A simple bad decision can cost you everything:
Your relationships.
Your reputation.
Your home.
It can all be gone faster than you know.
Or maybe it wasn't fast... perhaps it was a pattern of behavior with more red flags than the United Nations.
Redditor lost-in-earth wanted to hear about the people we know who decided to throw their life away, so they asked:
"What was the fastest way you have seen someone ruin their life?"
Maybe we can learn some lessons for ourselves on this thread.
Immediate expulsion...
"Knew a guy who took a gun to our high school the day after Columbine. Immediate expulsion: The full spiral took a bit longer, but that decision ruined his life at 16 years old."
Impressive-Box9151
"I was in high school at this time, and a guy in my class started talking about doing the same things out loud in class one day. He was never seen again after that day. I'd known him since kindergarten and wasn't afraid of his statements. He was just talking sh*t. Probably for attention."
Narrow-Ad9714
Youth Destroyed
"A 16 year old (at the time) murdered my friend's dad for money. He tried to hide his face but didn't hide his tattoos. He was tried as an adult and last I checked, he got something like 40 or 50 years. Sometimes I think about that and imagine what it's like to spend your youth in prison. Not that I feel bad for him."
sgautier
Smashed
"I'll start this by saying this is all info told to me by a mutual friend.
An old friend, who was 20 at the time. he was spoiled, but he wasn't an a**hole. He's usually super chill and non-confrontational. He got crazy drunk at a party one night. everything was fine and fun until his younger sister started telling him to slow down his drinking."
"She apparently either tried taking his keys or taking a drink out of his hand. Whatever she did, my friend ended up punching her in the face and breaking her nose."
"As far as me and our other friends knew, this guy had never been violent or the type to lash out to say this shocked the people who knew him would be an understatement."
"Someone at the party took her to the emergency room while he tried to get in his car. Thankfully, someone else managed to keep him from driving, and he ended up drunkenly walking down the sidewalk crying."
"That same night, his parents called the cops on him and had him spend the night in the drunk tank. The next morning, they kicked him out of their house, stopped paying for his car, tuition, and cut off his allowance completely."
"He was broke within a week and was couch surfing for a few months. He allegedly got drunk and got into a fight with whoever he was staying with at the time and was back on the street."
"The last I ever heard about him was that he got arrested because his car was getting repossessed, and he thought it was a good idea to smash the windows of the tow truck taking his car."
Fluffy_Buns_Chan
The Neighbor
"A 16 year old murdered my neighbor. He was drunk, breaking into houses to steal stupid things like flag poles. He was friends with our roommate and came to my house after. Thank goodness we were vacationing out of town. They caught him the next day. I feel guilty for having a roommate in the first place."
Sassysis_
A Master Welder
"A neighbor in his early 30s. He was a Master Welder, had bought a new house, had just opened his own shop, and was engaged. He worked hard and we were very impressed and happy for him. Was on his way to the cabin for the weekend when he hit some loose gravel on the highway, dropped his motorcycle and was hit by a passing car. Although he was wearing a helmet he suffered a very severe brain injury."
"After recovery he had lingering brain problems and his personality changed. He forgot how to weld, his fiancée left him and he lost the shop and house. He had to move in with his parents and couldn't work again. He lost everything from that one event. Very sad outcome for this amazing guy."
optoph
The world can really be a depressing place.
'evangelizing'
"Being seduced into a cult. Quit her job; disowned her family; disowned her boyfriend (me); lost her home and savings; was reduced to 'evangelizing' in the street; i.e., begging for 'donations;' got hooked on drugs; fried her brain; ended up inpatient in a behavioral health care facility (i.e. a mental hospital)."
"It was a local thing, something like the Twelve Tribes with a heavy Pentacostal flavor to it. The leader of the thing had a direct channel to God and was infallible; the way to salvation was to give everything to the church (a big house in Detroit) and obey the head honcho without question on pain of being disowned and condemned to Hell."
"She dumped me when I refused to go to an 'awakening' where they spoke in tongues and such. I got the rest from a mutual friend who for some reason she was allowed to be friends with despite being an outsider."
PanicNearDetroit
A Mighty Fall
"Dude I knew was a successful architect. When the office started doing drug tests he quit smoking weed and started smoking harder stuff. (Weed is detectable for several weeks, other stuff 2 days). Lost his job, sold his house, burned thru 80k in a year, and ended up with a heroin habit."
"He's dead now."
brushpickerjoe
Stay the Course
"Stopped taking his bipolar meds because he was 'feeling good.' His wife held out impressively long while he threw away what was essentially his dream job and ruined many other relationships. Now divorced ‘surviving’ from manic episode to manic episode. Ex-wife still lets him see his son but he seems to be making every effort to burn that bridge."
"Getting more attention than I expected so I wanted to add a PSA. If you are taking Dr prescribed meds and feel good, please keep taking them. The meds are helping you feel good. If you are taking meds and don't feel good, keep taking them but discuss with your Dr ASAP."
"There are different kinds of meds available and they don't all work the same for everyone. Don't feel bad about taking meds. It doesn't make you a bad person in any way. Please reach out if you need help with mental health issues. It is 100% ok to need help."
handjammer
One Bad Night
"Not long after I got to my first unit in the Army we had an E7 (ranks are E1 to E9) get busted for drug use. 17 years in, 3 years till he could retire."
"Punishment handed down was reduction in rank to E1 and dishonorable discharge. Because of maybe one night of bad decisions, he threw away 17 years and got booted with what amounts to a felony conviction."
Bundabar
"It’s remarkable how many stories like this exist. I was a new private in Korea and saw an E6 with 10+ years in and a good reputation, forge paperwork to make E7. He was caught. He pathetically sulked around as an E4 for a while before getting discharged. Truly bizarre to see people make such terrible decisions."
NoMooseSoup4You
You're Out
"I was hanging out with a lot of weird insufferable geeks as a teenager (I was one too). We were kind of in a band. We had a lot of fun skipping school and making music. One of my friends was a musical genius, amazing guitar player, his band was actually taking off - they had just released a CD on a pretty decent label."
"He started doing amphetamines, got kicked out of the band, sold all his guitars, amps and computers and then set his house on fire and stabbed his grandpa all in the span of about 2 weeks. Last time I met him randomly he told me he was out of jail and living in a derelict van with his boyfriend."
Ambitious-Rock1004
We really have to be more careful with our lives.
Do you have any similar stories to add? Let us know in the comments below.
- Divorce Lawyers Admit The Pettiest Ways People Have Screwed Over Their Spouses ›
- People Who've Seen Someone Ruin Their Entire Life In A Few Seconds Break Down What Happened ›
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.