Adulting Is Hard: 15 Adult Problems No One Prepared Us For

It is normal for youngins to assume that adults have their lives together and don't have to worry about what they worry about. Growing up teaches you that the various stages of life come with their challenges — those we see coming and those we never imagined. We have curated 15 responses randomly from folks in an online forum who discuss adult problems they never prepared for.

1. Caring for Your Sick Self

As children, we always had our parents look out for us when we were sick. As adults who now live independently, you could be struck with the flu, and there'd be no mommy to leave a healing kiss on your head or daddy to pat your back. You're scared you might convulse in the middle of the night and — well, don't worry, it's never that scary. Still, you're never prepared for this!

2. The Neverending Hustle

Only an adult can truly understand this turmoil. Say you're a 9-5 commuter with more mouths to feed than theirs. You have to pay bills and hustle every day, even on days you don't feel like. One is never prepared enough for the mental and emotional instability this brings.

3. Job Hunting

This is a joy killer. What's more stressful than going through college and earning a certificate, you may ask. Well, it's searching for a job with the same certificate. So you've had this imaginary life well planned for yourself as a career person, and then comes the agony of job hunting. Some people have had to bitterly destroy their college certificates, no thanks to the frustration that this causes.

4. Hard Work is an Uphill Battle 

The half-truth we tell ourselves is that if we work hard enough and are passionate about something, things will automatically go as we like. But it is a constant uphill battle. Working hard does pay off, but you might not be the next Bill Gates even if you work extremely hard. That's the truth some of us never want to hear.

5. Mental Health Issues

Some might've not had to worry so much growing up because parents or guardians did the worrying on their behalf. Now, as adults, you're forced to take some excesses that life pushes in your faces. It's only normal to break down mentally once in a while. Or, like, twice every hour of, like, every day.

6. Body Pain

As we grow older, so do our bodies. For some people, this transformation is quite sudden and brings unbearable discomfort. It is okay to say that with aging comes certain failures in bodily functions, and no matter how aware of this we may be, we can never be prepared enough for the day our legs will not carry our entire body anymore or the day our backs will decide to war against us.

7. Deciding What to Make For Dinner 

Here's an ordeal that's more serious than it sounds — you'll only know if you've been a single adult who lives alone before. As one, you're not sure what to eat most of the time. And sometimes, you know what you want to eat, but you can't just bring yourself to fix your dish. Why do we even have to eat again?

8. Being a Carer to a Parent

For some people, this is the best part of adulthood; for others, the reverse is the case. Indeed, being a carer for a parent comes with its challenges. Sometimes, you quickly forget that the parents watched you grow and practically did all the dirty jobs when you were younger, so one good turn deserves another.?

9. Relationship Issues

Okay, as a child or adolescent, the only love you knew and probably experienced was the family kind of love. As you grow older, you discover butterflies in your belly. You welcome this new development with all your heart because you are supposed to, and love is beautiful. But then you learn that love is more than what meets the eye, and you question what you are doing with the person you once convinced you truly loved.

10. Loneliness

When you feel lonely, chances are you're most vulnerable at that moment. It's sad that you have no control over who leaves your life, even if it might be up to you to some extent to decide who you want in. Loneliness is a disease many adults don't want to be inflicted with. 

11. Neck-Bending Responsibilities

Now that you're an adult, it's time to take care of some responsibilities. Calls from always needy parents, siblings, or relatives who don't care to know that you have a life and needs of your own? We know you want to renounce being an adult; sadly, you've reached a point of no return.

12. Losing Childhood Friends

Nothing quite prepares you for grieving the loss of friendship. Imagine losing contact with folks you played hide-and-seek and played in the sand with. The memories return to you in bits or whole, and you can't help but long for those days when memory was still being created.

13. Losing a Parent

There's nothing quite as devastating as losing a parent. As an adult, one day, you will watch your parents get old, sick, and closer to the end of their journeys. Neither you nor your money will be able to save them.

14. Workplace Bullying

Some are lucky to go through school without being bullied; they sigh deeply, knowing they've dodged a bullet. But have they? In some workplaces, people show that the world will always have a place for bullies, regardless of age or time.

15. Being Unable To Spend Quality Time With Family

Yeah, your family probably understands that you're a very busy person. Therefore, you've made peace with the fact that you might not always be around because you're out somewhere trying to make things better for everyone. But you know how much you wish to be with them.

Before your eyes, you're watching your relationship with your family become more distant, and you're sorry because you can't help it. It's a scary reality.

Source: Reddit.