When I turned 18, my parents stopped intervening in my bad decisions. This led to me neglecting a lot of my basic needs. I also discovered the magic of coffee at this time, which meant I didn’t get a lot of sleep.

Here’s a short list of some things that happened during this period:

• Realized my spiritual beliefs were provably wrong, then realized how strong the placebo effect is, then realized a bunch of my core memories were provably fake. Cue 6 months of existential crisis where I had no clue what was real and was unsure if I existed
• while in the shower before my 5 am lifeguard shift, I looked down to see a foot in the shower with me. Could not figure out who it belonged to, since I was alone. It also seemed to be reading my mind, since if I thought about wiggling my toes then the mystery foot would wiggle its toes. Reached down to pick up the foot, then realized it was attached to my leg.
• girlfriend of 3 years broke up with me
• While my parents were away on vacation (and I hadn’t slept in a while) I saw an alien hovering outside my front door at 3 am
• I regularly saw shadow tentacles reaching out and interacting with people and objects around me (this was caused by caffeine toxicity plus sleep deprivation)
• fell asleep on the lifeguard chair. Thankfully my boss was understanding, but that’s where I started to realize I had a problem
• had some suicidal ideation after parents threatened to kick me out
• realized my most reliable friend was a neonazi and a pedophile

I spent the next few years working on myself, and at 21 my prefrontal cortex came in the mail and made everything easier. By 23 i had achieved all my mental health goals. I am now 26, I have a wonderful fiancée, and I am happier day-to-day than I ever have been.