u/An_Error404

I’m someone who highly values my platonic relationships, but my brain will constantly go “you actually like them romantically!” Or “you should make advances onto them!” Or “they actually like you romantically!” It’s terrible, and I hate it, and it feels so isolating.

One example is that I have a very close female friend who I am not attracted to in the least. But my brain will sometimes try to force me to say that I am, or I’ll start randomly becoming paranoid that she’s into me, or I’ll get random intrusive thoughts about how I should ask her out. Again, I am not interested in her in the slightest, but I’ll have bad episodes of paranoia that I secretly am.

Or, one that’s gotten a lot worse lately, I have a professor/boss that I TA for and am very close with. He’s been nothing but respectful and professional, and I love being his student. But sometimes, I’ll have these terrible intrusive thoughts of “I like him a lot, so therefore I must want to be in a romantic/sexual relationship” or “he must be secretly grooming/courting me since that’s the only relationship between a female student and a male professor that can exist.” I’m gay. There is absolutely no way I like this guy anything but platonically, and yet I’ll get intrusive thoughts about how I must like him romantically.

Does anyone else have similar experiences? It’s super weird and uncomfortable. With especially the second example, it’s been making me very paranoid for absolutely no plausible reason.

r/Lightroom, I’ve come for your wisdom.

I am an undergrad TA for my college’s band program, and I’m pretty close with my professor/boss whom I’ve known with for 3 years. We were joking around when I asked him if there was any work I could help him with over the summer, and he sarcastically said “learn Lightroom so I don’t have to hire a photographer,” so I said I will. And he had the GAUL to laugh. In my face. And say that I, as an English major, would have no reason to learn Lightroom. Humiliating.

I need to get him back. I think it would be a really funny bit if I learned Lightroom before our event in July just so that I can rub it in his face. How hard would this be? How easy is it to learn Lightroom?

I’ve been having some small stabbing muscle pain in my right side after practicing today. I was most likely way too tense during an hour of range extension exercises, and it probably hurt my sides. Anyone have any experience and/or advice for this?