These guys are so right, you have to take a stand and say no. I did the same thing you did, I'm now 25. You have to do it before things get worse, trust me, they will if you do nothing about it. When you leave it, certain people you never imagined will come into your life and ruin it. And, windows of opportunities to change your career path, etc. close rapidly. I still had options at 23 (your age), I left it and within only 2 years I've got myself painted into such a corner I have nowhere to move. I became very vulnerable and two really deprived people attached themselves to me. They are high maintenance and have almost ruined me financially. They never told me they were homeless and extremely financially needy. It started off small and escalated until the point I have almost no more money for myself. I have lost the equivalent of 1000's of dollars already. The worst thing is, I can't tell my parents, I can't tell my friends, I can't tell my superiors at university, there's nobody I can turn to, because I know their judgement will be so harsh, since it was such an incredibly stupid situation I got myself into. But, it was all because I couldn't say no.

And yes, they are both women. It happened because I was so lonely, I wanted friends so badly and wanted my first ever girlfriend so badly, I wanted to be loved so badly. They saw that and used it to manipulate me, twist and torture my soul. Now I'm screwed, damaged, I don't trust anyone, and I can't detach myself from them, they have firmly planted their claws in me.

I have often considered just taking the "exit" if you know what I mean. I think about it more and more every day. I don't fear death at all and would find it quite easy actually. I'm in such a dark place, I'm not even scared of going to hell, being tortured. I'd take that over this, I'm not joking. I would rather burn in flames for eternity than have to deal with this anymore. I think you can see what an impact this has had on me, what a serious problem it is.

It's not the money that bothers me that much, even though I am a poor student that doesn't have much, it's the emotional damage and manipulation, and it still continues.

Please promise me you'll do something about it. I'm getting teary-eyed just even thinking that this could happen to someone else. I really don't want it to happen to you, you sound like such a good person with such a good heart. I'm starting to cry just thinking about it . Dammit, why must stuff like this happen? It's so unfair. You are so undeserving of it, I haven't even met you and I can tell already you're not the kind of person to deserve it at all. I wish you all the best and so hope you can find peace. You deserve so much to be happy.