u/Party-Local-1081

I’ve had a pretty rough month (my mum had major surgery today, I’m in the process of completing my master’s, my period is late, just to name a few), and for basically the entirety of August so far, I’ve had this constant sense of unease that I just can’t seem to shake.
I feel like I want to cry, but I can’t. I have a lump in my throat for most of the day. I randomly tear up at everything. I feel extra jittery and shaky even though I consume little to no caffeine. I’m constantly hyperaware of my breathing, and then because I’m thinking about it so much, my breaths become more shallow. I lose my appetite sometimes and as a result I get a headache for the rest of the day. Sometimes I just want to scream.

I also feel like I keep downplaying what I’m experiencing because I tell myself, “Well, I’m not having panic attacks, so this doesn’t really count as anxiety.” But I feel anxious basically all day. I keep imagining worst-case scenarios and feeling this constant sense of dread.
I’ve tried deep breathing, forcing myself to cry, journaling, talking to my friends, distracting myself, etc. They all help, but only temporarily. Sometimes I’ll feel better for maybe 20–30 minutes, and then I’m right back to this constant state of worrying and unease.

I keep blaming all of this on my late period, which honestly could be contributing to it, but then I started wondering: doesn’t that mean these feelings were probably already there, and the hormonal changes are just amplifying them? I don’t know.

I also feel silly about going to a doctor because I keep telling myself that this isn’t “serious enough” to warrant seeing someone. But I literally can’t think about how I’m feeling without crying. I’m crying as I type this.

I know everything with my mum is probably a huge part of this. We found out about her surgery about six months ago, and I think I’ve been in some version of this state ever since. I just kept ignoring it and pushing it down because I had to function. Now that the surgery is actually happening, I feel like everything I’ve been holding in is finally catching up with me.

It’s so frustrating because I feel stuck. Part of me keeps telling myself, “Maybe everything will feel better once my period comes,” but then I stress myself out about my period being late, which probably makes me even more anxious.
I just want to feel normal again. Has anyone experienced this kind of constant, low-level anxiety/unease rather than full-blown panic attacks? What helped you?

I used to be a fairly avid reader as a child, now in my 20s I just endlessly doomscroll and can’t bring myself to pull away from the phone. I want to get into the classics and have no clue where to start because I feel too stupid to understand the complex language and I just end up reading booktok suggestions (which are pretty good but they’re all starting to feel the same now and I’m sick of it). I need some mental stimulation to make myself feel smart again. If you’ve got any advice on what worked for you please feel free to share :)

I used to read a fair amount as a child but somewhere along the way I abandoned my books and gave in to the endless void of doomscrolling. Now I genuinely feel like my brain is getting tired and rotting in real time, yet I can't seem to pull myself away from my phone.

I've always wanted to get into classic literature, but every time I pick up one of those books, I inevitably lose interest and end up going back to watching videos of other people reading instead (which is obviously incredibly counterproductive).

I also really want to learn how to read more appreciatively. I don't want to just speed through a book, finish it, and immediately move on to the next thing. I'd love to actually take my time, absorb what I'm reading, think about it, and maybe even appreciate the writing itself.

I feel like getting back into the habit of reading would help my brain feel less...rotted, for lack of a better word. I also want to feel a bit smarter because honestly I feel so stupid sometimes and I'm only in my 20s. There's so much I want to do and so many hobbies I genuinely enjoy, but I keep getting sucked back into social media because it's so much easier to sit there and scroll than to actually put effort into doing something.

It's incredibly frustrating because I KNOW I'm doing this to myself. I know I have other things I'd rather be doing, yet I still find myself mindlessly scrolling for hours. I feel like I've forgotten how to just sit down and enjoy something without needing constant stimulation.

Anyway, I feel like I completely strayed from my original point. I guess what I'm really asking is: Has anyone else successfully gotten back into reading after years of having their attention span destroyed by social media? If so, how did you do it? And how did you learn to actually slow down and appreciate books rather than feeling like you need to rush through them?
I'd especially love to hear from people who got into classic literature later in life. Where did you start?

Every luteal phase I become so easily annoyed and I honestly feel like I can't control it. It's not violent rage or anything like that but it's more like my tolerance for people completely disappears. The smallest things will set me off and I just want to be left alone.

The only people who don't seem to annoy me are my boyfriend and my best friend. Everyone else, even my parents, can unintentionally get on my nerves. I end up snapping at people I love and I always feel awful afterward because I know they didn't do anything to deserve it.

The frustrating part is that I can tell I'm being unreasonable while it's happening but I still can't seem to stop myself from reacting.

I've tried exercising but it doesn't really help my mood. I've tried deep breathing and meditation but I just feel silly. I don't mind feeling a little emotional or sad, but the irritability is the part I really struggle with. It's affecting my relationships, and I hate feeling like this every month.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what actually helped? I'm genuinely willing to try anything at this point.