Hi everyone! Back a few months ago I purchased this used car. It is salvaged so it was bought from a company insurance. However, i bought it with this thing stuck on the back NOT knowing what it meant. Soooo now that i asked google what it meant, i would LOVE to get it removed lmaooo.
No idea what was going on through his mind here. I had just freshened up his tank and threw in a couple crickets as a treat for great behavior lmaoooo.
Hi everyone. I don’t really know how to write this without it turning into a mess, but I’m at a point where I feel completely stuck and I genuinely don’t know how people escape situations like this.
I’m 22F and living with my mom (53F). I feel like I’ve been in survival mode for the last 3 years and I’m starting to lose myself in it.
Background:
My parents separated when I was 12 due to long-term instability at home. Since then, I’ve lived with my mom, who has always struggled with emotional volatility and financial instability. Growing up, I learned to stay quiet, avoid conflict, and try to keep the peace as much as possible.
Over time, that’s turned into me constantly managing chaos and trying to hold things together emotionally and practically.
How things escalated:
In 2024, we were forced to move because of a landlord/legal issue. Around that time, I was in medical trade school and working part-time while my mom was working multiple cleaning jobs.
Then she developed severe leg pain, stopped working, and was later diagnosed with a fractured hip that required surgery in April of 2025. After that, everything fell on me.
I started working multiple jobs, managing bills, taking her to medical appointments, and trying to stay in school at the same time. I was exhausted but I kept pushing because I didn’t feel like there was another option.
The job I was relying on at the time was through family business where my mom has worked for years. I had multiple conversations with my uncle(owner of cleaning business) because I often wouldn’t get paid for months at a time. His excuse was that “many of the other locations that had requested their cleaning services, had completely closed down their shops without paying the cleaning crew.” This was something I did believe at the time because he showed me a few court paperworks with court hearings explaining the conflicts he had with these other businesses. But as of now, in 2026, I don’t believe that’s the reason anymore. I was trying to hold everything together with no real stability or control over income for almost 3 years now.
Eventually, while trying to care for my mom after surgery and keep up with work and school, my attendance dropped and I was dismissed from my program just weeks before finishing. Losing that broke something in me. I had worked so hard to get there.
Where things are now:
Right now, everything feels like it’s collapsing:
- We are behind on rent and at risk of eviction
- Assistance programs have denied us
- My mom is still dealing with ongoing health issues
- I don’t have control over income because it goes through her account
- My phone hasn’t had service for months
- My car insurance has lapsed multiple times
- I’ve accumulated school debt after trying to restart and failing again
- I’ve applied to over 40 different jobs with no responses at all
On top of that, there’s deep family dysfunction. My mom sometimes spends money we don’t have ;supporting my siblings abroad, even while we’re struggling to stay afloat. Keep in mind, they are way older than me and have their own families. If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m the baby in the family.
There’s also something heavier I carry: when I was 13, I was 🍇by my mom’s friend’s son who lived in our home for some time. When I told her, I wasn’t believed and I was blamed instead. I don’t bring this up for shock value—it just shaped a lot of how unsafe I’ve felt for years and root of the reason why we don’t have such great relationship.
How I feel:
I feel tired in a way I don’t know how to explain anymore. Like I’ve been running on adrenaline and anxiety for so long that I don’t recognize myself.
I want to leave. I want to rebuild my life. I want stability so badly it physically hurts sometimes. But I don’t see a realistic path out right now without everything collapsing further. There was one point where I thought things would get better without me but thankfully both my dad and boyfriend changed that for me and have tried being a bit more supportive.
I also feel guilty accepting help from my dad and my boyfriend, even though they’re trying to support me, because I know it puts pressure on them too.
My question:
How do people actually leave situations like this when you’re financially dependent and responsible for a parent?
What are the real, practical first steps to getting out when you’re already behind on everything and barely holding on?
If anyone has been through something similar, I would really appreciate hearing how you got through it—even if it wasn’t pretty or linear.