Yahoo Lifestyle "It Just Wrecks My Mood Most Days": People Are Revealing The Everyday Extremely Stressful Things That Are Destroying Their Mental Health
To say our mental health has been plummeting is an overstatement. Whether it's stress over our jobs, the current administration, or family, it seems we're all being impacted by something or another. So when Reddit user PlasticMaybe157 asked: "What is ruining your mental health?" so many people shared their personal stories. Here's what people are currently dealing with so you don't have to feel alone in the world.
1."My job destroying my mental health."
"This. I've never been as anxious and depressed as I have since I decided to pursue my current career path — and the thing is, at this point, I've invested too much time, and I feel like I have no choice but to stay on this path even though it makes me miserable. Falling for the sunk cost fallacy, but I just don't have the energy to go back to school a fourth time for something else."
2."The mistakes I've made and thinking about them all the time."
"Something I have found quite effective is speaking to the person(s) involved in the mistake.
The number of times I have apologized to someone about something, and they have said, ‘Oh, I don’t remember it (like that),’ and the weight of the guilt has lifted off of me immensely.
I recently experienced it on a trip I took with my family, and I told my sister about how annoyed I was with myself for doing something. She said, ‘The family and I had a great trip, and that’s what we remember, not that one moment,’ and since then, I haven’t been eating myself alive over it."
3."A smartphone. Constant dopamine and social media."
"What helped me immensely was turning off notifications for everything aside from text messages and calls.
I did that in around 2019 before it got really extreme — and I am really glad I did.
I decide when I want to view content. Instead of the content telling me when I should view it."
4."Other people. People can be so selfish, cunning, childish, and immature that it just wrecks my mood most days."
"Once heard someone say: What someone else does is their karma, how you react to it is yours. It's stuck with me and helped a lot over the years."
5."Family."
"One hundred percent. Some people will never, ever understand. They were raised and prepared for life. Some of us were fighting to survive in toxic, abusive, and dangerous environments."
6."Intrusive thoughts."
"I’m tortured by them, and it won’t stop. I’ve had loads of therapy and all my other issues have gone. This stubborn bastard won’t leave no matter what, though. It’s self-sabotage, and I hate myself for it."
"I have some truly terrible ones, but TBH, I have a pretty strong stomach, and once I realized that I have no physical attachment to them, it was easier not to have an emotional attachment. Instead of being upset with myself, I just get annoyed and go, 'Well anyways,' and put some music on or try to find something to watch. The act of having to think about what I’m doing usually makes me forget them entirely. Basically, I don’t validate them at all. Like a class clown, the more attention you give them, the worse they are."
7."The current administration."
"The worst part is that you want to disengage from politics for the sake of your mental health, but you also know that disengaging is the worst thing you can do at a time like this."
"I can't pull up the browser on my phone to look up some random thing I thought about without seeing a headline that's just so wild that I want to scream. It's basically impossible to disengage unless you fundamentally don't care about anything but yourself, which it's clear that 10s of millions of Americans are exactly that."
8."Constant comparisons or the pressure to keep up appearances can lead to anxiety or low self-esteem."
9."Unemployment and chronic health issues."
"Health issues are so hard, man. I can’t imagine how hard it is combined with unemployment. I’ve been sick for over two years still with no diagnosis. I got the results of our, like, sixth round of lab work today, and it’s so hard to stay positive when you’re feeling and seeing your health decline while answers still aren’t coming your way."
10."Dave."
"Dave can fuck all the way off."
11."Anxiety."
—None
"This, and people that say, 'My anxiety is my superpower because it makes me detail-oriented.' Please fuck all the way off. If your anxiety is a superpower, you don't fucking have anxiety; you're just detail-oriented."
12."Loss of my almost 14-year-old dog. I'm also not a fan of my current and soon-to-be-over relationship."
"I am so sorry. Please take comfort in knowing your pup was so lucky to be loved and your dog knew he was loved. Can you imagine being that lucky?"
13."Right now: DOGE. I agree with what is going on (holy crap, the corruption), but I am worried about the layoffs. My job is at risk for no reason other than the administration is trying to shrink the government."
"Now you know how private sector workers always feel. I have been laid off four times in 25 years, and each time, I had to start all over again. My advice to you is to make sure that you are needed. Good luck."
14."Loneliness and isolation."
15."Stress. Five years without a break from stress. 2020: COVID, family deaths, child was born, redundancy. 2021: My wife was sick and unable to drive for a year, so I had to do all the driving for our kids and a high-stress new job. 2022: Doctors were useless, so my wife was still unable to drive. 2023: My mum nearly died. 2024: The contract was renewed six times, adding to my stress as I thought I might lose my job. Digestive issues, the wife had two seizures, so she can’t drive again, and was diagnosed with high cholesterol. 2025: January, the redundancy process began; caught the flu, stressed at home, caught a cold, digestive problems, roids…fucking blah! So yeah, five years with endless stress, which keeps building, and I have no outlet. I’ve done the gym, meditation, yoga…nothing works. Because ultimately, what I really need is a break! From my kids, my job, and my life as a whole. A solid two weeks away with the wife in a warm country. I need that."
Is there anything in particular that is affecting your mental health? Share your experience if you feel comfortable doing so in the comments below.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.
