Wow, so many literary creative individuals doing unpaid work for fun is way more plausible explanation than random people being just fed up with their lives and wanting to vent.
You would be surprised. I've seen several stories get called out and the authors then say, invariably- 'Oh yea forgot to mention I'm a writer, maybe that's why blah blah'.
I don't know if they try and add these things to their portfolio, but it definitely makes a perverse sense, ie 'look my writing even fooled X people on reddit!'
Honestly I believe nothing anymore without some digging, and really it's something that's gotten worse as every year I feel like we are living in a world of lies- politics, ads, fucking everything.
Now, I do honestly believe there are many people that are legitimately unhappy and venting in that sub- I know more than a few people in real life living out some of those stories.
Just...use critical thinking skills. And try not to let it kill you inside. I am become jaded and cynical, but because I'm a realist.
If these repeated posts about the same tedious things are grist for creative writing classes there are some really realistic sounding, terrible writers out there.
It sounds like you might be extrapolating from one or two pieces of spurious anecdata.
I'm not a writer and I make up shit all the time on anonymous and semi anonymous comment threads. It depends on my mood and the atmosphere of the thread. I avoid it here because I have some sense that this is an "adult" place to be where common sense opsec is reasonable but I don't have to invent anything to fit in or comment. On reddit or other such things though, hell yeah I'll drink a pitcher of Miller Lite while watching a football game and shitpost the devil's advocate or contrarian position under a pseudonym with no attribution. I justify it by calling it social research.