I [28M] got broken up with by my partner of almost 4 years a couple weeks ago. I thought she was the love of my life and I would marry that woman. I’m also in the last year of my PhD in a sub-field I have never envisioned myself in and somehow slipped into due to Covid and my own passiveness and weak sense of self. The PhD is also not going super well and I’m stressed about not having enough research to finish in time. I also grew up in a dysfunctional family environment (toxic parent relationship, some narcissistic/borderline traits in them) and have been struggling with the consequences of that on my development and mental health. I also don’t have a large social circle, and some of my friends are scattered internationally. As you can see, I feel like I’ve hit rock bottom. On the outside I look all successful, in shape and doing a PhD in a prestigious research group. But most of the time in my life I’ve felt empty, doubting myself and struggling with a weak sense of self and unhealthy thought/behavioural patterns that are hard to shed off. I feel like I’ve lost any passion for anything, and don’t know what I want or need. I’ve read tons of psychology/philosophy/self-help over the past 10 years and it helped to some extent. I’ve also started therapy 2 months ago, but it’s going slow and it hasn’t been very useful yet. The advice so far has boiled down to “do things you like”. I would be grateful for any of your advice or shared life stories. At the moment I feel like standing in front of a massive pile of broken glass.
Story Published at: March 4, 2023 at 11:01AM
Story Published at: March 4, 2023 at 11:01AM