Thanks for responding.

I do respond to comments when I feel there is a dialog to be had. Sometimes I just mark them with a "clap" if I just want to acknowledge their contribution but I don't have anything to add.

The reason I haven't responded to many comments on this post is that many people seem to have taken it upon themselves to offer me advice, which is not at all the point of an article like this.

This is not a cry for help, it's just an exploration of the human condition, and my personal take on it. I'm open to discussing the implications in a general sense, but I'm not looking for advice from people who only know me through this extremely narrow sliver of insight through a few paragraphs of my writing.