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BambiStar

Updated 1y ago

Feeling Stunted: Struggling with Mental Health and Identity

Does anyone else ever feel... stunted? I don't know if it's because of my DID, my ADHD, or something else, but I sometimes feel like I just never really grew up and just stayed a teenager, and definitely not on purpose.

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Sumtime

2y

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Drbong

2y

I feel stuck at 15
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leviathansteeth

2y

Same, in my 20s but feeling like I'm still 18, and not much has changed since I was
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KratomEater

2y

🤦🏽yes I know what you mean
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SalineTurnip

2y

I am autistic and I feel like I'll never really be an adult. (I was also abused as a child which doesn't help.) But I can do adult things like pay bills and prioritize my mental health, so I can't ask for much more than that.
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Dannielle

2y

I feel like this too, like I’m still 16 just with more responsibilities 😩
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Heaven197987

2y

My brain is like I'm still a kid most of the time I'm ADHD I am very sure it's an ADHD thing
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Harvey78

2y

All the time 😥
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laceyandme

2y

I have schizophrenia amd i feel stuck in my teens sometimes youmger
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RhetoricalYou

2y

This is a really good way of phrasing this. I've always felt both too old (personality) and too young (ability). Thanks for finally putting words to this feeling.
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Cece7

2y

I feel like because my trauma happened in my late teens that I skipped a time period of my life there and a lot of time do feel like I’m 16 again or that I never properly moved forward past that point so I feel a little stuck there mentally.
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KatieKitKat

2y

I'm 30 & I still act like a kid/teen. And I'm 5 years developmentally behind, I work at a children's museum with children, & to my niece I'm the fun aunt. It is hard tho cuz mentally, emotionally, sometimes physically, and definitely stress wise I can function like an actual adult. I can only work part-time, I live with my parents, & I don't really do much adult things (ie laundry, cooking, pay bills (my mom does that & takes money out of my bank account)) so yeah I understand. And I feel like I should be able to do those things because people my age & younger are able to do it so it's hard sometimes to be ok with how things are & how I handle them
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KratomEater

2y

hey 😊 it is okay to be where you are in your life. I obviously don’t know you’re entire story but, I just want to say that, no matter where you end up, don’t let what your parents or doctors say, hold you back from the life you desire. I grew up with ADHD, and unexplained anxiety. I was always behind in school. The public school system couldn’t teach me the way I needed to be taught . But the one thing I wish I wasn’t told was that I couldn’t do math, or I couldn’t read well, or that I was held back in school. It wasn’t until this last year that I really realized that it wasn’t me that couldn’t learn. It was that they couldn’t teach me. It’s taken a lot of years for me to undo believing that I wasn’t smart.
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laceyandme

2y

i understand cause im 28 and still act like a kid/teen im also the fun aunt and dont know how to cook or anything. Im behind as well. I dont know how far but i am. I dont have a job i go to adult daycare. Yeah im sorry your going thru it too. It sucks.
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Leebit

2y

I rarely behaved well as a kid because of mental health, and I lost my childhood to that. That and trauma just kept me in place. I'll never feel like I'm grown up and my life is so... uncomfortable from that. I know exactly how you feel.
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NaliliaRose

2y

I feel stuck at 14 haha

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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