I can definitely relate to this. I also had severe depression at 23 (and still do) and it was really tough seeing everyone around me getting married, having kids, buying cars and houses, going on fancy vacations... all that "grown up" stuff. Looking back, I see that most of the people I knew who got married young either got divorced soon after, or are stuck in a miserable, loveless marriage after less than a decade. It's much better to take the time and find the right person to have a long-term relationship with, than to just jump into a relationship with the first person who comes along because you're lonely. I was guilty of this too when I was younger, and looking back on it, I'm glad I didn't rush into marriage with any of my exes because although they were generally nice people, we weren't right for each other. It's extremely important to find someone with the same values as you when it comes to the important things like work ethic, finances, parenting style (if you want kids) etc. An important piece of advice I can give you is to stay off social media. People tend to post only their best moments to social media to make their lives seem spectacular, when in reality they're incredibly mundane. We're all guilty of doing this - we edit our social media presence to make our lives seem ideal - but for some reason, we forget that other people are doing this too. There are actually studies linking social media usage with mental illness, including depression. Now I'll admit, I still have a Facebook and an Instagram account, but I mainly use them to keep in touch with people I probably wouldn't otherwise. I don't mindlessly scroll through my newsfeed anymore looking at other people's photos, and I've honestly noticed that I've been less depressed since I stopped looking. Another thing to keep in mind is that all the st  2000  uff people might brag about on social media (new car, expensive vacation, designer purse, etc) isn't necessarily paid for. A lot of people will buy things with money they don't have (using credit) just so they can make themselves feel better than everyone else. But in reality, their credit is a mess and they're one mishap away from having that fancy car repossessed or their house foreclosed upon. Don't get caught up in the mentality that things = success. Success is whatever you define it to be, and your success won't necessarily look like someone else's. I hope this was helpful. If you'd like to chat more, don't be afraid to send me a PM (: