u/Nice_Host_9301

Unsure if this type of post is allowed or not but I am looking for some advice.

I am 24F and am going to be a bridesmaid for one of my best friends in a month! I am super excited but also a bit nervous- I have never even attended a wedding before, let alone been in one. I am looking for advice specifically about gifts for the bride and groom, but any general advice anyone would like to offer would be appreciated too.

For the gift- I am getting mixed signals as to what exactly I am supposed to get. Some have told me I don't need to get them anything because I am in the wedding party, whereas others have told me I should get something more costly because I am their good friend.

I am, of course, going to be getting them a gift but I am unsure about what the general rule of thumb is for how much I should spend/how much I should buy... it is a small wedding and much of their registry contains household items that remain unpurchased. They are not very material people, and I really doubt that they will be looking into who spent what, but I want to make sure that I give them the appropriate amount of wedding gifts, as I care for them a lot!

I have gotten them something small (less than 50 USD) off of their registry but am looking at an additional gift that is around 200 USD. I was thinking of contributing a bit to their honeymoon fund as well. Is that enough to have spent? Too much? Too little? Any advice/personal experience stories would be helpful. Thanks!

Hi all! I need some help figuring out different methods that people use to rationalize/self soothe. I am sorry if this kind of post isn't allowed!

I (24F) have struggled with anxiety my whole life, but recently it has gotten worse. I live in an urban area and every once in a while my friends enjoy going out to local bars. We are a big group (7-10 of us at any time) and we always travel together! However, to get from bar to bar we sometimes walk through sketchy neighborhoods. Nothing bad has ever happened, and I know that my friends and I would always stick together in the event of an emergency, but I still can't help but feel a lot of anxiety at the situation. I used to be able to make myself walk with them, but over the past year or so my anxiety has made it so that I often leave early to avoid the walk, skip the hangout all together, and/or spend the days leading up to it absolutely dreading the situation.

I often find myself imagining the worst case-scenario and it leads to me just flat out hyper fixating on one thing and not enjoying the time spent with my friends. I cannot currently afford therapy and so I do not have knowledge on many techniques that might bring me outside of my head. Does anyone have any advice on how to rationalize this anxiety and how I might be able to be a little bit more present?