Escape Space: Recent Episodes
anshika & aleena
Want a safe place to vent about your life struggles? Join Anshika and Aleena as they give their advice on everyone’s problems ranging from annoying little sisters to constant mental breakdowns. If you ever feel the need to finally share that story you’ve kept secret for five years, this is the right podcast for you :)
Fill out this form to submit your problems for us to help you with!! https://forms.gle/WUVAnpTCZVN7BwYK8 (or click the website link near this message-- be sure to follow our insta too!)
Friendships are an important aspect of our lives that can influence who we are and who we become. Join Anshika and Aleena as they walk through some of the key things to remember when considering your current or future friends.
i’m starting to realize that i’m really boring. not in like a self deprecating way, just like in general lol. i play basketball, and i tore my acl, so i really can’t ever play again, at least not in highschool. which sucks, but i didn’t love basketball so i’ll be fine, but now i have nothing to do. i just come home, finish my homework, do pt, and sit around. i want to find some hobbies or anything really so that i can do something with my life but idk what to do/how to make a hobby matter. can you help me?
Looking for some persuasion to start journaling? Listen to Anshika and Aleena as they discuss the benefits of journaling and ways to approach it.
Join Anshika and Aleena, along with Dharma and Sanvi from Let's Break It Down, as they discuss views on self-care and mental health, including the current dilemmas with mental health awareness, work-life balance, and the importance of physical movement.
Sometimes I feel like I’m doing really well, my life really isn’t that bad. I have a pretty good compared to others. Though, sometimes, more like all the time, I realize how alone I really am. I have friends, but they don’t really text often, which is okay. I’ve never thought them having a life or not texting me every second of the day was a problem. It just really sucks in the sense that, sometimes being in my own world with no one here to really, actually want to share it with me. I have friends, but a part of me knows that I put on a face with them around sometimes. Not one that’s not exactly me, but more of a one where I adapt in some aspects to be the kind of person they want to be around. Like not joking as much, not talking about myself and the way I want to. I used to vent all the time, sometimes I still find myself wanting to. But now I’m just scared. I’m scared of being that person who was always sad, the person who always vented, who always made everything about them. I thought I was doing good, but now I don’t know anymore. Sometimes those moments where it feels like I’m fading away from everybody, I’m not a part of your life in a way where they actually think about me. I don’t think anyone hates me or anything like that. I think the most scary part about it. It’s not that I want people to need me, I just wish more people wanted me, more than a few family members. This isn’t something that I see a direct solution to, I’ve talked about it a few times, or at least in ways I’ve tried to. In the scenario talking doesn’t help. Communicating to other people, doesn’t help. Because it’s life., people drift, and that’s okay. I’m not suicidal, I have goals and things I want, things I plan to achieve, but I still purposely walk across the street without looking both ways, I’m not careful around the fryers, I put all the silverware, including the knives, in a soapy sink. I am not suicidal, I do not want to die. But for a while now, I’ve been thinking “I think there’s something wrong with me.” I’ve been struggling to reach out, which is so, so unlike me. Im always so quick to talk about myself, but now I think I’m disgusted by it.
"what sort of things should i be pursuing to build my college resume ? have y'all gone through the college process, and if so do you have any tips ?
what extracurriculars are y'all doing ?"
"People comparing themselves to you as well as comparing yourself to other people. How that leads one into a downward spiral of expectations they can’t achieve and an endless cycle of self-hatred. How comparison can subtly infiltrate friendships and relationships. Also how it can make you lose sight of your goals (especially ones that aren’t as conventionally held) and how it causes the need to change oneself to fit a certain persona/ be a certain person.
How to stop comparing oneself. How to recognize when one is comparing themselves to others or being compared to. What the person who is being compared to can do to help the person who is comparing themselves to them and strategies for people who compare themselves to others to gradually let go of this behavior."
Check out @slc_hosamentalhealth 's Instagram and website linked in their bio! https://instagram.com/slc_hosamentalhealth?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
"me and my dad got into a really big argument because he thinks i'm not trying in school. i play soccer and i love it but he wants me to quit because i have a couple of b's. but i am trying and i put a lot of effort into my assignments and studying and he just doesnt see it. i'm just not a good test taker and i dont know how to get better. i need to bring my grades up though or he wont let me play. how do i get better grades?
how do i get better grades?"
"My best friend and my sister dated for a bit last year but they broke up and now both of them won’t stop complaining to ME about it. I can’t hang w him at my house anymore and I have to make sure my sister has a ride every day after school because I usually take her home on the way to practice with my bsf in the car. It’s becoming inconvenient and I want to talk to them abt it but I’m scared that I’ll come off as like insensitive or rude."
"i know my friend group is leaving me out, but i can’t leave them. they all hung out over holiday break wo inviting me and they gave me a lame excuse when i asked them. but the thing is we’re all on the vars basketball together and i dont want to mess w our season by confronting them."
"I don’t have a lot of people to talk to. I deal with a lot of (diagnosed) depression and anxiety, but my parents don’t let me get medication or see a therapist. They have their reasons, but they don’t understand that I need help. I don’t want to burden my friends with topics as big as these, because of course, they’re my friends, not therapists. I hate writing down my thoughts, so I say them out loud to get them out (and record them), but sometimes what I need is a big hug, and I can’t get that. How do I learn to depend on myself? How do I continue without help from anyone but myself?"
"hello ! basically over the past few months my brother has been sort of pulling away from me/our family , none of us knew why until i saw some texts on his laptop . long story short he has a bf and i’m not sure if i should talk to him about it . i feel bad for invading his privacy , but i want him to know i’m there for him ( he’s not out to our family, and my parents are against lgbtq+ so i understand why ) i think that’s partly why i want him to know that i support him , so that even if our family finds out he’ll know i have his back .
should i confront him ? is it better to let him just come to me ? i’m not sure he’ll come talk to me if i just leave it alone though ."
"i feel super unmotivated this summer. i don’t have any goals, and it feels like none of my friends can hang out because they’re just so busy. i want to volunteer but i don’t know where or how. do u have any other ideas for goals i should set? i just feel like my whole summer is going to waste."
"Hello, my bestfriend has been acting really weird around me. We planned to have a really cool and fun summer together but now it’s like she doesn’t even like me anymore. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, but I don’t know what to do to fix our relationship. Please help me, thank you.
What should I say to her? How should I approach her?"
"My little brother always wants to hang out with me and my mom doesn’t do anything about it. It’s ok sometimes but it also get’s annoying, like this Sunday night I’m hanging with my gf and i want to be alone but my mom told me I have to hang out with my brother all Sunday. I tried to tell her about my plans but she doesn’t care and I dont want to hurt my brother’s feelings."
"I don't know if I'm into my female friends or not. I know I don't have big crushes on any of them, but getting out of my comfort zone and talking to them more often is getting me closer than I used to be, and I don't know how to feel about that.
Context: I've been regaining my social abilities at school, so I've been talking to girls I'm familiar with. I've been texting them outside of school, and they’re all comfortable with long conversations we’re having. They are all really nice to me and I'm being way more down to earth with them.
How do I make sure they don't think I'm trying to hit on them? Is feeling confused on this a natural thought?"
I’m friends with this girl and she came out to her family and ever since I’ve wanted to do the same. But I don’t think they’ll accept me for who I am. My friends are very supportive and I’m kind of seeing someone too, but I don’t know if I’m ready to tell my parents. What should I do?
"My friend is always asking me to hang out with her. I really love her and I appreciate her friendship, but sometimes I don’t have time or I have other responsibilities. I’ve been telling her this but she always makes it seem like it’s my fault for not being able to hang out with her. I don’t know what to do because everything seems to be my fault."
"I have a friend who has gotten her first boyfriend . And it’s great I’m happy for them but the more she’s with him the more I see her slipping away and not being there for us and just being focused on him. The guy is great he’s friendly and nice but she doesn’t even want me talking to them both after school. And when my friends needed her she wouldn’t come bc she “had” to go with him.
Should I tell the guy if he was a close friend of mine even before they started dating? Keep in mind tho that the girl was one of my best friends"
"i always feel like my worth is determined by my grades. im a highschool sophomore and i just got the results from one of my tests back and i got an 87. it was a really hard test for me and i was really happy because that was similar to what my friends got. but when i went home and told my parents they said that i shouldn’t be content with just ok. i want to do better and get better grades but i want them to help me instead of hurting my feelings. i feel like no matter how hard i try it’ll never be enough.
how do i get their approval? do you have study tips?"
"My parents want me to spend more time with them, but I have so much work. I would have to sacrifice my free time to hang out with my family, but I don’t want to because it’s the only time I have to destress. What do I do?"
"I feel like I am very unlikeable. every time I enter a conversation always sense that I threw off the vibe and I feel like everyone hates me. My friends never ask if I want to hang out with them outside of school and I always hear about them going out and partying and having fun without me. I feel like that they don't actually like me and just keep me around because they pity me.
How do I become a more likable person?"
"I feel like I'm the only one in my school who is like me. No one else shares any opinion or interest. I'm just the outcast."
"This isn’t my problem specifically but just getting over an addiction to something or someone (not drugs)"
Listen in on this thanksgiving special where Anshika and Aleena talk about the importance and issues of friends and family!
"I’m non-binary and I want to come out but I’m worried about how people will react and I don’t know how to. Any advice?"
Lately, I’ve been hanging out with a friend I don’t want to hang out with anymore. I thought we were best friends, but both of us have grown apart, and they’ve said and done some things that have hurt me a lot recently. I haven’t made the best choices in confronting them in the past, and I’ve apologized and learned from those. But even though they’ve screwed up too (and know it), it’s “always Nova’s fault” and after an insincere apology, they do this over and over again. Now that we’ve grown emotionally apart, I feel a lot better, until I’m talking to them, and then all of the old insecurities I felt come back.
What am I doing wrong? How do I make peace with myself and our relationship? Should I continue it or distance myself? And should I confront them?
"I put in a lot of effort to make other people happy, but I struggle a lot with taking care of myself. People always tell me that I’m a good person and I’ve helped them a lot, but whenever I attempt to talk about my problems, they look at me weirdly, like it’s just odd for them. I mean, I get it, but it kinda hurts sometimes that I don’t have anyone to trust back.
How do I find someone to confide in the same way they confide in me? And also, how do I learn to take care of myself?"
"so i have 3 half siblings and they're all 27+ and i'm not necessarily close to any of them. i never spoke to any of my sisters growing up (30 & 32) and my brother (27) moved out when i was 5 and occasionally comes over. recently my sister (30) and her husband have been coming over more recently and trying to connect with me but the only thing i have in common with her is that we both like twilight and she wants me to stay over at her house for a couple days, which i don't hate that idea but idk what we would talk about and i also hate her husband. my brother which i'm closest with out of all my siblings is known for making questionable decisions. he graduated with a master’s degree in who knows what, but he is constantly changing jobs. for example he worked as some sort of child psychologist, then and office job, then for CPS, now he works with lumber and is trying to be a therapist in the army (there have more jobs e.t.c). i understand he's just trying to find what he’s interested in but i'm worried he wont find a good job because on his resume he's switching jobs every two seconds. he also is dating a 34 yr old woman with 3 kids. he started dating her after a week after breaking up with another girl bc he “wasn't ready”. I don't really approve of their relationship bc i'm mostly concerned that my brother isn't ready to handle all that. my brother wants me to go to the state fair with him, his gf and her 15 yr old daughter. i'm scared about making conversation or just not being judge-mental. and my other sister (32) i just don't talk to at all because i never knew her in the first place so don't really care about our relationship.
how should i go about me and my siblings relationship?"
“How do you stop procrastinating, how do you make sure you stay on top of your homework?”
"So I go to school every weekday for 10 hrs and it’s rlly taxing. I barely manage to get 5 hrs of sleep every night. It’s been less than a month of school, and I’ve already had a full mental breakdown, in front of my parents no less. I rlly just want to figure out a way to get all my hw done and get at least six hrs of sleep a night instead of 5 hrs. A lot of the time the problem is that I can’t focus and can’t manage to get though the work."
"Why is staying motivated so hard? I love starting projects but man is it hard to keep going. I got like 5 projects going on.
Do you stay motivated and if so how?"