Not to dismiss the younger crowd that see a hopeless future and feel trapped. I get it.
But as someone older, the reality hits so much harder.
44m in australia, and I am cooked. Didnt get into the housing market, although lots of experience, no qualifications. Cost of living and rent is killing me. Have a child to an ex wife, so there is child maintenance to pay. Also just got made redundant. If I dont find a job soon, I will lose my rental, and have to move into my 70 yr old mothers shed.
I see people in their 20-30s, saying how hard it is, and having to move back home with parents etc, and I get it , it does suck. But moving into your parents at almost 50 hits different. In your 20-30s, I feel like there is time to reskill, there is options. Sure, its still hard as hell, but there is some hope.
For me, that hope feels gone at my age. I hear about people turning their lives around at my age and all that, and why I get it is possible, the reality is the sucsess rate on that is minimal. I dont have the funds, or time to reskill. My body is broken from years of hard labour.
I cant study, because I need to pay the bills.
Having a child amplifies all this. I feel like a failure. The generations before us had it so much easier. I feel sorry for the younger crowd, as they are surely up against it. But for me, things feel over. I had my time, my chance, and I messed it up. I feel so defeated by life, and so little fuel in the tank, I can barely fight for survival, let alone to progress.
The reality is, I will never own a house. I will continue to struggle and suffer for the rest of my life. All while the cost of living rises, housing is even more unaffordable, and dreams are only that. Even just a comfortable life is unachievable.
I will admit, I am in a severely depressive episode, and have been for months. But its situational. There is no way forward anymore, no way out, no way to survive. I am just full of shame, and guilt. Life is so hard and overwhelming and impossible.