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Becoming an adult can be a real drag, and it seems as if there are some times in life – usually in transition periods – when people really start to question whether or not live in general really means much of anything in the long run.
What is life without a few existential crises, am I right?
These people are recalling the moments in life when they couldn’t wait to sleep because of what was on tap for the next day…and the times when they woke up thinking about when they would be able to go back to sleep.
1. What choice do we have?
I love these threads because it always makes me realise that I’m not alone and that helps validate my feelings. We’ll get through it together internet fam.
The phrase in the question “too tired to exist” hit home. Its not that you’re physically tired, it’s a weird level of mental/emotional exhaustion that I didnt know existed until it was an inescapable part of life.
2. Idk I thought college was fun.
high school.
Ever since high school started, I went to bed hoping I don’t wake up the next day. I’m in college now
3. They do seem to coincide.
The same day that hangovers go from aa mild annoyance to ruining your whole week.
I would say 25/26 is the standard transition period. So everyone should learn which type of alcohol their body doesn’t like, before this age.
4. That’s just too early.
Sometime in high school for me.
I could never sleep in, because the bus left at 6:30
Also when i realized school is only about passing tests, and not the actual learning anymore.
5. That’s the dream.
You’re talking about restorative sleep? I’m envious.
It’s gotten to the point in my early 30s where I genuinely can’t remember ever feeling refreshed and raring to go, fully rested etc.
Always either a mild headache when I wake up, or my eyes ache all day randomly, or feeling a bit jetlagged all day, or physically drained. Never just great, never energized.
6 hours, wake up twice a night, 7 or 8 hours straight, doesn’t matter. I still feel unslept in some way.
6. A reason to get through.
High school, I’d say 11th grade specifically. I’d wake up every morning thinking “I can’t wait to go to sleep tonight”.
7. Whenever that happened.
When you started dealing with way too much shit without properly taking care of your physical/mental/emotional/spiritual wellbeing.
8. What a beat down.
I think it has happened twice for me. The first time I was 13 yrs old and the school counselor pulled from gym class to tell me my mom died in a car accident. After a few years, I felt better and started joying life again.
Then, I joined the service and I got told I was worthless by my supervisor daily and that I was a disappointment to my family. After that, I have struggled really hard to find the light in my life.
9. Wow, that’s early.
Around middle school when things stopped being new and interesting and life turned into a tedious grind.
10. Work isn’t…great.
Age 22 seems about right.
Basically the transfer from college to working full time… Life changes pretty quickly and just kinda fades away like a limp d%*k.
11. Bless.
I remember being so excited to be going to the water park the next morning that I ran up the stairs to bed, tripped on the way and sprained my ankle.
Little did I know that that was a metaphor for life.
12. Is that all?
After 25 years I finally found the solution to my insomnia. All I have to do is exercise at least an hour a day, meditate at least 2 hours a day, eat super healthy with no alcohol / caffeine / sugar and keep a super strict bedtime schedule because even going to bed 30 minutes later one day will fuck my sleep up for a couple of days.
I feel stupid for not seeing this super obvious solution in front of me this whole time and I guess my sister was right when she said it was my own fault that I can’t sleep.
13. No magic bullet.
This is me. I stay up late because if I sleep then work comes quicker. So I stay up late to enjoy more of my free non-work time and then I am tired af the next day.
People will say “then obviously you hate your job”. No, my job is actually pretty good, it’s working I don’t like. If I had my way, I wouldn’t need to work, but since I like not being homeless, I work. There is no magic job that will make me like working or look forward to working.
Best I can hope for is not hating my work and just being a little tired a few times a week.
14. Those things can be taxing.
First full time job.
ive been at 45 hours a week and I hate life now tbh
customers are also genuinely stupid and corona makes them dumber somehow
15. Where’s the middle ground?
As a kid I got excited about Christmas and my birthday and would have a hard time falling asleep due to excitement.
As an adult I have a hard time sleeping because I don’t want tomorrow to come.
16. Growing up is hard to do.
once you go to middle school. middle school is way more stressful than primary school, because suddenly you have a bunch of homework and everything is way harder.
also your peers start to be total a$$holes on purpose
17. You have to figure it out.
People don’t know how to transition to adult life and to make meaning for yourself. There’s no longer someone telling you, “This is what should make you feel good about life.”
I think if people grow up with oberbearing parents then it’s not an easy transition. I think parents that allow their kids some responsibilities and freedom of choice/repercussion will typically find this transition easier.
For pretty much the same reason you said, some times kids have had almost every decision made for them up til that point.
18. That’s a good day.
Mine went the other way when I stopped drinking ! Not waking up hungover is exciting haha
19. Find some space to breathe.
Probably during university, I had lectures, revision, working a job and somehow trying to have a social life.
It was then hectic for a few years following university until I eventually just accepted i was burnt out and gave myself more downtime. I feel its much better now.
20. Something to aspire to.
Not yet.
I’m 63 and still happy every morning because it means I have another day. If you’re tired just make yourself get out of bed, brush your teeth, get dressed, and go about your day. Usually it’ll be better than you feared when you didn’t want to get out of bed.
21. Some people it hurts to lose more than others.
When my great grandma passed away.
22. What about your birthday?
I think the only time I ever was “I can’t wait for tomorrow” was when I was little and wanted Christmas Day/Santa…
23. What a ray of sunshine.
When we realized dreams are bullshit, life sucks, people in general are terrible, and things will not get better, they only become gradually worse.
24. Ain’t love grand.
Whenever my partner gets home from a month away at work. Everytime he gets home, I have plans of giving myself a facial, shaving my legs and getting a good night sleep.
I do all of those things except the last one, cause I’m so excited to see him.
Lucky he still loves me when my face looks like a butthole.
25. Damn the man.
Around the same time capitalism went from ‘work hard and you too can be rich’ to ‘work yourself to the bone and you might be able to survive another week.’
26. Family is everything.
When I stopped sharing things with my friends and family.
Something bad happened to me and I shared it with all my dear ones. Not only they didn’t gave a damn but also they thought I am seeking attention cause “it is normal”.
27. Life is full of ups and downs.
Honestly? During my twenties I was deeply depressed, so that was a brief time it happened. Then I met my fiance, and I was always excited to get to tomorrow. We live together now. But this year has been… I don’t know.
He and I are doing fantastically, but I feel like there is no hope and I genuinely just want to stop existing, or jump ahead, or SOMETHING. It’s difficult to picture and plan for a future when it feels like everything is so uncertain.
28. On an even keel.
I don’t have this feeling anymore since I started taking care of my mental health (medication, meditation, exercising, trying to eat a healthy meal, setting a sleep schedule, and no devices before bed).
I was definitely in this mindset during undergrad and grad school, but I think something changed this year when I started doing things I like again, like knitting, painting, dancing, and all of this is outside my work hours.
It’s a tough spot to be in, but I wholeheartedly believe we can get out of the rut. We just have to find the help we need.
I have to say, whichever stage you’re in, you have to know that the other one will come back around – if being a parent has taught me anything it’s that life is nothing but a bunch of stages.
What say you on this topic? Our comments are open!
