/rec/ - Ex-NEET / Recovery

It's been another year so I may as well give another update.
After my contract ended in April 2023 I was a NEET again until last February. I somehow managed to get a bunch of interviews at some incredibly high-profile places but I think I was too autistic in the interview for all of them. Eventually I found another part-time research job in February, which has been pretty comfy (and way, way below the skillset they were asking for - a PhD was preferred for a role that has just been printing things off and proofing things for other people). So I can't really complain too much.
I've also been offered a spot on two doctoral programs. One is 4 years and offers a full scholarship with just enough of a stiped to live off but I'd have to move to Asia for it. I've not heard back on funding from the other one yet but it's only 3 years and has a (much) better reputation, so I'd prefer to go there. Either way I'm making progress. For the first time in a very long time I'm not worried about the future.

>>574
As someone who's considering doing a PhD, your post fills me with hope, anon

>>575
I'm glad you found this useful. If nothing else I want this thread to show that you can do stuff with enough ability, effort and patience.
Best of luck with your applications, and consider applying internationally, especially if you need the money. Anecdotally, I had two interviews for PhDs in the Netherlands last year and both paid very well. I understand Switzerland pays very well, too. The University of [spoler]Hong Kong[/spoiler] offers funding with every place but it's barely enough to live off, unless you get the big fellowship, in which case it pays very well.

Update doko

>>693
I was meaning to give an update but I don't have all that much to say. I ended up getting the big stipend for my PhD, which I've been doing that for the last year, so I've been very comfortable.
Things sucked for a while, but I guess everything worked out in the end. I'm not sure if there's a message here but I hope that people can draw some comfort from this thread.

I can relate to this, I stopped being a NEET over a decade ago now but it happened to me, I just told them how I felt and let them be after that.
At the same time, when I was a NEET I didn't like at all when people came to me with their ideas of self improvement and health, so I understand them too.
In the end they made it too. I think simply seeing me get better helped them.
The NEET who look down on people who get out of it exist, but I don't think it's a product of being NEET, I believe they'd be as lame as non-NEET.

After finally stopping being a NEET my former friends refused the challenge of adapting to my new unavailable lifestyle, they seem to feel safer with me contained to a room, but I know more than anyone that in the events of a cataclysm the low tier computer people like me would be the first to go, i needed to train my body into something capable of enduring things in case of scarcity.

>>695
>and they begin to treat you with resentment for doing that
I think that's thing that irritates me the most dealing with some old online friends and communities.

>You have a job? normalfag you dont understand my pain
>You have irl friends? how dare you normalfag
>You have a girlfriend and you have had sex? I can't believe I was ever friends with you traitor
It's so reductive and imageboard-brain poisoned. Especially the people who write you off when you dare speak about your problems with any of those three subjects (job, friends, relationships). If these are such a silver bullet to ending neetdom and living happy, healthy lives then why isn't every "normalfag" content with their lives? There are salarymen with wives and kids inches away from suicide everyday. Neetdom in general is a luxury I couldn't afford to keep, and I changed my life path accordingly. I still get paid like shit at my job, my girlfriend left me, and my group of irl friends is always dwindling but I stay the course because I want to die with something more to my name than "prolific shitposter on an imageboard/forum".

Why? Well for one, my parents can't fund my lifestyle forever and deserve their own financial freedom as well. Two, I want to find fulfillment in life beyond a screen and chatroom/board, there's more to life than sitting in your room playing video games and reminiscing on the good ol days of the internet (because fun fact: those good ol days aren't coming back no matter how much you shitpost, troll people, harass via forums and comment sections, support podcasters and comedians who act like they know shit but don't, and elect right wing politicians who act like they cater to you for your vote). Eventually you got to take some initiative in your life and find alternatives/new hobbies to the things that once gave you joy.

My advice to you op is to just ignore those people, if they are fostering resentment to you over miniscule steps towards improvement. They clearly don't have the emotional maturity or mental clarity to see what you got really ain't shit that 70%-80% of the population don't already have and you need support from uplifting people, not those that will drag you down. These wastes of space will just degrade you Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

How have you been training anon? To me these new types of warfare make physical training seem worthless to protect myself with, I'm interested in how you've built resistance.

>>703
Are you Ukranian or Iranian? Otherwise I don't think you're going to war anytime soon.

>>706
I am neither of those

this post eer\ly reflects how i feel.. i wonder what that means

Become a misogynist

>>698
>I'm sorry for this stupid, whiny post.
Don't be so hard on yourself. We all have to let it out sometimes.

>>698
It can't be that stupid if so many of us feel the same way.

At some point I managed to find joy in my work to justify waking up in the morning, but I can't do that any more, people are just unbearable. I have about 1 hour of free time per day. I can either read or play piano. Then it's back to bed and repeat it all over again. What are we even working for, for 1 hour of free time, feeling exhausted?

>What are we even working for
The idea is to have a population stupid enough to not ask these questions, or otherwise stupid enough to believe voting will fix it.

>>396
You're right, this happened to me, my mother raised me to dependant and ineffectual, it's a terriblee thing to do to a child.

>>420
cat video proved wrong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jto2peSOLac

>>413

I wonder if you got away from your family…

late but i feel this too anon. i was online schooled as well and my parents refused to take me anywhere for socialization so i pretty much was forced to waste my teenage years and the latter half of my childhood on the internet (who knew being almost forcibly exposed 24/7 as someones only means of socializing to the internet could cause persecutory delusions and trouble with reality perception in a child). i'm turning 19 in a few months but i don't know if i can get out, i don't even have my id and am too scared to cross the street (i never go out anyway, too scared to at all). the thought of disappointing my family or making my parents mad by leaving/thinking about leaving scares me as well and i don't know how they'll hold up if i ever move out because we're living in squalor right now, they're both depressed and asocial and never want to do anything, basically hikkineets themselves. my aunt has plans to help me soon though so i have that going for me. i'd like to believe we will make it, you just have to press through even if it is hard and seems like there'll never be an end

nooo you're so sexy please don't kill yourself

I have a part time job but I feel miserable all the time, does anyone have some tips on how to not feel depressed at work?

Was NEET for 5 years, went through a few quick temporary jobs and a technician course before getting the current job 6 years ago at a machine shop. My NEET years were the best of my life, if only I had had the money I have today and the wisdom to take better advantage of all the free time.

I’ve been doing surprisingly well at my tasks and got my salary increased a few times. I like the job itself and don't see it as an obligation like others do. I suppose I earn more than many who've been working there for much longer. And they must suspect as much too. All of this along the fact that I don’t know how to socialise with normalfags has become a problem to some of them in there who now want to make my life more difficult.

To those who ended up getting a job, how do you deal with the normalfags at the workplace? Their constant chatter, gossip, drama, the passive aggressiveness, the little shit games?
I've been trying a obivous things but their effectiveness is not lasting. Physical training, meditation, religion, hobbies, leading my thoughts to more pleasant aspects of my life. All this helped with anxiety, but now it is violent thoughts that keep invading my mind. I don't want to quit because I've disappointed my parents enough times already.

>>683
Hey, that's great that you like your job and are good at it to that degree too. That's pretty rare in life, hold onto that.
For normies, how I have had success is to tackle them one at a time. I can't be normal myself, but you can try and shape your perception to be more "endearing weirdo" to them and that's a good spot to be in. They're not used to others letting them be passionate and ramble on about stuff, so try to find one that has an interest or niche experience that you know about and put effort into having some good conversations about it. Let them ramble and chatter at you and act really engaged and earnest in response. I have a coworker who I found out really loves seasonal shonen slop for example, now he comes to me because I'm the only one he can talk to about how cool demon slayer is or whatever and I act all impressed. The good thing about gossip is that, once at least one of them gets fond of you they will then spread it to the others. "Oh anon's not a bad guy, I had a really nice conversation about [whatever niche thing] the other day…" let them work for you while you deal with what you can. This can be really hard and annoying if every coworker is extremely bland and npc tier, but just keep at it. I had a guy I worked closely with for months who was cold to me until I found out he was into Bigfoot, and then in the span of a single day I was suddenly like his best buddy, because I was the only one who seemed like they legitimately wanted to hear his hour long story about bigfoot footprints. Don't ask me why the fuck that worked, I don't get it either. I read Wikipedia for fun so that really helps, if you cycled through a bunch of hobbies etc that will actually be a boon here. Just keep an eye out for topics you can latch on to when they're chattering at you, find their weak point basically. One person at a time. If people are trying to play dumb shitty games with you, lean into being a weirdo and politely just ignore them/don't engage and act ignorant. Hopefully if you demonstrate you aren't a good target for those things, they'll get bored and bother someone else instead.

>>688
Situation is more complex than I showed on my first post. All you’re saying worked and was possible for the first couple of years, but the environment has changed.

I was in good terms with the team. Even if I have little need to talk, some normalfags just must keep their mouths running so I did find common interests with some.
There was this 50 years old with whom I couldn’t, though. Being-loud-is-funny, constant disgusting sexual/faecal comments type of guy, mentality of a stupid 12 year old. I didn’t know what to respond in face of such stupidity so I wouldn’t say anything.

With time he gathered a group of friends, forming a clique. Some I used to get along with, two I even helped on personal projects. People who used to show manners and intelligence began levelling themselves down to fit in with the 50yo. The younger ones act like fan boys of the older ones. Their opinions, tastes, behaviours are all identical to the role model in retardation.

They began pushing me to shit talk other coworkers, the company, the boss, even random strangers passing by… I wouldn’t agree and either pointed the positives or just ignored the subject.
Suddenly it was stupid that I was good at a task or hobby. But it was also ridiculous that I was bad at something else. Even if they have the same interests, qualities or flaws that I do. I confronted them, they pretended nothing was going on.

Today I'm their favourite conversation topic and have to listen to taunting whenever I pass by 2 or more of them. If they are alone and out of sight of the 50yo they act normal.

>The good thing about gossip is that, once at least one of them gets fond of you they will then spread it to the others.
That was true in the beginning. The clique will report all I say or do back to the older ones so they can decide what to think of it and if it can be used against me.
Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

I'm more depressed than i ever felt as a neet with no money. i got a rush of adrenaline thinking about just doing it. last time i felt that was when i was looking over a bridge trying to get courage to fcking jump off it

>>584
reading this is like watching all of my suppressed inner thoughts ripping out of my brain and forming its own conscious body and then making its own post as its wants to without being held back by me who is ever passive

>>584
I could have written this, except I don't have friends anymore.

>>117
I see this was posted 5 years ago. I felt like this since around that time. The culture has been changing so much, and for the worst. It's been what, 5, 8 years since I last felt comfy on an imageboard? Maybe I just got too old for this.
Now with a job, I also lost the few "friends" I had due to schedule incompatibility, being tired all the time and growing into different people. Connecting with the normalfags that I'm forced to interact with on a daily basis is just impossible. I'm more isolated than ever before.

I have no idea what to do with the money I earn. I don't need a new car, I don't need new clothes, I barely need to buy anything. I'm living with my parents because buying a home, even paying a room is just impossible in this country, and honestly I see no reason to do so. I have my corner in here and don't bother anyone nor do they bother me. I don't care about women and forming a family of my own. All of this is confusing and threatening to the normalfag brain. They just want to punish me for being a weirdo yet "having it better than them". I'm threatened if I interact with them but also if I avoid them and they decide to come nearby. If I'm already mentally ill why make me feel even worse? If they have friends and families while I don't, how am I doing better? Do they regret it and hate that I didn't follow their path?

>>370
>being super passionate about something normies don't get or understand is like crack for normies.
Around here having different interests and understanding things others don't is just going to get you ostracised. It's deemed as "trying to be better than us".

nothing has changed. i still feel bitterness in every part of my life. i have nowhere to go on the internet. i've never made a single friend in my life, aside from my "colleagues" who seem to like me, but never enough to talk with for an extended period of time. anyway, i've taken up drinking. it helps.

>>584
I feel like I wrote this, although I quite honestly don't remember if I did or not. In either case, I don't feel much different if any different at all. I don't really have anything of substance to add. I just don't have anyone or anywhere else to put this.