So I just graduated last year and I’ve yet to secure an actual job outside of internships. I’m just focused on gaining experience now so I can set up for a proper job. I know things are moving and life isn’t too bad but I still feel stressed and a little lost.
So I guess I just wanted to know why I feel anxious even when things are “fine” and how I can deal with feeling lost in a healthy way?
Hey @user896431 ,
What you’re describing actually fits very well with where you are in life right now. You’ve moved out of a very structured phase (school → graduation), but you haven’t fully entered the next stable structure yet. Internships keep you moving, but they don’t give the same sense of arrival or security that a full-time role does. That gap alone can create anxiety, even when nothing is “wrong.”
A lot of people feel confused by this because they expect anxiety to only show up when things are falling apart. In reality, anxiety often appears during transitions, when life is okay, but unclear. Your mind is trying to orient itself without firm reference points yet.
Feeling lost here doesn’t mean you’re behind or failing. It usually means your identity and expectations haven’t caught up with the change in environment. You’re no longer being measured by grades or milestones, but by longer, less predictable processes like skill-building, fit, and timing.
One thing that may help is noticing what your anxiety is actually asking for. Is it certainty about your future? Reassurance that you’re progressing “normally”? Or permission to not have everything figured out yet?
Dealing with this in a healthy way isn’t about rushing clarity. It’s more about narrowing your focus to what’s concrete right now… what you’re learning, what you’re getting better at, what you’re discovering about yourself through these experiences. Direction tends to form after that, not before.
Nothing in what you shared suggests something is wrong with you. It sounds like a very human response to being in an in-between stage that doesn’t get talked about enough.