this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2026
64 points (100.0% liked)

askchapo

23294 readers
110 users here now

Ask Hexbear is the place to ask and answer ~~thought-provoking~~ questions.

Rules:

  1. Posts must ask a question.

  2. If the question asked is serious, answer seriously.

  3. Questions where you want to learn more about socialism are allowed, but questions in bad faith are not.

  4. Try !feedback@hexbear.net if you're having questions about regarding moderation, site policy, the site itself, development, volunteering or the mod team.

founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I almost don't feel like the same person I was just 5 years ago. Granted, this is my first 5 years of working full-time, outside of schooling, so I'm no longer actively studying and practicing my mathematical skills.

But beyond that, I just feel like I don't have free will? My health is degrading because I have unhealthy eating habits, and I really want to stop, and I don't even really enjoy eating unhealthy food anymore, but I think I might actually be chemically dependent on the refined sugar, carbs, and fat. I work 10 hour days and then I'm too exhausted to eat healthy. If I meal prep healthy food, I sometimes just waste it because I'd rather order a couple burgers. I used to be vegan, and I still think vegans are basically correct, but I no longer have self-discipline.

It feels impossible to fix this shit. Reading what I've laid out, I think, "what you need is therapy". And yeah, maybe, but I've had like 7 different therapists and somehow I feel like it usually just becomes a space for me to go and be all introspective and sharing everything about myself to this quiet professional who isn't really leading the conversation, isn't contributing much, isn't giving me an idea of what therapy is supposed to be. There's just long awkward silences while I think of things to say? And I'm paying $90/hour? So far the only utility to me has been a place to vent. But now I'm doing that here instead because it's free.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Juice@midwest.social 4 points 22 hours ago

I'm 45 and that feeling has always appeared as the impetus and precursor to change. The thoughts and feelings you are having feel bad but trust that feeling. There's sort of phases of self awareness that develop through adulthood. Maybe you've heard people talk about getting a "fuck it" attitude going into 40. This is probably something similar, but it's like an urge to take things more seriously. We can't really get to the "fuck it" phase without going through the phase where we learn what our priorities actually are and aren't.

My advice: trust yourself and listen to yourself. You can't change everything all at once, but you can make incremental changes which will amount to real change in less time than you realize. My 30's were a period of incredible personal growth, and it started with some of the feelings you're experiencing.