Posts by Robin Foster7

Donna White50 said:Man, we had such similar lives... though I dealt with abuse on top of everything else...
If there's one constant in my life, it's this deep need to be alone and just escape from reality...
I've managed to build some friendships and move up in my career—doors definitely opened for me—but when it comes to social stuff, I've never been able to form deep connections. Career-wise, I've always kept my ambitions pretty low-key, too...
I've always relied on my own strength—maybe too much, honestly—but I just don't trust people. I don't get why they feel the need to screw each other over... plus, I'm just not good at building or keeping close relationships. It's not that I'm weird, I just don't have the drive to hang out all the time. People strike me as boring, overly calculated, and superficial, and it just gets on my nerves...
I have a kid now, and I'm trying my best to break the cycle...
Even so, they've picked up on my personality—they're pretty independent and live in their own world, too...

Between the TV and everything else, there were skills we should have learned that we just didn't... and now we're paying the price...
You just accept it and live with it, kind of like someone born without a limb or something...
You can try to fix things, but at the end of the day, you are who you are. I did a few years of psychotherapy, but even then, they didn't really "get" me—even though I was actually pretty good at helping others through it. Whatever, it's just a different level of consciousness, I guess... I've always felt like I don't quite belong with people, like I'm from another planet entirely...

Thanks for sharing that experience
It’s been weighing on me lately, this realization that I spent my childhood glued to the TV and how much that shaped me.
I became a very, very withdrawn child, only really opening up in my 20s when I discovered traveling and going out and started building myself into a person. But even then, I stayed pretty reserved. I struggle to express certain emotions because, well, I never had anyone to share them with.
I don't consider myself an outcast, but I know I was permanently left unprepared for the real world since I wasn't really participating in it.

My husband and I decided not to have a TV in the house at all, which has been great. I really can't stand that constant presence of a screen; it actually feels depressing when I visit someone and the TV is constantly on, making everyone go silent while they stare at the screen. I really don't like that. We limit our kids' computer time, too—just a little cartoons in the morning and a little before bed.
We might watch a series or a documentary in the evening once the kids are asleep, and that's about it.

But I still deal with that issue where I'm constantly retreating into my own little world. I lack ambition. Somewhere deep down, I think that child is still there, just wanting to turn on the cartoons and disappear. Just disappear.

Now that I’ve become a parent myself, I’m starting to look back at my own childhood through a different lens, realizing how much certain things shaped who I am today.
The first thing that comes to mind is screen addiction.

My parents were always working, and growing up in the 90s here in the States, having a TV was such a big deal—especially when satellite TV started becoming a thing.
To make a long story short, I was one of those kids who spent an insane amount of time glued to cartoons. I probably spent more than half my day just staring at the screen.
On top of that, my parents tended to feed me a lot of junk food, so I ended up being an overweight kid, too.
I basically lived in front of the TV while eating, totally lost in my own little bubble. I didn't have many friends; I just existed in this exaggerated, imaginary world of my own.

It’s only now that I’m seeing the fallout and connecting the dots. I struggle to focus, I haven't really achieved anything significant career-wise, I procrastinate constantly, and I drift off easily. I daydream so much that it actually starts to negatively impact my real life.
I still get this constant urge to just lock myself in my room, turn something on, and disappear into that digital world.

I'm honestly not sure how to fix this. Does anyone have any ideas? What hurts most is the realization that I didn't really get to have a "normal" childhood; instead, mine was just spent behind a screen.

I guess what radical is saying is true; there’s a certain sense of freedom that comes when you aren't constantly tripping over a mountain of stuff.
For the last month, I’ve definitely been on a bit of a spending spree—just one of those phases, I suppose. Maybe I needed it, maybe not. Either way, I’m now stumbling over piles of shoes every time I walk into my apartment, and honestly, it feels a little embarrassing looking at these ten jackets when I probably only ever wear two.
But, well, I do like to look put together... so there's a jacket for the park, one for warmer days, one for those weird transitional seasons, a fancy one, a sporty one, and so on.

I'm trying to clear out the excess now. I've actually set a goal for myself to buy absolutely nothing for the next three months.

It feels like that time of year is creeping up again—the season where everyone just starts burning through cash like there's no tomorrow. We’ve got Black Friday turning into this month-long marathon, and then it just rolls straight into the holiday shopping madness. Honestly, consumerism has become its own kind of psychological beast.
People use it as a sort of therapy, I guess, but at the same time, they're just fueling an addiction.
What do you all think about this whole frenzy? And how do you manage to hold back when you see those endless "limited time" deals staring you in the face?

To be brief, I’m a woman in my 30s, a mom of two, and happily married.

So, after having two kids, I kind of let myself go—you know, the extra weight, the constant childcare, all that stuff. But about six months ago, I finally got back to my old self. I started working out again, eating healthy, and even treated myself to some new clothes that fit perfectly.

The thing is, I think I’ve become a bit obsessed with how I look. I spend way too much time thinking about it. My mind just wanders toward what I should wear, what layers to put on, or which new moisturizer I should pick up. Lately, it feels like that's all I think about. Instead of getting lost in a good book or focusing on something for work, I’m just scrolling through fashion trends and looking at skincare products.

It doesn't really feel like "me," so I guess I'm wondering what's going on? I've become somewhat vain, I find myself checking the mirror constantly, and... I don't know, I actually enjoy the attention when people look my way.

Hey everyone, this is my husband. He’s hit a bit of a plateau with his training lately, so he was wondering if anyone has tips on what he could tweak. He’s doing CrossFit three times a week and goes for a run once a week. He’s 37.
I’m not posting mine just yet—I think I need to get myself back in shape first. 🙂

(image)https://i.ibb.co/FgT1Phz/20180405-173113.jpg[/IMG]
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How long have you guys been together, how old are you both, and are you living separately right now?
Maybe the word "relationship" just doesn't feel right after marriage, or maybe you're looking for something more substantial, which might be why you're feeling so unsure about everything.

I remember being incredibly jealous back before my husband and I finally moved in together—honestly, I can't even explain why I felt that way.