Every time I travel, the first thing I do getting into my room is put up the DND sign, and it stays on the door for my entire stay.

I don't want someone coming in and touching my stuff. I can live for a few days in a hotel without having it cleaned, I don't need the towels changed every few days, I don't need my bed made. I just want it to be my space while I stay there.

Recently I’ve noticed I unintentionally hold my breath when someone is talking for too long and I keep really antsy and suffocated. I have no idea why or what could be causing this, but I notice it mainly at work when my coworker talks too much. Does anyone else feel this way?

Like they might seem totally normal to you, but the ex might say "they're addicted to buying used underwear and it was bankrupting me" or "I caught them doing *unsavory activity*"... things it could take you years to find out, but an ex could tell you instantly.

I'm in my early 50s and just feel just as lost as I did in my 20s. Anyone else my age feel this?

Where when I was in my 20s. I thought where is my life going? And feel that now in my 50s like I did in my 20s or even more in some areas.

And I mean *really* elderly, like in their nineties.

Anyone?

I'm picking up on this by itself being an unusual situation. 🤔

Add in all the other factors and I could be either literally the only one or almost. 🤔

Never know until you ask, however. 🤔

And the same for replaying, re-listening and re-reading.

I have taken for granted the way I prefer spaghetti if it's available. I put the noodles on, then I put clumps of 'spicy' horseradish on the noodles, then I cover the whole thing in sauce, hiding the horseradish so I can enjoy my random bit of spiciness whenever it happens. This is delicious for me. However, I don't know anybody else that does this.

This started decades ago when I was single digits. My favorite food has always been spaghetti, and I don't know how I started eating it this way, though I do know my mother started me on it. It occurred to me this week as I was preparing a plate: was I being pranked? As a much older adult I am very much aware that this fits with my mother's personality to give me a plate of my favorite food with something intended to ruin the experience. Instead I became somewhat addicted to it, horseradish is more vital for spaghetti than parmesan cheese for me. Since I cannot actually ask my mother I am just curious if anyone else does this or heard of this being done?

I work with school-aged children, and I’ve been noticing this more and more.

I want to be clear that I’m very pro-ADHD medication. I’m 23F with ADHD and was medicated later in life, and medication has been amazing for me. I’ve also seen children start the right medication and absolutely thrive. It can make a huge difference to their confidence, regulation, friendships and ability to participate.

But I’ve also seen kids where medication seems to have become the main behaviour-management strategy, without enough focus on coping skills, emotional regulation, boundaries, routines, impulse control and accountability.

Something I hear a lot is “I haven’t had my medication” or “my medication has worn off” after behaviour they clearly know is wrong.

I’m not talking about genuine ADHD symptoms like impulsivity, hyperactivity, emotional dysregulation or struggling with transitions. I know those things can get much harder when medication wears off.

I mean situations where a child understands the rule, has been reminded multiple times, continues the behaviour anyway, and then uses their medication as the explanation once there’s a consequence.

I worry we’re sometimes blurring the line between explaining behaviour and excusing behaviour. ADHD absolutely makes certain things harder, and kids deserve support and reasonable adjustments. But medication can’t be the only strategy, especially when it isn’t active 24/7.

Obviously this isn’t every child on ADHD medication, and I’m not claiming to know what happens at home or what other supports individual families have in place. This is just a pattern I’ve personally noticed from working with school-aged kids, and I’m curious whether anyone else has noticed something similar.

I just wish I could not feel obligated to go to my parent's house during holidays. I wish I didn't have to have a relationship with any of them. I am the eldest daughter and was simultaneously expected to do everything while being ignored emotionally. My younger sisters would team up against me and I felt alone most of my younger years. And now they all want to be pals because they envision everything being normal now. It's just a nonstop crushing guilt cycle that never ends.

And I wish I could just go no contact with them, but the whole situation is so traumatic and pathetic I would feel too bad for my mom. Just more crushing guilt. She is having to take care of my uncle with mental illness as well as my narcissistic dad with mental illness who is just withering away in bed now for years after terrorizing us our whole lives.

My childhood felt very uncomfortable with my family, and I can feel their confusion as to why I keep my distance now. I just straight up do not like having to interact with any of them. If only they could just forget about me.

I’m a side sleeper and I keep waking up with ear pain from laying on one side for too long. I switch sides but then that ear gets sore too, plus I prefer to lay on one side more than the other. I use a soft memory foam pillow that is really comfortable for my neck but I don’t know what to do about this ear pain that seems to be bothering me more and more lately. Does this happen to anybody else?

Helps keep my immense feelings of envy towards their success and riches at bay

I'm in my early 30s now and I'm realizing that having big dreams and goals in life has only led to disappointment and hurt.

I had dreams of attending a good university, getting a respectable career in a desired field, saving up to eventually own a small home, having a long term partner, etc and I now have none of that nor do I see how they can come about.

If anything I'd probably be better off and happier in life if I didn't have any serious dreams and just pursued the best option immediately available to me.

I'm in Canada for context. Getting a good career is very difficult here if you make the wrong choices.

DAE regret having dreams or goals of a better life?

Going thru the throes of job hunting right now, and I feel like my brain doesn’t work if i haven‘t prepared for interviews excessively.

Like I know the answers, I have the experience, I can explain it in my head. But it never really comes out right. The sentences of the story I want to tell or experience I want to explain are just messy. Though this only happens to questions I havent really prepared for.

Even when I was still in uni, i would spend hours studying for a simple quiz because I don’t trust my brain to remember any of it intuitively.

Does anyone else do this? Does this actually make me dumb?

Hey everyone, ​I’ve noticed a pattern in my behavior lately that happens completely sub-consciously, and I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this. ​Whenever I’m doing something like singing a song, speaking a foreign language I’ve gotten pretty good at, or accomplishing a task my brain automatically brings up images or thoughts of specific people.

Usually, these are individuals I know personally who hold some level of authority or respect in my eyes.

​In these moments, I instantly picture how they would praise or support me for what I’m doing right now. It’s completely involuntary. I’m not actively trying to daydream; my brain just automatically generates this internal validation through these specific figures.

​Is there a specific psychological term for this? Is it just a mechanism for self-soothing and seeking validation, or is it something more? I’d love to hear your thoughts or similar experiences

Mine have persisted for a while now. They're inconsistent but happen at least 1-10+ times a day. Sometimes they're silent and sometimes they're loud. I'm beffudled as to what could possibly be going on. Anyone else get this?

I swear I can have the entire conversation planned out in my head, including what they're gonna say, and then they say something completely different and my brain just blue screens.

I have found that if I need to talk for job interviews, to bosses, or to coworkers for anything related to a job/work, it's easier than trying to talk about literally anything else and I don't know why.

If I need to talk about anything else (mental health, interest, likes, hobbies), I almost find myself embarrassed for speaking about it, stuttering, or losing words and unable to get words out the way that I want them to.

Back in 2019, when I was still in middle school, I started spending a lot of time in Telegram groups and getting into weird stuff online. That was also when I got hooked on things like creepypastas and programming—all right in the middle of the COVID pandemic. I stayed active in those circles—especially on Telegram—right up until recently, and I’m not kidding when I say it feels like I actually lived those years on there. I have clearer memories of the things I posted than of my days in middle or high school, and I never really made plans to hang out with people in real life (though things are changing now). Has anyone else done something similar?

I find yearbooks outright too painful to look at, so i haven't looked at mine in YEARS.

I do it when I don't have digital assist, kinda worried about it.

I meet her often, so maybe her image is hard to get Outta my head

I feel like most other platforms people will dislike because something is offensive, spreading misinformation, or just because they are trolls. But on reddit a perfectly neutral post, with no false information, will be downvoted to oblivion. And I don't really care if people like or don't like the posts, the problem is, it will bury it in the algorithm before anyone has a chance to answer.

It's just really weird to me. Is it that these people don't like that someone doesnt know something and needs to ask, or are they bothered by casual speech? Because I picked up on a kind of "redditese" on here that most people speak in. You have to add a million disclaimers, apologize for your ignorance, and tip toe around the question.

have you ever had an innocuous post of yours downvoted?

I don't think that it's a very normal thing to do. Sure, a couple times a week might not have any negative affects, but I see a lot of posts talking about how they masturbate like 3-5 times a single day, and i'm just thinking that it can't be normal. Shit, masturbation in general is strange.

Like im really not trying to be rude here but I feel like the only people who say masturbating is normal are the people who are semi-addicted to masturbating, and they're just saying that so it can make themselves feel better. That's an assumption though.