Do you have the things you want in life and are the things you want the things you need?

Forgot to ask. What about you? Are you happy where you are in life?

I'm autistic, I'm single and I have a little girl whom I absolutely adore. I face many difficulties in life but you know I couldn't be happier with who I am and where my life is at!

but I'm surprisingly content with where I am and what I've got

This is exactly how I feel now :) 

Ohh! Interesting question. I think about my life and where I am and where I'm heading on a regular basis. I'm disappointed with my life in general, I have my health which I am grateful for but I feel I waste my life. I'm 27 and I seem incapable of working, I have no friends and I am isolated inside and rarely go out.

When I was a child I dreamed of working as a nurse. I thought when I was older I would have my own family and I would make my mum proud of me. The only thing I've achieved has been my autism diagnosis everything else is a path of failure and trauma.

I have hope things will change but my mental health is ever challenging and I am struggling to cope with it now.

Life isn't where I hoped it would be by now.

Thank you Debbie :)

I keep on trying to type the 'right' words, and deleting every time, so I'm just going to say that I'm thinking of you and hoping the situation improves, which is trite, but true.

And here is a cat face for you

Well, if I had a time machine and could go back and give my younger self advice, I'd tell myself to work at least as hard on friendships and myself as on my career, because money really isn't worth very much when you have no one to share it with.

Thank you.

Pegg said:

I don't think I want more, because I feel fortunate to have what I do, and am. 

Except another dog... I'd quite like one of those! 

That's similar to me, and I'm glad to hear it's true for you too.

I thought you were getting a sibling of your present dog? Or a relative of some sort?

Thank you.

I'm touched

I second out_of_step - I am really, really happy to see you back Debbie

As a 53 years old Irish gay man from a traditional conservative minded Catholic background and living in the U.K. 22 years, in my teens, even though I lived in a small village in Rural Ireland, I craved the big city and the gay life with lots of money - now living in a big U.K. city, I crave the chance to move to a part of Ireland or Scotland that is as far away from others as possible, the more rural and isolated the better - I used to have all sorts of dreams, hopes and ambitions of things I thought I wanted at the time, but I’ve come to realise that it was very wrong of me to want those things at all and in any case, they matter very little to me now, if at all 

Welcome back Debbie, it's nice to see you  

Well, I'm no longer sure what I thought I'd do or be. When younger, it seems to me that I assumed a destination, even if I had not much idea what or where that was. I think now, that I did a lot, in an intense quest to find that destination. 

Parts of those things are part of me now, other parts are not. 

I'm ok, I don't think I want more, because I feel fortunate to have what I do, and am. 

Except another dog... I'd quite like one of those! 

You are young. My friend who is almost 5 decades older says "it's never too late to start again". 

Thank you

Welcome back.

I think in some cases, there's opportunities I don't regret. I don't regret taking opportunities to work 12 hour days on a big film or something (having worked in TV).

But there's other things which, now, I feel I would have enjoyed more.

In my case it was a big life changing event that has changed things.

HMO said:

I do feel I've missed a lot of opportunities, almost entirely because of a lack of confidence and self esteem (and support network). 

Me too but .. now I'm not sure whether those lost  'opportunities' were right for me eg. a degree, a career,  parenthood, as there are areas of my personality/autism that make me singularly unsuited to them, especially the social aspect.

I'm sorry though that you feel this way.

You may be surprised in a few years time when you look back that you have a different perspective, which has happened to me a few times in life.

Never expect anything and you won't be disappointed!

Good to have you back.

I'm 26 and I feel, after everything I've gone through, I have more of a "long term" attitude.

I.e. in terms of the people I keep around me, I have a vision of "these are the people I'd want to be in my life for a long time".

I do feel I've missed a lot of opportunities, almost entirely because of a lack of confidence and self esteem (and support network). 

It's a mix for me. In some respects I feel how I live now is healthier than it was, but there's a lot missing. 

Thank you

I expect a reply

WELCOME BACK WE HAVE MISSED YOU