3 years ago i suffered a full blockage of my Left Anterior Descending Artery, often called a "Widow Maker" heart attack. I was able to go home 3 short days later with a difibulator vest that i had to wear 24/7 that would shock my heart into rhythm. My life was turned upside down and i was still coming to grips with how lucky i was to still be alive. I quit smoking cold turkey, greatly decreased alcohol intake, began eating healthy and walking. Walking became my new habit, as soon as i got of work I'd put on a podcast and walk all over the beautiful area i lived in. Fast-forward 3 years and im feeling more alive than ever before and i believe im in relatively good health. A day comes where i feel shortness of breath and slight chest tightness so i went to the E.R. Turns out the stint placed at a different hospital was placed on the wrong location and my LAD is completely blocked again. Yet again with every ounce of luck imaginable an artery on the opposite side of my heart took over the duties of my LAD and kept me from biting the dust. It is believed that after this operation I'll be healthier and stronger than I've been for most of my 20's. What im getting at is even though just 3 short years ago i thought my life was over and i wouldn't be healthy enough to enjoy the things I love in life. Attending live music events, building lovely furniture as I'm a professional woodworker and just being your average mid 20's guy. Though I slip off my diet and could do more light exercises i still wake up everyday pushing for better and brighter things. I have a loving fiancee that has health problems of her own that puts a fire in me to stay alive and live everyday loving and having the best time together we can. Im very anxious about the outcome of this bypass surgery tomorrow but getting motivated from this subreddit and all of you inspiring people is keeping me in the right mindset. Im looking forward to pushing myself for many years to come and living a long, happy and adventurous life. If i can bounce back from this bottom and not dwell in a depressive cave you as well can achieve it as well. Don't let your lows weigh you down like an anchor, rise above them and reach for the life you would like to succeed at. Even if you have to have an internal difibulator, open heart surgery and take 20 medications a day it's much better than being dead!

As someone who struggled with a gaming and alcohol addiction for over 9 years, I know the painful impact it had on my life, yet also the feeling of being stuck continuing it. It consumed my time, energy, and focus, leaving little room for relationships or anything meaningful. Now that I'm in a much better place, I'm writing this to hopefully help others in a similar position.

In a particularly dark period in my life, I found a great therapist who helped me understand the root cause of my addiction and some ideas to overcome it. The first step was recognizing that gaming was an escape mechanism, a way to avoid dealing with real life challenges and emotions.

Together, we worked on choosing healthier coping mechanisms and strategies to deal with stress and anxiety. One was cycling with a group, another was practicing meditation to calm my mind, and also writing/journaling to recover some ability to focus.

But I was still struggling. One of the things that finally shocked me enough to cut out the games I played was actually a page that showed me the exact math of the path I was going down. It was like a visual forecast of how you'll spend your time based on your current situation. Seeing the ridiculous number of hours I would be throwing down the drain made me feel a little sick, and I finally decided to uninstall League of Legends completely.

The best interactive tool was cloudburst.it, and there's another basic article version on Wait but why - they're both completely free, no need to signup.

Once I had time freed up, things were much easier, and I set some targets for myself, slowly building my way up towards them. After removing the games and having something else to do, the temptations went surprisingly quick - and as I started experiencing occasional small successes, the urge to game again diminished significantly.

Now, I'm living a much more balanced life with healthier things to spend time on in place of gaming.

If you're struggling from something similar, know that change is easier than it feels. Sometimes one action can make a huge difference. Start by creating the desire to make change, accepting your current position, and ideally get help from friends, professionals, or a support group who understand the struggle. It's worth trying things like visualization or goal-setting to get the motivation to finally begin the change. It won't be easy, but man has it been worth it – not only will you regain control over your life, but also unlock new opportunities for meaning and happiness.

I may be smart and intelligent I recently had a wake up call for the many flaws I have - too lazy to clean up my apartment regularly, lazy even to brush teeth, lazy at work... My plan is to do my best to not beat myself up and start working on myself instead - without self-hatred and self-pity. Can you motivate me with personal stories?

Also I still have no kids, and looking at people with families my age make me feel depressed how far behind I am...

I’ve honestly just been living half a life for so fucking long, isolating myself and just having completely given up. I wasn’t trying in any aspect of my life and I can’t exactly explain why. But idk I’m just living again lately. Doing shit. Was I depressed? Who knows. But now I’m ALIVE. And yeah I still get sad but things will be okay. I went so so long without hope. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Otherwise I’ll lose my insurance and likely my place to live. My parents think I’m hiding behind my mental health and gave me the ultimatum of April 15th. I have to get shifts 5 days a week, as many appointments as possible, fix my meds, and being entirely on top of my shit. Otherwise they’ll take away my insurance and at graduation likely make me find somewhere else to live. I understand why, but I’m fucking scared shitless.

Edit: I don’t have the time to reply to all you kind people today! Know I am reading all of the comments you have left and working hard. I’m sure I’ll be back with updates!

This post will be my accountability. I'm a 23 year old man, my entire life I was a shy boy, but somehow I was very popular in school, I was always the leader in my groups, and smart and mature man. Time went by and at 17 I met a girl, perfect love story, but little did I know that the girl would be the one to destroy me, you see, even though I was a cool boy, I never realized the trauma that was inside of me since I was a kid, until she left me, she was a gelous narcissist, pushed everyone, and every great opportunity from me, she wanted me to be hers, and hers only. Didn't let me grow, and was promoting only bad stuff in my life. Well, she loved me until I became complecent, procrastinating, without a purpose, and I was enjoying that. When she left me after 5 years, it completely broke me, destroyed my heart, my confidence, my will power. After a while I became again the cool guy that I was, but I still had all the negative traits that she left me with. I finished college but I don't plan on doing what I studied. After a year, I went abroad, went through some hard times, nearly lost my sight, my life, I lost like 20 kg, but I was working like crazy. Came back home after 6 months, with some good money for my country, but everything was changed, I was changed, I didn't find joy in beeing the cool guy anymore, I became less talkative, addicted to weed, and procrastination. In the mean time, all my friend have surpassed me, they all have good jobs, girlfriends, and seem to be happy (which I'm very happy for them). But I'm empty inside, I need a spark, when I was a kid, I was an insanely productive, I remember that for the summer vacation in the third grade, the teacher gave us a 500 page book with math exercises, it had to be done in 3 months until the next semester, and I did it in 1 day, the day that he gave it to us, I hated to not do everything as fast as possible, but now, I'm just a shadow of that kid, I'm lazy, scared of everything that would have a chance to fail. I'm still scared of seeing pictures of my ex with her current bf, because I think that would fuck me up. So to end this post, I will become that kid again, I will not touch weed as often as I do now, I plan on becoming a programmer, and I will succed on that, I have money to live for like 8 months, my parents will not help me anymore, which is the right call by them. This post is my accountability it would probably not get any attention but it s OK, I wrote it for me, and I will replay again after 8 months, and see my progress

Thank you all for so much motivation, I've needed every bit o can get. The pain the first 2 days was almost unbearable, lile nothing I've ever experienced before. As soon as these chest tubes get taken out i feel like i can move around so much better. Still figuring out the disability paperwork once im on some lower medications I'll remember the conversation hahaha. If at all possible anything helps, sharing it everywhere possible!

https://gofund.me/3b87fc39 Anything helps and stay motivated yall, never give up! Anything is possible with a great base of people there to help you!

It hasn’t been very long but enough has happened to warrant an update. My mental health is still not great but I start a program tomorrow that I’ve been waiting on for a while. My parents and I are on good terms, more or less. Last time we talked about it, my stepmom told me I was on the right track. I’ve yet to be able to incorporate regular exercise into my day. It really is a battle every day to get out of the house and to school, but I guess I’m doing it. I hope things get a little easier soon.

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."

Frodo : "What are we holding onto, Sam?"

Sam : "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."

---

Source : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167261/characters/nm0000276

This requires a bit of context, but I'll keep it short and sweet. I'm a 27 year old male, on early pension due to mental unwellness and some neurological issues. I also had a scare last year when my back was aching so bad I could barely move.

My routine was empty, I was either playing videogames or watching YouTube videos night and day, until the beginning of last december. The moment it happened I was watching YouTube and eating junk food, when a thought popped into my head:

"This is what you'll do for the rest of your days? You'll just play videogames and watch YouTube until the day you die on your couch."

When that thought popped into my head, I had a moment of clarity. I thought I'd start exercising to at least keep my legs functional.

The first steps were the most painful. When I started this, it was exhausting to even walk. After a while my body was getting used to walking, So I walked even more. I did get careless and overworked my body to the point I needed to stop walking for a while.

When my legs got better I started walking again, this time a bit less, making sure I wouldn't overwork my body.

I bought a dumbbell set, started working with them, but I noticed I was overworking my body with dumbbells too, so I toned down the lifting as well. Next I changed my eating habits, a bit restrictive, but I allow myself to fail, not enough to become a problem, but enough to keep cravings in check.

With everything combined I developed a routine right for me. I get enough sleep, I eat enough and while I allow myself to indulge on treats it's not often enough that I start gaining fat again.

I started my journey 10 weeks ago and with a bit of trial and error I went from over 99 kilograms to 88.5 kilograms.

I've noticed that I am a lot more confident, have more energy, I don't get irritated as much and my mental health has improved a lot.

This all started because a single wayward thought popped into my head and I couldn't be happier for what I've accomplished. I still have a long way to go, but I've got motivation to keep going, nothing is going to keep me down anymore!

My mom had me at 16. Dropped out of high school, tried to go to college a few times, never got through it. Her taste in men has always been terrible and any father figure I had was either an addict, abusive, or never around. Her last husband, who is now my legal dad through adoption although they aren’t together and has had the biggest influence on my life, is an emotionally abusive alcoholic who dropped out of high school and never bothered to get his GED.

Now that you have backstory, here we go. Neither of my parents ever expected me to get far in life. I was the daughter of a teenage mom and raised by substance abusers. I could’ve so easily been a statistic. Nobody thought I’d be successful, maybe a manager or entry-level office job at most.

At 18, I am making $37k a year and just signed the lease for my first apartment. I’ve been accepted to nursing school. I have a great steady job as an aide at a nursing home. For reference, at 26, my mom was making $10/hour as a repo agent. I’m making $18/hour at 18.

I am successful bc of the hard work that I put in, despite everyone telling me otherwise and the odds being against me.

While I’ve struggled with addiction and mental health before, I am at my best. I am over a year sober and doing the best I ever have mentally.

No matter what anyone tells you, you can make it happen.

Good luck on your journey <3

This is what I've gleaned from 31 years of living on this planet and trying my best. If I have been able to do it, I think anyone can, because I'm a human being just like you.

You can be happy. However, a state of permanent bliss does not seem to be possible. Life will always be somewhat uncomfortable, because that is the nature of life. You have biological functions to take care of, as well as survival functions which include things you may not like doing, like working or studying. There is always existential doubt about "what's even the point of all this crap?" Oftentimes it may not seem worth it.

It seems to me that you get what you give. I always interpreted this as being altruistic or something, and that can be part of it. But the deeper truth seems to be that you get out of life what you put into it. You get from life what you give to it. That is the deeper meaning. If you complain, whine, and remain closed or afraid, then live has nothing to offer to you. But if you put your soul into it, if you can open your heart and take some risks, then it seems it has infinite joy waiting for you.

I used to search for "the answer". Yeah, it sounds stupid when you write it out like that, but I really thought I just needed to figure something out. The truth is that there is no magic bullet. And nobody has a monopoly on truth. My search was productive, clearly, I did find some answers. But the answers were a lot more mysterious and humble than I had imagined. Life is still normal life for me. There's nothing remarkable about me at all. I still have problems, including anxiety and existential doubts, but now I deal with them differently. Plus, of course, all the problems that come with day-to-day living.

I keep coming back to what I learned in Alcoholics Anonymous. I am no longer active there, but I have remained sober for coming up on 10 years now. Alcoholics Anonymous was a bunch of wounded, "sick" people trying to make a better lives for themselves. But in a humble way. Not this "grab the bull by the horns" stuff. I'm all for adventure and making the most of it, but the thing that irks me about self-improvement is the lack of humility in it. We are fragile beings. We have limits. Embracing that, in my experience, seems to lead to deeper fulfillment.

I'm just a guy. A guy who had a lot of problems but learned a new way of living. A guy who made peace with his limits and fragilities. And, I guess ironically, a guy who decided to "take the bull by the horns". I decided to take some risks. Many risks. I followed my heart. I did things that could have fucked up my entire life, but I trusted enough to try them anyway, because deep down I didn't feel that I was entirely off-base with my feelings. But you never know. I did end up making an ass of myself a lot, and I'm sure I will continue to do so. But that's the price of admission. If you never want to look like a fool, by all means, but you will never be happy, either.

This is the message. If your life is not satisfactory, it is up to you to change it. It depends on you. There are no easy answers. You get what you give. If you say "yes" to life, if you approach life as an opportunity rather than as a curse, then you never know what life has waiting for you. But you've got to open yourself up to it. Even if it's scary - especially if it's scary. The fact that it scares you means there's substance behind it... this is the truth about life.

No, I'm not happy all the time. But I'm generally at peace, and when the going gets tough, I have motivation to keep going forward. And I must admit, there's some times, like today, where I'm just like "holy shit, what a ride".

I hope my story can help inspire others.

When I woke up this morning, I wanted to take a nice shower, lay on the couch, eat a big lunch, play gta, and sleep. When I woke up this morning, that was what I was motivated to do. What I did this morning was I hit the gym, then the courts to practice, then I went of a jog, then I went home and studied life skills to have, how to be my own plumber, mechanic, engineer, chief. When I woke up this morning, I didn't do what I wanted to. I did what felt awful. I disciplined myself.

You'll never be 100% enthusiastic with what you do all the time. The best way to sustain a good life is to grab it by the horns and do all the things you don't want to do.

Hi I am 25 y/o in college doing my Masters Degree (taken me 2 years longer in total to graduate) and I feel like I wasted my life away.

Despite all the mess ups, I still have no desire to get going and that is what scares me. I wish I had a different life and lived as someone else.

Growing up I never had friends and was not allowed to mingle/go to parties and got bullied a lot for being a weirdo. And my early 20s I dealt with health issues and depression.

And now I feel full of regret and bitter. I know it sounds silly but I daydream about an adventurous life where I am fulfilling my dreams and travelling and famous influencer - because somehow that would make me happier.

I hate where my life is going... I can't seem to get out of the abyss...

I want to give you motivation to never give up. In 2020, I ended a long-term relationship, had to get 2 MRIs because they thought I had a tumor in my brain.

This was also the same year where I had my first and last suicide attempt. I felt so alone and so desperate to end my misery. I hated where I was working and I desperately had to leave. So I searched and looked for something else. Nearthe end of 2020, I landed my first medical job. I became a lab technician in a pharmacy. I felt very accomplished.

I started post-grad school back in 2021, where I had no idea what I was going to do in my life. This was 2 years after graduating university. I also wrote the MCAT this year too. I did pretty good but I allowed my dream of becoming a doctor die, because I knew it wasn’t for me. I had no idea that this would be the start to my life. I battled with my mental health and had to go through a lot to get to where I am now. I learned in 2021 that I have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and that I wasn’t just being grump and lazy. I was dealing with insomnia. 2021 I dealt with a lot of trauma and issues I had.

2022 came and I was full time in school, working part time at my lab. It was hard to balance both but I made it by. I had to quit that job that gave me stable income to go full time in my clinical placement for school. It was scary and there were times where I’d be very close to 0, but I always had just enough in my account. I started to feel more comfortable around people, and began to deepen relationships. My dog passed away this year so it was very heartbreaking. However at the same time, I finally..after a long time, after working on myself for many years…I finally found a loving partner. I waited a long time for him. I always prayed for many years that I’d find a good man. It took 25 years, but here we are. He follows me on Reddit so if you read this, I love you hehe.

School has been difficult. I felt very frustrated at times, stressed, and I wanted to drop out many times. I felt like I had to give up a lot. I finally came to terms this year that I was abused-emotionally and mentally by many people in my life. I realized underneath the facade of being “tough” and “strong girl” I was breaking inside . I started to heal from that, and I’m still in the process of sorting out feelings and memories. But I continued to run Becsuse I made a goal that I’d finish this program and become an MLT. (Med lab tech). I studied long hours, while dealing with the loss of my fur companion and I’d have trouble sleeping at night. I developed PTSD from her death. My ever so patient partner has been very supportive.

As I write this, I’m about to end my program. I’m writing my final exam tomorrow and I will be graduating next week. The hospital is even offering me a job (so I hope if works out). I never thought I’d reach it. I never thought I’d see this day where everything I worked for, is finally coming to pass. I may be a slow bloomer but I wouldn’t have it any other way. One more hurdle- my national board exam, and then I can be a fully fledged MLT. I hope my parents will be proud of me. I hope my family and friends are proud. hope my partner is proud. I hope my dog in heaven is proud.

I want to tell you to never give up on your dreams. Never give up. The end may be far in sight but the journey in front of you is where you’ll grow the most. A wise man once told me, “you just have to show up”. You can’t change the circumstances but you can change how you approach them. I never thought I’d reach this far in my life. Despite all the issues I’ve faced, and all the many times I’ve wanted to give up, I didn’t. Keep moving forward. The past is done. The present is what we have so let’s live in it. ❤️

I have grown very depressed the past 6 months. I don't do much with my time and mainly stay in my room. Last year, I was happy, full of excitement about the future despite not having anything great at the present. I'd exercise daily, hang out with friends, volunteer for things and also take care of my work. Now, I don't do any of those things. I have no interest in getting up every day. When I think about I really wish I could go back to those happy days of 2022.

I don't know what to do and how to get out of this depression. Especially since I have no interest in helping myself. It feels like I'm doomed as a person and I'll never live the life I wanted. I'm a failure.

Loneliness is not a fun state of being to experience. It's dark, depressing and has this sense that things will never get better. Even though we want them to be better, we have no hope for that to come when in that state.

It's a state of being that I used to be in a lot. For many years I always felt lonely. Even when I was with other people or in a romantic relationship, I felt lonely. Feeling lonely is far different than being alone. You can be with others and still feel lonely.

When I realized this, that started to create an awareness in me. This awareness helped me ask different questions.

Instead of thinking, "When I am with someone, then I won't be so lonely all that time."

I started thinking, "I am with someone and still feel this, why? What am I doing to contribute to my own loneliness?"

It's NOT about being with people. It's NOT about other people.

It's about YOU!

It was then that I realized my loneliness was born from my own behaviors. A lot of my behaviors were attention-seeking and people-pleasing. I was doing things that I thought would get others to like me.

This means, I wasn't doing the actions/behaviors that were true to ME! I was participating in DIShonored action.

I was disconnected from what had meaning to ME!

Through connection with myself, I learned what actions/behaviors were true to ME. This allowed me to participate in self-honoring actions.

That dissolved my loneliness!

Connection to self is accomplished with intentional time for ourselves. Learning what we like. Learning only to agree to what we truly want. Establishing and enforcing boundaries. Learning how to accept life as it unfolds. Learning how to be in touch with our emotions. Embracing hardship rather than avoiding it. Cultivating deeper awareness. Radical personal responsibility.

Those were critical for me. It is my hope that this helps you!

Found myself saying "I used to..." I felt like a pale shadow of who I once was, so much so I stopped talking about most of the things that brought me joy. Took several deep breaths, ripped myself from diminishing circumstances, and finally say, "I am..." and "I do..." again. The fear and pain are worth it. You've got this.

I used to be so proud of my current job - remote home office for a foreign IT company. The truth is for months I have been behind on learning new things due to drinking - I will try my best to catch up, but I doubt I will. I had and still have depression, not an excuse just telling the story, my late grandmother was in her last stage of dementia - I could not bear the though and just drank, drank.... then I drank after she died as well and here I am. I used to be proud of my big salary and what for - I started giving half of my mine for booze...

So here I am: fighting alcoholism and trying to stay sober, losing weight, battling depression, and the fact that at some point I might have to switch to a job with a modest salary - I know I won't soon land a job with the same good salary - my current job was my entry job in IT, didn't learn much I blew my chance with drinking. My plan would be to land whatever I can, and start some courses on the side in order to get a better job some time future. I just know that I will hate myself over the course of all that - ironically hating myself for failing makes me drink which only deepens the failure.

I am 33 and the thought that I am so far behind in life makes me hate myself and feel down. Also, I do know part of me is scared of going through the hardships in the future - being a lazy, drunk fuck is so much easier and so cozy. When I landed this job I thought I had finally sorted my shit and started feeling content and now I am back at starting position. My inner voice is constantly nagging my age and the fact all my friends already have their careers, some even have kids, while I lay drunk and depressed at home. I feel like when I finally have my shit together I will be 35 or 36 hence old, so in a way my mind is trying to convince me I am a lost cause

Truth of the matter is although intelligent and with good grades, I have been a lazy slacker all my life. I am the result of my own actions. I have always known it, but I have finally saw the full picture - I am full of shit. Realizing it is in a way depressing as if there is no point to bother trying to change yourself.

I don't need no sugar coating, but your own success stories of turning things in your own life, would be nice to hear

I've been here in Netherlands for a year and the first 6 months I felt lonely. I had nobody, I was here alone. My friends, family are in my home country. I wanted to meet someone but always afraid their judgment about me. I felt anxious, paranoid, depressed. I installed date apps hoping that would achieve something. Got two dates and got ghosted. I went to pubs, thinking that would be another way to meet people but I was just sitting there drinking my beer and trying to talk but, again, afraid to be judged.

I was not having a great time living here and feeling lonely was worse. Until it hit me: so what? Should I stop living my life because I don't have someone to be or talk with? Fuck no!

I started to focus on myself, started to focus on my job, started focus on my fitness. I stopped trying to find someone to meet and talk.

After thinking like that, I got a feedback from the company I'm working with and they said that they wanted to hire me. I was in an agency and being in it there was no chance for them to hire me. So I started to look a room to rent. After two, three months, I found a studio where I'm currently living in. After this little adventure, I realized that I'm here all by myself. Alone.

I did all this in this last 6 months and I had nobody. I accepted it and I can say I'm happy with that 😁 I started being me with people without worrying about their judgement. If I have someone, I will consider it as a bonus in my life but is not my goal while living. I don't know where I can go. But I know I can go a lot more than I am right now. And can be reached if I work hard. Me. Alone.

By the way I'm an orphan, I was drug addicted 5 years ago, my teenage life was depression and anxiety and it's a blackout in my life. If I did all this after what I've been through, so can you 😁

TL;DR - I got depression, anxiety and paranoid during my life. 6 months ago I worked to be independent and I did. If I can do it, you can do it as well!

I've been going on long hikes and recently got lost in the woods with my puppy. I couldn't for the life of me figure out which way was back because everything looked the same. So I just took a chance, made a turn and started waking with him.

As we wandered in the forrest, a path with markers started to appear so I kept following the markers knowing that eventually it would lead me so some sort of an exit. And my intuition was right....as we kept walking, we kept merging towards a path that eventually led us to our exit.

Our way back took longer and we ended up taking unexpected turns, but the journey was beautiful as we came upon waterfalls and gorgeous trees, and we ultimately enjoyed our adventure finding our way home.

This made me think about life and that life is also like that....

When we don't know what to do, which road to take in life, or just fear what lies ahead for us, we need to find the strength to let go, stop controlling, and allow the path that is best to reveal itself to you.

Surrender gives you peace, and allows you to get into the flow of life so that the Universe can surprise you with joy, happiness, love, and all that you desire in a slightly different and better way than you imagined. Even if you feel lost, allow, trust, and surrender, and know that you will reach your destination.