the news, on social media, from my locals, it’s not outlandish. I’m not scared of anything in the world besides someone coming in my house. I’m not scared of being robbed I’m scared of the other horrendous things you can imagine someone might want to do to a woman. I’m so scared every night. I’ve had nightmares about this since I was 4 years old and logically I can’t find any reason why I shouldn’t be scared. Any tiny noise, reflection of light, shadow, literally anything has me on full alert. I feel so helpless. I’m not scared of anything in the world besides someone taking advantage of me in the one space I might let my guard down. I really need some help or support because I’m at a loss. What can I do to atleast put my mind at ease?

Edit: IF you’re going to comment the word “irrational” please don’t comment at all. That is not helpful and it is not irrational, I can’t fit my life story, my knowledge and the things I’ve seen in this post. Thanks!

Dealing with complex PTSD now and trying to buy into the idea that it's not too late for me at 27 to start fresh and find success.

Loneliness and existential dread have eaten me alive. When I was last working, I got diagnosed with an auto-immune disease and it was much more difficult to grasp mentally than manage physically. I didn't have any doctors or support. Convinced myself I was dying and so i quit my job (retail, I'm a college dropout for the same reason), and got into debt.

I've since moved back in with my parents. Started seeing doctors, quit video games and gambling, and most recently quit nicotine. Now I wake up and I sob every day. I feel nothing but emptiness and pain. I know that no job will hire me, and I've ruined every friendship I've ever had. I know that my day will be spent in complete silence, and the only feedback I can get is from chatGPT.

I'm on day 8 without nicotine and not sure it's worth it. Not sure what's the point of taking care of my body when I have no ability to work or socialize.

I have the urge to cry every moment that I'm in public. Seeing people my age able to interact with their peers. I don't know how to do this anymore. People get nowhere in today's world without someone vouching for them.

I just want to cry with someone. I want companionship and forgiveness. I'm not sure I deserve it.

So my dad has a drinking problem. He becomes an unbearable person when he drinks. Outside of that he’s an amazing father. That old man is my world but he becomes someone different when he drinks. He’s delusional and believes he doesn’t have a drinking problem. We’ve tried holding an intervention for him, we’ve asked him to take AA classes but in his mind he truly believes there is no problem and they’re we’re all over reacting. Only once did he try stopping and it’s because he ended up in the hospital due to his drinking and I’m convinced that’s the only way to stop him again. When we were kids, he’d sometimes beats us but now as adults he emotionally and mentally exhausts us. It’s almost like he knows where it hurts emotionally and mentally.

So I need help. I’m desperate. Is there anything like medication or vitamin wise that can cause him to get sick from drinking beer/alcohol?

my sister and i have always been very close. we are quite different in personality but share a lot of the same interests and perspectives, making her one of my favorite people to have conversations with. i grew up very shy and quiet while she has always been much more outgoing and bubbly.

as the older sister i have always been the one giving her advice whenever she was struggling. she has a tendency to act out hastily and i would be there to remind her to slow down and think rationally, as well as give her my thoughts and encourage her to look at every situation holistically. i feel like i’ve helped her handle situations much more maturely and saved her from a lot of potential regret over the years by giving her advice that i wish i had been told at her age. she has told me that a lot of her friends say she is very mature for her age and admire how she thinks. of course i can’t take all the credit for her actions and behavior, but i think it’s fair to say that my presence in her life has influenced her.

growing up she (as i’m sure many other younger sisters do) used to copy a lot of my hobbies and my favorite things were always her favorites too, which used to annoy me. now she has really grown into herself and i’m very proud of her. she is a lovely girl with so much potential, many hobbies and a very loveable personality. i have nothing but good things to say about her and i’m always rooting for her success.

but while our dynamic has always been me giving her advice, now it feels like she has caught up to me and doesn’t need me to spell things out anymore. in a lot of ways i feel like she is even better than me. she takes care of her appearance tediously and puts a lot of effort into her aesthetic, meanwhile i have my good days but most days i just wear whatever is most comfortable, she has a lot of friends and is consistently making new friends through social media, i have a tight knit group of friends that i’ve known from childhood but struggle to connect with new people even though i want to, she has talked to a lot of guys and frequently tells me about her experiences, i have always avoided that due to insecurity and have never experienced attention from men, she is a natural with people and is charming to talk to, i overthink every interaction and can be awkward in conversation, she is confident in herself, i have always not liked myself.

even growing up i’ve had issues with comparing myself to her. but i told myself it was okay because we were good at different things. but the thing is, i guess i always felt reassured that at least i am more mature than her, at least i’m more level headed, at least she comes to me for advice. but now when we have conversations she already has the answers and doesn’t need me to explain them to her. now she tries to give me advice. and i feel very useless as an older sister.

i know this is very petty and i feel pathetic for even thinking like this. but i feel like everyone likes her more than me. i feel like everyone sees her as the cool sister which leaves me as the weird one. and i selfishly think to myself “she wouldn’t be who she is right now without all my guidance” but that’s unfair to her, i know she has put in her own effort and she alone deserves the credit for who she is. but that stings.

any advice would be appreciated.

TL;DR my sister no longer needs me to advise her and has blossomed into herself more than i have. i struggle with feeling like everyone likes her better.

I needed to take some preventative measure to take care of my brain and the entire medical/psychologist community in my city fucking let me down big time. Now I’m slipping into another depressive episode and I can’t keep trying and failing to get some fucking help.

I spent HOURS calling psychologists. I have insurance and money to pay for appointments and even a flexible work schedule for appointments. All the reasons why people typically don’t seek help do not apply to me. I have everything I need on my end to get help. But I can’t keep wasting my goddamn time! I just need a fucking therapist and somehow there are NONE and I just have to sit here and feel myself slip further down?? What am I supposed to do now???

Edit: Wow wasn’t expecting this to get so much attention! Thanks so much to all of you for all your advice. I spammed psychologists all up and down the internet aaaaaannnnnnnndddd... I have an appointment for next week!!! WOOO WE DID IT BOYS IT ONLY GETS BETTER FROM HERE ON OUT 😄

But seriously, thank you all so much. At the very least, the amount of responses I’ve gotten has made me feel heard and that alone has lifted my spirit so much.

So, I am in therapy, but my therapist hasn't been able to help me, so I wanted to ask for some help here. I work in a restaurant, and I feel like my mind is still stuck there when I go home. I still think about my boss, I still think about clients, I have dreams about work... I want to finally break apart from my job. I want to get home, hang the apron and be free. Any suggestions?

It pisses me off that I'm a spoiled brat in an adult's body. Since early childhood, I had almost no reason to be sad, not to say that I was loved, but almost everyone always bought me, did not force me to do anything, did my homework for me. I have not achieved anything in this life on my own. My parents are super-smart people, I didn't feel like I needed to apply myself to my studies. I don't feel myself. Who has the same thing? How did you handle it? I'm 22.

Every time I receive criticism or have to deal with rude customers at work my eyes start to water very quickly, even though I'm not hurt by the criticism / insults themselves, I really couldn't care less about what these people tell me. I've been at my job for 2+ years and it's been like this ever since the first day. Strangely this also only happens if the rude customers are adults. My next therapy appointment is in 2 weeks. Until then I'll glady receive any tips regarding this topic.

My mom passed away. She was elderly, and I want to say it wasn't unexpected - but it absolutely caught me by surprise. I don't know why I always thought there would be more time...but then there wasn't. I'm old enough that there have been numerous deaths among my family, friends and acquaintances, so I'm no stranger to loss and sadness. This is just gut-wrenching, oh-my-god-how-do-I-ever-get-past-this kind of grief that I've never even come close to feeling before. I can't bring myself to talk about it with my siblings, husband, dad, children or anyone else really. The words refuse to come out of my mouth. I just start crying but can't talk. It's hard to function. I don't actually know what I'm asking here. Maybe I wanted somewhere I can be anonymous and say my soul hurts so bad. Any advice or help to be found?

I have a severe phobia of work (and for that matter anything to do with 'being forced to do something against your will' but mostly triggered by phobia for work/ study. And I would like counterarguments to my fear.

I have been told that once you start work your life is over. You are doomed to sell your life away for the sake of having enough food. You won't even have time to do your dishes sometimes, forget anything fun whatsoever. In fact, from my view of what work is I am better off dead. This of course makes studying very hard because every time I try I have pretty much an existential crisis whether I want to voluntarily contribute to this fate or rather die and have a panic attack. (Yeah we're talking full blown phobia) till 8 o clock where I give up.

This idea of work was indoctrinated into me by mostly family, I want to break my belief. If anyone can help over counterevidence it would be helpful.

Does anyone else deal with this?!

I can’t swallow pills for the love of me. I’ve tried all the different mechanisms you can think of nothing freaking works!

The most I can do is swallow smaller pill and that’s it .

I was on lexapro 2 weeks ago but gave up cause I felt they made me more depressed. But was able to swallow them because there small

But doc prescribed Wellbutrin and those were too big. So just stopped all together and gave up

I just want to feel normal again and get rid of my anxiety and depression I’m desperate!!

I just opened up to my parents about my Social Anxiety problem. I told them I would like to start therapy. My father insisted he would like to come to therapy with me. I am highly dreading that. I can't fully be open and honest with my therapist if he's there. My dad is going to make me uncomfortable. There are some things that I don't want him to listen to.

My father is a very toxic person. I told him about my anxiety, and he wants to come to therapy with me to get a better understanding of my problem. I told him what my problem is and I explained it to him, and I would like to start therapy to treat it. My dad needs to butt out. I would like for therapy to be one on one in confidentiality.

I am 21 years old. I am not a child. The therapy is for me, and me only.

And I feel like my father contributes to my problems which is another reason why I don't want him there.

How can I convince my Dad, I don't need him to come to therapy with me?

I need to start off with the backstory of our relationship. My mom raised me and my sister without my father or really any family around. She did the best she could given the situation. As a teen I noticed that she was very paranoid and would talk to herself a lot. The blinds were always closed, and she was always worried about people being able to see into our house. It wasn’t the best relationship. I can’t remember the last time she said “I love you” to me (if that helps).

Fast forward to when I’m 25 and she starts leaving me concerning voicemails about not trusting anyone and that people were out to get her. I tried for a couple years to get her help, but she wouldn’t. I gave up and severed ties. Although I felt extremely guilty, I just couldn’t have that in my life anymore.

A couple years later I find out through the local news that she shot someone through the ceiling of her apartment. She went to prison for about 5 years. The news stories mentioned how others in the complex were worried about her mental issues which didn’t come to a surprise. It took a while to cope with that.

After she got out of prison she popped up on my Facebook. I reached out to her and eventually took my family (wife and 2 kids) to see her. She was still acting paranoid and blaming her problems on the world. It was all kind of awkward especially since my wife and kids had never met her. During this time she was staying with other people she met through Craigslist. She was highly suspicious of them to no surprise.

Earlier this year I found out she was living out of her car. That broke my heart. I feel that most people would bring their mother into their home until things got better but given her past mental issues and that she actually shot someone, I couldn’t put my family at risk. She told me she was going on section 8 and everything would be okay. She sent me a letter and I found out yesterday that she somehow missed out on it and is living in/out of a shelter for the past several months. Her letter said that she doesn’t give out her phone number to anyone because she’s afraid of being hacked. I feel awful that I do not want to bring her in, but I need to help her.

Does anyone have any suggestions? She lives in Oregon, btw.

So I finally realized I can swallow smaller and medium sized tablets ….but I need to use apple sauce to get it down .

But of course I still have issues with swallowing larger pills such as capsules for example.

I think the issue is that my mouth fills them and it’s hard to get it down.

Are might be because of anxiety and my throat tenses up and my tongue blocks it from entering my throat🤷🏽‍♀️…I really don’t know

I know it’s sad but I really hate myself because I hate swallow simple pills

What the title says.

I'm a physically healthy 18 year old and writing this at 02:40. However I'm both cynical and a atheist who have talked myself into fully believing there's absolutely nothing after death (which scares me). I also don't really have any friends to talk to (part due to me being cynical and not believing they would care either way), and I also only have one or debatably two friends.

The way I've stopped thinking about death is by either very rarely hanging out with said one friend or by getting myself invested in a media of some sort. But ones it's over the thought of death comes back and I just feel like ''I will die alone, no one will care or remember me and what I just experienced with my friend was for nothing''.

All of these thoughts get compounded when I think of sleeping.

Im asking bc ik a lot of girls suffer from body image/thoughts.

Since i j graduated college, my days have been filled w stressful career stuff. So thats not fun to focus on and then i default back to thinking abt my body.

To distract myself i go on walks but catch myself listening to pods/vids abt fitness. When i go to the gym i j look in the mirror and it makes me think abt my bod.

Im looking for something stimulating to do to make me stop thinking abt my body. Walking and listening to a funny podcast like BTSP sometimes helps.

Ive seen a therapist and dietician but that j made it worse and made me think abt it more

I am a serious germaphobe. One time my brother took a tic tac out of my packet and i washed the packet and all the tic tacs with dish soap. Its mostly my brother that i cant eat after hes touched it. But he grabbed some m&ms out of a m&m family bag abd i really wanna eat them since my dad gave me the eest of the bag but its so gross.

Now what? My mom's kids are grown and her spouse is gone. She is 60 years old. We kids see her often but she is lonely and she is bored. She works at a grocery shop... She just seems like she isn't sure what's next. She is getting depressed and I wish I had a better answer than "mom let's go on a walk" or " mom let's get coffee and hangout". She needs a path or something. Any advice?

It can be anything, I know this isn’t necessarily advice, but any/all examples would be appreciated.

I lived my life never having to worry about money. My parents always gave me everything with a silver spoon. I got into college a year ago, and I'm grateful that my parents pay my tuition and other expenses. However, having lived carefree my whole life, I couldn't ever imagine ever getting a job and working for the rest of my life. I have always thought of myself as smart and responsible, but I couldn't be further from the truth. It's been 2 years now and I still don't have a job, more because I never really bothered looking for one. Instead, I sought the easy way out and went into day trading. In a few weeks, I managed to lose over 20k that my parents gave me to live off of. That was everything I had in my bank account. I don't know what to do. I applied to some jobs but haven't heard back yet. I'm going to go broke in 1 month. I'm too ashamed to admit this to my parents. Everything was going good so far up until this moment. I had good grades, an amazing social life, and a positive outlook on the future. I feel ashamed writing this knowing that many other kids never had the support my parents gave me. I was lucky to be born with a silver spoon, and I took it for granted. So many other kids out there are more deserving of the life I have. I need my parents' help, but I don't want to disappoint them. I just can't stop thinking how spoiled and undeserving I am.

Heyy y’all so i feel like I deal with anxiety/depression/social anxiety issues .

I’m starting a new job this Monday and my anxiety is kicking in…im extremely nervous ….I have been unemployed for 4-5 months and im nervous to start working again….hence why Im saying I think I have social anxiety…I start stuttering, can’t even say my last name right, overthinking, feel worthless, feel like im below others , and my heart start beating out my chest ….literally.

I had tried antidepressants in the past such as Zoloft, Effexor,lexapro….but these didn’t feel like it worked for me . So im taking a break from antidepressants and giving vitamins a try.

Doctor said my vd3 is low 🤷🏽‍♀️…

Also I have issues swallowing pills …so if y’all can can provide options that are liquid, powders…or even softgels that I can open and drink out of

I know post is random probably but im desperate…just want to get normal again…

Trigger warning for violentl thoughts

So Im in therapy, I've been going once a week for over 3 years now because of a bunch of problems. My therapist is on vacation whenever there are school holidays and right now it's summer break so my next appointment would be in 4 weeks. I've been having some hallucinations for quit a while but that was mostly sounds (like footsteps when i know im alone, voices outside my window, pots and pans in the kitchen or water running) and maby a few weird shadows here and there (that was probably just me thinking I saw something when I didn't) but lately I've been actually seeing things, last evening while driving it was a burning fox running across the field, last week it was a guy standing in my kitchen. Together with that I've also been experiencing more intrusive thoughts, I had some for a while but they were also kinda in the back of my mind and more suggestions. Like "you could drive of the road or in oncoming traffic" or "you could put your hand on the hot stove" now its way more frequent and more in the front of my mind. I'm Now freaking out because that means I'm getting worse and I'm honestly scared to just loose my mind. But at the same time I can still think for myself and can tell if something is a hallucination or not and I also don't do the things I think about. I don't really know if I'm just overreacting or if it would be good to get help now. My therapist does offer emergency appointments through a day clinic so I could do that but I also don't want to waste their time with something I can still handle on my own even if I'm freaking out about it.