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Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#201
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Someone is in a foul mood today. Did you just have a breakup or a divorce? Cheer up, chief. Maybe divorces can be prevented by getting better at setting the terms of marriage. Like pre-marriage counselling.

No, just chuffing at the rapidly dying zeitgeist of yesterday.

We did some marriage counselling last year and it was great for us, highly recommended.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#202
post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or marry a good person, raise happy kids and live a good life together. If you are not married and one partner makes significantly more than the other, what's to stop the wealthy partner just deciding 20 years into the relationship that they want a newer model and just leaving the former partner destitute? It creates a massive power discrepancy in the relationship. "Do what I want or I'll leave you in the street." Ma…

Marriage isn’t really a solution to any of the problems you state. Divorce is a very real outcome of marriage, as are prenups. Many countries also have rules around care for a previous partner by means of common law partnership etc… Married people often don’t work towards the same goals anymore than unmarried couples. Marriage can also be a form of entrapment for abused individuals, a means for political gain or forc…

"Imho you have a very idealized perception of marriage that doesn’t line up with the various shades of grey in reality."

I appreciate you letting me know about reality as I have led a sheltered life with no real world experience.

I've been alive and married (20+ years) for longer than I was alive and single. Its been pretty ideal.

How long were you married for before you learned these things and formed your real world marriage experience that I am unaware of? If you were married and it failed then I can understand your negative view of it. I'm sorry it did not work out for you, the end of a marriage / relationship can be hard.

"Divorce is a very real outcome of marriage, as are prenups." lets change that to "Divorce is a very real possible outcome of marriage". prenups are a before marriage thing. So is a long happy life together.

My sister is going through a divorce because they married for reasons other than love and it was clear that it was not a marriage of 2 good people in it for the other.

My brother has also been married for longer than he has been single. Been through some incredibly tough family issues (deaths) that if they were not married would have probably broken them up. Years on they are very happy.

Marriage if done right and again entered into by people that care about each other is an incredible bond and one I feel has contributed strongly to society.

There are negatives to everything but again if its a good match the positives far out weigh it.

Marriage can be a wonderful thing, If its not for you then more power to you, there is no reason to knock the institution that has worked for so many others. Its been around and working for many people for tens of thousands of years. Maybe be open to the fact that there may be some good things that you are missing rather than that through all of human history people have been dumb.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#204
post #12

This actually reads almost normal for a last year of a phd. But you’re in a phd program and probably much closer to complete than you think. I’d reach out to your professors about your misgivings about your research. Make it clear that you’re looking to complete the thing asap and need guidance. Forget the outside stuff. Relationships can wait until you’re done. Feeling like a failure or success is almost a worthless…

> Marriages are fundamentally just a societal complication of a relationship - complete with dubious legal consequences and a not a sure thing that can end.

Depending on how you see the marriage. Did people or God[1] invent it? TBH, I'm wondering if you are / were married or just talking.

- Marriage is not about finding the right person, but rather BE the right person.

- Don't expect a not perfect person to fulfill your desires, but rather try to be there to support the other.

- Don't try to change the person. You fell in love in the end with that person. Why change her/him?

[1] I know that this might not be popular on HN. I can accept that.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#205
post #110

Sounds like you are a sensitive, thoughtful and feeling individual. And you are reaching out to more people, strangers, presenting yourself as a massive pile of broken glass - a poetical description suggesting you'd like to talk about yourself in the context of a Feeling Thinking self-ideation. (ADVICE: you might want to naturally add more of that to your life, e.g. a regular poetry class, or write a daily Haiku, so…

Thank you so much, very thoughtful response! I like your observation on the pile of broken glass. I enjoy describing things poetically / with mental pictures / with analogies. I've never thought about it really, though.

My childhood dream job was being a pilot, but my eyes are slightly too weak for the medical thresholds. I still have that passion for aviation. I'm always excited to go to the airport, or see planes flying by. There was a time when I could identify which plane was flying 40000ft above me just by its size/shape/shape of its contrails. I played a lot of flight simulator in my teenage years.

Funny thing is, accomplishments made me happy at least in the past. I come from a small rural village and my family had money struggles when growing up. With a lot of hard work and isolating myself during my undergrad I managed to get into a very competitive MSc. program in one of those universities everyone knows. That gave me a big boost in confidence and made me feel good about myself. It also helped getting into the prestigious research group I am in now. But at/after the MSc. I somehow became disillusioned with academic/work achievement and realised just how uneven the playing field is (I met many very privileged people at that uni). And also that it's more important to go your own path rather than adhering to what society tells you to do (because, in slightly Orwellian terms, what society tells you to do is certainly influenced by fat bellied, suit wearing people in board rooms).

Other than that? I guess I've always been into sports. I like "optimising" my health (but not to an obsessive degree). I like great literature and philosophy (although I'm sometimes thinking it's a form of escapism for me and that I secretly want to heal myself by absorbing some of the insights). I like the outdoors and nature. I like travelling and being in motion.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#206
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or marry a good person, raise happy kids and live a good life together. If you are not married and one partner makes significantly more than the other, what's to stop the wealthy partner just deciding 20 years into the relationship that they want a newer model and just leaving the former partner destitute? It creates a massive power discrepancy in the relationship. "Do what I want or I'll leave you in the street." Ma…

The fear of someone being destitute after 20 years of marriage has been somewhat alleviated with divorce laws. Usually, the assets gained in mariage are split 50/50. This could also be set with a pre-nup. On the other hand, if neither party makes a good salary, you can't squeeze blood from a turnip.

"The fear of someone being destitute after 20 years of marriage has been somewhat alleviated with divorce laws" That's exactly my point. If they are not married then if the primary earner just up and left the other would be severely hurt financially.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#207
post #45

I’ll give it a shot: It is rock bottom for the glowing persona you constructed to match your parents’ expectations. You learned to do this before you can remember, and the tendency to do so will be something you’ll need to learn to manage. It is not rock bottom for the actual you, and this you is only beginning to realize they even exist. Learn how to name your emotions. Force yourself to not care what others think t…

Thank you. Especially the first two sentences are interesting.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#208

Sounds like youve described my life as well so as much of a cold comfort it is; you arent alone in this experience. Some suggestions. 1. Theres usually a big gap between understanding and belief. You can “know” something is true but not have it feel true, or let that knowledge have any positive affect on your outlook or physiology. This simply takes time. Be patient and kind with yourself. 2. Self help books are good…

Thanks for the recommendations! I know some of Pete Walker's stuff but have never read his CPTSD book yet.

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#209

If you grew up in a toxic family of the type you're describing it could be that the hardest thing is to realise that as an adult you can do whatever you want. Sounds obvious and easy but can be really hard to internalise and act on. And it's the thing that matters most, because once you do have the feeling that you can do whatever you want, you can figure out what you want and do it and live a happy life. It will pro…

Indeed, well said!

Re: Ask HN: How did you rebuild yourself after having hit rock bottom?

#210
I have only one suggestion: change therapist! And do it soon. Too many therapists are trained to keep you on that chair because that's how they get paid. You need a therapist that will agree to make you feel better in a month and start getting to an achievable goal in a reasonable time frame. Talk to your therapist about setting goals and see the reaction.
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