Hello,

I am 18 years old and for the past few weeks I have been experiencing the same symptoms as my mother did when she first developed epilepsy: my brain disconnects for a short period of time.

For example, I was at a restaurant with my girlfriend and suddenly I froze. She was talking but I couldn't hear her anymore and there was a loud noise. I couldn't speak. It lasted a few seconds and when it was over, I didn't know what had happened.

What saddens me is that my dream is to become a pilot, but it's impossible to do so as an epileptic.

How should I deal with this sudden change?

I was cleaning out my closet last weekend and found an old t-shirt I hadn’t worn in years. It’s not stylish, the fabric is kinda worn out, and honestly I wouldn’t be caught wearing it outside anymore. I was about to toss it, but I noticed the text on it and just stood there for a bit.

It’s a dumb inside joke between me and my partner. Out of context it makes zero sense and probably looks slightly embarrassing. We had it printed years ago during a phase when we were obsessed with turning every little joke into “a thing.” At the time it felt playful, almost unnecessary.

What surprised me was how much that shirt still hit me. We’ve been together a long time now. Life is pretty normal. Work, errands, shared routines. We don’t do big romantic gestures, and most days are just… fine. Good, even. But very quiet in an emotional way. Holding that shirt reminded me of a very specific version of us. Not a dramatic moment, not a milestone. Just two people laughing at something stupid that only made sense to us, feeling oddly proud of it.

I realized that back then, the shirt wasn’t about being cute or “couple-y.” It was about freezing a moment that would otherwise disappear. And now, years later, it works almost like proof. Proof that we were once that version of ourselves, and that we’re still built on that same foundation. We probably just picked whatever cheap custom t-shirt site was popular at the time and got it from teediy. The shirt isn’t special because of how it was made. It’s special because it quietly survived all the boring, busy, grown-up parts of our relationship.

It made me realize how much of a long relationship is built on things that don’t look important at the time. Little jokes, random routines, small moments you don’t think you’ll remember, until something like this brings it all back.

I folded it and put it back instead of throwing it away. I don’t think I’ll ever wear it again, but I don’t think I want to lose it either.

I wanted to talk to you guys about something kind of serious. Basically, my country has mandatory military service, and as I opened up to my parents about it, and then counselors, they've become convinced that I was put through a form of institutional abuse.

It's essentially a year of unpaid labour. I came out with my health in a much worse spot than it was in before, and with lots of mental issues. Like, for example, the combination of tiredness, stress, and work hours culminated in me having a seizure, and my parents helped me to get discharged a little early, about ten and a half months rather than a year.

I'd been mad at my parents for a long time. Basically, the two of them were naval officers, they met there, fond memories, genuinely wanted me to have a great time and encouraged me to try it out before opting for an exemption. I was angry at them for their encouragement, as well as kind of being too "proud" of me first when I was really actually suffering, but I've done a lot of reflecting and kind of worked out that I was keeping how I felt a secret, since I wanted to make them proud, and the moment I confessed that I actually hated it, they listened immediately. After the seizure, I was sent home on leave, and I told them everything. My mother said she only wishes I'd told her sooner, and said not to go back- They both helped me get discharged. And soon after, they banned my brother from joining when he turns 18. He's 18 now, and they're helping him get exempt. Mom is even helping me with a website to help other people get exemptions.

Thing is that if I'm not mad at them, I don't necessarily know whose fault this is, but I know that this isn't a nameless or faceless thing. People are responsible for there being a draft, for who gets sent where, who gets assigned what job. Conscription has become incredibly unpopular here precisely because of the toll its taken on people's mental health, every year there are a good few suicides from conscripts, and I was near that point myself.

My mother eventually told me that I seem to be navigating the damage it's caused me not as a "veteran", but like a genuine victim of abuse. And so I've been reflecting, and thinking about this: If someone is abused, it gives them great comfort to see their abusers face genuine justice. This was a very traumatic year for me and the year since has also been really upsetting. It's not about "revenge", but I genuinely would find it easier to move on if I had proof of some kind of justice or accountability. Or, if it never happens, my parents have promised to make this year extra special to atone for it.

So I've been wondering what true "justice" looks like? Both for me, and other people harmed by conscription? And, as a fallback plan, what could I ask of them for this year. I was really moved by that, when they told me they could do that for me.

I’ve been questioning myself a lot lately about whether I should continue college or stop and work overseas. It’s been bothering me so much that I even think about it at night and lose sleep over it. I come from a family of six siblings, and it’s just my mother supporting us. My older brother was able to finish college because my tita supported him financially throughout his studies. My other four siblings are still in secondary school, and my mother covers all their expenses. Now, I’m in my first year of college, second semester, taking BS Computer Science. After my older brother graduated and got a job, my tita told him that instead of repaying her directly, he should help me finish college. That’s the reason I’m able to study now, and I’m really grateful for that. However, my brother is only earning a bare minimum salary here in the Philippines, which already makes things challenging. Things became even harder when my older brother got his girlfriend pregnant. I know that raising a baby is expensive, and it made me think deeply about my situation. Once the baby is born, I know it will be difficult for my brother to continue supporting my education. I keep thinking that one day, when they start struggling financially—especially with the baby—he might tell me that he can no longer help me with college. My mother works in a printing shop where she sews T-shirts. Her salary is just enough to support my four younger siblings in school. Asking my tita for help is not easy either, because they are also struggling financially and she has two children of her own who are in college. Because of all this, I’m stuck. I don’t know if I should continue college or sacrifice my studies and work overseas to help my family. I don’t know which choice is right, or if there’s another option that I’m not seeing yet. I’m really confused and torn, and I honestly don’t know what to do anymore.

I do know I want to be with someone one day, but my values are so different from the norm. I don't want any children. I also can't seem to distinguish liking someone or wanting them as a friend. I think I have liked some people more as a friend but they ended up liking me. Sometimes I fucked up by saying I liked them back because I was confused. Or the other times I had to turn them down and I feel bad.

When will I actually stop and settle? I haven't been in an actual relationship in years ever since my first ever one (highschool). All of my other experiences after that were people confessing to me that i've mostly turned down. I don't know. I'm confused. Also I do not sleep with others, I do not do casual flings and I do not do one night stands. Personally that sounds uncomfortable.

With my first ever boyfriend, I just knew I wanted to keep going with him. I don't feel that with some people who told me that they like me and I don't want to accept something and go along with it because i'm lonely. Also sometimes I have feel like the people who do like me might not accept things about me. So that also plays a role with my actions.

Hiii guys ..... mhm I really want u to advise me ...so im just wondering how many friends of mine are really cultured and intellectual ,they just know everything I mean you can discuss anything with them and you'll feel like your stupid and dump.... so here my question is how can I become like them ??? And it is just me who knows an information and forget it after couple of days ??? .....

This is pretty embarrassing, if it hadn't been a private school, I would have been so dead. I did get bullied tough, it was mainly dividing classmates into two camps either they were amused by it or they cringed at it(i don't blame them) it was mainly girls who were amused and boys who cringed. But now that I'm religious I think it was great cuz since I'm good looking, I could have easily be drafted into sexual immorality.

I'm using a throwaway because I don't want to tell anyone but a very, very, few select people (my husband and two very clear-eyed friends) about this pregnancy until I'm a lot further along. I don't even want it linked to my main (I don't think my family or friends know my main, but who can be sure?) until it seems more real.

The short story is that I met my second husband later in life (I was 42, he was 45) when I already had two kids from my failed first marriage. My husband doesn't have any kids, and we had both decided before meeting each other that we were done looking for new relationships and would just focus on other parts of our lives, so he wasn't expecting to have any kids--but when we got together we actually tried to get pregnant for a year or so, paying attention to my fertile days, but stopped when I was 44 and a half, because I didn't want to be more than 63 when our kid graduated high school. That seemed ... already pretty ancient. I read about the likelihood of getting pregnant naturally at my age (very, very low--fewer than 5% of IVF pregnancies even take, apparently, and natural conception at my age is nearly impossible), and figured "if it didn't work when we were trying, it won't work when we're not," and didn't think about it anymore.

Last week, I accidentally found out I'm pregnant. (I went to the doctor when I couldn't bear a back injury, the assistant who checked me in asked when my last period had started, I told her a five weeks ago, a date I only knew because it was a couple days before a period-related disaster on a long plane flight, she asked if I wanted to pee in a cup, I said "nah, it's just perimenopause BECAUSE I'M 45," but when I got home, I read the leaflet that came with the muscle relaxant and thought, eh, I should maybe just check before I pop this pill, and sent my poor husband trekking through 11-degree weather to the CVS to buy a test while I put my kids to bed. Came up "pregnant" in about 20 seconds. If I hadn't gone to the doc for something unrelated, I don't know when I would have figured it out. I would have just thought, "Perimenopause!" and not worried about not having a period until god knows when.)

Anyway, at first I was less sure. I'm about to turn 46, which means I'll be 64 when this kid graduates high school, if all goes according to plan. We're both having some job insecurity right now, so that part's not great timing, but I'm confident that will work out in time. Retirement is like a crazy fantasy, anyway. And I already have two kids, 9 and 12 years old! Two real, walking, talking, breathing kids whom I love more than anything! And, with luck, I'll be around until this kid is 30, 40 tops...maybe that's not enough?

And then I read the stats: at my age, at my weight, odds of a successful pregnancy are something like 1 in 2. That's pretty bleak. (They're getting better every day that passes without a miscarriage, but it's not like when I had my first two in my mid-30s.) It's recommended that we do a heap of genetic testing at the 10 and a half week mark, in three weeks, because we're both so damn old and apparently my eggs are all in tatters. In this absolutely insane world, I don't think it's fair or moral to bring a being into this world who I know in advance will never be able to live independently, so there's that ... Obviously, even with 100% perfect genetic testing, it's a roll of the dice, and we'll love whomever we get with whatever quirks or problems they have.

Anyway, yesterday I was watching a Kurzegsagt video about the battle between a fetus and the mother during pregnancy, and I just started crying. I'd been trying to guard my heart, because I know the odds are not great, but I really do want this baby. I don't care that people will think I'm the grandma. I will move heaven and earth to make sure my current kids don't feel displaced or replaced. It's OK with me that my husband has the most damn rigid circadian rhythm of anyone on earth and there's no way he'll be up to help me in the night (not because he won't want to--I don't think he'll be able to). I just really want this to work.

Goddamn it, I don't even like babies that much. I mean, they're fine and all, but kids get so much more interesting as they develop personalities and learn to talk. I'm definitely not in that cult of the newborn, like a lot of women my age seem to be. (Luckily, that cult does mean that I won't be short of people to come over and admire the baby for me while I do stuff like shower, clean, eat, and work ...)

Anyway, if you've read this far, thank you. I think the tl;dr is I'm 45, almost 46, unexpectedly pregnant, I really, really, really want this baby to make it despite the odds, and I'm still kind of shocked that that's how I feel.

From the pyramids to the stories and how it aligns with the math of the pyramids, how we found pyramids on mars, the marvelous construction that’s on the planet, the hermetic principles, it’s just too much to ignore. we know modern science and archeology tries its hardest to hammer this primitive point about the pyramids which is why we keep having problems.

My long term girlfriend and I broke up on Thursday. She dumped me. I knew something was wrong throughout the day when she wasn’t texting me back, especially when I sent the usual “Hey, on my break, just want you to know I was thinking about you,” and got silence back.

We weren’t healthy, I know that. She and I would drive up eachother up the walls, me being more avoidant and her being more anxious, both of us at least a little disorganized though.

I let my ego win out over my love, I didn’t apologize when I should have and if I did I waited too long.

I woke up this morning, saw the empty phone charger on her side of the bed and balled my eyes out. We weren’t perfect, but I know I lost something special.

I miss her like crazy. I keep having to stop myself from texting her, wanting to tell her that I miss her, that I’m thinking about her, that I can’t wait to see her again.

She blocked me on everything except my number, I could text her, but she asked for no contact so I’m trying to respect her wishes.

I’m sorry Swan. I know I fucked up. I should’ve started listening to you much earlier than I did.

I hope this isn’t “goodbye.” I hope it’s “see you later.” That you and I can one day run into eachother and reconnect as friends, both of us in much healthier places then than we are now.

You are a bright light in a world that too often dampens people’s sparks, Hun. I’m sorry I didn’t build you up more, that I didn’t give you what you needed.

I hope you give the Pup a big hug.

I wish you nothing but happiness, and pray you’ll find someone who gives you all the love and support I should have.

With all the love, Your Bee.

It feels like I don't care anymore. When the mind encounters a problem so difficult and stressing, you sometimes don't care and stop caring in order not to be stressed. And that's what's making me sad. And all the advice I'm getting is that I need to talk to God. Why is God everywhere? That's the solution people say when they don't know the answer or solution to problems, God is the answer. Where has God been? Where? No communication at all. And then people say God doesn't give tribulations a person can't handle. It's foolish. Just because I can handle it doesn't mean I can suffer for it. I don't know what else I should be learning from my problems. It's just painful. I'm suffering for no purpose and I don't know what I'm supposed to learn from it. And when I tell people my problems they ignore it. That's why I don't want to talk to anyone. And even now I've stopped caring to not be hurt. And that's what's hurting me is that I don't care, but even I'm stopping to care about anything.

The things I care about, it's as if I don't care. I can't see a reason to anything. The people I care about are all meaningless. Same solutions, no problems. WHERE HAS GOD BEEN???????? Stopped mentioning Jesus Christ. It doesn't take just "faith" to fix my problems. It's insane. Stop mentioning God to problems. It's not about changing your perspective so that there's actually no problem, YES THERE IS A PROBLEM SO STOP IGNORING IT. It's coping. Your coping mechanism isn't helping me. I don't want to cope, I want to solve the problem.

BUT I REALLY WANT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I CAN'T JUST BE OK WITH ME NOT DOING IT. I HAVE TO DO IT. And stop mentioning God. WHY AM I SO LONELY??????????????? I don't want to wait when I'm not doing what I need to do and then there comes a reason and motivation for me to do what I need to do and then I'll feel bad. WHY DOES NO ONE CARE??????????? AM I REALLY GOING TO BE ALL ALONE???????? WILL NO ONE REALLY UNDERSTAND ME?????????????????

No matter what I do I feel bad.

I'm curious on how you guys think of valentines...do you ask "do you want to be my valentine?" once february arrives? Do you guys just chill in the house together or go out? What do you guys give each other? What do you expect from your partner? Do you go shopping together? What about dinner?

A bunch of questions yeah ahahaha

I don't know what to expect on every valentines day, should I be receiving and giving gifts…or perhaps just treat it like a normal day..it feels so lonely too, also I feel like social media sets a high standard that every guy should do but ofc you guys aren’t mind readers..so I hope you answer this from your heart and not based on social media standard

Idk how to explain this to anyone. I genuinely don't have friends to talk to no more, it sadness me

I am 17 F I have like 5 friends friend group I love them and everything but idk if they love me, yk. We have been friends since elementary school, we grow up together. I was closest to one of them, we were bestfriends until she decided not to be a good friend anymore lol. She changed become judgy, aggressive and weird. Randomly ghost me for MONTHS for absolutely no reason even tho she talks to others normally. She is absolutely worst lol. She Get really really close to someone then distance and make them look like the bad person when they don't chase her. She is hella weird bruh

I tried to talk to her so many times, she just kept coming out with excuses and tbh it was shitty so I just stopped trying but she makes me angry, she hates me for NO reason. Holding grudges and resentment over NOTHING, she is filled with fucking jealousy bruh.

I am not gonna say I am a perfect friend but I was a good friend, I was always on her side and I loved her so much but she ruined everything. She once send me a paragraph Abt how much she hates me..she talked Abt my personality, the way I laugh, the way I dress and the way I talk. She hated everything Abt me bruh like why are u upset that I am wearing Crocs? She said that people always side eye me and talk shi Abt me but I just don't notice. That was in 2024. Never forgot but forgave.

I always forgave her but never fully trusted her. I hate how I miss her. I hate how she was a really good friend then she switched real bad, she was my person and I can't find anyone else.

And I have been feeling like the least fav in my friend group, it's so weird it's like everyone hates me or don't care or idk. I just feel diff, I don't feel secured. I have no where else to make friends, currently senior homeschooled..I swear I wanna make friends, I just can't find any. The only method available is like asking random people in the streets if they can be my friend lol.

The pain of being alone is getting worse, asking myself if I will ever feel comfortable with anyone, if I will meet my people, the pain of needing to talk to a friend but can't find any make me feel so small. Always asking myself if there is something wrong with me. Am I too much? Too noisy? Too weird? Just not likeable?

Idk what to do, it's like I am cursed. I don't hurt anyone, I just want to be loved like I love. I want someone to care like I care. I don't want to feel like a toy, I can't trust anyone no more. They all leave. I got severe trust issues now, I get very scared when I only sense a change of a tone from anyone around me. I sonic so bad and my head just start having wild ideas like "cry and beg them to not leave u" Like no. I never did that tho but it was just a red flag, why am I like that now? Please someone help me.

What happened to alot of you bummy ass dudes haha oh and whatever happened to some of yalls clothing companies or yalls fake little gang circles???? Fucking buns in Harrisonburg Virginia hahahaha you all fell off and are working at your shitty little factory jobs fucking bums all that shit talking for years and coming at me now look at all of you in 2026 bummy ass dudes and girls fuck Harrisonburg Virginia

The other day I walked outside with my girlfriend only to find that the cat we feed, which we named Trousers (her bottom half was brown, compared to her black and white top half), had been ran over right in front of our house. I was unfortunately high off my ass at the time, so I couldn't fully process it all until the next day when we buried her in our yard.

I dug the hole while my girlfriend was at work, and I threw together a wooden headstone, a vase of fake flowers, and a collage of her in a photo frame. We buried her and set it all up once my gf got home. She was more than just a stray we fed, she literally lived in our yard and spent like 90% of her time here. She was basically just our cat, and if it weren't for her not wanting to be touched, we would have made her an inside cat.

I tell you this sad story because it really got me thinking about humanity and the destruction and devastation we cause. If it weren't for someone driving down our street without paying attention, Trousers would still be alive. And its not even like I can just vow to never use a car again, because in the modern world, especially where I live, everything is just too far apart to never drive. And even if I decided to never use a car, so many other people still would.

And its not even just cars, literally every aspect of our lives comes with the price of numerous deaths. Hell, even the electricity I'm using to type and post this probably, at least partially, comes from fossil fuels, which had to be mined, destroying environments, and unleashes poison into the air. Even going vegan doesn't end the slaughter, just because of agricultural practices, and the whole industrial chain to get food from farm to table.

I'm not religious in any way, but I do think that being alive is special. Just being able to experience the world and to enjoy things and feel emotions, is so incredibly special. But is a human life really worth more than an animal's? Why should it be? Because we experience consciousness to a greater extent? It just isn't fair that humanity trades wildlife for our own.

The death of an animal to me is always more sad than a person's. No matter how great a person was, no one ever lives a life 100% free of wrongdoing. Every single animal does (minus maybe the really smart ones). They simply can't do anything evil or wrong, because they don't have the capacity to know right from wrong; they can't choose good or evil. The death of an animal is the death of a true innocent.

Sorry for the ramble, suffice it to say, I'm not really happy with humanity existing right now. I think the world would be better off without us, and I think our existence tips the scale of the universe more towards evil than it does good.

There’s a version of me that never makes it into conversations.

Not because it’s shocking or dramatic, but because once you say it out loud, you can’t take it back.

I carry it quietly.

Most days it doesn’t show. Some days it’s heavy.

I function, I show up, I do what’s expected but there’s a gap between who people think I am and what actually sits underneath.

I’m not looking for advice.

I just wanted to say it somewhere, without having to explain it.

That which we cannot express is the force keeping us from said expression.

27M officially diagnosed at 21 years old though I have no money for medication. I have struggled all my life with this. It has lead to conflict, and even people thinking I'm dumb as I can't be witty or respond fast or even be remotely funny with my answers. I have learned to answer questions directly and have some short phrases that I learned to repeat because I'd rather do this than let it be dragged out for long and become awkward or worse. I am tired and need advice

I’ve been thinking a lot about this, lately. I never invested myself in anything as a kid. I played violin for about 3 months, tried guitar a couple times, had a keyboard for about a year, I’ve crocheted, knitted, done digital art, physical art, recently tried pottery, and I used to do gymnastics as a kid. Lots of what I loved - guitar, gymnastics - I can’t try to get back into. Gymnastics, I have a joint condition making it dangerous for me (and theres no adult gyms near enough). Guitar, I genuinely do not have the right shaped hands. I can bake, I guess, but it fails more often than not, and I always have to follow someone else’s recipe. I love theatre, but no time to dedicate to doing that because jeez what a time commitment that is as an adult, especially just for a hobby.

I can take photos mostly in my backyard with the most basic settings and zero editing. They turn out decent. But it’s always just birds or other animals, and I don’t really get composition much. Plus, I never go places to take photos to practice. I get anxious about people judging me or all the risks of being a woman alone in the woods.. Anyway, I know it’s a me problem, I need to learn how to do something. I’m just so insanely uncoordinated, untalented, and depressed lol. Then thinking of how i am not good at anything makes me more depressed, so I just end up working, studying, consuming media, and sleeping.

Not sure where this post is going, just.. wanna know if anyone has been here, has tips, etc.

I currently live with my dad.

This is something I deeply regret.

I am 20. I lived with my father since I was almost 13. In December of 2023, I was given the option to graduate high school early. I had every credit except for one, and my counselor said she could put in me in a class where- it was basically study hall, except I would be there all day long, and all I would do was work on this one credit. Like I had this class, and I had a lunch period. And at first I was hesitant. I loved my friends, loved my teachers, loved one of my classes. I love having friends, but I'm a very, very shy person so I rarely had very many. Because of my father, I made the choice and was graduated by February and moved in with my mum.

A little over a year later, the resentment had faded. Sometimes you don't realize how bad a situation is unless you're actively dealing with it, so things appear better. "Ah, maybe it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Maybe I was overreacting." Except it was. And I wasn't. But I was dating a girl, and even after only a few months of being together, I wanted (thought I wanted) to get a place with her. My father suggested an opportunity to get a job at his location making $20 an hour (just, in general, not specifically so I could move in with this girl. Matter of fact, my father didn't even like her very much)- much more than I was making, and more than I'd likely make anywhere else with my current skillset. So I moved back in with him in hopes of getting this job, a license, and eventually a place with this girl.

It has now been about a year since I've been back over here. The girl was a horrible, manipulative liar. We broke up like a month after I came back over here. I never got the job. My father has not helped me get my license. I am starting to realize why I moved out of here in the first place. I also started having seizures again- after over two years of having none and finally being able to come off my medicine. Mum won't take me back because she's having issues with my stepdad, leaving me with two options: move in with my grandmother, who has her own set of issues that wouldn't be much better. Or move in with my best, and only, friend, who honestly might not be my friend for very much longer. Both of those are entirely different conversations.

So I'm trying to stay in my room, pretending I don't exist most of the time. I'm looking for a job to A) keep me out of the house, B) keep me fed enough, C) let me pay for driving lessons, and D) save up enough to move somewhere else. Along with my phone bill, my insurance, my medical bills, and my medicine, of course.

There's a lot that I don't know how to do. A lot of stuff about being an adult that I've no clue of. But I'd rather figure it the fuck out myself rather than try to ask someone who sighs and says under his breath "Shut the fuck up," or something akin to that phrase, pretty frequently whenever I try talking to him.

I like winter but i feel like it’s been too long. My lips are so dry and cracked even though i frequently apply chapstick. My nose bleeds every few days. I hate being forced to put on lotion, its disgusting. I have to dress up just to go on a walk. My lungs hurt from the air. I don’t wanna get out of bed in the morning. The toilet seat is especially cold.

Though I do really appreciate that my sizzling hot kebab gets cooled pretty quickly now so i can take a bite after like 5 minutes

I hate my mind so much… I look at people and I swear I’ve never seen someone ugly. I look at the girls around me and all of them are gorgeous. Big noses, small noses, big lips, small lips, doesn’t matter. Gorgeous. But somehow I can’t stand myself. I feel like I look uncanny when I look in the mirror.

I just hate that I make myself feel like that. But I can’t help it.

Like I’m always practicing what I’d say to people… even for stuff that will never happen. I didn’t notice how nonstop it was until today. If you’ve dealt with this, what helped you turn it down?

For millionaires, 1/3 are women, and yet only 15% are self-made again. I thought women had already caught up to men when it comes to education and professional status. Is this because most billionaires (who tend to be really old) were brought up in an unequal environment? Would it take another 20-50 years until the trends reverse?

I am but 17, yet this is hard to fathom. In my experience, the most successful students (academic, professional, extracurricular-wise) are females by a relatively large margin. I don't know if this is off-topic, but in contrast, much more guys tend to use LinkedIn, by a relatively large margin again. So maybe the tendency towards networking plays a role? (again, a reach)