
Warning: what you are about to read is highly upsetting.
[rebelmouse-image 18350209 is_animated_gif=If you've grown up as a gay person in the USA, you are probably well aware of the various issues that face our community. One of which being a completely legal practice called "conversion therapy," which is rumored to turn the user straight. Studies show it doesn't work, however, desperate and homophobic family members will turn to any solution they can find to hide who their children are.
u/Creepypasta6 asked:
[Serious] Gay people of Reddit , who had to attend gay conversion camp for some reason. What is your story?
Here were some of the hair-raising stories.
Ineffective
[rebelmouse-image 18350210 is_animated_gif=My story isn't that bad, but this specific camp made us list our hobbies and likes and such. they'd put up pictures of conventionally attractive dudes in the middle of an activity (my favourite thing i listed was 'drawing') and ask us how we felt about them. gradually they'd take away one small thing that we liked (for example theyd take my pen, then pencil, then notebook) and asked how we felt about the dudes again. eventually we sat in an empty room as they asked us how we felt. i think this was an attempt to make us associate seeing hot guys with losing everything we loved, but it was so horribly done that i cant imagine whoever thought of that was over the age of 10.
Unforeseen Consequences
[rebelmouse-image 18350212 is_animated_gif=Man I don't even know anymore. Went through a year and change of conversion therapy because my parents are just homophobic as can be. Conservative Christianity accepted blindly with little critical thought will do that I suppose. I don't blame them too much, they only got it from their parents to begin with. Sessions ranged from horrible to "meh, not awful" based on who I was seeing at the time, cause I was passed around between a few therapists whenever the previous one "didn't cure me".
Lots of dumb attempts at fixing me by creating silly associations, similar to some other commenters. I remember specifically there was strong attempt to try and connect gay thoughts to jail time in my head, that messed with me for a little.
This all happened as I was turning 14 and continued till 18 when I could refuse to attend any more. It sure didn't turn me straight, but it did make me somewhat homophobic too. Basically I just hate myself, other people can do what they'd like, I don't really mind. I just never got to grow up and develop sexually, never got to experience my teenage years without being berated, and I'm going on 12 years of depression now because of it.
Bleh.
Tone
[rebelmouse-image 18350214 is_animated_gif=It wasn't a camp, but I was raised by Scientologists and they have a sort of conversion therapy they use to cure all "aberrations" like asthma and homosexuality. It's funny since L. Ron Hubbard doesn't actually say much about homosexuality. The only thing my seniors could show me said that homosexuals are constantly stuck in the same "tone" on the "tone scale," which is basically a chart of human emotions that places failure, apathy, and body death as low emotions, and happiness, creativity, and total knowingness (his word not mine) as high emotions. He believed all homosexuals were stuck at 1.1 on the tone scale, the number for covert hostility, which means that all gay people are supposedly full of secret, evil intentions. That was a bad place to be on the tone scale, and he believed that it was based on false purposes that you were holding onto. I won't go too off-topic with all the Scientology background, but L Ron Hubbard made up a lot of words and it's always hard to talk about without some translating.
So there's this process called the False Purpose Rundown that is very expensive to receive, but you are also required to do it if they find out you have this abberant behavior. I worked as an auditor in training at a local org (what they call churches) from the age of 11 up until I was 15 and performed two of these rundowns for two different gay men. The process is a mix of forced confessionals/interrogations, a lot of repetitive, hypnotic questions, and some other nonsense. It was heartbreaking both times, because these men genuinely wanted to change. They would sit in my office, crying, begging for the realization that would finally make them straight. Eventually a realization would come, but nobody was cured, just more repressed. Both men got in trouble later for their aberrant behavior, and I got in trouble for not actually curing them.
So being a gay teen at the time, I did not have a lot of faith in the process, but still felt like I was a disgusting pervert. I spent my nights doing the Scientology version of praying the gay away. Scientology states that if you believe something with total certainty, you will just believe it into existence. Scientologists also believe that they are the reason the Berlin wall fell, so if we can make a wall fall, surely we can change our orientation, right? It didn't work.
Because of a medical condition and some anonymous abuse concerns from neighbors, I was allowed to leave staff and I got to be a normal 15 year old with a 2nd grade education and no connection to anyone in the real world. So I decided to come out to my dad like a complete idiot, and he tried to take me to the org so they could fix me. I ran away and lived at our library for a few weeks, but I was worried about my mom and my survival skills were terrible. I went back home and he took me to the org.
I was usually a very, very obedient kid, but not being wholly in the church gave me a little confidence that there was a world outside, and I did a lot of secret reading about sexuality at the library, which wasn't allowed. The attempt to convert me wasn't successful, and I tried to stop engaging with them. They are tenacious to say the least, so it wasn't actually my decision, and the process was pretty devastating. On one hand, my feelings felt valid, but I had been so thoroughly indoctrinated that it was hard to understand what was right. They were trying to groom me to get me back on staff since I'd already done so much training, and they thought this little aberration would be an easy fix. My dad's church was also being much kinder than my old one since I wasn't on staff there, and that was very confusing to me. But one day three men showed up to my house, angry that I was taking too long and bogging down the process. They yelled at me on my lawn for a while. At one point I got into a yelling match, my first in my life. Looking back, I'm amazed I talked back to them. The one man did most of the talking and asked me why I didn't just decide to be straight. I asked him if he could just decide to be gay if he wanted, and he said he could. All of my learning at the library taught me that this man was probably bi, and that gave me an indescribable feeling: for the first time, I realized I knew something that the church didn't. And I probably knew even more things, and there was even more to learn in the world outside the church! I ran away from the three men and hid at a park like some kind of lizard.
Shortly after all this, my dad was forced to excommunicate my mom who was relatively bedridden and suffered from a lot of undiagnosed physical and mental disorders. Sometimes she would walk outside naked or hit her head against the wall repeatedly. She had 30 days to leave the house. This was great timing, so I bought an old car with some money I saved and drove her to a new city in a different state. We started life again, homeless in a strange place, but free.
This was all 11 years ago. I live with my partner now and have a happy, boring life. We have a dog and friends, and so many books! My mom is now mentally and physically healthy and completely self sufficient. I forget about the journey it took to get here, but I'm so grateful for the life I have.
The Ghost Of A Building
[rebelmouse-image 18345368 is_animated_gif=I'm a guy. So when I was 14, I was 100% a virgin and hadn't even kissed anyone. I'd been looking at and printing pictures of nude men (because I'm gay). My mother found them and asked my relatives what to do. I ended up at a church-sponsored conversion "camp" for six weeks. I wasn't fully aware of what the place was at the time other than that I was in trouble coz of the pictures and it was church-related.
It wasn't what you're probably imagining. It was basically an old mall that was empty and it was being converted into a weird church. There were maybe twelve kids there that I knew of, but TONS of adults (like 80ish). To this day, I don't know why they were there... if they were looking for conversion or maybe they were church employees. It was a bit like being at church with mostly all adults. Kids were kept apart. You didn't go outside. The food was like concession food (nacho bar was about all I ate). And lots of Kool-Aid. There was worship every evening in a space with a glass ceiling and it was very awkward. I would mostly stare up out the ceiling.
The practice there did involve a lot of things that I believe are now illegal: shock therapy, using heterosexual images, and isolation. I was a polite kid and was really compliant to what they wanted, so I actually think I was let off easy for the most part. The weirdest thing about this place was communal showers (there was nowhere to shower alone). Going and showering was my favorite thing because... I would shower as frequently as I could and take my time.
A few years after that, I broke down and told my mom all about what had happened. I don't think I could have broken her heart more. She was so apologetic and... she's a great mom now. She changed her mind on a lot of it and didn't know how to handle homosexuality. The only thing that bothers both of us is that I was afraid to talk to her about it then... and that if I'd spoken up maybe things would be better for some other kids who ended up at that awful place.
Probably the weirdest thing in all of this: I ended up buying a house a mile from that awful horrible place. I drive by it once or twice a week. It's abandoned now. It has no power over me. It is just weird that I ended up so near that place.
Disgusting Practices
[rebelmouse-image 18350216 is_animated_gif=I was outted to my parents by a friend of theirs that saw me hanging out with my girlfriend at the time. They didn't tell me they knew and instead set up an ambush for me - since I was still going to their church to try and keep up appearances I went to what was supposed to be a youth group meeting on a Friday night.
Well, it wasn't a youth group meeting - the senior pastor and the youth pastor and their wives along with some of the deacons at the church were there and no one else. I turned around to leave - since I was already living in my car and hung out at college most of the time I just figured I could do that until I graduated a few months later. But I was forcibly restrained while they tried to perform some kind of exorcism on me - we weren't even Catholic, my family went to some Jesus Camp evangelical cultish church.
They spent hours praying over me while I was tied to a chair, they then made me watch lesbian erotica after they gave me water mixed with an emetic agent that made me vomit and have really bad abdominal pain. It didn't make me not like women - I just ended up being humiliated at finding the women attractive while vomiting on myself until I passed out from dehydration.
I don't know what they had planned for me long-term - there was mention of a christian in-patient program for "same sex attraction" - but when they let me go to the bathroom to clean up I overpowered the woman sent with me to supervise and ran away. I didn't go home and I found out that my girlfriends parents made her withdraw from school and sent her to live with family a few states away. I ended up homeless for a while until one of my faculty mentors helped me figure out some living arrangements.
This kidnapping and abuse happened in the United States and yet I couldn't go to the police - I knew that they'd only harass me further and nothing would come of trying to press charges. Gay conversion is legal in my state - and quietly supported by the conservative masses including the police. I've steered clear of churches, religion, and my family ever since.
Curry Therapy
[rebelmouse-image 18350217 is_animated_gif=I remember all too well the moment I realized that this was going to be a long difficult summer for me. On arrival we were given extensive forms to fill out. Questions about hobbies/ likes/ dislikes and all that kind of thing. Least favorite smell was an interesting question on the form, my 17 year old self thought. On the 2nd or 3rd day in I was given some, in hindsight, incredibly laughable gay erotica (probably a strong word) and allowed to return to my room. Or at least what you would expect a particularly naive grandparent in the 1990's to give you, anyway. As soon as I returned to my room I heard some commotion outside the door and then the pungent smell of curry slowly seeped into my room. Waves of the smell came through periodically over about 3 hours. This was the smell I had listed on the form and this was their attempt at making me straight by associating attractive men with the smell of curry.
This Is All Legal
[rebelmouse-image 18350220 is_animated_gif=When I was 12 I made the big mistake of telling my mom about a crush I had on another boy (we were having a normal conversation about how my school day was and I just said it without even thinking for a moment about the consequences).
That led to my mom and dad basically interrogating me and getting me to admit that I'm gay. They then told me that as christians they couldn't accept me and that they would disown me and kick me out unless I "changed". I cried and told them that I had already prayed for that but it didn't work.
A few days after that at night they had some men basically kidnap me (completely legal) and take me to a church-run conversion therapy camp (completely legal). I was locked up in a small room most of the time I was there. The methods they used for the "conversion" were pretty much torture, either psychological torture (by telling you how broken you are) or actual physical torture (too upsetting to describe). I was forced to go to this camp every school break from when I was 12 till I was 15.
Obviously none of it worked and all that happened was that I fell into depression and my grades suffered (I was an all A student before that). It pretty much ruined my childhood and my education. I never really recovered from it. When I grew up I cut off my parents from my life and I haven't heard from them since.
Ridiculous Homophobia
[rebelmouse-image 18349166 is_animated_gif=I'm not sure this qualifies but my stepmonster kept forcing me to go to a church camp every summer that she picked out. The counselors went out of their way to tell me how 'bad' gay people were, how they were going to hell, how they were terrible people who touched small children, standard 'anyone different is a monster' BS.
The adults liked to follow me around to make sure I wasn't, ah, too friendly with the other girls. I couldn't even go change to get into the pool without an adult present. They seemed to be convinced that I was one of them there evil gays and would force myself on another girl. So instead all the grown ups spied on me, at age 12, while I was alone- even changing, going to the bathroom, swimming, etc.
I actually used to like to sing, so they'd force me to sing religious hymns over and over and over until my voice gave out, and even wrote a special "gays are going to hell" song just for me that they forced me to sing to them whenever they wanted. If I refused, they'd lock me in the canoe storage while everyone did whatever. I started to hate music. I wasn't allowed to sit with boys (I honestly don't know why) at lunch, and counselors took it upon themselves to steal my food right off my tray and refuse to let me go get more because I'd "never get a husband if I was fat". I said I didn't want to get married anyways and they acted like I'd stripped naked and ran in front of the pope.
Even when I tried following their rules or playing their games it wasn't enough. I wasn't allowed to play kickball or baseball or anything with the other kids, and when I tried to sign some songs instead of singing, they taped my hands together so I couldn't because "we don't know what you're saying. You could be saying anything and pretending it's the song lyrics." I guess they thought I was sending out my gay signal? Who knows.
Anyways, I finally, finally aged out of the camp and my stepmonster was so pissed we couldn't afford to send me to the "adult" camp (ages 15+) out of state. So I didn't have to go anymore. My younger sister later told me she'd asked about the camp after I'd moved out and her mother- my stepmonster- said there was no way in hell she'd send her child there. Apparently there have been lots of accusations over the years from kids that were swept under the rug but eventually someone finally investigated and the camp was shut down.
So it might not have been a conversion camp, but I think that's what they were going for.
Futile
[rebelmouse-image 18350221 is_animated_gif=So, throw away account here. I wasn't forced to go to a camp, but I was forced to go to a conversion therapist for a year and a half after my parents found out I was a lesbian.
The experience wasn't horrible aside from being made to go to the therapy sessions, and I felt slightly bad that my parents were paying for something that I knew wouldn't work. My therapist was also fine, just biased. We talked a lot about the 'root of my problem' with 'not trusting men' which was bullshit and I basically just made things up to placate both them and my parents into feeling like I was making progress and 'getting better'. I'm not proud of it, but I faked my conversion just to not have to go through it any more. Granted, I was 15 at the time and wasn't the best at looking at things long term.
After the 'conversion' was finished, I pretended around my parents that everything was fine, but I was secretly still dating girls and looking for a long-term partner. I eventually came out again when I was in my 20s, to a lot of accusations and resistance. My family has since shunned me and I don't have much contact with them. I guess I'm considered the black sheep, and I'm not sure if most of my extended family even knows. I know my mother told me that my uncle was never to know because, in her words, "he would kill me if he found out". I do have a support group of friends, so I'm doing okay now in case anyone's worried.
Self Inflicted
[rebelmouse-image 18350222 is_animated_gif=I became religious in my teens and came out to my parents so that they could take me to a Christian counselor, in hopes that I could become straight or at least asexual. The Bible suggested this was possible in [1 Corinthians 6:9-11][1]. I was part of an online community of other gay people trying to convert, and some of the people in that community claimed to have successfully converted. I had also contacted Pastor Stephen Bennett who claimed to have converted, so it seemed possible to me based on all these thing, as wildly unlikely as it seemed.
My parents thought it was fine that I was gay (my mom moreso than my dad) and didn't want to take me to a Christian counselor, but I was adamant. By the time they caved and finally took me, I wasn't Christian anymore. So my time with the Christian counselor was half-hearted and I was dubious of most things he said.
His process was based on the idea that I was gay because my relationship with my dad was inadequate and because I hadn't been affirmed in my masculinity when I was younger. He wanted me to do more manly things and get closer to my dad. My relationship with my dad was fine and I didn't have any interest in sports, so I didn't follow his advice.
The counselor asked me what I liked about men. I said I wanted to be held. He said, well why don't you find an athletic, assertive girl? A well-muscled one. That will do the trick. I was skeptical then and it is laughable now how little he understood what gay people want.
When I stopped seeing him, he offered to give me a book about gay conversion. I had been playing along so far, pretty half-heartedly, so I thought why not. I accepted the book, and then he balked. He said that he only wanted to give it to me if I really wanted to convert. I realized I had to tell him the truth for the first time and told him I wasn't actually interested in converting, and left.
Withheld Food
[rebelmouse-image 18348500 is_animated_gif=Went to a catholic summer camp for that exact reason when i was 17. I remember being aquatinted with a yardstick if i was mildly disobedient (ignoring nuns and teachers and camp councilors). I remember i was also not allowed to eat if i didn't read verses from the bible out loud. Tried my best to muddle through all the stuff. But anxiety was getting me halfway through the two week, making me appear more problematic than usual. So they set me in a tent instead of a cabin for a week where it rained 5 days in a row. I also remember them calling my parents repeatedly to tell them how abhorrent i behaved, which obviously led to more trouble. However one clergyman i remember for being a good man. He would go out of his way daily during the two weeks to make sure i was actually okay.
You Don't Have A Mental Disorder
[rebelmouse-image 18350223 is_animated_gif=Didn't go to camp but I was put in Church of Christ conversion therapy by my parents. Basically was just told I had a mental disorder for an hour a week for like 6 months. Also told that as I grew up I would grow out of it, and that all I had to do was pray and trust God. A different kid at the same church as me came out and was completely rejected. Total disfellowship. After that I lost my respect for that congregation. I still respect real Christians but those are very rare in churches these days.
Camptown Practice
[rebelmouse-image 18348507 is_animated_gif=I am Bi-sexual, and in summer 2001 and 2002 I went to 2 different summer camps. A mormon one, and generic bible camp. While i hadn't come out at that point, and this wasnt a conversion camp, it was very...discouraging. And why I think the camps are as bad or worse then people realize, cause this wasnt even meant for it and it was suck.
2001 the mormon camp had 3 things stick to me. 8am prayer, that went out of its way to pray for personal purity and calling out 'unclean' urges. Now i get it, summer camp for 11-16. But I remember it saying 'towards those like you' a few times.
The other two are linked. They had a buddy system, and a buddy buddy thing. They paired you with someone, but also you and that someone werent allowed alone together and always had to be with another buddy group. Felt weird, why not do groups of 4 if you dont trust em
2002 was more...behind the scenes. I can sum it up with a simple example. Want to see yourself in a new cabin/group? hold hands with someone of the same sex
Decades Gone
[rebelmouse-image 18348513 is_animated_gif=I was sent to therapy. I knew as soon as I started fantasizing that I was bisexual. I knew long before that that I really enjoyed wearing girl's clothes more than boys and playing with my mom's makeup. By the time I was 12, I also knew, thanks to my upbringing, that I was going to burn in hell for eternity for being who I was, that the devil was in charge of my life and I had to rid (how??) his influence if I was going to be saved. So I became a very accomplished liar, almost totally emotionally closed off (if nobody sees my soul crushing depression, they'll never question why it is, and they'll never find out the truth until they get to Heaven and I'm just not there!). I also (this was in the early nineties) drew homophobia around me like a coat of armor, for which I still feel awful.
Anyway, cue being sixteen. I had an amazing girlfriend (real, not fake - I was/am bi). It just so happens that she and I were the same height and pretty similar build, and when one day she decided it would be fun to dress me up in her clothes and give me a makeover I pretty enthusiastically went along with it. Cue my dad unexpectedly coming home to find his oldest "son" dressed to the nines (and looking pretty good according to my girlfriend).
He got my stepmother to drive my girlfriend home while lecturing her on various sins, and he practically stood guard while lecturing and yelling. When my stepmother got home he ordered her to go through all my things, including my computer and my journal, where they found allllll about their little old son and his apparent desire to burn in hell. All the s* about my depression and serious, years long obsession with and flirting with suicide and active participation in self-harm? Yeah, that was to be expected with a deviant like myself. Only God and The Church could help.
Church "counseling" along with complete isolation from all things "worldly" ensued. I was lucky to have not been physically or sexually abused like many people here, but the psychological torture, there and at home, drove me to a real suicide attempt, which led to me being thrown out because "I was a danger to my younger siblings."
I lived with my mother after that, and eventually moved into a roommate situation with some really great people. This was all twenty+ years ago. What do I have to show for it? I've seen my four younger siblings from their marriage twice in the past twenty years. My youngest brother was one, and he's an adult that I just don't know now. Twenty years of being closeted and so emotionally repressed that I barely recognize myself. A string of broken relationships because I'm so emotionally fucked that I just can't trust a soul. Lying is as easy as breathing, and I can't ever show or admit a flaw, about anything to anyone. A broken marriage with the most amazing woman I've ever met, and a son I can't live with full time because we share custody.
I'm just, just starting to heal now. I started therapy again a few months ago. I finally came clean with my therapist about being transgender, which gave me the courage to reach out to my old high school girlfriend from earlier in the story (I'm good friends with her and her husband), and finally to come out to my ex-wife. These people that I never trusted? Yeah, they immediately expressed support. Even my ex-wife. Total, uncompromising support. I wasted decades of my life, literally, living in fear and self-hatred because of that experience. But I'm finally getting better.
What Kinds Of Games Are These?
[rebelmouse-image 18348512 is_animated_gif=Well I AM gay and I had to go to "Christian service camp" when I was in high school. But at the time no one knew I was gay (even me, really). They preached a bunch of "love the sinner, hate the sin" We did kumbaya bs around camp fires and all that camp-type stuff with a whole bunch of Jesus added. I have kind of blocked it out but I remember a few of the leaders organized these activities to challenge our beliefs. One of these activities included putting some of us in a makeshift "jail" because they were trying to make them renounce Jesus. They would taunt them and and mock them and crap like that. Another time we all had to walk around outside blindfolded asking the counselors questions in order to figure out how to get to heaven or hell while blindfolded. The "angel counselors" always told the truth and the "devil counselors" always lied no matter what they were asked. You had to figure out how to ask in such a manner that you knew who was trying to take you to hell with them. I went to hell. Shocker. Although the worst and probably weirdest thing was on the last night, they set up a cross laying flat on the ground and one just past it erect with a standing platform. We kind of formed a line and would lay down on the cross while the person after us would hit the cross next to our hands with a big rubber mallet. So we could feel the vibrations and hear the sound of the beating echoing through the woods. Then we would get up and stand on the next cross with our arms up and others would mock us and yell all kinds of slander. Then more crying and praying at the campfire.
Not everyone has the luxury of working in a safe environment.
Rather poignantly, most of the essential workers, who continued to report to work as the world shut down during the pandemic, often had to report to very dangerous conditions.
And while we'd like to think that the people who are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of these employees will make sure nothing happens to them, that simply isn't always the case.
As many people have witnessed, truly horrific accidents take place at work more frequently than we think.
"What's the worst accident that happened at your workplace?"
As If One Time Wasn't Bad Enough
"Not my story, but my dad told me it."
"A man got his arm stuck in a machine, which degloved his arm."
"After he recovered, he was showing the safety people how it happened, and he accidentally degloved his other arm."- nugget_the_third3
Before You Eat Those Fries...
"Working at McDonalds, a girl slipped walking past a deep fryer and her hand went deep into the fryer."
"The manager wrapped her hand in a cloth, when she pulled it off to put in water all of her skin came off."
"We were still made to work so we walked off, they were even happy to keep using the fryer after it!"- Reasonable_Slice5324
Sometimes It's Their Own Fault
"Working for a specialized trucking company, a fellow driver lost control fully loaded going down a winding mountain road."
'The truck tipped over, slid across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic and landed in a field."
"Truck and trailer were absolutely demolished, cab was flattened, and the driver (a huge MFer) crawled out the back window without a scratch."
"$400k unit wasn’t even recognizable."
"Guy was fired when insurance pulled the ECM out of the rig and found he was going over 100kmh around a 50kmh corner and didn’t even touch the brakes."- Barquebe
"Man fell 75 feet due to standing on the wrong side of the pipe he was cutting."
"You ever see those cartoons where they cut the branch while standing on the branch?"
"He was cutting from inside and everyone thinks he just got disoriented."- R3DLOTU5·
Bizarre After Effects
"Guy fell 15’ and landed on his head."
"He lived."
"It fixed his lazy eye and he’s still with the company."
"He became very irritable, has violent outbursts and is a lil psychotic but otherwise perfectly ok."- Oneinsevenbillion75
Choose Your Smoking Breaks Wisely
"Had a corn starch dust explosion at a previous job."
"And no it's not previous because I caused it lol."
"A truly stupid guy decided he'd sneak a cigarette break in basically the worst place he could."
"He came very close to death for his stupidity and could have taken others with him, but thankfully he was the only one seriously injured when the dust went boom."
"That night I was pretty far from the boom area doing vacuum decay testing on completed bags of sugar substitute."
"I was uninjured, but it definitely scared the sh*t out of me."- LaReinaTormenta
They Call It Protective Gear For A Reason
"Teenage girl cut off her finger after refusing to wear the cut proof glove because 'it was ugly'."
"Follow safety protocols folks."- the-cosmic-kraken
So Many People's Worst Nightmares
"When I worked at a grocery store a guy lost his thumb in the meat slicer."
"Worst part is, because of the blade it went flying and they couldn’t find it soon enough to reattach."
'Deli was closed for 24 hours."- Mryan7600
Not Always Causing Physical Harm
"Worked in a grocery store as a teenager."
'My coworker (and still friend) was lowering a huge pallet of 1L apple juice tetra packs and the whole thing tipped from like 20ft up."
"Thousands of liters of apple juice flooded the whole back of the store."
"It was super hot that day and it just smelled like intense hot apple juice."
'We had the worst ant problem forever."
"Thankfully nobody was hurt but what a godawful mess."- permacloud
Wearing Your Hair Up Is As Stylish As It Is Safe
"A girl with long hair leaned down to check something near a fast rotating piece of machinery and got it caught."
"It ripped a good chunk of her scalp out."- EntertainerOk9552
Don't Rely On Workman's Comp
"At Walmart, an assistant manager had a heart attack in the break room."
"When she was taken away and treated she disappeared from work for months, and when she finally came back."
"Walmart management decided to put her outside in the hot California summer heat to be a greeter."
"When she refused they didn’t care and she quit."
"Every single person on my team was saying they probably did it on purpose and wanted her to quit."
"Really f*cked up and it’s probably true."- Filthy_pilgrim
At Least He Was A Good Sport...
"I watched a guy, who pinned his safety guard back on his Skill saw with a nail, lay the still spinning blade right into the meat of his thigh."
"It went right in."
"I almost passed out when he yanked it out. "
"He was in shock and laughing about how the blade was so hot it cauterized the cut, so not much blood."
"He then got into his yellow Bronco with a bad clutch and drove himself to the hospital."- Spodson
Why Updates And Refurbishments Are Necessary
"Hydraulic ferry doors were forced open to let cars out, pins snapped and doors slammed shut on an employee."
"They survived but it wasn’t pretty."- PlantBagWood
Texting While Moving Is Dangerous
"A crew was walking a plane out to the flight line and a guy got his bottom half squished underneath the wheels."
"Texting and not paying attention was suspected to be the cause but that’s not confirmed."- niciswan
"Safety First" should not simply be a warning or guideline for employees to follow.
But rather a basic standard for any workplace putting their employees in dangerous situations to uphold.
Many cultures and countries are associated with a specific food or dish.
Most people won't visit England without having fish and chips at least once, while others dream of having authentic Spanish paella.
This leaves one to question, does the United States have a food synonymous with their culture?
Hot dogs, hamburgers, and french fries tend to come to mind.
Foods that interestingly have their origins, or at least their inspirations, from elsewhere.
Thus begging the question: what is the food which defines America in one bite?
"What do you consider to be a cultural food of the United States?"
A Foreigner's Perspective
"As someone not from the states I would kill to try a peach cobbler or a pumpkin pie."- DukeOfPoose
Based On Their Origin, At Least
"Buffalo wings, perhaps."- Upstairs-Try6583
"Peanut, Penut Butter, and Jelly!"
"I was grocery shopping recently when a very nice German guy approached me for advice."
"He had friends coming to visit from his home country and he wanted to introduce them to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and could I advise him on the best ingredients?"
"He already had some kind of bullsh*t artisan bread from the bakery department in his cart."
"I told him to put that back, go to the bread aisle and get the crappy white Wonder Bread."
"Then there was discussion about the merits of Welch’s grape jelly vs. strawberry jam, and how most big brand peanut butter is optimal as opposed to the oily natural kind."
"Lastly he learned to use the term 'PB & J'.”
"He went away delighted, and it felt great to be a cultural ambassador!"- RedBattery
"PB&J."
"Idk if it was originated in the US but it's not that popular in other countries, although it's shown a lot in American cartoons."
"I literally tried PB&J last year for the first time and it's freaking delicious, 10/10."- burber_king
"You're Killing Me Smalls!"
"S'mores."
"I've traveled the world and no one knows what smores are besides Americans, whereas even if burgers or whatever are American, everyone everywhere knows what they are, so..."- decehod235
With Or Without Chili!
"Cornbread."- Deadp*ssyf*ck
French Fries Are So Passé
"Tater tots."- tdly3000·
Maybe Depending On Where You're From?
"Shrimp and Grits."
"Nashville style Fried Chicken."
"Texas BBQ."
"Carolina BBQ."
"Kansas City BBQ."
"Memphis BBQ."
"NY Style Pizza."
"Po Boys."
"Jambalaya/Gumbo."
"Hotdish."
"Ambrosia Salad."
"Clam Chowder.:"
"Manhattan Clam Stew (it is not a chowder)."
"Conch Fritters."
"Chicago style Brownies."
"Chicago style Italian beef."
"Philly style chopped steak and cheese (NJ and DE have pretty good ones too)."
"Beef on Kimmelweck with creamy horseradish sauce."
"Lobstah Rolls (Maine only, every other one sucks)."
"Maryland crab cakes."
"Tex-mex style everything."
"Chicago Deep Dish Pizza."
"Chicago style hot dogs."
"Texas style corn dogs."
"Bagels with Lox (smear optional but I never get one without it)."- RandomUser0666
Don't Let The Name Fool You
"The Cuban sandwich - originated in Tampa Bay."- OhSeesOhMees
Simple And Delicious
"Biscuits and gravy."
"The reason it came to my mind is I have been making them now in the winter months."
"Here is the recipe I use for biscuits."
"It takes practice but they come out great."
"Very cold butter and not overworking or touching the dough with your warm hands is key."
"I get a little better at each time I make them."- wanted_to_upvote
The Sweet Treat Everyone Craves
"Chocolate chip cookies."- whoathererockstar
Breakfast Combos
"The USA are fierce contenders against mainland Western Europe for the greatest breakfasts in the world."
"You people are visionaries when it comes to breakfast."
"Like, chicken and waffles?"
"Who the f*ck thought of that?"
"You did, that's who, you beautiful bastards."
'It shouldn't work, but by god, it does."
"And steak and eggs?"
"Who the f*ck eats steak in the morning? "
"THIS GUY, THAT'S WHO."
"I LIKE YOUR STYLE, AMERICA."- ZdCole
Needless to say, what constitutes being "American" has proven to be a highly, some might say unnecessarily, divisive issue.
Even so, it's hard to believe there are any people out there who can't put aside their differences to enjoy a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich, followed by a slice of Apple Pie.
A stepping stone for improved diplomatic relations maybe?
Stranger things have happened...
People With Mental Disorders Explain Which Things They Wish People Better Understood About Them
I have depression. It's not overwhelming, and it's not something that I use to define myself, but it's there, and there are times when it hits me, and it's debilitating.
Not everyone understands why I have depression.
They think that because I have a good life with wonderful friends, a great family, a good job, a nice place to live, and no huge problems I have nothing to be sad about. They don't understand that depression isn't just sadness and that having a good or bad life has little bearing on whether you suffer from depression or not.
Depression isn't the only mental disorder that isn't widely understood. Even the way people with mental disorders feel in general aren't widely understood.
Thanks to one Redditor's great question, Redditors with mental disorders shared what they wish people understood about them.
It all started when Redditor demalejo asked:
"People with mental disorders, what would you like people to understand better about your condition?"
Fatigue
"It's tiring. I'm tired all the time. The amount of effort I have to put into being a functional adult is exhausting. Everything is difficult. Nothing is easy or simple. I'm just so so so tired."
– legoclover
"Yo. Right there with you. Living is exhausting. The weight of it just seems heavier and heavier each day. State of the world is NOT helping."
– Redheaded_Loser
Don't Worry, Be Happy
"Extreme existential anxiety. People say, "Well, you can't change anything, anyway, so why worry?" ...THAT'S WHY I'M WORRIED! IF I COULD CHANGE IT THEN I WOULD JUST DO THAT!"
"I'm much better now, but good Lord."
– newyne
"This. Having debilitating anxiety is so f**king tiring. Every time I stop to think about it, I’m just hit with this wave of “wow imagine what I could do if 70% of my energy wasn’t going towards overthinking, panicking, and stressing.”"
– reefered_beans
Take "Quirk" Out Of Your Vocabulary
"OCD isn't a quirk and you wanting your counters nice and neat isn't a symptom. Constant thoughts that I can't stop and cause a lot of distress are the problem. My house is a dang mess and I really don't care. But needing to say goodnight to my pets in a certain order because they might die if I don't is an issue. Also having distressing and disturbing thoughts that pop up randomly such as sexual, violent, or grotesque thoughts that are not my thoughts and don't align with my beliefs or values. It's not quirky. The only thing relatively quirky is when I twitch or shake my head to erase the thought like an etch a sketch"
– polkaspot36
Not Always As Bad As It Sounds
"My official (along with half a dozen other diags) is "Bipolar II, mixed, with psychotic behavior" which made me super uncomfortable at first because, you know... connotation everyone has with the term psychotic. It took me some time to accept that particular part."
"Sometimes they get really bad, but 90% of the time my hallucinations and delusions are pretty mild to the point it took me ages to figure out that's what was going on. Mostly visual and auditory, occasionally other things. For visual, I see things move that don't or aren't there, especially shadows. For the auditory it's usually more muffled like if someone was having a conversation in the other room or left a TV or radio on. TV on in the same room I'm in helps drown out the noises and gives enough of a visual distraction to help.The delusions I can usually recognize on some level that's what they are, but going through them is awful because I can't logic my way out of them and convince myself that's all they are. This awful cycle of "this seems farfetched, it's probably a delusion... but what if it's not? But it doesn't make sense and here's why.... but what if it actually makes PERFECT sense?? Here's everything that backs up this being absolutely 100% real and here's everything that proves what you're saying to disprove it is wrong." Just have to ride them out."
"Medication, nearly two decades of therapy, and a whole massive toolbox of coping mechanisms and I'm okay more often than not. Though it has gotten bad enough in the past to have a rough crisis plan. Figure it's better to plan for a worst case scenario and give trusted people an idea of "this means it's getting bad" and steps I'd like them to take if I can't recognize I'm at that point."
"Another thing I wish people understood about bipolar is it's not really an instant switch in mood but longer term episodes of extreme highs and lows. And that the highs and lows look different than what most people imagine, too, particularly the high/manic episodes. I think depressive episodes are pretty obvious to most people nowadays. But manic is not just lots of energy and feel-good happytimes. It can be incredibly destructive and even dangerous."
– CalamitousCass
Look It Up
"The difference between “psychosis” and “psychopath.” I see and hear things that aren’t there. I don’t have daydreams about putting you in a microwave. Learn the difference."
– Sethrial
It's Not About Focus
"The ADHD brain is physically and chemically different than a "neurotypical" brain. The thing is, without neurodivergencies like ADHD, ASD, etc., advancements in science, technology, even economics and agriculture, would not have evolved to the level we currently have."
"I also want to add, it's BS the way people treat people with ADHD. As prolific as it is, and with all the research and growing understanding, they're still told "if you'd only focus", "you can hold still if you really try", and other crap. ADHD can be disabling and has an effect on every part of someone's life. Quit writing them off."
– MoJoHusband
Everybody Hurts
"That every time I am angry or upset, it’s not “just my [insert relevant mental illness here]”. Sometimes I have every right and reason to be furious or in tears, just like anyone else does, and brushing off my emotions as a symptom is hurtful and damaging."
– frau-fremdschamen
You Can't Help Me!
"That I don't fully understand it myself, but getting advice from a mentally healthy person who has no understanding of it is frustratingly useless."
– TheRichTurner
"Can't tell you how many times peaple were just like "it's common sense you will get it. You just need to keep trying" meanwhile 12 year old me is fantasizing about putting my pencil though the teachers neck because all of the black squiggles on the page don't make sense unless I have a colored filter over them. That she won't let me use because it's "distracting.""
– Hickawa
I Need A Little Time
"Certain folks in my family get so frustrated when I have to call off something because I’m having a bad day mentally. I don’t want to miss Fun Thing either, but I have had this my entire life and I know when I can push through it and when I absolutely cannot. I hate it as much as they do!"
– StargazerNataku
"Absolutely. If I don't show up to something every once in a while, it's for your protection as well as mine. Nobody wants to see me have a mental breakdown because I pushed myself too hard to do something that day."
"Sometimes, having mental health issues means I need to wait for it to pass. I need as little stimulus as possible to have control over myself in those times. This is me, dealing with it, so I can go back to being the person everyone likes."
– OfficeChairHero
There's No Magic Solution
"Taking medication is not some magical fix. I'm still sick."
– m0rgan_jamiie
"Exactly. Going to therapy and doing the work doesn’t mean that my mental health issues are going to magically disappear! I once had someone in my family ask me how long it will take for my anxiety, PTSD, depression etc to “go” away completely since I was on medication and in therapy. It was the most painful conversation I had to have without offending them. I will always have what I’ve been diagnosed with and I’m going to live with them forever, I just know how to manage it well on some days and can’t manage them on other days. Stop expecting me to wake up and be a new person just because I’m in therapy."
– OkTennis2366
Alone Time
"That having my routine broken causes a massive amount of stress and fear so I tend to respond poorly to tense situations because my brain can't connect with others."
"Great that they find stress relief with others, I find it with my video games and I can't take that with me so smoking is how I handle an overwhelming amount of it. Not a great method but it works for now."
– Brontolope11
It's More Than Sadness
"Being depressed is not "Oh, you're just sad.""
"No, it physically hurts on my worst days, and sometimes it's really hard to get out of bed because of it."
"It's also difficult to find something to do some days when mine is bad. I'll literally just sit there and stare at something for a while."
"My son will want to go outside, and I just don't want to because my depression makes it so that I don't feel like doing anything."
"Depression can physically be painful, and it's "not just in your head.""
– StrangerFeelings
It's Not Your Fault
"Parents: ADHD and other disorders are not a negative reflection on you as a parent. You don't have "the bad kid" who gets in trouble all the time. You have a kid with a health condition that makes their life harder that needs diagnosis and treatment. Nobody would think of their kid as an embarrassment for having asthma or poor eyesight or diabetes."
"Get your head out of the sand and your ego out of your kid's health."
– I_RATE_BIRDS
We're All Trying To Get Through
"I am trying so hard. So f**king hard. Please just be patient with me."
I think that might be the most important thing to understand!
Being a parent isn't for everybody.
That is a life lesson well learned.
Not everybody wants to have kids.
That maybe hard to believe, but the sooner we learn, the better.
If you want kids, please have them, just be sure and ready.
It's a hard journey.
Raising my dog has been stress enough.
Maybe if some of you hear why others don't want kids, you'll appreciate yours more.
Redditor Celestialsmoothie28 wanted to discuss why many of us don't want to bring a new generation into the world, so they asked:
"People who don't want kids, why?"
I will never have kids. You're all welcome.
Who Cares?
"Why would I want kids? Personally, I can’t think of a single compelling reason to have them. Kids deserve a parent who wants them, not someone who just tolerates them."
Worried-Medicine-664
“test out”
"Kids are a lifelong commitment to raise and care for another human, and I don’t think I’m capable of handling that. I like kids, but I don’t think I could raise one well, so I’m not going to try."
boymanpal
"Agreed. Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child. For those who think 'if you never try you never know”' are just plain selfish. So you’re gonna bring a kid to this world just to 'test out' if you can be a good parent?"
"You should know yourself better than anyone beforehand, whether you can be a good parent. I certainly not gonna use a person’s life for my own amusement since I know I wouldn’t be able to give the best to the child."
pronocturnalfreak
Learn Sooner
"I grew up with a brother 10 years younger than i am. Went from changing his diapers to teaching him how to mod Minecraft."
"Left to go to college. I call him nearly every night, and we still watch anime an play video games together through discord calls."
"I already had my kid. He's called my little brother. Just wish I understood my family's financial situation sooner."
oxidezblood
Be Prepared
"As a parent, I always tell people that wanting the responsibility is the most important part. My baby daddy and I separated, but we co-parent so well, people are always shocked. We work together well because we both know we planned to have a child and raise her together, despite the status of our personal relationship."
kailsbabbydaddy
The responsibility! The biggest lesson of all.
My Life... My Rules
"I enjoy freedom, I enjoy my relationship exactly as it is, I have a major fear of being pregnant, I like having money. Oh and I don’t like babies or kids. The reasons are endless."
Feeling_Ad_2354
Issues of a Saint
"I struggle with anxiety and anger issues and I wouldn’t want to pass that on to my child or have them have to grow up dealing with my anxieties and anger episodes. I just couldn’t do it and it wouldn’t be fair to them. Plus it’s real expensive. I’d rather have a life of peace and quiet and travel to figure myself out. To the moms: you guys are tough saints."
shoppingforthemoon
Stability Fail
"I have back and hip issues that would have made carrying a child (and then also literally carrying a child) difficult. I like my free time and expendable income. I didn't feel like I was in a stable enough place financially, wasn't with the right partner at the right time, never had baby fever."
"I look around at the world, and have no desire to bring another life into this s**t show."
wirwarennamenlos
Today's Drama
"In this economy?"
besameput0
"I'd also like to add. Into this world? Our age pyramid is upside down. Only way to fix to is either by overpopulation, or bracing for difficult times for a while until it fixes itself."
"It isn't like I dislike children, at work I love to take care of them. But I don't have the heart to bring in any more. Otherwise, if my life situation would be better, I would totally love to foster or adopt. There are so many children who don't get parents."
Valtremors
Just... WHY?!
"Why would I want one? I get that it is the social default, but in a vacuum it sounds terrible. I barely feel like I have my sh*t together, and I never feel like I have enough time to do the things I want to do."
"Why would I want to give up on my free time entirely to raise a kid? Children are fine in small doses, but they are exhausting, stressful and the benefits seem minimal. I guess the biological drive skipped me."
notaninjashhhhh
Not everybody is meant to be a parent.
Know your truth.