I am 26 and have been in the workforce for a few years.

In short, is there something I’m missing here, or is work-eat-sleep-repeat all there is until I retire?

Yes, except for the fact that you and I will not be able to retire.

Do you know if you snore? You may have sleep apnea where basically you stop breathing multiple times a night. Makes for chronic exhaustion and is very under diagnosed . You should look to get a sleep study done. It’s easily treatable with a cpap or apap device.

In short, is there something I’m missing here, or is work-eat-sleep-repeat all there is until I retire?

You might die before then. I definitely saw “bottlenecks” in my mid-20s and late-40s where friends dropped like flies and some never got back up again.

Anyway, it sounds like you are having a crisis - people talk about the mid-life crisis but they can happen at any age but often a turning point:

• Late teens - wait! I have to grow up and get serious?
• End of Uni - wait! I have to get a job and all that other adult nonsense?
• 30 - wait! I should really be married and having kids by now.
• 40 - wait! My biological clock is ticking, I haven’t been promoted like I thought I would and my body is starting to creak.
• 50 - well that didn’t turn out how I wanted but there’s still time.
• 60 - where did my life go? Ah well, retirement is looming, I can’t wait for all that free time.
• 70 - death is looming, where did all that free time go?

Unfortunately, the meaning of life is what you make of it, so start managing your expectations.and don’t measure your happiness against other people’s - they’re probably less happy than they appear.

I can’t claim to have any clear answers but find.out what you love doing and build your life around doing more of that. Don’t let your worklife eat into your personal time. Stop caring what people think about you, but that’s not a license to be a dick. Make the world a better place for having you in it. If you need help, ask. Eat well, don’t smoke, drink in moderation and wear sunblock - these things will help your later life be more worthwhile.

Every day I’m not working I feel tired constantly, regardless of amount of sleep.

It may be worth to check this with a doctor. What you describe may be sleep apnea. It is less common in young people but is better to check.

Your metabolic health is trash, your gut bacteria is probably shot, and good chance you have sleep apnea. They’re all related. Low metabolic health causes sleep apnea. Crap diet causes you to be fat which causes sleep apnea. Poor gut health means low nutrient absorption so you’re more tired. Sleep apnea means you’re even more tired. Tired people eat like crap.

Go find a good dietician. Fix your gut. Eat strictly only non processed foods. Exercise 30+ min a few times per week.

It’s hard as hell to start doing all those things, but once you have the routine you’ll feel amazing. Diet fix first though. Without nutrients you can’t do anything.

I hope you enjoy what you’re learning, because there’s a reason everyone tells you to do what you love. It can be an enormous source of fulfilment or a nightly headache.

A few years ago working at a convenience store right out of school, I used to park 15 minutes early just to sit and sulk about having to go in for 1st shift. I went through a period that kinda sounds like yours. All I wanted was to go back to college and stay there. I really enjoyed the learning, spending time with my peers, and the drugs.

Now, 5 years later, I might get a few hours per day where I’m not working on something and I couldn’t be happier. Right now you’re probably working a college gig. It’s probably not entirely fulfilling work. For now, just keep going and keep an eye out on new skills that you can learn. I’ve learned things from the dregs that has applied to every

You get new hobbies and pleasures as you go too. Long-term projects become more sexy. Things you can drop in on and leave whenever. I think that’s why “the dad with the train set in the basement” is such a trope.

Do you have a pet? I couldn’t live properly without a cat around.

The Home Depot thing is real. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite places to go. Maybe head over there sometime, think of all the stuff you can build, and learn something new while building it. We have YouTube, we better take advantage of it.

The responsibility kinda becomes a point of pride. Idk if pride is the word for it. It certainly makes you stand up straighter, with more self-respect.

I might get downvoted for this, and fair enough, but you should try shrooms.

I’ve got severe depression and social anxiety, so I’m familiar with the whole “what’s the point of this?” mindset. Shrooms kind of gave me a different perspective on life, and why it’s so precious and worth experiencing.

And while it’s anecdotal, I know many people that’ve had similar experiences. Either way, I hope things get better for you!

Seperate yourself from materials and you will find meaning

I don’t have any energy or motivation to play games anymore, even though I used to play avidly.

That sounds like me. You know what was happening to me. I was diagnosed with depression. I’m not a doctor and I can’t diagnose you over a internet forum post, but you might want to to see a doctor for potential health issues, or perhaps you might be dealing with a depression issue, like I am.

I used to write and worldbuilding for my story, but ideas have run out and I just have no energy to continue writing. That’s probably due to depression.

Asking for the meaning of life? Lemmy’s great and all, but I don’t think I’ll find it here lmao

The meaning of life is what you want it to be. The universe has not given us one.

Biologically? It’s to reproduce. For your DNA to continue existing (or at least part of it).

Evolutionary? For our species to survive and go on conlonizing the solar system, galaxy, universe… etc. (hopefully doing so peacefully unlike in the past)

Technologically? To achieve immortality.

Philosophically?

To find happiness. Do what’s pleasurable to you (Hedonism).

To be a good person. Make the world a better place (even if only slightly).

To acquire more knowledge for yourself and share the knowledge to progress humanity. (Eg: Conduct science experiments, find fossils, identify unknown species (there are still a lot of unidentified species, oddly enough), etc.)

Personally, I just try to find happiness, being happy makes everything else more meaningful for me.

If this is to close for comfort for rule 3, feel free to delete mods

There’s also another community where you can just talk !chat@beehaw.org about life and stuff.

Also, I know you are busy with college and stuff, but when I had an existential crisis, I found this show called The Good Place, it helped me process some thoughts regarding existence and stuff. You might want to watch it when you find the time to do so.

I would bring this up next time you see your doctor. Sounds like a mood spectrum thing which could slide into depression? I’m not an MD though, so don’t take it from me.

Make sure that you’re not depressed, this sounds like it. But it doesn’t have to be a mental thing.

Get your bloodwork done at a doctor (tell them you’re constantly tired / don’t have energy), that’s the first check. If that checks out then you might be getting enough sleep, but it’s shitty quality.

For example despite 8+ hours a night I was feeling like crap most of the day. Well, my nose closed in the night and I couldn’t breathe properly, which lead to awful sleep (I just had an operation for it, it has already gotten better but is still healing off). If you can breathe well through your nose, maybe do a sleep study to check if you actually get restful sleep.

If all of that checks out too, then you might have to do lifestyle changes. More fresh air, sun, workouts, eating better, but you know the drill already.

I’m also like you at times, and have been for a long time, but it does get better. One thing that’s a bit crappy though is if you’re in the US then vacation time is very limited (here in EU countries we don’t have that problem as much). But really first check your health, you might confuse something being wrong with your body with a mental problem.

You sound burned out and/or depressed. Are you doing the things you really want to do? Or are you just progressing down a track for the wrong reasons?

Video games and guitar don’t give inherent meaning to life, but they are good examples of things that people do because they want to. Of course work is work for a reason, but It’s important to think about whether you have genuine passion for your current path.

I don’t have any energy or motivation to play games anymore, even though I used to play avidly. I play guitar but it’s been feeling like I’m not getting as much out of it now…

Once I’m out of uni, I’ll be in full-time and, if I get into the industry I want, more mentally taxing work.

If you don’t want that life, refuse to live it. You can survive on less money than you’d think, and you may be able to find ways to make money that are more chill or enjoyable. You can aggressively plan for a very early retirement. If those turn out to be next to impossible, well, you may have a very hard time, but you can still refuse to work and deprive society of what it definitely does not deserve from you.

Quick question. Is there a possibility it’s depression? I relate to you quite a bit.

I have it, so if you want to ask Amy questions, ask as much as you want

There isn’t much else unless we start a revolution.