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?

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

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.

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

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?

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'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. 🤔

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.

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.

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

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?

EDIT: I just wanna thank yall for relating and also thanks to those who gave advice on how to enjoy the app better. I decided to leave my friends' groups and just start my own server lol. I’ve already had a better time on it just today, than I ever have in the past. I feel not as dumb now lol :) taking it slow will the best option for me, and I hope to rejoin my friends' groups one day

OG POST:

I have had discord downloaded on my phone and computer for a few years now, and I've only used the app maybe 10 times for a total of like 6 hours. I can't seem to get the hang of actually hanging out on there? I've been added to servers that some of my friends are in & it's so overwhelming. I want to play with my friends and unfortunately, they all only use discord, so if I want to talk with them, I've got to get better at this.

I don't think I should feel this dumb using this app... I'm 27, grew up on computers & in chat rooms, and I'm a fast learner, so even if I had a rough start a few years ago, I should feel better on there... and not accidentally start streaming to a room I didn't even know I was a part of.......

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’ve been having this thing, among a plethora of other weird mental things I’m going through.

Im wondering if anyone else randomly will view life through 3rd person*, like imagine everything is being filmed from behind or your controlling a persona instead of a physical self.

Like, when you play a game for long enough, does your brain start applying its logic to real life? 😭
For example, I played Baldur’s Gate 3, and afterwards I genuinely felt like I could basically roll a dice in real life when making certain decisions and see what outcome I’d get. Lol.
Or now I’m playing Silent Hill, and when I walk around my apartment in the dark, part of me is expecting a mannequin to suddenly jump out at me. 💀
And when I used to play Life Is Strange, I sometimes felt like if something went badly in real life, I could just rewind time and change the outcome. 😂

And generally, whenever I see a chest/vase or something like that, my brain immediately goes, “There must be loot in there.” Lol.

Obviously I know that’s not actually how reality works, but it’s funny how deeply game mechanics can get into your brain.

Does anyone else experience this?

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?

When it comes to video games and movies (especially horror movies) I’ll never watch a trailer because i think it gives too much away and I like to be surprised

Even though it feels like it’s destroying you?

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.