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I feel I can't be happy in social settings. I'm usually quiet in big social groups, although I wish to be more chatty and let people know me more. But I always end up being left out which saddens me, but I got used to being ignored and spending most of the time on my own. However, life and family struggles seem to always steal my happiness in those moments. I feel I can't enjoy being with people that much and this has affected me on so many levels. I become a lot more talkative in smaller groups or 1-to-1.

Any advice on how to overcome this? I feel like nothing brings me joy and I don't deserve good things in life.

I feel I can't be happy in social settings. I'm usually quiet in big social groups, although I wish to be more chatty and let people know me more. But I always end up being left out which saddens me, but I got used to being ignored and spending most of the time on my own. However, life and family struggles seem to always steal my happiness in those moments. I feel I can't enjoy being with people that much and this has affected me on so many levels. I become a lot more talkative in smaller groups or 1-to-1.

Any advice on how to overcome this? I feel like nothing brings me joy and I don't deserve good things in life.

Hi all - just wanted to get some advice as I don't have many people around me to talk to, and whenever I try talking to my family I end up feeling worse and unheard.

So I reached a point in my life where I feel so lost and can't find meaning in anything I do. I have so many things on my mind, things I want to do or change, but I don't even know where to start. I have seen others achieve lots of things, whereas I feel like my attempts to change were in vain - I have failed on so many levels that I am not confident in my abilities anymore.

I am working from home most of the time, which is an advantage in the sense I don't get to spend time and money on the commute as I used to, more free time outside work etc. But then I started feeling lonely most of the time. First year was bad, I couldn't cope with the fact I was not talking to anyone - just me and my four walls, spending my lunch breaks walking outside, coming back to a screen and waiting for 5pm to log off, then spending more time alone outside work hours. I live in a small town where there's not much to do or places to go out and meet people.

I once cried on Christmas Day simply because I no longer felt any happiness. Seeing others spending time with their family and friends just triggered something in me I wish I had. I know that what most people post on social media does not always reflect the reality, but sometimes I still wish for a better life and have people around me. Not many - just a few, good ones. At some point I took antidepressants, but felt they were not the solution and I focused on exercising more and eating healthy instead. The pills made me feel no emotion, so I decided to stop and I don't regret it.

After a year of spending time by myself, I got used to it - don't know how, I guess it was a matter of time. I got used to being by myself most of the time. I started running more, walking outside more etc. I also started spending more time in coffee shops simply because I like being in an environment with people, but not necessarily talk to them. Whenever I get the chance, I always go outside because I hate my home environment. So it's not really a coffee addiction, but the craving of being surrounded by people.

However, while I got to learn how to be by myself after 2-3 years of working remotely, I still feel that this 'lifestyle' is not ideal and has to change, but I feel stuck and don't know where to start. I don't want to waste my time in coffee shops.

As for friendships and relationships: I don't have any friends from school (studied abroad) or uni (studied in the UK - those I met at university moved to bigger cities like London). I met a few people through work and tried to keep in touch with a few. Sometimes I meet 1-2 of them every 2 months or so which is still good, but I wish I had more connections or opportunities to do something fun with people. I am not in a relationship (mostly single) which doesn't really bother me, but sometimes I do worry about this aspect. I feel like I am not going to meet a decent person as I am scared by what I've seen people around me go through, or stories I hear about others' bad relationships. When I tried talking to my family about this, the only advice I get is "your only option is dating apps". My mother doesn't really seem to care or talk to me about this aspect of my life at all, while my sister is sometimes more invested to talk about this but her approach is quite harsh - she once told me to be prepared to suffer and be traumatised because she doesn't see me meeting a good person anytime soon. And if I did, just to be ready about the negative aspects. She met her current partner through a dating app and blames me for not meeting someone the same way she did.

So, has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you overcome those dark, stagnant days when things seemed to have no escape?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

TIA.

Hi all! I applied to GEM in the past (~7 years ago), but didn't get into it because my UCAT score was too low on to secure an interview for graduate programmes. I only got an interview for an undergraduate programme at Norwich, but didn't get an offer - I couldn't have afforded if I got in anyway, but decided to attend the interview just for the experience as it was my first ever med school interview.

I applied for 3 years in a row, but I was unsuccessful every time - similar UCAT score (~2000-2100), no offers. Then I stopped applying because I felt so disappointed and sad that my mental health was not in a good place. Thought I needed a break from the constant thought of applying to medicine and redirected my focus on something else, just to explore other options and see if I liked something else. So I did a Master's in Interdisciplinary Biosciences which I really enjoyed. That's when I learned about AI/ML and the impact it can have on Biomedical research.

Straight after my master's, I got a job as a Data Analyst which I'm still doing at the moment. Pay is good, but progression seems very slow in my company and the work itself isn't that exciting. The job itself is quite isolating as I'm working from home most of the time and have no one around me to talk to. I wanted to switch to a different scientific area, so I started applying for PhD programmes: I had a few interviews, but didn't get an offer. I applied again last year, but no offer.

Now I am at a point in my life where I don't know what to do next after so many failures: didn't get into medical school, didn't get into PhD either.

Sometimes I still look back and think what would have been if I pursued medicine, if I tried applying again. I have two close friends who got into GEM and they encouraged me to try again every time I failed - and I still think about their words every now and then. One surgeon I shadowed at that time really sparked my interest about the field. He was very passionate about the profession, told me the reality and ups & downs of being a doctor and told me: "You will get in one day." - but I didn't get there.

Does anyone have any thoughts on GEM entry these days? I noticed the UCAT no longer has abstract reasoning anymore, but I guess the format is still the same. I secured a test for 17th August - is there enough time to practice until then?

Also, any advice on the best work experience placements would be greatly appreciated. I know HCA roles are good options, alongside shadowing doctors in hospitals/other healthcare settings.

TIA.