How do I deal with the despair that I wasted the ages of 18 to

How did you escape your depression?

Best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. Second best time is now.

Get over it by taking advantage of what you have left. You and I are still pretty young, m8

>>17649056
At this stage in your lifwe the one thing you have more of than anything else is TIME. So you weren't operating at full steam for a few years. You got through them and got to where you are now, and if you're a couple of steps behind others, that's no big deal.

>>17649056
See it as a necessary step to become who you are now. You wouldn't be you if you didn't go through that.
I experienced the same - 20-23, totally fucking wasted those years doing nothing productive. But I grew up a lot as a person, I learnt to accept myself more, I became much more self aware, and this is part of why I like myself now.

>>17649056
This one's a mindfuck. The thing is, without those years, you wouldn't be here recognizing that you "wasted" those years, because it required you having gone through it to see it. It's the information paradox, or even the Allegory of the Cave: you don't know what you don't know until you know what you didn't know that you didn't know.

So, you were *supposed* to have gone through that, because it would be impossible for you to be where you are right now without having gone through it.

And yes, I've absofuckinglutely had to seriously reconcile this in my own life on a number of occasions, and it's something I go to often for comfort. I hope you find it comforting, too.

There are no accidents, and nothing is random - we just can't see the pattern from where we are.

>>17649254
Hivemind FTW! (I know it's timestamped four minutes apart, but it actually took me that long to write)