Not really related, but this is one of the many reasons why I’ve never been able to be in a relationship. I don’t feel that way about others, so faking it feels wrong to me. I went out with a guy a couple of times and felt gross doing that. So that’s about it.

Sometimes it’s frustrating that I can’t have an intimate relationship with someone that way, but what can you do? Have to go through life with the cards you’re dealt, I guess.

My insurance (US) doesn’t have any mental health coverage and I am not under Medicaid/Medicare/Obamacare. Seems to be common enough. I have an HSA bank account, but it gets rapidly depleted from something like that.

For me? The fact that life always changes.

A lot of times, I really really hate change. When I have a good thing going, the possibility of change makes me really anxious and sometimes depressed.

But when I’m in a bad spot? It’s really really fucking hard, but I know eventually it will change. Will it change for the better or change for the worse? You can’t know, but there’s at least a chance that your situation will change some day, and there is a chance it will get better. It has got me going through some really very incredibly dark times where I really wanted to end my life. I still struggle with that now and then, but it’s always good to have the thought of chance in the back of your mind.

Sorry to get too political, but take Trump for example. It’s horrifying and depressing watching him and his rabid cult.

But…I just love the memes it can generate.

Maybe shitty of me to say/think, but you have to find humor somewhere in life. Make sour candy out of your lemons when you can’t make lemonade.

Just got my first cat last month. Never even had experience with cats.m beforehand really. But I agree now. :)

Idk where the user above is, but mental health is just so fucking expensive in the US. I have a good job, but it’s hard for me to stomach a $150 bill for each appointment (average price I’ve found). I’ve started and stopped quickly after so many times because it’s really hard for me to rationalize draining my HSA account for something that might never end up benefiting me.

Hey I applaud you for putting yourself out there!

I think the fact that you’ve managed to marry and have kids is fantastic. It’s a big social hurtle that a lot of hermits never end up making it with, so you should be very proud of yourself for being vulnerable with another human being like that.

Tbh, I think over time that it ends up quite normal for people as they age to really just have their spouse and kids as their main “friends” without many others externally. So I think you’re doing pretty good on the weirdness and socialization scales haha.

But yeah I totally get you wanting to allow your wife a breather and have some other buddies to share the “social burden” with (I don’t mean it negatively, just not sure how to phrase it).

Best of luck to you!

Thanks! It’s because I’m so cool and popular! ;)

Hope you’re doing better now.

Growing up for me, the popular kids were actually also usually intelligent and got into good universities. So the stereotype of popular kids being dumb really doesn’t ring true everywhere.

Definitely not.

My mental issues developed at around middle school age for reasons totally unknown to me. I stopped talking to most people and had extreme social anxiety. I couldn’t relate to my peers, didn’t know how to speak to them, and had extreme fears of what they thought of me. I never fit into the mold of a stereotypical girl who was feminine and I never knew how to or was interested in figuring out how to look presentable/stylish like other girls would. I never developed an attraction to the opposite (or even same) sex, which was confusing and felt slightly alienating to be different from everyone. I would chant berating words to myself in my head for some reason all day when walking between classes. I pushed away the one friend I had like an asshole because I was afraid of social ramifications.

In late middle school/early high school, I discovered that there were communities of people online. I felt extremely comfortable communicating there (text only…was never comfortable with voice), and I credit those communities with helping my sanity for loneliness and also teaching me about how to communicate with others.

But I never really learned to make friends in person. Occasionally, someone in high school would try to befriend me but I literally did not catch on. Behavior like people randomly wanting to sit next to me or chat with me confused me. It is only after the fact that I realized they were trying to befriend me.

I have no idea why that happened with me. I was never bullied.

There was a group of girls that I grew up with that eventually shut me out which was very hurtful, but I don’t know that it really happened before I got all weird to trigger it. I think when I got weird, they noticed and shut me out.

Some of us just ended up crazy for no discernible reason I guess.

I get that puberty can be a rough time for everyone, but I didn’t really notice other peers having the same degree of social impairment as me. My siblings growing up did not either. I actually asked my mom not to have a graduation party for me (because I didn’t have any friends but I didn’t tell her that).

I’m in my 30s and still interact primarily online, but I would say I am significantly more adept and comfortable at interacting with others in person. In a work environment, I am totally comfortable and confident. In a party environment for example, I freak out.

I guess it depends on how much extra they are really paying. Added up, all these items will cost a fair bit. If you pay someone to do this, it’s not just about the items, but about the time it takes for them to go out and acquire these items and then set this all up. I have a really hard time believing they are offering a reasonable price for all of this to be honest. I hope I’m wrong.

Well you’re the one out here downvoting me when we are both on the same page so I don’t understand what your problem is.

These adult Lego sets already have wild prices. But when an IP is involved, they are trying to charge so much for it because some people are absolutely rabid for Star Wars. Some of the die hard fans will unfortunately buy this at ludicrous pricing like that.

Did I say the price was reasonable lmao??? No. I just said it is marketed to adults, so it isn’t kids being “priced out” of a toy like the above user stated.

Things are getting so out of hand that kids can’t even play with toys anymore.

I understand what you’re getting at, but these lines of Lego toys are specifically designed as being “for adults”. So the price tag is not for a children’s toy. Once Lego found out that they can charge a shitton more money to make sets for adults, they started doing so.

Says you

It’s one banana, Michael! What could it possibly cost? $10?

Well…while I said there is nothing wrong with my hormones, I do have quite a bit of excess facial and body hair in a male pattern. So I think I likely have higher than normal testosterone in addition to the normal female hormones causing everything beyond the hair to be “regular”. So I don’t know that that’s the issue either.

You know I have on occasion thought of something like that. Thing is I don’t have any sexual trauma or anything like that. So idk.

I definitely started having mental health issues around puberty…but I mean it’s common enough for most pre/teens to experience mental turmoil during that time. So you’d think it wouldn’t preclude developing sexually.

I’m just beginning therapy now for some unrelated, more severe issues, but maybe I will eventually bring that up if I can sort out the more pressing things first.

sex is not in some special category of “required in order to be human”

Thanks for this. It’s just such an innate biological urge in 99% of people that not experiencing it actually has often made me feel like I’m not a human. It’s as basic as getting hungry when you need food or being thirsty when you need water. Idk. I appreciate the words is all, as feeling “not human” has been such a nearly lifelong struggle with this.

I will say though…when people talk about how amazing “mangoes” are, it does make me feel a bit left out even regardless of the “being human” aspect. The way people describe orgasms…it’s like they have access to some form of heroin and I don’t lol. I have a bit of FOMO wanting to be able to have an experience with such extreme pleasure.