I'm just now realizing that the reason I get so upset when people don't text me back right away is that I always text back right away, but that's BECAUSE I HAVE OCD. Therefore my expectations are not "normal," and I need to put them in check. Sprinkle in a little BPD, which tells me that if someone doesn't text back right away, they therefore hate me and I have to tell them to fuck off before they have a chance to abandon me, and...shit. Being mentally ill is a lotta fucking work, man. ☹️

Hello! My name is John and I'm a 28 year old man searching for a woman interested in pursuing a longterm, romantic relationship where we're both fully committed and open to conceiving a child from day one. No condoms, no birth control, only rarely pulling out, sex daily, etc... I'd love to build a large family with traditional gender roles, especially if my future wife is a bit crazy about always trying to get pregnant 🥰. Bonus points if you want to approach the relationship a bit "recklessly", like two young lovers with zero thought of pregnancy, just full of lust and commitment to a life together (I have a thing for "accidental" pregnancies 😅🥵)
About Me:
I work full time as a nuclear engineer at a research reactor while also working on finishing my PhD. When I'm not working or studying, I enjoy reading, playing video games (Xbox, Switch, and PC), going out to the movies, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the outdoors. Personality-wise, I'm a bit of a dork tbh, in that goofy Dad kinda way (bad puns, caring, old fashioned, hawaiian shirts, etc...). If you're into Myer-Briggs, I'm and INTJ (and a Hufflepuff for those Harry Potter fans out there lol). I'm also Christian, so hopefully you are open to raising our family in the church.

Hello! My name is John and I'm a 28 year old man searching for a woman interested in pursuing a longterm, romantic relationship where we're both fully committed and open to conceiving a child from day one. No condoms, no birth control, only rarely pulling out, sex daily, etc... I'd love to build a large family with traditional gender roles, especially if my future wife is a bit crazy about always trying to get pregnant 🥰. Bonus points if you want to approach the relationship a bit "recklessly", like two young lovers with zero thought of pregnancy, just full of lust and commitment to a life together (I have a thing for "accidental" pregnancies 😅🥵)
About Me:
I work full time as a nuclear engineer at a research reactor while also working on finishing my PhD. When I'm not working or studying, I enjoy reading, playing video games (Xbox, Switch, and PC), going out to the movies, hanging out with friends, and enjoying the outdoors. Personality-wise, I'm a bit of a dork tbh, in that goofy Dad kinda way (bad puns, caring, old fashioned, hawaiian shirts, etc...). If you're into Myer-Briggs, I'm and INTJ (and a Hufflepuff for those Harry Potter fans out there lol). I'm also Christian, so hopefully you are open to raising our family in the church.

I hope you have a great weekend so far, it's always fun and rewarding to meet and make new friends in your life.
I am eager to learn new things and interact with new people, you can share everything in your life and I think I will be a good listener to discuss your views and problems with you, if there is something difficult or happy lately, you can tell me about it, I am looking forward to it.
Ok ...... Time difference is not a problem, I welcome friends from all over the country, we go from strangers to familiarity, that's the beauty of friendship.
I am an active and outgoing woman. Fishing, swimming, sports and traveling are my hobbies. I am the least good at cooking, but I believe I would like to cook delicious meals for you if you want. I also have a teddy, well at ...... I raised him to be a pig lol
If this looks like someone you'd like to meet, please message me and thanks for writing in!

Welcome to our blog, where we explore the complicated and sometimes misunderstood realm of anxiety. Anxiety has become an all too familiar companion for many people in a culture where stress and pressure appear to be ever-present. But exactly, what is anxiety? What effect does it have on us physically, emotionally, and mentally? Most importantly, how can we navigate its perilous waters and discover a route to serenity and happiness?
I want to uncover the complexities of anxiety in this blog, providing insights, knowledge, and practical solutions to help you understand and manage this difficult illness. Whether you have periodic attacks of anxiety or are looking for help for a loved one, we are here to give you with a caring and knowledgeable resource.
We'll look at the underlying causes of anxiety, bust myths, and throw light on the numerous sorts of anxiety disorders. We'll investigate the science of anxiety, looking at the physiological and psychological systems at work. We'll next go on a voyage of self-discovery, arming you with efficient coping skills, relaxation techniques, and mindfulness practices to help you recover control of your thoughts and emotions.
This site, however, is more than simply a source of information; it is a safe area in which we promote free debate and the sharing of personal stories. Anxiety may be lonely, but you'll find comfort in knowing that you're not alone in your troubles if you join our group. I’ll share stories of perseverance and accomplishment to encourage you to embark on your own recovery path.
My ultimate objective is to provide you with the skills and information you need to navigate the choppy waters of anxiety and live a fulfilled life. So come along with me as we start on this transforming journey, exploring the complexities of anxiety and discovering a route to tranquility and self-empowerment. Let's get started on our path to inner serenity and emotional well-being.\
​
Understanding Anxiety
​

• What is anxiety?

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.
People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, or a rapid heartbeat.
Anxiety is not the same as fear, but they are often used interchangeably. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.
In my own words, anxiety is something that we all could possibly experience. We may be experiencing it right now, but we don’t know that it’s actually anxiety and maybe we’re just nervous or rather, something else far more serious.
It is natural to feel anxious from time to time. People with anxiety disorders, on the other hand, usually experience strong, excessive, and persistent concern and terror about ordinary events. Anxiety disorders sometimes feature recurring bouts of acute anxiety, dread, or terror that reach a climax within minutes (panic attacks). Anxiety and panic disrupt everyday activities, are difficult to regulate, out of proportion to the real risk, and can linger for a long period. To escape unpleasant sensations, you may avoid locations or circumstances. Symptoms may appear in childhood or adolescence and persist throughout maturity.
Anxiety disorders are a collection of mental health illnesses characterized by emotions of dread, concern, and apprehension that are excessive and persistent. The following are only some of the several forms of anxiety disorders:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): You may have generalized anxiety disorder if you frequently worry for no apparent cause. GAD indicates that you are continually worried and unable to manage your worrying. GAD is diagnosed by healthcare experts when you worry on most days for at least 6 months. Worrying about your health, money, family, or work may be something you're so used to that you assume it's simply "how you are." While everyone worries about these things now and again, expecting the worse might make it difficult to live a regular life.

GAD symptoms might occur as a side effect of medication or drug usage. It may also be associated with medical diseases that elevate hormones, such as hyperthyroidism. This might cause the body to become more excitable. Family or environmental stress might set off the specified anxiety disorder. It can also be triggered by chronic sickness or disease.

1. Panic Disorder: Recurrent and sudden panic attacks describe panic disorder. Panic attacks are unexpected bouts of acute anxiety or discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, shaking, and a fear of losing control or dying. People suffering from panic disorder frequently live in terror of having another panic episode.

Panic attacks usually start quickly and without notice. They may happen at any time, whether you're driving, in the mall, asleep, or in the middle of a business meeting. You may get panic episodes on occasion or on a regular basis.

1. Social Anxiety Disorder: Social anxiety disorder is characterized by an acute fear of social interactions as well as a worry of being criticized or humiliated by others. People who suffer from social anxiety may avoid or experience considerable difficulty during social encounters. It can have a substantial influence on a person's ability to participate in daily activities or maintain relationships.

A person suffering from social anxiety disorder may have a mild, moderate, or severe case. Some persons with social anxiety only have symptoms in one sort of setting, such as eating in front of others or performing in front of others, but others have symptoms in numerous or all forms of social contact.

1. Specific Phobias: One of the primary criteria for identifying a phobia is that it is life-limiting in nature.2 Depending on the nature of your fear, you may find it difficult to do errands, go out with friends, or even make it to work every day. To put it another way, a certain phobia can have a huge impact on your education, profession, and general quality of life.

The out-of-control sensation is one of the most distressing emotional aspects of a phobia. You may recognize that your fear is unreasonable and/or overwhelming, yet no matter how hard you try, you are unable to overcome it. You are not alone if you imagine what your life would be like if you could just go about your everyday activities without fear of encountering that certain thing or event.

1. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): It is a mental disease in which you have recurring unwanted thoughts and feelings (obsessions) that lead you to conduct repetitive activities (compulsions). Repeated activities can drastically disrupt social relationships and everyday work. Obsessions are persistent, unwelcome, and intrusive thoughts that lead to repetitive behavioral or mental acts (compulsions) aimed at decreasing anxiety or averting a dreaded result. Obsessions and compulsions may drastically disrupt daily living.

Everyone has obsessions and compulsions at some time in their lives. It's normal to double-check the stove or the locks, for example. People also casually use the terms "obsessing" and "obsessed" in regular discussions. However, OCD is more severe. It can consume hours of a person's time. It interferes with daily life and activities. Obsessions in OCD are unwelcome, and persons with OCD dislike engaging in obsessive activities.

1. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD can develop because of seeing or experiencing a stressful incident. Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, and acute emotional discomfort are all symptoms. Individuals suffering from PTSD may also avoid reliving the event and exhibit hyperarousal symptoms such as anger, hypervigilance, and an increased startle reaction.

Symptoms may occur within one month of a stressful experience, but they may not appear until years afterwards. These symptoms produce substantial challenges in social or occupational settings, as well as in relationships. They can also impair your capacity to carry out your routine everyday responsibilities. There are four categories of PTSD symptoms: intrusive memories, avoidance, unfavorable changes in thought and attitude, and changes in physical and emotional reactions. Symptoms may change over time or from person to person.

1. Separation Anxiety Disorder: Separation anxiety disorder is most common in youngsters and is defined by extreme worry over being separated from parents or caregivers. When away from their attachment figures, children may suffer excessive concern, fear, or sadness and may display clinging behavior.

It is natural to feel anxious when away from security items and comfort zones. Around the age of three to four, social anxiety can become a significant issue. When separation anxiety becomes excessive and starts interfering with regular activities like going to school or work, it is conceivable that these natural fears have progressed into a clinical case of separation anxiety disorder.
Although, it’s crucial to remember that these are only some of the primary anxiety disorders; people might have numerous anxiety disorders at the same time or have symptoms that don't fit neatly into one category. A skilled mental health practitioner should make a correct diagnosis and treatment strategy.
​

• How does anxiety affect our mind and body?

Anxiety is both a mental and physical state of negative anticipation, marked by heightened alertness and negative expectations compounded into concern and manifested physically by the activation of many body systems, all to aid in coping with an unknown or bad scenario.
It is a defensive state ruled over by fear nerve circuits and triggered by misinterpretation or overestimation of threats from the environment, the interior world of the body, or the inner world of cognition. Anxiety is a normal reaction to danger, and the discomfort it causes is intended to draw attention and motivate a defensive response. Too frequently, however, the anxiety is excessive, prolonged, or inappropriate to what triggered it, and it interferes with daily functioning—or puts in motion maladaptive behaviors, ranging from avoidance of threat-generating circumstances to drug use, to alleviate the pain of worry.
Scientifically speaking, When the amygdala recognizes incoming information as a threat—or, due to hyperreactivity, rushes to that conclusion even when there is no threat—it emits an alarm, alerting many other parts of the brain to prepare for protective action. It acts as though your life is in danger. The signal is relayed neural and hormonally by the hypothalamus, triggering the stress reaction. The heart rate rises. The heart rate increases. Breathing becomes more rapid. Areas of the brain stem activate, putting you on high alert and attentiveness. The hippocampus, or memory center, uses prior experience to try to contextualize the nature of the threat. The prefrontal cortex, which receives all of the information needed to make a coherent interpretation of events and orchestrate an appropriate behavioral response, has the ability to reduce or enhance the perception of threat and degree of discomfort. The amygdala effectively overpowers the prefrontal cortex in the anxious brain, whether due to overexcitability of the stress response system, activity of different neurochemicals, abnormalities in nerve circuitry, or inactivation of certain cell populations in the prefrontal cortex. (Psychology Today 2023).
​

• What are the coping strategies for daily life?

Every individual has their own different types of ways on how to deal of this disorder whenever it strikes. I would like to share to all my fellow readers some ways of how I cope up with my anxiety and other people’s ideas that I found based on the internet.

1. Question your thought pattern
   
2. Practice deep breathing
   
3. Keep a journal
   
4. Aromatherapy
   
5. Exercising/Working out
   
6. Grounding Techniques
   
7. Identify your triggers
   
8. Therapy
   
9. Meditate
   
10. Socialize
    
11. Staying active
    
12. Eating correctly/Healthy Diet
    

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• Creating a Supportive Community

An open conversation about anxiety experiences is critical for establishing understanding, empathy, and support among individuals. Anxiety is a widespread mental health illness that affects millions of people worldwide, and talking about our experiences may help break down the stigma associated with it and bring comfort to those who are experiencing similar difficulties. Remember that open conversation about anxiety should always promote sensitivity, respect, and secrecy. It is critical to establish an environment in which people feel secure and supported as they share their tales and problems.
To summarize, anxiety is a difficult and complex feeling that affects millions of individuals globally. It might feel overpowering and suffocating, but keep in mind that you are not alone. There are excellent coping methods and tools available to assist you in overcoming anxiety and regaining control of your life.
First and foremost, self-care is critical in anxiety management. Taking care of your physical health by exercising frequently, eating healthily, and sleeping sufficiently may have a big influence on your mental health. Additionally, adopting relaxation techniques into your daily routine, such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga, can help reduce tension and anxiety.
It is also critical to establish a support network. Reach out to friends, relatives, or a therapist who can listen and provide advice. Sharing your thoughts and feelings with others might provide relief and help you gain perspective.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a highly effective anxiety treatment. It focuses on detecting and changing negative thought patterns with more positive and realistic ones. Seeking expert assistance from a CBT therapist can equip you with the tools and techniques you need to combat anxious thoughts and create coping mechanisms.
Remember to be patient and nice to yourself while you recuperate. It takes time to overcome worry, and setbacks are a normal part of the process. Celebrate your modest triumphs and recognize your progress, no matter how minor. Self-compassion is important, as is reminding yourself that you are trying your best.
Finally, never be afraid to seek assistance when you need it. Consult a mental health expert if your anxiety becomes unbearable or interferes with your everyday life. They can give individualized advice and strategies to help you manage your anxiety successfully.
You may live a full life free of anxiety by actively working on your anxiety and applying healthy coping techniques. Remember that you have the ability to overcome worry and build a more promising future for yourself. Believe in your own power, seek help, and enjoy the healing process.
Remember that you are not alone in this world, whether you’re healing or healed, you will always be supported. I stand with you!

Throwaway because she uses Reddit. Sorry for any mistakes. This is my first time writing on a phone
For context. I met her when I was 19 and she was 18. At the start i really liked her and we became very close. After a month i confessed my feelings and she said she didn't feel a spark and only sees me as a close friend. What I usually do is tell them " Its oke. I will need a little space so I can be alone and get my feelings straight" then usually after a month, I'm good and start viewing them as nothing more than a friend and I did the same with her.
We continued our friendship and she got into relationships and I didn't feel any jealousy, but every time a girl tries to come close to me or gives me a compliment, she acts like the jealous girlfriend and makes them give up. I warned her about this and said I would end the friendship if she continues and it was like she got the hint.
After a month I got into a relationship but I still sense the Jealousy she had for my ex girlfriend. The relationship between me and my ex girlfriend ended on good terms cause she was going abroad to study and we both didnt want a long distance relationship. My friends relationship ended badly because he cheated on her and I helped her trough it like a friend should. Being her comfort and a shoulder to cry on. In my mind I wasn't looking for a relationship and just wanted to focus on myself.
Fast forward to last night and we were at a party just having fun. One of her friends said we looked perfect together. I said nothing cause she always jokes like that. When the party was over she was very drunk and said she didnt want to go home alone. So I drove her to my place where she could use the spare room I had.
When I was in the living room she joined me and rested her hand on my thigh and her head on my shoulder. I thought nothing of it because she usually does that until she started moving her hand up and down my thigh. I asked he what she was doing and then pulled me in for a kiss. After 5 seconds I pulled away asking what she was doing. She was mad yelling me if she isn't beautiful enough for me or if I dislike her. I told her that she is drunk and not in the right state of mind to be doing something like this. She started crying, I consoled her and hugged her till she fell asleep and I brought her to the spare room to rest.
I woke up early and made her some breakfast and left a note beside the bed, that I made her breakfast and left early for work. Now I'm at work, very confused about what happend last night and I dont know what to tell her. Knowing her, she will eventually send me a text that we need to talk. I'm very confused and I dont know what to do.
TLDR: My close friend of 6 years made a move on me and i dont know what to do.

So this is an update on how I accidentally killed a ghost. If you want to know how I accidentally killed a ghost, you can find the story here: [https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/13zet02/help\_i\_accidently\_killed\_a\_ghost\_and\_i\_dont\_know/\].
Around 30 minutes after I made the original post, my coworker, Sunny, came down the basement stairs. Her mouth was agape as she saw the lifeless body of the ghost woman lying near the foot of the stairs. Her head had stopped bleeding the inky liquid, but her eyes were now a milky white color.
She stared at the horrific display before looking back up at me. I thought she would have been freaking out, seeing a dead woman on the floor, but her expression was more of dismay. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. "What happened?"
The coherent thoughts in my head that would have clarified everything came out as a jumbled mess from my mouth. "I-I was watching the tapes and sorting, and there were only two tapes left, so..." My rambly explanation was cut short by her accusatory shout, "So you watched the tape with the red strip!"
The conviction in her voice made my heart sink. I retorted as quickly as she had cut me off, "No! I said there were only two tapes. Of course, I would choose the one that I had to watch and not the one I wasn't supposed to!"
Sunny was taken aback by what I said. "So you're telling me the tape without the red strip caused this?"
"Yes! For crying out loud, she climbed out of the TV!" My voice cracked a bit after I finished my sentence.
Sunny breathed out a deep sigh and walked down the remaining steps, taking extra caution not to step into the black puddle of blood. She seemed to be investigating the scene, looking at the water that spilled out of the TV and ran down the TV cart.
"Where are her footprints?" the question caught me off guard.
"It dried up," I answered.
"In under 5 minutes?"
I stared at her, baffled. "What do you mean? I've been waiting for you for like an hour and a half."
"What? But I ran all the way here. 5 minutes," the sincerity in her voice was undeniable.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the time displayed. "See, it's 7:30. I called you at 6:30. Where were you at that time?" I spoke while raising my phone up to her.
Sunny's eyes started to widen as she raised her arm, pulling back the sleeve to reveal a very fancy-looking wristwatch. "The time is six past six," her voice quivered. I walked over to also look at her watch, and she was right. The time on her watch was six past six, six minutes past six o'clock. We both looked at each other in utter shock.
Behind us, we heard the sound of a loud static eruption. Both of our heads turned in sync to look at the television set where we heard the loud bang. The sight was captivating. I don't know how to describe it accurately, but the screen of the TV was overflowing with blue static, like smoke pouring out and floating up to the ceiling.
I found myself walking over to the television set and decided to see if I could stick my hand in. I have no idea why I thought of this idea, but I did. Astoundingly, my hand went through the TV. It felt cold and wet, with the sensation of bubbles clinging to my arm, as if I had stuck my hand into a large bucket of club soda. I pulled my hand out, drenched in the bluish water. I looked back at Sunny and saw that we were both thinking the same thing.
Now, if you had told me that I would be dragging the body of a ghost woman across a basement to force through a TV that looked like a portal to a watery dimension, I would have laughed and slapped you across the face. But, with the help of Sunny, we successfully dragged the corpse all the way to the television. Now came the part of dumping her body into the TV portal. We managed to get her head into the TV and were busy trying to maneuver her shoulder in as well.
We took a break when half of her torso was in the TV portal, only showing her backside. Pushing a fully-grown woman into a box TV-sized portal proved really tiring. After the break, we went back to work. Only this time, the ghost woman's hand twitched. I yelped as I saw her index finger slightly curl, and Sunny let out a bunch of startled curses.
Our screams grew as we saw the ghost start to reanimate. Her hand curled into fists, violently swinging as her legs kicked. Her ear-piercing wails came back full force, as if her skull being cracked on a bunch of stairs had merely paused it.
Now, for the second and hopefully final time, I acted out of sheer panic. I ran up to the television, grabbed her legs, and shoved her deeper into the TV portal. She beat my chest with her kicks and made my ears ring with her blood-curdling screeches, but I refused to let up. I finally got her all the way through the TV as quickly as humanly possible. I yanked the cords linking the TV to the VHS player. Finally, her wails were cut short as the TV showed static.
For good measure, I also took the VHS out of the player and tossed it back into the box. I looked back at Sunny, who remained frozen, her hand covering her mouth as her eyes widened. For a long while, she imitated a statue. She finally spoke after a while, "Hey, um..."
"Yeah?" I said, perking my ears.
"We're not gonna say anything, right?"
"I wasn't planning on it."
She returned to her animated state, and we both walked out of the basement, climbing the stairs. "Are we gonna clean up the blood?" I asked from behind.
"I'll do it later tonight. But how did you kick a ghost?"
"I don't know. I either have a superpower, or it was just a really shitty ghost."
Sunny chuckled at the remark as we left the basement, now entering the warehouse. She stopped before turning around and flashing the light almost in my eyes. "Um... Are you gonna quit?" the question was a bit out of the blue but considering what happened, probably not totally unexpected.
"Maybe. I mean, other than what just happened today, this job is pretty sweet," my response seemed to ease her as she gave a light smirk. I then asked her, "You gonna quit?" She immediately retorted, "Oh god no. Where else would I go, retail?" I laughed at her response to my question, and we walked back to the front of the store. The manager saw me appear and walked down to greet me.
"Hello, new employee. How was your shift as an archivist?" The manager flashed his perfect row of teeth and smirked at me. "It went well," I responded, a bit nervous.
"Good, good. Did you watch all the VHS tapes as required?"
"Yes, sir, but there was one with a red strip that I didn't watch."
"Oh, yes, how fantastic. Now..." the manager pulled something out of his pocket, still maintaining eye contact. "Here is your bonus. Spend it on something good." He gave me a light slap on the shoulder before walking back to his office.
I looked down at the $20 bill in my hand. All that for $20. I can at least buy a couple of tubs of ice cream with this money. I grabbed my things and left the store, saying goodbye to Sunny as I walked out.
I am now typing this story in the comfort of my apartment, also with a half tub of ice cream on my lap. This might be my last post; I'm not really sure. I mean, some interesting things are bound to happen if I take the night shift, right?

sorry for being late and have a good life I didn't knowed about you I learned about fnaf when I was watching monster school Then I didn't thought there would be something like this but I still searched the name fnaf and saw a big fandom I was like what is this but then I started watching the video I love horror games I get addicted to it and I became a big fan of this game it's sad to see your leaving because you are the main person in fnaf series but I can't stop you you are not a bad person and you inspired me and many others like me the original fnaf spooked me when I was just started watching and still it spooked me I am sad and many others like me to see you leaving but we can't stop you because it's your life not ours live a long life and always be the name of the king of fnaf but I and others are sad 😭😭😭😭😭😭
THANKYOU FOR THIS SCOTT MISS YOU

I am a fairly mild mannered and some might say, gentle, person in real life. However, whenever I get behind the wheel of my car, I become a completely different person. Witnessing bad driving, especially when I'm one of the parties involved, really gets under my skin and I'll always make comments about the other driver.
Today while I was driving along the highway, a car on my left lane cut me off abruptly. I flashed my headlights at him (I tend to do this whenever I get cut off - bad habit, I know). When I met the same car at a merging lane later on, he did not give way to me although I was supposed to merge ahead of him. That really pissed me off. I could literally feel my heart pumping much faster. I did not chase him down but when our cars met again later on, I cut in front of him and when he changed lane, I cut in front of him once more and slowed down a lot. I would have gone even slower if I was alone.
What happened today kinda scared me though. I do not want to become that person - that person with the road rage. I grew up watching my mum road rage and I told myself I would never be like her.
What should I do?

My boyfriend and I have been together for over a year, but it doesn't really feel like it's been that long to me. We don't get a ton of quality time together between work/life. He works long hours/most Saturdays and also kids from his previous marriage that he gets most weekends, plus more time in the summer when they are out of school. I do not have any kids and to be honest I'm tired of feeling like I'm wasting my life waiting around for scraps of his time, especially when he cannot seem to even respect mine in return. I feel like I could be a lot more patient with the limited time if he just did this whenever we do have a chance to be together, but even those times he has a pattern of making me wait around/mostly coming over late in the evening when we both have to work early the next day.
Because of that and some other patterns/issues, we have been in a rough spot the past few months. I just think the life situations that have come up have shown me some of his true colors, and it's just not worth the extra headache on top of that from things like what happened on our last date. We finally had plans to spend some quality time together (not just him coming over late and us drinking/having sex) for the first time in weeks, and unfortunately that got squandered, but I don't think he sees it that way.
We were having a picnic dinner and he had to walk back a ways to use the restroom. His phone rang 5-10 times while he was gone, so I told him as soon as he got back of course. It ended up being his ex because one of their kids was misbehaving on an overnight school trip, and I could hear her crying about how she just doesn't know what to do. That is another pattern I have noticed where she calls him in tears, and seems to be overplaying the issue at hand to my boyfriend to get him to drop everything and coparent right there in that moment. (e.g. calling him at work in hysterics saying one kid was in the hospital and he needed to get there ASAP/not giving any details, him finding out upon arrival it's a sprained wrist that healed in a week).
My boyfriend spent quite a while on the phone with his ex, the principal, the teacher, one of the chaperones, his kid, and then his ex again. He texted her the outcome, but she called back to discuss further and he would not just tell her it was a bad time. Instead he started out pleasant/joking with her about the teacher's name and such, but then as she wanted to keep discussing their kid he got short and cold and was actually rude in getting off the phone with her. I could hear heher tone enough to know that she was confused and bothered, and it honestly reminded me of times with my ex who hid a lot of things from me with a similar tone. After this, we drove around a bit and he spent most of the time telling stories as we passed various houses in his hometown and trying to remember names of people from decades ago that I will never meet. When I would try to steer back to catching up on things we haven't talked about in weeks, he seemed annoyed at being interrupted and would go back to narrating the drive.
The big kicker was that at the end, he still expected me to say I had a great time. I understand that he couldn't help his kid getting in trouble but he always seems to struggle with apologizing for things/prefers to focus on it not being his fault. Instead of acknowledging at all that it was quite a big interruption and our food got cold in the meantime, he asked as if "those are the best [food] you've ever had, right?" and asked at the end of the night if I really had a nice time. He often seems to put me on the spot to have to say, "Actually no I did not" and forces positivity otherwise. I felt like if I was honest about not having a great time, it would become a matter of him insisting it wasn't his fault, and it would make it seem like I'm just unsupportive of his kids coming first. And that's not even touching the other issue of being uncomfortable with his/his ex's dynamic. We also had recently had a discussion about how I would rather not get attached to his kids when I know my opinion on anything related to them will never truly matter. Basically, it's hard to watch these two try to coparent and--from my perspective--forget that their kids are going through their drama with them; I know I will overexert myself trying to pick up the slack if I get too close.
TL;DR: Boyfriend still seems to be under his ex's thumb to a point as she seems to take advantage of his obligation/desire to be a good coparent. In general he doesn't respect my time very much but with that added factor it may be too much. How to know the difference between the reality of being with someone with kids/an ex wife and too much drama/baggage?

I recently made a new friend that’s invited my partner and I over for dinner a couple of times. Her home is very well suited for it, big backyard, grill, etc. we always bring dessert and ask if there’s anything else we can bring, I’ve also suggested multiple times to help pay for groceries.
I want to reciprocate in some way but not sure how? Our house isn’t really suited for hosting (we don’t even having a dining table right now). Is there anything more we should or could do?

TW: Eating habits, parents fighting, body issues, etc.
I've been dealing with these thoughts for a couple of months now. Since I'm in my final year of high school, there's a lot of pressure on me and it's making me feel useless af.
There are three teachers who are expecting centums (100/100) from me, and my father who's expecting me to get into the top of the top universities. It's so easy for them to say, "Oh and I'm expecting a 100/100 from ____." But they don't realize the pressure I'm putting on my head every time I hear them say that.
Especially after my elder sibling messed up their entrance exam and probably not going to get into a good college, the pressure is now on my head so as to not 'disappoint' my father as he said to me one day. I told him once, just one time, about a university that I thought I could get into and that man hasn't let it go since. Also for him, anything below 95% is a failure. (For context, I got 96% in 11th grade and he wasn't much happy about it even when I told him my sickness fucked up my score in two subjects.)
I am constantly comparing myself to everyone and finally cried after over 6 months of not crying just because I was tired of feeling not enough. None of my friends offer help, because they are my 'competitors' and speaking about this. Half of my friendships have gradually come to a standstill because of this competitive behavior where we constantly ask each other about our marks and about universities.
My eating habits have also worsened, I just don't feel pretty like all the other people in my class, and coupled with all the stress, I don't want to eat and when I do, I'm constantly thinking about what would happen if I gained weight. All the other girls in my class have pretty collarbones and thin waists and while I'm not overweight by any means, I feel that if I just lost those extra 2-3 kgs, then I'd be pretty as well.
I got off social media because I felt that it would help me to focus on my work but it hasn't, instead, I just feel a shit ton of FOMO and feel disconnected. I've lost touch with all the online friends I made just because I feel too shitty and don't want to put this negative aura in our texts.
Hearing my parents fight or my sibling fight with my parents makes my heart rate go crazy and all the shouting that starts from 8 in the morning till probably 1 the next morning is so, so annoying. When it's between my parents, I hope to freaking god that it doesn't become physical. Hearing my mom vent to me about her problems with my father makes me feel terrible and it's always the same thing, about divorce or her complaining about him. Even though I've told her not to tell me this stuff, she still does because according to her, I'm her only outlet (which is not true as she talks about this with her parents and friends often).
I sometimes wake up at night feeling like I'm having a panic attack as even in my dreams, it's always about university admissions and I'm so sick of this irrational fear and anxiety about what's going to happen in the future. I wish I could escape all this shit and just go to the future and be done with it.
I hate, hate, hate not knowing how my future is going to play out and I hate myself even more every day.
I just want to feel enough and have someone say they are proud of me and that I'll make it. I've been trying, I really have and I just want to know that there's hope.
(P.S. I know I sound like an angsty teenager with stupid problems but it is what it is, just thought that venting this out loud would help. Also, not adding a TL;DR because I don't know how to sum up this word vomit.)

As a child of the 90s, I have vivid memories of my mom's unique way of acknowledging VW Bugs on the road. Instead of a simple gesture, she would playfully tap my arm and excitedly shout, "SLUGBUG!" It was like our own little game, and it always brought a smile to my face.
Looking back, I can't help but wonder if my mom had created her own special tradition or if other kids from the 80s and 90s experienced something similar. Were there other parents out there, cruising along while blasting Meatloaf tunes, who would engage in this harmless and quirky activity?

38yo mom with a 4yo son and pregnant with our second.
Raising a kid takes 110% of my mental capacity. I’m exhausted all the time. I just want a break. I am responsible for every second of his life, and taking time for myself feels selfish. It feels like every little thing I do has a cause and effect. I got mad at him this morning because he won’t put away his toys, so he acted up in swim class.
I’ve been depressed my whole life. I’m pregnant, and I’ve had to get off Vyvanse and decreased usage of Valium (all under a reproductive psychiatrist). I’m so, so tired.
There is also a blockage in my brain that won’t let me stop thinking I’m a bad mom. Objectively, I’m probably not. My kid is happy and loved. Yet I always feel like I’m not doing enough.
Is parenting ever going to click one day and feel natural? I don’t even know if I can honestly say I’m trying my best. It feels like I’m always just barely keeping my head above water.

I’ve been sick for a couple years, but really badly the last year almost a year. I’ve lost 30 pounds, left work, lost half of my hair, I’m always in pain, get brutal skin flare ups, nerve pain, numbness, vision loss, yada yada. I’m only 31 and it’s just taking every ounce of freedom I had.
While I save money to be able to see a specialist and get an MRI, I’ve made the mistake of checking out subreddits of the illnesses that have been mentioned to me. Last doctor thinks something autoimmune like Lupus, current front runner suspicion from current Dr. is something demyelinating like MS, OBGYN friend thinks something caused by spirochete Bacteria, Lyme being an example that we ruled out. Every one of those things I just listed are notoriously difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are all over the place and no one case looks like another. Each of them tend to mimic each other in a few ways as well.
All of these subreddits have a pinned weekly seeking diagnosis thread called something like “Is this [Insert illness here]?”. Like an idiot, I thought this was meant to be an opportunity to get feedback and cross reference other peoples symptoms to see if anything strikes a chord with someone who can shed a light, tell tell you what questions to ask your doctor, etc.. All I’m doing is killing time right now, so why the fuck not right make a quick post? I’m not banking on medical advice from Reddit, and I keep an open mind every possibility. Fuck, I’ll see a psychiatrist if no one can ever figure this out to see if it’s all in my head. I’m all ears at this point.
When you post on the seeking diagnosis threads nearly every response might as well a veiled version of “you silly little bitch, I bet you’re walking around with fingernails, and your eyeballs haven’t turned purple yet, and your seventh 7th toe from the left isn’t sentient yet, how dare you post here? Unless you crave pastrami sandwiches every third Wednesday of the month you do NOT have (VDD) Very Devastating Disease.”
MOST people who are active are so hell-bent on being the only one in the world suffering from anything and love treating anybody who hasn’t been diagnosed with the condition like a fucking idiot for using their non-diseased fingies to type out these lies in order to join the ever so desired, but elite community of people with… DEBILITATING FUCKING DISEASES. They make a career out of being professional victims and spend way too much time either posting about how sick they are, or how not sick someone else is. This is the majority of active (being the key word) users, obviously not everyone.
Congratulations, you have Lupus, that sucks. Sure hope I don’t. But you absolutely should not be running around telling people, a lot of them confused, frightened, and with poor access to healthcare, that they without a doubt do NOT have said illness. It’s mind blowing. It’s fine to say “this doesn’t really look VDD to me”, it’s completely different to come at someone with attitude, gaslighting them, and going into painstaking, made up detail as to why you not craving kimchi right after you fart makes you a monster for even considering posting on their precious thread.
It sucks to be so sick, I get it. But you know what sucks more wanna Doogie Howser with your degree from LiveLaughLove university? Not getting any kind of treatment because no one has figured out why you’re sick yet. There’s always people out there who are going through a hell of a lot more than you, and I sure as shit don’t claim to be the sickest girl at the party. I hope to God I don’t have something serious, least of all MS, because they are truly terrible conditions to live with. I’ve watched 2 very close loved ones slowly lose their humor, spirit, dignity - the very essence of who they once were, and ultimately their lives to things like MS and Myocarditis before we made major strides in keeping people with those things alive. Do you seriously want to hoarde some thing like that? Having shitty genes or getting bit by a tick doesn’t make you a doctor, or better than anyone. Maybe you got a little dose of sympathy from people in your life when you first told them and it felt good so you just couldn’t stop? Whatever it is, it’s lame, and dangerous for the people who actually get there medical advice from Reddit.
If you take offense to this cause you’re one of these clowns - scram Tricia or Jerry or whatever the fuck your Reader’s Digest loving name is. Unclip your Walmart Readers and kick up your compression sock wearing, sentient toe having feet. I bet you think the Good Doctor is a good show. Kindly stop and I hope you feel better.

So, question is in the title. Like, if I head in to a regular shop, or bought online... Am I raising eyebrows by buying these items in bulk? If so, how much do you think is suspicious? How much can I just pretend I have several ill horses and just love Jamaican dumplings?
I'm in the UK, so I think our culture is less turned on to this sort of thing than USA, but not sure if I'm being paranoid or not!

One Piece might possibly be the most overrated shounen series of all time, and Oda is a bad writer.
First off, the plot. The plot in One Piece is incredibly formulaic. Most of the arcs have the exact same structure to them. Go to an island, meet allies, split up, find out that the island is either being terrorized by a bad guy, or it's about to be taken over by a bad guy. Then, the straw hats have to battle against the bad guys. After saving the day, they feast and proceed to the following island, where the same thing occurs. The entire stretch from the Sabaody Archipelago to Marineford is the only part of this series where the plot deviates from this same formula. Other than that, most arcs adhere to the same pattern. The plot is largely devoid of any originality.
A few arcs in the series have little to no relevance on the overall story, and do little to help the Straw Hats accomplish their goals. Skypiea was almost completely filler, aside from the last part where it's revealed that Gold Roger went up there. The entire conflict with Enels regime and the Shandians was completely filler. Same thing with Fishman Island. The New Fishman Pirates are fodder filler characters, and the entire conflict revolving around them had zero relevance to the story. Given that they aren't even significant characters in the One Piece world, the Straw Hats defeating them didn't progress the story whatsoever. The arc had some relevant parts to it, but the conflict revolving the New Fishman Pirates was not one of them. Long Ring Long Land is another irrelevant arc, but that's not even worth talking about. There are probably more than 100 chapters/episodes in all three of these arcs combined. That many chapters with little to none story progression.
Now onto my second reason as to why One Piece sucks. It's terribly cliche and shallow. People frequently criticize Fairy Tail for having the power of friendship, however One Piece does the exact same thing. One Piece has an excessive quantity of plot armor and friendship power-ups. In some cases, the author writes himself into a corner and is forced to resort to deus ex machina to correct his error. For example, the end of the Enies Lobby arc. Even though it was previously established that the Going Merry cant set sail anymore, they somehow got saved by it during a buster call. Even though the Aqua Laguna was happening. Even though a random pirate ship shouldn't be able to sail directly towards one of the three world government powerhouses. This, as well as other comparable events frequently occur in One Piece.
The conflicts in One Piece are very superficial and cliche. Most of the villains are only evil for the sake of being evil. They pursue things like power and influence, which is quite stereotypical and generic. The conflict is extremely straightforward, as well as black and white. Once you can identify an antagonist as pure evil with no justifications for why he does what he does, that throws any hope of ethical complexity out the window. There is no sort of clashing of ideals in One Piece, and the characters are never placed into any sort of ethical dilemmas. Again, the conflicts are very straightforward, black & white. One side is objectively good, while the other is objectively bad. Because of the lack of ethical complexity, the character dynamic between Luffy and pretty much every villain is relatively simplistic and generic. This is very evident based on the lack of complex dialogue in the series. Why do you think the only thing Luffy said during Alabasta is "I'm gonna kick Crocodile's ass". Again, if there's no sort of ethical complexity then there's also no room for a clashing of ideals. At least Naruto and Bleach had some sort of ethical complexity regrading Byakuya Kuchigi and Pain. The ethical complexity lead to an ideological clash between Ichigo & Byakuya, as well as Naruto & Pain. One Piece has none of that. Ethical complexity is also a great way to develop characters, and force them to think more deeply/self reflect. Constantly putting characters in black and white conflicts is one of the main reasons the characters in One Piece never develop.
Next up, the characters. This is probably the worst aspect of this story. Lets take Luffy for starters. Zero character development whatsoever. He has no introspection. He has no psychological or ethical complexity. He has no internal characterization. He has no internal dialogue. Writing a manga for 26 years and not giving a single thought to character development is shockingly sad. Overall, I find Luffy to be an incredibly boring character. Besides all of the problems I just mentioned, he has one aspect about him that I absolutely despise. Almost every conflict he gets embroiled in has complexities that he is completely unaware of. He only gets engaged in conflicts when his friends are hurt, which is extremely superficial and cliche. In certain situations, even minor characters are more relevant to the conflict than him (Waiper, Vivi). I find it very weird how the protagonist, the most important character in the story, barely has any sort of connection to the conflicts of the story. He was inside the stomach of a snake most of the Skypiea arc, not understanding any of the nuances of the deep conflict surrounding him. His importance in the conflict is minor or sometimes even non-existent until his final battles, and most of the villains he fights have no idea who he is, or don't know much about him. Because neither of them knows much about the other, this results in a rather uninteresting protagonist/antagonist character dynamic. However, even if Luffy understood the nuances of the conflicts he's involved in, not even that would make him more interesting. This is due to the earlier statement I made about how the conflicts are quite simplistic, clear-cut, and devoid of any ethical complexity. As long as one side is objectively good and the other is objectively bad, the dialogue and character interactions between Luffy and the villains will always be generic. "I'm gonna beat your ass", "You hurt my friends", "You're a bad person". That's all it really boils down to, and that's all that it'll ever be. Zero complexity.
All of the conflicts he's engaged in are never because he thinks it's the right thing to do to be engaged in these conflicts. It's never because his ideals differ from the villains ideals. He's always engaged into conflict because he just always happens to make friends with people who are on the morally right side of the conflict, and he makes those friends very quickly. That's bad characterization, and that's bad writing. That's a terrible way to make your main character get involved in conflicts. It's also the reason why we never see Luffy undergo any sort of moral reflection. When you're always placed onto the morally right side of the conflict by coincidence, then that leaves little to no room for moral reflection.
As for the other Straw Hats, all of them remain stagnant throughout the entire series. They are merely given tear bait backstories, and once that's over, they remain the same throughout the rest of the series. They're gimmicks have already gotten stale a long time ago. Brook has been making the same joke since he's been introduced. Same thing with Chopper, Franky, Usopp, Nami, etc. They've been acting the exact same way ever since they introduced. None of them receive any psychological or ethical complexity whatsoever. The lack of character development makes the characters so boring.
I have other reasons, but I'm not in the mood to type them out right now. I'll just summarize them quickly: terrible pacing, shitty art, ugly character designs, straw hats become side characters after the time-skip, ridiculously long arcs full of too many subplots, too many garbage arcs, and a few more I cant remember. Terrible series overall.
It gets insanely annoying when One Piece fans try to overcomplicate this series. I've heard people making the claim that Luffy is a complex character. Absolutely absurd. The people that make this claim obviously don't know what it means to be a complex character. A complex character would be someone like Toguro from Yu Yu Hakusho. Not only is he a psychologically complex character, but he's also an ethically complex character. That's a perfect example of a complex multi-dimensional character. One Piece has pretty much no complex characters. Again, if you want to see good writing, then read or watch Yu Yu Hakusho. Both of the major villains, Sensui and Toguro, are incredibly complex and well written. One Piece on the other hand has only one-dimensional villains. There's a very clear intellectual difference in Togashi and Oda's writing. One is better than the other. They're both intellectually dissimilar pieces of work.

A Reddit submission:
# On the 5th of September... On the 5th of September, 2024, a new post about AI and AGI is published on the AF forum. It is part 1 of the article: (((716149878240953475))) ¶157923989262434304:> We have a bunch of people that I'm interested in working on ¶616061740857425920:> i'll do some reading tonight ¶606987544235868219:> ok <@339249509303320587> i've been thinking about this a little bit:

1. how hard is it to implement gptneo? (we don't have enough data for that)
2. what are the things we want to do with GPTneo? like, do the weights be loaded in parallel? (the data loading is slow, so we can't do anything)
3. what are we really doing with this data? ¶193204646687408129:> I think we need more than a few hundred million images to train models. There's no way to make that happen. But it would probably take us months to train GPT-4, and we'd love a lot of resources to help train our models. The current state of the art training has been done, so I'm happy to help you train your own model. ¶475291760210345994:> <@512890417893736448> did we get any results from that? ¶314125175111286785:> I haven't looked into this much, but I think there might be an issue with the data being stored in parallel right? Or do we need the data to store the weights? ¶456226577798135808:> (((918076190155270876))) Add [email protected] · Datasets at Hugging Face

I just retired my Banner Spear, who was the group's only tank for multiple iterations of the party. It's still early days - we've only unlocked TRAP and SNOWFLAKE so far, so it's otherwise starters only.
The rest of the party consists of:

• Deathwalker (lv 5)
• Boneshaper (lvl 2)
• Blinkblade (lvl 3)

I'll be starting at lvl 2, and it seems like we still need a tank, though the Deathwalker may end up playing off-tank just because they'll have the most health at this point.
Do I need to suck it up and play Drifter for the party not to totally biff? One of our other players tried Drifter but didn't like it and dumped it after one game. That doesn't mean I won't like it of course. I just miss how in GH you seemed to unlock new classes faster than in the early FH game.
Any advice is appreciated!

My fiancé and I have been together over 3 years and engaged for about 3 months now. He’s a great guy and a much better partner to me than I am to him.
A few months after we started dating he went to hang out with some of his friends, two couples at one of the couples’ house. I had to stay home because of work. Anyway, the woman in the couple who was hosting, Lydia, made an excellent meal and he came home and joked with me that he tasted the food and “wished [he] was dating Lydia, but remembered that Lifestrugz is hotter.”
The rational part of my brain knows that this was just a dumb joke. But then at various times he has put this friend group ahead of me: we had tickets to Hamilton that I paid over $600 for (he was the one who wanted to go to the show), but he remembered the day before the show that he had plans with this group and was ready to cancel the show (non-refundable tickets that we couldn’t change) to hang out with them. It wasn’t until i threatened to break up with him that he decided to hang out with them, but leave early to make the show.
Now we’re wedding planning and we’re finding a weekend so that our families in three different states could get together to meet and coordinating with my schedule (I’m a lawyer in the middle of a three month trial, so I’m spread really thin). And he wants to keep several weekends open because this group might have a cook out at some point this summer.
I feel so insecure and rejected in my relationship because he has shown me time and again that his friends (and Lydia) will always come first. It sounds stupid, but I don’t know how to live with this other woman in my relationship, should I call off my engagement?

More recently (within the past year) I fell down the rabbit hole of dog diets/lifestyles. The one concrete thing that really pushed my sudden interest was learning how absolutely horrible Pedigree is as a whole. We’d fed our dogs it all our lives mainly because that’s what my dad fed his dogs wayyyy back in the day. I think I’ve done a pretty okay transition into a better diet, but I’d love some opinions since I’m still learning!
Kibble - Victor Hi Pro Plus “Raw” - Fresh Pet Supplements - Bernie’s perfect poop, multivitamin, omega 3 oil Add ins - bone broths, goat milk, green yogurt, pumpkin, frozen fruits, vegetable blends, freeze dried Instinct
Routine: Every morning I take some Fresh Pet and press it down onto their lick mats, sometimes putting a bit of greek yogurt or pumpkin too. I’ll add about half a cup of kibble on top. When it’s really hot I’ll freeze them for a bit before feeding them. After they’re done eating, I have them stay inside and relax to let their food digest for about 30-40 minutes.
Throughout the day while I’m outside with them, I’ll use some kibble as training (mainly for our Aussie since he’s the only one who really does training) and toss some into the yard so they can do some sniff work.
For their dinner, I put the rest of their required kibble into slow feeders (our basset and aussie were notorious for finishing off their meal in less than a minute lol) and top it off with just a bit of chopped Fresh Pet. I’ll use either water or bone broth for hydration and add their daily supplements as well. I rotate on days I add frozen fruit so they don’t get bored of it. I do a 30 minute relaxation time minimum, but if they’re napping or don’t seem stir-crazy I’ll have them stay inside for about an hour.
Diet wise, there’s been a massive improvement in each dog since switching to Victor. I mainly chose it in part due to affordability and because I’d seen great things about their hi pro plus line for active dogs. Each of our dogs is incredibly athletic even without daily walks since we have a big backyard; they’ve made many trails of dirt from all the running! They’ve leaned out more and seem healthier weight wise, especially our basset hound. He’s never been overweight, but since switching to Victor he’s basically become pure muscle lmao. Same with the Aussie, he’s leaned out a lot more. Our boxelab mix has always been a tad overweight (by like 2-5 lbs) so I was hesitant on the high protein, but even in her old age I’ve noticed she has a LOT more energy and lost some weight! Their fur has become so much softer and shiny too, it’s amazing.
The main reason I’m so conflicted is because I mostly see vets recommending WSAVA brands and I’ve never really given them a chance. Plus I’d heard that Fresh Pet has a certain ingredient that’s terrible for dogs, so now I’m stressing about adding a different element of raw into their kibble. I’m not really into raw diets, but they love fresher add ins.
This was basically a massive blurb of information, but I’d still love to hear any input on any improvements that can be made or just general advice! Thanks!