u/_the_sarcastic_human

I've been seeing really good reviews on Nykaa, especially the PDRN and Vitamin C variants, and I'm tempted to pick them up during my next Nykaa order.

But i wanted to know if yall noticed any actual difference beyond the usual hydration? Which variant would you recommend?

Would love some honest reviews before I hit checkout.

24F, preparing for my 3rd attempt (2027). I feel completely lost, lonely, and I don't know how to get myself back.

I don't even know why I'm writing this. Maybe I just want someone to listen.

Lately, I feel almost emotionally dead. I crave having someone to talk to someone who'll genuinely listen without judging me. I've been single for the last two years, and over time, almost everyone I considered a close friend has drifted away.

The part that hurts the most is that they all still hang out together almost every week. They make plans, meet up, post stories, and somehow I'm never included. They don't even text anymore not even a casual "Hi, how are you?" Some of these people were genuinely my closest friends. We used to know everything about each other's lives. We'd talk about our entire day in detail. Watching all of that disappear without any explanation has been heartbreaking.

I was in Delhi for UPSC preparation, but I had to come back home because I kept falling sick every other day. I thought being back home would make things easier, but my relationship with my parents is also strained, so I don't really have an emotional support system here either. It feels like I don't belong anywhere.

2027 will be my third UPSC attempt.

I gave my first attempt in 2024 while I was still in Delhi taking coaching classes. My mother insisted that I should treat it as an experience, so I appeared for it knowing I wasn't fully prepared. I didn't clear it, which was expected.

My second attempt was in 2026, and it was my first serious attempt. Like many others, I was completely shaken after seeing this year's paper. I literally panicked inside the examination hall. I also struggle with anxiety, so that made the entire experience much worse.

Ever since then, I haven't been able to get myself back on track.

I sit down to study, but I can't focus. My mind keeps spiraling. I constantly feel like I'm losing myself. Sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting the best years of my life while everyone around me is moving ahead building careers, getting into relationships, earning, living life and I'm just... stuck.

I know UPSC is a long journey, and I know everyone says "don't compare yourself," but it's becoming harder every single day. The loneliness is honestly affecting me more than the exam itself.

If you've gone through something similar during your preparation, how did you deal with it? How did you stop feeling so isolated? How did you get yourself to study again when your mind simply refused to cooperate?

TL;DR: 24F preparing for UPSC 2027 (third attempt). Had to leave Delhi due to health issues, strained relationship with parents, lost almost all my close friends, and have no emotional support system. After the difficult 2026 prelims and dealing with anxiety, I feel completely lost, lonely, and unable to focus on studies. Looking for advice from people who've been through something similar.

24F, preparing for my 3rd attempt (2027). I feel completely lost, lonely, and I don't know how to get myself back.

I don't even know why I'm writing this. Maybe I just want someone to listen.

Lately, I feel almost emotionally dead. I crave having someone to talk to someone who'll genuinely listen without judging me. I've been single for the last two years, and over time, almost everyone I considered a close friend has drifted away.

The part that hurts the most is that they all still hang out together almost every week. They make plans, meet up, post stories, and somehow I'm never included. They don't even text anymore not even a casual "Hi, how are you?" Some of these people were genuinely my closest friends. We used to know everything about each other's lives. We'd talk about our entire day in detail. Watching all of that disappear without any explanation has been heartbreaking.

I was in Delhi for UPSC preparation, but I had to come back home because I kept falling sick every other day. I thought being back home would make things easier, but my relationship with my parents is also strained, so I don't really have an emotional support system here either. It feels like I don't belong anywhere.

2027 will be my third UPSC attempt.

I gave my first attempt in 2024 while I was still in Delhi taking coaching classes. My mother insisted that I should treat it as an experience, so I appeared for it knowing I wasn't fully prepared. I didn't clear it, which was expected.

My second attempt was in 2026, and it was my first serious attempt. Like many others, I was completely shaken after seeing this year's paper. I literally panicked inside the examination hall. I also struggle with anxiety, so that made the entire experience much worse.

Ever since then, I haven't been able to get myself back on track.

I sit down to study, but I can't focus. My mind keeps spiraling. I constantly feel like I'm losing myself. Sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting the best years of my life while everyone around me is moving ahead building careers, getting into relationships, earning, living life and I'm just... stuck.

I know UPSC is a long journey, and I know everyone says "don't compare yourself," but it's becoming harder every single day. The loneliness is honestly affecting me more than the exam itself.

If you've gone through something similar during your preparation, how did you deal with it? How did you stop feeling so isolated? How did you get yourself to study again when your mind simply refused to cooperate?

TL;DR: 24F preparing for UPSC 2027 (third attempt). Had to leave Delhi due to health issues, strained relationship with parents, lost almost all my close friends, and have no emotional support system. After the difficult 2026 prelims and dealing with anxiety, I feel completely lost, lonely, and unable to focus on studies. Looking for advice from people who've been through something similar.

I love putting on podcasts during my morning runs or daily commutes, but it is so frustrating how male-dominated the audio space feels. Whether it's general lifestyle, interview shows, or culture, it constantly feels like men talking to other men, completely tuning out female voices and perspectives.

I was listening to the Spotify Unlock your Startup Dreams playlist recently, and the episode featuring Anushka Gupta (co-founder of MyMuse) was such an amazing, refreshing change. Hearing a woman share her raw story made me realize just how deeply we lack female representation in mainstream podcasts.

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This was not just a “tough paper.” UPSC practically changed the texture and pattern of the exam altogether. Years of trend analysis, PYQ patterns, coaching strategies and structured preparation suddenly felt unreliable in one single paper.

The problem is not that UPSC asked difficult questions. Serious aspirants are ready for difficulty.

The problem is unpredictability without boundaries.

At this point the exam is slowly becoming less about depth of preparation and more about surviving randomness, ambiguity and shock value. When even well-prepared aspirants walk out confused about what exactly they could have done differently, something needs reflection.

UPSC should seriously consider releasing a more precise syllabus framework or at least broad indicative domains for preparation every year.

Not vague labels like:

- “Current Affairs”

- “Economy”

- “Science & Tech”

But slightly more structured guidance like:

- International conflicts & geopolitical groupings

- Environmental conventions & species mapping

- Emerging tech applications & governance

- Macroeconomic institutions & monetary trends

- Ancient cultural symbolism & archaeology

- Constitutional principles in contemporary governance

Nobody is asking UPSC to dilute standards or spoon-feed questions.

But lakhs of aspirants invest years of their youth, finances, mental health and family expectations into this examination. Extreme unpredictability without a reasonably defined preparation boundary starts feeling less like an examination and more like a gamble.

A competitive exam should test intelligence, awareness and decision-making, not leave aspirants wondering whether preparation itself still has meaning.

TL;DR: UPSC Prelims 2026 did not just feel tough it felt unpredictably absurd. Aspirants are not against difficulty, but against randomness without preparation boundaries. UPSC should consider releasing broader but more precise topic domains each year so the exam tests preparation and analytical ability, not luck and shock value.