I know it’s a at best a useless mindset, as nothing will make me somehow magically get a new chance at those years. But it’s still a strong feeling and it’s still there.

I’m doing my best to push through it, I’m out there talking to people, but there’s usually a point where we are sharing personal anecdotes and I just feel my stomach tightening, as I barely have any of those. I have no experiences which means I have no identity which means I am uninteresting.

  • un_mask_me [any]
    ·
    6 months ago

    Regret feels a lot like grief, in my experience, almost like a lighter shade of mourning what could have been. Acceptance is probably the hardest part of it, and it takes a different kind of mindset to reframe the way you look at yourself and what you have experienced. Hindsight after an extended period of surviving rather than living is probably one of the most difficult things to process emotionally, because you can look back and see the things that could (or should) have been different but there's no way to make changes. It's lonely, and the struggle is internal, making it hard to share and describe to others. It's okay to say "I got nothin" in those situations, though, or even sharing things that you wish you had done instead. Technically that's still sharing your experience without having to delve into that feeling of nothingness. You never know, someone might just say they feel the same, or even offer to make new experiences with you moving forward. I think being honest is the best way to genuinely connect to others. We're all walking our different paths, and moving at different speeds. Go easy on yourself comrade, it sounds like you're making good strides even if it feels like you're lagging behind.