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I had a crisis at twenty five. I watched all my friends get married with good jobs, and I was still a college dropout. I was very depressed. 25% of a hundred years. Holy crap.

Anyway, I'm knocking on fifty and I just don't give a flying f anymore. After my health scare, every day I wake up now is a gift. I talk to people when I never would have had the nerve. No, I don't go on vacation, I work all the time, and I mean almost all the time, but I don't care. I've only got a few years left, so what?

The reality is I'm too poor to go buy a sports car or something and two ugly to date a hot twenty something, so I'll just have to live with that. That and the Harley I just bought.

Schlich wrote:Don't be afraid to seek a counselor, If you haven't already. It's their job to help with stuff like this

Late to the party, but this. 100%.

IMADreamer:

Of all your sentences, this one stuck out to me the most:

IMADreamer wrote:There is so much strife and trouble in the world shouldn't I help someone?

I wanted to contribute some unsolicited advice. You're a guy who seems to be well-read and tries to stay informed on current affairs. Maybe dial back a little from that? It can be heavy and depressing at times, and I'm not just referring to politics in DC. Hurricane Harvey is a largely tragic story (with bright spots here and there). But if one is really well-informed, then a topic like the deadly flooding in Bangladesh could be weighing on one's mind.

The 2nd half of your sentence reminded me of a wonderful PSA that ran a while back, and if you haven't seen it, I think it might be helpful to spend the 30-60 seconds viewing it. I wish I could find it for you, but after searching YouTube and Google for 10 minutes, I can't find it. (Can anyone help me locate that TV commercial?) It's about a guy who seems depressed because everywhere he turns, he's faced with an opportunity to help the less fortunate. Adopt a dog, help a poor child get an education, help a WW2 vet, etc. The message was basically, you don't have to do them all. Start with one and you will feel better because you'll be doing something, instead of feeling paralyzed by the myriad of options.

I'm not saying you're not doing anything now. But your comment about "shouldn't I help someone?" leads me to believe there might be an opportunity to lift your spirits through charity.

Ok. Enough of my words. Back to work for me.

I've had similar feelings before and I wonder how much not having kids has to do with it. Not to say that people with kids are better or even happier, but it gives you more of a focus and purpose that maybe stops a lot of these existential "what am I doing/accomplishing?" self conversations from occurring in the first place.

cardsfansince82 wrote:I've had similar feelings before and I wonder how much not having kids has to do with it. Not to say that people with kids are better or even happier, but it gives you more of a focus and purpose that maybe stops a lot of these existential "what am I doing/accomplishing?" self conversations from occurring in the first place.

I wonder the same things. I don't what kids but I wondered this week if that's what is missing.

IMADreamer wrote:

cardsfansince82 wrote:I've had similar feelings before and I wonder how much not having kids has to do with it. Not to say that people with kids are better or even happier, but it gives you more of a focus and purpose that maybe stops a lot of these existential "what am I doing/accomplishing?" self conversations from occurring in the first place.

I wonder the same things. I don't what kids but I wondered this week if that's what is missing.

Kids give you focus that's for sure.

Focus on cleaning up after them.
Focus on helping with homework every night.
Focus on what they are doing on-line.
Focus on finding money to cloth and feed them.
Focus on getting them to do what they are told.
For me soon focus on keeping pervert boys away from my girls, and keeping my mean wife from killing any of these boys....

wart57 wrote:

IMADreamer wrote:

cardsfansince82 wrote:I've had similar feelings before and I wonder how much not having kids has to do with it. Not to say that people with kids are better or even happier, but it gives you more of a focus and purpose that maybe stops a lot of these existential "what am I doing/accomplishing?" self conversations from occurring in the first place.

I wonder the same things. I don't what kids but I wondered this week if that's what is missing.

Kids give you focus that's for sure.

Focus on cleaning up after them.
Focus on helping with homework every night.
Focus on what they are doing on-line.
Focus on finding money to cloth and feed them.
Focus on getting them to do what they are told.
For me soon focus on keeping pervert boys away from my girls, and keeping my mean wife from killing any of these boys....

Have I mentioned before that kids are terrifying to me? You pretty much highlighted all the reasons.

mikechamp wrote:IMADreamer:

Of all your sentences, this one stuck out to me the most:

IMADreamer wrote:There is so much strife and trouble in the world shouldn't I help someone?

I wanted to contribute some unsolicited advice. You're a guy who seems to be well-read and tries to stay informed on current affairs. Maybe dial back a little from that? It can be heavy and depressing at times, and I'm not just referring to politics in DC. Hurricane Harvey is a largely tragic story (with bright spots here and there). But if one is really well-informed, then a topic like the deadly flooding in Bangladesh could be weighing on one's mind.

The 2nd half of your sentence reminded me of a wonderful PSA that ran a while back, and if you haven't seen it, I think it might be helpful to spend the 30-60 seconds viewing it. I wish I could find it for you, but after searching YouTube and Google for 10 minutes, I can't find it. (Can anyone help me locate that TV commercial?) It's about a guy who seems depressed because everywhere he turns, he's faced with an opportunity to help the less fortunate. Adopt a dog, help a poor child get an education, help a WW2 vet, etc. The message was basically, you don't have to do them all. Start with one and you will feel better because you'll be doing something, instead of feeling paralyzed by the myriad of options.

I'm not saying you're not doing anything now. But your comment about "shouldn't I help someone?" leads me to believe there might be an opportunity to lift your spirits through charity.

Ok. Enough of my words. Back to work for me.

Those are some great points and I did a few charitable things anonymously today. It felt good, but the anxiety poured right back in.

Pink Floyd's song "Time" says something like "and then one day you'll find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."

Life is feeling a lot like that lately. Man that song is depressing.

You know what's not funny is one day you and I will die.

One of the next ..... idk 25,000 to be precise.