
Love is so illusive for so many.
When we watch the people who have found "the one" who can't help but wonder... "How did you do that?"
For all the singles, and not in a desperate way, we wonder... is there something we're missing?
How do you find "the one?"
In this day and age love seems like an illusion or chess game.
I'm willing to play, but can I get the treasure map to navigate?
Redditor dkidontwatchAnime to discuss life's most important issue... finding love.
They asked:
"People who have found the love of your life, how did you do it?"
I'm over it all, but not really. I'm willing to try many things. Enlighten me...
It's ME!!
"Online dating. I essentially found a female version of myself by accident doing this and now have a 6 month old son with her." ~ Zealousideal_Hat4431
Hobbled
"I joined a class for people who had lost their way or were just struggling to get started in life, it was either that or I'd probably end up in jail. She was one of the classmates because she didn't know what to do with her life, She seemed too nice for someone like me so I wasn't trying to win her over but we spoke a bit, and found we got along quite well."
"One day I was messing around with a ball and showing off, I tripped and landed awkwardly knocking the foot out of place, tried to ignore it but the ankle started swelling up and teacher took me to hospital, came back a few days later for a charity event."
"But since I was in crutches I was just supposed to watch, another boy in the class was paired with her and she was clearly uncomfortable, I hobbled on over and took his place she was happy, I invited her for a drink and then we ended up going out that night."
"I was in a bad place at that point in my life but she helped me and fixed me up, we have 2 kids now and been together nearly 16 years, moving into a new house today, we've been through alot to get to this point but things are good." ~ Bigbadbobbyc
The Natural
"At a party of a mutual friend group. I was hanging out when he walked in. I knew this group for a couple years, but never met this guy. Turned out he lived in the next state over while he was in school. We were introduced and started talking. We ended up talking all night. It was the easiest conversation I ever had."
"It all felt so natural. Side note: There were many times when we should have met but didn't. When he lived in my state we worked next store to each other and he used to come in to my work all the time (coffee shop). And he was at several parties that I didn't attend."
"It's for the best because I had a boyfriend at the time and he was still in his 'bad boy' phase. A couple weeks later I get a message on Myspace from the guy. We start talking and decide to meet at the halfway point for a date. The rest, as they say, is history. Been in love ever since." ~ tiny_little_planet
Thanks Bro...
"He was friends with my brother. He was always super nice and was such a wonderful dog dad that I knew he would be a wonderful father. We had been hooking up and his roommate ended up getting a DUI and had to move back home from the college town they lived in. He needed a roommate to help pay rent so I moved in and never looked back. We’ve been together for 15 years now and he is the best husband and most amazing father to our two kids." ~ TalullahandHula33
The Crasher
"When I was 18, I heard a guy my age talking about books with his friend's at a bookstore closing (RIP Borders) and just… crashed his conversation. Six months later, we were engaged. We’ve been together for ten years now and have been married for half of it." ~ WitchoftheWords
Bookstores are dead. That was my dream. A handsome reader, who likes the smell of parchment.
Alone
"By being myself and finding someone who does the same."
"If you and the other person are 100% truly yourself around each other and 100% enjoy every minute of it, you just may have found the one. Also, never try to change them. It will build resentment. Instead, work on accepting them and expect that they do the same." ~ HelpMePeez
I said, I guess so...
"We met in graduate school. I wasn’t interested in a relationship and wanted to concentrate on my studies. He said we can go out as friends, right? I said, I guess so... We found out we had a lot in common and had similar values and goals in life, not to mention the same career! Life has been good and I was lucky to find my best friend and soul mate. We’ve been married over 15 years and I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, in this lifetime or any other." ~ mtn4444
32
"I found myself suddenly single at 31. Still single at 32 but after being in a long term relationship for years I was enjoying the freedom. A friend invited me her house warming party. Not long after I arrived I locked eyes with this guy and we both smiled. I am rather shy and it took me three attempts to get the courage to talk to him. Been together 18 year, married 16 and have 4 kids." ~ battleangelred
I Quit...
"We worked together. He sent out an email saying he was quitting. I always thought he was handsome so I emailed him saying we should meet up for a goodbye drink. Our company offered him more money and a better position in the company so he ended up not quitting."
"We met up getting a drink anyway. Neither of us were sure what we were for months. We got drinks after work and went on 'dates' but weren’t physical because we worked together. One day, we went hiking and then back to his house. It was a beautiful day and we were on the hammock."
"He kissed me and the rest is history. Soon after he moved in with me, we got engaged a few months later. We were married 3 months after we got engaged. We had our son the next year. We are very happy together and I am thankful for him everyday." ~ kristenleighgio
KISMET
"Took a pee in the ladies room and she walked in." ~ DeaddyRuxpin
At the Christmas Party
"I knew her younger sister, who invited me to a Christmas party at their house. (I was 16). The older sister was a tiny, pretty little blonde. Met her there, but she started going out with another friend. Three months later she dumped him. We all hung out at a open house meant to keep we juvenile delinquents off the street."
"Myself and four or five of my friends were standing in a circle outside, smoking... and she stepped out of the Hall. One of the guys pulled her into the circle (she was pretty, remember?) and we started pushing her guy to guy to guy.... around the circle. (we were 16, remember? lol)."
"When she got to me, she threw her arms around my neck, and wouldn't let go. Even I can take that hint! She was my first gf. That was in 1971. She is downstairs right now, drinking tea." ~ ThatNewOldGuy
Digits
"Just back from Vietnam, young airman, working at bowling alley to make ends meet. Walked around the corner and there was the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Today we are married for 45 years. Best thing that ever happened to me. My wife said I did cartwheels to attract her attention. Got my nerve up to talk to her. For an hour or so I found any reason to clean her already clean table. She said I was cute and gave me her phone number."
"The number she gave me was 8 digits long. I got mad and threw the phone number away. My manager picked the number up figured out what happened and gave me the good number. Come to find out she was as excited as I was and accidentally added one too many digits. The result we have been married for 45 years." ~ Emergency-Pangolin79
Hey Jen...
"I was 17 year old me working at the gas station/auto garage my grandpa owned. It was spring break week, so we were expecting heavy tourism traffic. Things were running along smoothly, when this Toyota Highlander pulled up. The dad and oldest daughter got out, and went inside. "
"I started pumping the gas, and checking the tires when Jen they came back in. I noticed the band on her shirt was my favorite band, so I simply just sang a line from one of my favorite songs by them. She looked my way, and finished the lyric. I took that as a sign that I should talk to this girl more. It was brief, but I got enough information to know where she was staying for the week, and a coffee date at 6pm that night."
"One date led to three more times seeing her before she left, and us deciding to do a long distance relationship. So many thought it would fail, and that we couldn’t do it, but as we get ready to celebrate our 20 year anniversary of our first date, we’re still proving the critics wrong." ~ Reddit
Open Heart
"It just happened. Find out what's most important in a partner to you. Don't waste your time on people who are way off what you find important. Stay positive and keep an open heart." ~ BXL01
‘casual encounters’
"Craigslist. I put an ad up in the non ‘casual encounters’ page and got one response. We emailed back and forth for a couple of days and then I asked her out that weekend. We went to dinner and it lasted like 3 hours. An older couple next to us asked us how long we’d been married. We told them it was our first date and the woman said we seemed so comfortable with each other. We’ve been together 9 years and married 6." ~ Anakorhil
The Circle...
"First I worked on myself by taking up hobbies and working out. This naturally built up my confidence. Then I expanded my social circle by going to meet ups. I met a couple people who I'd consider friends. Then I met friends of those friends. Before I knew it someone had come along who took an interest in me. We became fast friends and figured out we shared each others' values. She asked me out and we've been together for 4 years." ~ plasma_dan
16 years later...
"Completely by accident. We were friends in college. I thought he was cute, funny, caring and thoughtful. He had a girlfriend. So I let it go. Moved on, stayed friends, but secretly hoping. In the spring he and his girlfriend broke up. It hit him pretty hard. We hung out more. I kept inviting him to events to make sure he didn’t get estranged from the friend group."
"One day neither of us wanted to go our afternoon classes and we went to lunch instead. He insisted he pay for lunch. I counted that as a date. He did not. About 2 weeks later that I asked if he want to go on another 'date' and he was confused but agreeable. 16 years later. Married for 6. Happiest I’ve ever been. He’s still the man I fell for all those year ago. I will love him forever." ~ foxandsheep
Wallflowers
"Honestly, I always say he found me rather than the other way around. I was a wallflower at a social event my then-friend invited me to and promptly abandoned me at. Not knowing anyone else, I basically just sat in a corner and waited for it to end (my usual anxious go-to move)."
"My now-husband noticed and didn't want me to be bored and alone so he came over and just started chatting until we'd found a few commonalities. He asked for my phone number at the end of the event and just under 3 years later we got married! Amusingly, we were both actively trying to date online when we met, but were on different websites so never would have found each other that way."
"I'm just thankful my husband isn't afraid to talk to strangers, because I wouldn't have had the guts to start talking first. His advice is always start by asking simple questions about themselves, as it's easy for them to answer, most people like to talk about themselves, and you can gage how willing they are to keep chatting from there." ~ saileach
Stories
"Any post here is going to make me happy for the person with the story. It’ll also make me sad because I no longer believe that something like that is in the realm of possibility for me any longer." ~ Karmachinery
Wine Crush
"I straight up messaged him on social media letting him know that I thought he was hot. I had a crush on him when I was in high school, thought he’d never know who I was (different schools), and years later I was a bit wine drunk and decided to shoot my shot. Absolutely worked in my favor, have never had a love like this." ~ belugawhalebih
I've learned it's all random. Be you. It's all we've got.
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And there are just as many grievances for which we are not at all sorry.
Curious to hear about people's track record of their questionable behavior, Redditor NanoPKx asked:
"What is something bad you have done with no regrets?"
Is it petty theft or flat out stealing? You decide.
The Parting Gift
"'Forgetting' to bring back a company ipad after they forgot about me having it. Actually they never asked for it back so I still have it and use it."
– Koetjeka
Furry Companion
"I stole a barn kitten while delivering packages for FedEx. He kept climbing my legs and getting into the van, sitting under the wheel when I tried to back out (it was a steep driveway, no way to swing the van around). I called the number on the package, looked the name up on facebook, called the local non-emergency to get contact info, all failed."
"So I took him. Now, if you're not from a rural environment, you might not understand that barn cats like that are 'no-man's-cats.' For all the owners know, he got sick or got got by a coyote. And he would have died, because when we got him to the vet he had a nasty upper resp infection and some other nasties."
"Now, one deformed nasal passage and the cutest snore later, we have a bonkers little orange cat with the heaviest penchant for snuggling I've ever seen (his name is Monty btw)."
"Edit: I forgot to pay my Cat Tax: https://imgur.com/a/HIXS4us"
"Edit Part 2: Monty loves the attention. Thank you for loving him as much as we do :3"
"MmmmMMMMRrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW" -Montgomerey Valentine, 2022
– SonOfSkinDealer
The Dirty Treat
"A housemate of mine kept eating mine and my girlfriends food and even though I asked him to stop the only thing he would ever say is 'I thought it was mine' then keep eating it."
"Well I bought my girlfriend some ice cream she really enjoys and she put the half she didn’t finish back in the freezer. Well when she want to get the rest it was gone and it made me madder than I think it probably should have."
"The very next time I saw him and somehow keeping a straight apologetic face I told him how he accidentally ate our sex ice cream and that bits of it had been on our parts etc. I told him I felt guilty not to tell him and that I had to apologise for him to eat such a thing."
"I will never forget the face he made when I told him. A face of pure self disgust and shock to which all he had to say was 'I wish you never told me that' and proceeded to move out around a month later."
"Although he didn’t actually eat sex ice cream, like why the f'k would you put it back after use anyway? Sometimes I wonder if I went to far but in that moment I just did not care at all. He still doesn’t know it isn’t true and I’ll probably never see him again."
"F'k you Vitas buy your own food."
– SpicyDolphin74
Vengeance is sweet.
Payback Time
"A drunk driver hit my parked car, left a huge dent in the front driver’s side door, and then drove away. I happened to be looking out the window at the time and saw the whole thing, including his plate number. Cops got there not long after and took my statement. After a couple days and a couple phone calls, I found out nothing was going to come of it because he was the son of the sheriff the next county over."
"Fast forward a couple months, I see his car parked behind a local bar within walking distance of my apartment. I got out my hunting knife and sliced all four of his tires, and made a couple trips around it destroying the paint job. Yellow Pontiac Sunfire, and I still remember the goddamn plate number even after almost 20 years."
– IgnoreMe304
For The People
"I was a GM for a retailer that was going out of business. During the liquidation I let my employees that worked until the end store product they wanted to buy in a closet I claimed I didn't have a key to. Oh the final days I sold them all the items they requested for 95% off. 70" tvs, ipads, gaming laptops whatever they requested."
– Midnights606
Surreptitious Swap
"Years ago I worked for a wealthy dude who was married to someone semi-famous. He would waltz in every morning and talk about the fantastic dinner he had the night before, how he hung out with some other famous person or whatever else."
"He paid me peanuts. I had a hard time making ends meet."
"I was the office assistant and IT guy. So it comes time to get a new computer for one of the designers. I spec something out, and show it to him. It was a ripper of a machine for the time (early 2000s). But it wasn’t expensive enough for bossman."
"So I added a really high end graphics card. Boss was happy then. The card added nothing for the designer: they only did illustrator and photoshop."
"So I came in that weekend and swapped the graphics card for my aging one from home."
"No one ever knew. Or cared. And I got a new graphics card."
– Dudeinairport
When times are tough, people had to do what it took to survive.
T.P. Crisis
"In college I was so poor I would steal toilet paper from the supply closet in our major building."
– Business_Loquat5658
Hungry College Buddy
"I stood watch for a college friend who was going hungry because he’d been disowned and his roommates had made living with him intolerable after he came out."
"I was loosely affiliated with an off campus program with local churches that gave free student dinners on Thursdays. We would go to church to eat, then bring dishes into the kitchen."
"Anyway, he would go in there and steal stuff like peanut butter, literal bread (not an allegory), granola bars etc. while I watched out for the pastor."
"Eventually we both got caught, the pastor for the college students got a bit mad because he was responsible for us while we were there to eat. And I think it was offensive on some level to steal from church. But then he saw what my friend was taking, and asked him if he had enough to eat. My friend shamefacedly said no, not usually."
“'Okay, fine. Put the food back, and come with me.' Took my friend grocery shopping instead, got him connected with the food pantry and community garden at church instead."
– SchnarchendeSchwein
Based on these examples, people didn't twice about their actions in the heat of the moment.
Within reason, we all gotta somehow get by.
But do you think their actions deserve punishment?
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When a person sees someone they care about going through a struggle or crisis, their instinct is to uplift them with positive advice.
But sometimes, the wisdom imparted by friends isn't always helpful or relevant to the situation.
Curious to hear from strangers online who could do without specific knowledge, Redditor Saibotnl1 asked:
"What life advice can just f'k off?"

These Redditors have a problem with how certain people have on outlook on life.
Time To Rest
"Sleep when you’re dead."
"Cool, but you’re going to be dead a lot sooner."
– Tag2graff
Irrelevant Sadness
"People have it so much worse than you so don’t be sad!"
– notrachelmar
"To that I like to say, 'people have it so much better than you so don't be happy!'"
– ___jupiter____
Your Life Path
"Almost anything relating to what age you must be in order to buy a house, have children, marry, have a profession, or do anything else. Seriously, everyone's life is different from everyone else's. Make your life the way you want it to be. If you so desire. Up to you."
– Frn071
On The Contrary
“Cheaters never prosper”
"Yes, they f'king do."
– waqasnaseem07
People can get out of any situation they find displeasing.
But others feel people should just "stick it out."
Ignoring Bullies
"Just ignore bullys or get someone else to handle it for you. I have never seen this work, only makes it worse. The only effective way I've seen to deal with them is by not making yourself an easy target and make them scared to f'k with you again. If going psycho on their a** is the only thing they'll respond to that's their fault. Also want to add in schools they will punish you for self defense but that punishment is only sitting around a few hours in detention or sitting around at home with a suspension. The punishment is temporary boredom, it's absolutely nothing compared to being bullied and when it's over the important message will still stand that you will not tolerate being a victim."
– User Delted
Remain to be Miserable
"Stick it out"
"Whether that's sh**ty jobs, shi**y relationships, shi**y living situations..."
"By all means don't just give up on things when you face challenges, but if something feels wrong or is wrecking your peace then take some control and change it if you can!"
– petitezoey
"Easy for you to say," might be an auto-response to these suggestions for many people.
Invitation For Recklesslessness
"Live like everyday was your last"
Yall know what people do when they learn they have a single day left to live?"
– LimeGrass619
A Possible Consequence
"I did that as a teenager and ended up homeless and addicted to heroin. Didn’t pan out for me too well."
"19 years sober though today."
– Open-Section-7263
A Practical Approach
"If I knew with certainty that I had one day left, I'd double-check all my financials, my will, and my insurance policies, make sure my wife had all of my passwords and knew where all the money was, spend the rest of the day with her and the kids, then call the medical examiner and ask to lie down on the gurney so that when I die they won't strain their back moving my remains out of my house."
– Asteriad
Nose Stuck In A Book
"Work while they sleep. Study while they party"
"That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for a lot of white hairs, burnout syndrome and a stroke before your 40s..."
– Khomuna
Doesn't Apply To Everyone
"Do what you love and money will follow"
"I love walking my dogs and grilling food for my friends but That sh*t doesn't pay the bills as well as my engineering degree!"
– Elons_android
While people's intentions are good, they're better off keeping their two cents in their own pockets.
Not everyone likes to hear platitudes.
Sometimes, people just want to know they're not alone with their problems over listening to unlikely solutions that are nothing more than superficial pick-me-ups.
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Kids start going to school from the age of five, and for the most part, they spend more time at school than at home. Because of that, teachers can become very important figures in the lives of their students.
Some students don't have the best home lives. Some keep it to themselves, but others confide in their teachers.
Curious about various situations, Redditor Delicious_Mastodon83 asked:
"teachers of reddit what is the saddest thing you found out about a student?"
In Need of Parents
"Not a teacher but was a school-based therapist. Had a student (7 -8 y/o) I didn’t know knock on my office door and ask if I’d adopt her and “if you have room, my brother too, but if not, that’s ok, we can be split up. We’re split up now. And I don’t take up space. I just need a sleeping bag”. Broke my heart."
– secretkpr
Heartbreaking, But Industrious
"My mom taught at a school in a bad neighborhood in Chicago in the mid 90’s. There was a second grader that would save his milk and ketchup packers from lunch for his mom so she had something to eat when she got home from work."
– PowerstrokeMe
Big-Hearted Mom
"Not a teacher but a parent with a 9 year old son. Every day I pack extra in my sons lunch because he tells me he has a friend that never has anything to eat. It's winter and my son came home and told me his friend was turning up with shorts and shirt and holes in his shoes. So I sent in a jumper and long pants for him to wear and some slightly used but good condition shoes. I have been up to the school recently and the teacher pulled me aside and thanked me profusely for helping this child. Apparently teachers are not allowed to aid kids they teach here in Australia and they have already reported the issue 3 times to child welfare without results so I was the only one helping this child. The teacher told me before I started sending in more food and clothes, this child would steal others food from their lunches and look through the bins because he was so hungry. They doubt he gets fed at home. So now I make sure to always send an extra lunch and some school clothes/supplies when I can. I can only hope child welfare eventually does something but it breaks my heart."
– spetzie55
Amazing Big Sister
"It was right after winter break and before class started I was just talking with some students and asked if they got anything fun for the holidays. One girl said on no, I don’t ever get presents, my mom is a drug addict. But I went out and got some stuff for my little sister so that she can have a real Christmas."
"She just said it so matter-of-fact. She was so used to being the parent to her little sister that she didn’t even care about her own childhood. It totally broke my heart."
– tonydanzascaulk
The Importance Of Human Affection
"Second hand story from my mom, elementary teacher for 30ish years. She had a hug or a handshake out the door policy, just some small contact and a proper goodbye, and had this young boy who always picked the hug. She wondered why he always went for it, most kids would go back and forth depending on their mood that day, so she asked him why he was always so excited for the end of day hug? His answer, "It's the only one I ever get.""
– needsawholecroissant
Coming Out The Other Side
"Two teenage boys (16/14) with learning disabilities were on my caseload, they never missed school but often ditched class. They were homeless mid-year after they went home from school to find the locks changed, their Mom had abandoned them for a new boyfriend. She didn't leave an address for them to find her."
"*Edit: both eventually dropped out, however a couple of years later the younger brother came back to visit. He and his brother were both working construction, and his brother had gotten married, had a child, and was living with his wife’s family."
"The younger had roommates and was saving for a car. He told me it was a shame I didn’t have kids, because I would make a good Dad."
"People often persevere, even with the odds stacked against them."
– Kursch50
True Parentification
"Not me but my daughter is a teacher, she has lots of stories but one that stands out for me is one of her kindergarten kids saying she was tired and her asking why, the little girl explained that she had been up all night with her mums newborn baby. She did this every night, fed her bottles and everything."
– lb47513343
Luckily, He Was Resilient
"This year I had a 17 year old kid enroll at my school. He was sitting in my math class and I could tell he was struggling. After class I took some extra time to go over a concept with him. I asked him to read the question to me, and he sat there silently. He then looked at me and said “I’m not going to lie to you, I cannot read. I have no idea how to say these words""
"Turned out at age 17 he was illiterate and had been kept out of school by his very religious, controlling parents. Over the past few months he has worked very hard! Now he can finally read at an 8th grade level and he is STILL improving!!"
– User Deleted
A Heroic Teacher
"I worked in an inner city charter school. One of my students (`M10) had a sib (M8) in a lower grade. The mom was there every day in the beginning of the year encouraging them, helping them and generally being very supportive... until a CPS agent spoke to me asking about her behavior. After CPS left things went downhill. The boys showed up late to class even though they lived a half block away from school. When in school both boys were tired from sleeping in the car while their mom "went fishing". She also had two very young girls which she dragged around making the boys take care of them. One day the boys didn't show up and their teacher walked over to the house to find the mom had loaded up the fridge, paid the rent for the month and abandoned them. The teacher (a candidate for sainthood btw) took them in, adopted them and grew them up to be great men."
– mopedarmy
This is really heartbreaking stuff! Luckily, teachers aren't just another adult in your life; they can be your saving grace as well.
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TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains sensitive content about depression and mental health.
As the stigma around mental health lessens (however slowly), people are more forthcoming about the problems they are facing. One of the most common mental health issues is depression.
Depression can affect many different types of people. Factors such as gender, race, nationality, and even age have no bearing on whether someone suffers from depression or not.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, "...an estimated 3.8% of the population affected, including 5.0% among adults and 5.7% among adults older than 60 years..."
Depression displays in certain patterns, such as mood changes, physical difficulties, and social isolation. However, depression manifests differently in different people and feels different to different people.
Reddit users divulged what depression felt like to them when Redditor iodineseaspray asked:
"What does depression feel like to you?"
Some of this is sure to sound familiar.
The Worst Kind Of Boredom
"Like being more bored than you could imagine but also not wanting to do anything at all, even breathe. So you want to do something, but you can't imagine anything that you would like to do so you're just sort of stuck."
– BuddhistSlater
"So you then spend literally hours staring at a blank wall hating yourself, your life, and everything around you. Well, as much hate as you can summon in the absolutely mentally numb state you find yourself sat in day after day."
– merryman1
Lack Of Motivation and Energy
"Complete lack of motivation."
"Ignoring people that I love, and who are trying to help."
"Just sh*t"
– HatFromStraw
"I feel it extra at work. Letting things slide until you either get into trouble or trying last minute to prevent it."
"Funny those times when I'm working to save my butt, the depression goes away and i feel super focused and motivated."
"I try to carry that energy over but no, it's rinse and repeat."
– ExtraBitterSpecial
Powerful Insecurity
"Insecure about absolutely everything, no hope for the future, dissociation from society and not knowing how to “act” anymore, feeling like I’m not as good at the things I always thought I was good at or that the “talent is wasted on me”, only food cheers me up and sometimes even that doesn’t work"
– tenamonth
Loss Of Creativity
"This. It's like some numb fuzziness you feel in your brain. It's the worst thing ever for an artist who just wants to create but your brain comes up dry with a dense fog that wants to just lie down for a few hours"
– FinnProtoyeen
A Mental Inability To Breathe
"For me, it feels like I’m in a lake with a ball chain tied to my feet, desperately swimming up for air, the only problem is the chain isn’t long enough. I can only get an inch of my head out of the water to breath, and as soon as a high tide comes, the water just floods over me and I feel like I can’t breath again. I live like this, constantly feeling like I’m struggling to breathe, weighed down by my own mind. It’s a struggle and I can’t really describe it in any other way, I’m jealous of people who don’t worry about depression"
– DrowningInBrokeness
"Like suffocating under a heavy cloak"
– kmartfreak
"Like being crushed. Like if the air was crushing my muscles and bones and I can’t breathe because I’m being crushed…"
"Kinda like that."
– Afreshnewsketckbook
Listlessness
"Scrolling thru your steam library. Thinking you want to play something, either not settling on anything or not wanting to put the effort into the game. Going back to the scrolling."
– Aistadar
"It feels like you're forced to play a game of Monopoly (represents life) and your just rolling the dice to appease everyone but you genuinely don't care about where you go, where you land, what you pick up, what you pay, what you gain."
"You kind of just watch it happen without interest and while people are cheering or oh no-ing for you, you genuinely don't care. Everyone is a piece on this board that hardly matters and you feel like we're all just running in a circle over and over again and it's boring and disinteresting as hell."
"You lose all curiosity for everything and just let everything happen and pass by you. No motivation, hardly any love, hardly any care. Feels like the world is in black and white and your waiting for the game to end became it's so absolutely boring and disinteresting, but it never does."
"You come to resent the game and eventually hate it because it feels like you're being forced to play it and suffer it's consequences when you never asked to play it in the first place."
"That's what depression felt like for me. Since then I've been medicated and recieved therapy. I'm doing a lot better now and I don't feel this way anymore, thankfully."
- KnlghtLlghts
A Relation To Fantasy
"You know that scene in the Lord of the Rings where Bilbo is describing to Galndalf what having the Ring all those years felt like? "I feel thin. Like too much jam spread over too much bread." That's honestly the best way I've seen to describe it."
– Electrical_Age_336
"I always say the closest thing to compare it to is a dementor in harry potter. It sucks every ounce of happiness out of you until there is only darkness left."
"Side note: chocolate always helps"
– sunfacer
Fear Of Lack Of Justification
"Like someone close to you died yesterday. Expect no one has, and nothing has happened to justify how you feel."
– AlterEdward
A Physical Pain
"Physical pain in my heart, will start crying just by attending to the physical sensation in my body."
– sagieday
Help Yourself
"I've always described it as having a shadow fixed to your brain which fuels things like indecision and negativity. You can do things to temporarily help but you can't truly shift it. Previous normality is forgotten. But it's amazing how much you can mask it."
"I found I didn't realise how bad I was until I started to get better"
"For anyone suffering with depression. Please, please speak to someone. Best thing I ever did"
– DavosLostFingers
Depression isn't something you can just deal with or get over. Learning to cope is not easy. However, as Redditor DavosLostFingers pointed out, talking to someone can literally save your life.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression, contact the American Psychological Association by phone at 800.374.2721 or 202.336.5500.
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