Heartbroken Single People Reveal Their Most Depressing And Terrible Break-Up Stories
Heartbroken Single People Reveal Their Most Depressing And Terrible Break-Up Stories
[rebelmouse-image 18350692 is_animated_gif=Breaking up with someone, or having someone break up with you, is never fun. Occasionally, though, breakups get nasty. Really nasty. And P-E-T-T-Y. Whether you're happy in a relationship or not, the way in which a breakup is handled can often cause more collateral damage than a toxic partnership.
This is why I'm single. This is why I have three cats.
Reddit's peopleoftomorrow8 asked, "What is the worst thing to do/say to break up with someone?"
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
Beep beep. We're over.
[rebelmouse-image 18350693 is_animated_gif=Back in high school (late 90s) my friend got broken up with via pager code.
She had to decipher that sh*t to figure out the guy was dumping her...
"April fools" except it's not a joke.
[rebelmouse-image 18350694 is_animated_gif=My boyfriend broke up with me on April fools day. Took a lot of "no seriously" for me to believe him
That Escalated
[rebelmouse-image 18350695 is_animated_gif=Convince me to quit my job, sell my house, and spend thousands studying for and taking the bar exam in a new state because you got a good job offer there, then cheat on me with some guy you met playing Heroes of Newerth, give me herpes, tell me you're just not attracted to me anymore, and ask me to move out now that I have no house and no job.
Having mommy do it? Really?
[rebelmouse-image 18350696 is_animated_gif=When I was 14 my boyfriend tried to break up with me by ghosting me, unfortunately, I was extremely dense and didn't get the hint. So he had his mum break up with me over the phone. Good times!
Changing your Facebook status from "in a relationship" to "single" without warning is ghosting at its worst
[rebelmouse-image 18350698 is_animated_gif=Yeah 11 or 12 years ago I was on my computer looking at Facebook when I noticed my girlfriend of a year-and-a-half's Facebook status changed from 'in a relationship' to 'single'.
I figured it was probably a mistake and sent her a text joking about it and went to bed. The next day I had no reply from her. I tried calling and just got voicemail. I tried calling a couple times for the next few days and no reply. I tried her parent's house and they said she was at work. I tried her work and they said she was busy and couldn't come to the phone. I drove to her work to figure out what was going on and she started crying and said it was all okay she was just going through some things and would call me after work.
I never heard from her for like another week or two till I texted her and asked what I should do with all her stuff she left at my house (Like 3 garbage bags full of clothes and random stuff). She told me she would come pick it up tomorrow. She never showed. Then she texted and said she'd come the next day. This pattern repeated for about a month, I offered multiple times to drive her things out to her or even leave them at her parents or a mutual friends house for her to pick up. Finally one day after not showing up to pick her stuff up when she said she would I threw everything in the trash. I texted her saying I threw it in the trash and she called me and yelled a bunch of obscenities at me then hung up.
That month was incredibly rough. I had no idea what happened or why she dumped me or how she could be so mean. It was seriously the worst. The sad part is I was just finishing a surprise painting of her and her horse when she ghosted me. I spent so long on it and it actually looked really good. I hung onto it for a long time after she started ghosting me thinking I would give it to her when she picked up her stuff. A last vestige of hope from a heartbroken man. It ended up torn in half and thrown in the garbage with the rest of her belongings.
So many potential questions answered with five words.
[rebelmouse-image 18345594 is_animated_gif=One time a guy invited me to a beautiful picnic with wine and flowers and then when I tried to sit down he said "Don't eat anything, Rebecca's coming." And then he broke up with me.
It can be cold in New York City, but not this cold. Ouch.
[rebelmouse-image 18350699 is_animated_gif=One girlfriend I was on and off with for a while may fall into this category. Dated in college in Maryland and when I graduated I had to move for a job to New York. I wanted to do long distance and we kept talking, but we started to fade because I was stressed in my job.
After a while, I went back to where we both lived and took her out for her birthday with my family as it was my dad's birthday too. Got her a gift and flowers and surprised her at work and everything. I tell her she should visit New York but she always said no because she was broke.
Fast forward to later that week, I check her snap story and she was in New York, with another dude, saying she's the luckiest girl in the world or whatever. I text her like yo tf what is this, she proceeds to block my number and I text her via Facebook saying she just confirmed my beliefs and to have a nice life. Tells me to leave her alone.
So yeah, I think this one's pretty bad. She still hits me up from time to time and I ignore her and have her blocked on everything else. Oh well, live and learn.
Is this better or worse than dumping someone on Valentine's Day?
[rebelmouse-image 18350700 is_animated_gif=I once broke up with my gf the day before Valentines Day. Was told by everyone I was an assh*le.
Edit: Forgot to mention it was over the phone.
Honestly, Valentine's Day is the worst.
[rebelmouse-image 18350701 is_animated_gif=Only things worse is sitting through an incredibly awkward dinner on V-Day that you could just barely afford because you work a part-time minimum wage job only to confront her about the guy she's been texting the entire evening and get broken up with over text when you get home.
That was me a few years ago. Can't make this sh*t up.
Like I said, P-E-T-T-Y.
[rebelmouse-image 18348806 is_animated_gif=About 10 years ago, I had a boyfriend who was from another state. After dating for about six months, he asked me to bring him to the airport for a flight home for Christmas, which of course I did. He called me about three hours later (on his layover) to tell me he left something in my glove box for me. Thinking left something sweet for me for Christmas, I rushed out to my car and excitedly searched through. It wasn't a sweet gift, it was a letter breaking up with me.
That's a pretty bad way to do it.
This is just unnecessarily petty.
[rebelmouse-image 18350702 is_animated_gif=My ex broke up with me five days before our one year anniversary, on which he told me "I planned to propose to you today but I dumped you instead".
Using depression as a cover for cheating? Rude. Not realizing "I need space" is code for "this is over?" A valuable lesson.
[rebelmouse-image 18350703 is_animated_gif="I need space due to my depression" by space I mean need to go bang my manager for a few weeks then break up with you the day before your birthday.
I don't think it works that way, but okay.
[rebelmouse-image 18350704 is_animated_gif="I don't think I'm gay after all." After six months, my ex-fiance that I lived with came to that groundbreaking conclusion.
Thanks for nothing.
[rebelmouse-image 18350705 is_animated_gif="You helped me through a tough time, but I'm going to try it with my ex again."
The classic save-face method of heartbreak.
[rebelmouse-image 18350706 is_animated_gif=It's not you it's me
Sounds like he did you a favor... yikes.
[rebelmouse-image 18350707 is_animated_gif=My ex told me that the (his name) I fell in love with was dead and never coming back while Silas (the really bad and ugly personality who lives in his head) had taken full control of him.
So yeah. Probably that.
This would tear my soul apart too.
[rebelmouse-image 18350708 is_animated_gif=She said "do you know how many times I rolled my eyes after I turned over to go to bed after you said I love you?" Tore my soul apart
This is some Dante-level nasty.
[rebelmouse-image 18350709 is_animated_gif=One time this guy I'd been seeing for two weeks took me to a cemetery and broke up with me by the reasoning "You're too morbid." Then he went back to my house and copulated with my sister.
Ten years of friendship thrown away via text. That's a low blow.
[rebelmouse-image 18350710 is_animated_gif=By text. 30 minutes before we had dinner plans. A few months before our 3 year anniversary. And we were both 26.
We lived 10 minutes away from each other and were never long distance, had known each other for 10+ years at that point, and I got a f*cking text.
Awkward, but hey, whatever keeps the peace.
[rebelmouse-image 18345572 is_animated_gif=Not a bad break up, per-say, but not the ideal aftermath: My now-ex and I split when we were living together, but there was only 3 weeks left on the lease so we decided to stay living together for those 3 weeks and then move our separate ways once it had finished.
It was all fine until we agreed that since we were no longer dating we could do as we pleased, so came along many nights of me being home and him staying out all night or vice versa, I ended up going to a different city for a week to work and when I got back he went away for a week. It mainly only got awkward when I signed up for a dating app and saw him on there. But then it became comical, I asked him about how it was going and he said he'd met a few girls and that's where'd he'd been staying, and then he helped me set up my profile, helped me choose good photos and write a bio.
But hey I met my current partner on that dating site and now my ex and I are both in long-term relationships now with other people and we still see each other around occasionally, but no biggie.
It was a weird month.
Kids today will never know the hurt.
[rebelmouse-image 18350711 is_animated_gif=Do it over AIM, like my HS girlfriend in 2003.
I'm over her, but I'm still not over how she did it. What a low f*ckin move.
The punishment definitely fit the crime.
[rebelmouse-image 18350712 is_animated_gif=My buddy in high school walked up to his gf and her friends and said "everyone with a boyfriend raise their hand, WHOA NOT SO FAST"
She kicked him in the balls.
I laughed
And I thought MY parents' divorce was ugly...
[rebelmouse-image 18350713 is_animated_gif=What my dad did to my mom. They were married 26 years, and she was incredibly hard to get along with. He was a really passive person and was no match for her temperament. He wanted a divorce but was too chicken to say so. He waited until her father died and they were in the car, driving home from his funeral. She was at her weakest, totally crushed. He told her he never loved her and wanted a divorce. Good timing, assh*le. He and I were always joined at the hip until then. He was too big of a wuss to realize how cruel he had been to a fellow human being.
"That year was one of the worst of my life." Yeah, this is bad. But this mother is an inspiration.
[rebelmouse-image 18350714 is_animated_gif=My last ex dumped me a week before we were supposed to move in together. I let my lease run out on my apartment, I quit my job, I took my kids out of school (it was winter break and I had time to set them up in their new school before school was back in session). To compete it all, I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks before. So I lost my house, my job, and my kid's school because he decided to be an assh*le.
He didn't even have the decency to do it in person. He told me over the phone and then had the audacity to ask for his radio back. The only reason I didn't end up homeless was because my mom got sick and asked me to move to her state to help her out and so she could see my kids before she passed away. She passed away 2 months later. So yeah... that year was one of the worst of my life.
I'm doing better now. I'm in a stable relationship, I kept the baby, I own a car, have a stable job, my kids are straight A students, and I rent out a townhouse. Still, it was a f*cked up thing to do to me and subsequently my kids.
And the worst breakup story goes to...
[rebelmouse-image 18350715 is_animated_gif=My time to shine! When I was 22 I was married. After 3 weeks of being in the hospital with a collapsed lung, I took a cab back to our apartment. I walked into seeing him having sex with another girl in our bed. He looked over his shoulder and calmly said "do you mind? I'm not done yet." No assh_le you're done.
No matter how happy we are with our lives, most of us can think of at least one thing that we wish we could have done differently.
Even if that just means starting to do the same things a little bit sooner.
Feeling reflective, Redditor AbortiveBases1 asked:
"What's something you wish you started doing sooner?"
Letting People Go
"Learning that just because someone is your friend for a long time doesn't mean you have to deal with their toxicity or narcissistic behavior."
"You can leave those friendships. It sucks at first but it's worse staying friends with people like that."
- SadStone2265
Getting Divorced
"My mom and dad got divorced in 2022 when my siblings and I were all between the ages of 27 and 31."
"We couldn't be happier. It could (and should) have happened way earlier, like 10 to 15 years earlier. Our childhood definitely suffered for it."
"I have no complaints about my mom, she's the best lady ever, but things would've been a lot more pleasant at home if they divorced then."
- doomed_danny
Creative Outlet
"Making things."
"I 3D print, do woodwork, and do home renovations. It’s made me more self-confident (I now usually believe I can do anything), more creative, and changed the way my brain works."
"I can’t imagine what kind of person I’d be today if I had been doing this all throughout my 20s."
- AirZurk
Sugar Intake
"Weaning myself off sugar."
- CouldMurderACarvery
The Perfect Partner
"My wife. She's the granddaughter of a friend of my aunt, so I could have met her a lot sooner, but we only met when I was 29."
"The way we clicked together and got lost in conversation with each other... I only wish it had started sooner."
- netheroth
"You can't guarantee that you would have clicked earlier."
"It was the same with my wife, I had met a bunch of her close friends over the years through friends and vice versa. There are pictures of us at the same events when we were 17, 18, and 20, but we just never met. Ships passing in the night."
"We met finally at 29 and realized we had all the things in common and clicked immediately and are happily married with a beautiful two-year-old."
"Looking back, had we met at 17, I don't think we would have gotten together. We both had a lot of growing to do before we were right for each other."
- sirhcdobo
Ditch the Hustle
"Focusing on friends instead of the grind."
"I worked two jobs through the 2010s. As a freelance digital artist at night, I made a lot of 'friends' through conventions, online chat groups, and social media."
"However, the pandemic hit, and the conventions closed. Freelance business dried up. Our clients disappeared. With my evenings more open, I focused more intently on ascending in my day job, and now only have one or two contacts left from my digital art years."
"They're all I have left. And we don't even talk that much."
"I'm working on rebuilding a friends circle, trying to reconnect with everyone who still remembers me, lives close enough, and didn't die years ago unbeknownst."
"It's an awkward process, trying to again find similar interests now that everyone has a wife, kids, and home to take care of, while I seem to have dropped out of a time portal from 2003."
- QuarantineTitans
Understanding Mental Health
"My wife."
"But seriously, endorphins."
"And understanding the importance of endorphins on mental health."
"Even a small amount of physical activity has a major improvement on my mental health, energy, and moods."
- ksozay
Work History
"I wish I'd started working sooner."
"My mom sent me money for food and essentials while I was in college because she said a job would just distract me from getting good grades. Unfortunately, she simply forgot to send the money, a lot."
- stellathewizard
Home Yoga Sessions
"At-home yoga. It's free AND my back doesn't hurt anymore!"
- mekkimegz
Prioritizing Sleep
"Enforcing my own bedtime. My mood is 1,000% better on days when I get enough sleep."
- lights_camera_pizza
The Value of Therapy
"Therapy. Seriously, if you are considering seeing a therapist, then just do it."
- Avjycjc8ttghu478
Exercise Routine
"Two-a-day workouts. Once you figure out intensity pacing and treating one as a 'light' workout, it’s not hard."
"Getting up at 5:30 most days isn’t awesome, but I get 14, 45-min hits of exercise almost every week, and I’ve never had as much energy, positivity, and overall health. Plus, weight management-wise, I can eat d**n near anything I want to. I had a 'mostly' clean diet before, so I wasn’t going bonkers. But it makes eating pretty enjoyable."
- superstarrrr99
Better Self-Talk
"Replacing self-depreciative jokes with sarcastic compliments on myself."
"For example, instead of saying, 'My hair looks like something died in it,' say, 'I was born a queen. Look how great I look on a bad hair day too!'"
"Fake it till you make it kinda works. Eventually, I'm not feeling as insecure about myself as I used to."
- saagarammm
Sentimental Photos
"Taking pictures with my husband and kids. I hate the way I look in pictures so usually, I’m the one behind the camera. It wasn’t until last year that I read a post here on Reddit that made me change my way of thinking."
"It said something along the lines of, kids don't see wrinkles, extra fat, or bad hair. You know, all the things we nitpick about ourselves. They just see Mom."
- Dazzling-Nature-6380
The Next Phase
"Retirement. Did it at 68 but was enjoying running my own publishing business, so I stayed on."
"Now in retirement, I’m having a blast doing so many things I never previously had time for that I wish I’d taken the plunge at 60, or earlier. (Let that be a lesson to all you young ‘uns out there.)"
- SkepticalSenior9133
While it's so easy to regret things in our lives, sometimes it's important to think about the things we're doing right.
Sometimes we'll be so proud of what we're doing, we'll only regret not getting a jump on it sooner.
People Break Down Which Things Have Gotten Worse And More Expensive At The Same Time
Over the course of time, we often find ourselves discovering things we once loved as a child that didn't turn out to be quite as wonderful as we remember.
Up to and including a restaurant we used to love, a clothing brand we almost exclusively shopped at, or an amusement park which dazzled us when we were young. While the disappointment could be owed to a slightly foggy memory, there might have also been an overall decline in quality at any and all of those places.
Making this experience all the more perplexing, however, is the fact that the less happy experience was much more expensive than it was when these same things brought us joy.
A curious imbalance indeed.
"What has simultaneously gotten worse and more expensive?"
So Much For The $1 Menu
"Fast food."
"I rarely eat it, but every time I do it seems more expensive and I feel horrible after."- TheSecretStuffs
Fast Food Cheeseburger GIFGiphyHence The Shared Password...
"Netflix."- Lazy_Adhesiveness812
Nothing I Couldn't Make Better At Home...
"Going out to eat, Restaurants."
"It used to be fun, now it's too expensive and the experience has become mediocre."- mojoisthebest
"Dining out for sure."
"Mid tier restaurants are using lower quality food, much of it prepackaged from major suppliers, prices are up and service is terrible."
"Many of our local restaurants have gotten away from table service and you order from a counter and pick up your own food."
"I don’t go out often, but I do go out expecting a decent meal and service."- Caspers_Shadow
gordon ramsay cooking GIF by Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and BackGiphySometimes Bigger Is Better...
"Bars of chocolate."
"It used to be a fairly cheap and substantial treat when I was kid, but they keep getting smaller and smaller and they're ridiculously expensive now."- eezgorriseadback
You'd Think They'd Have Solved This Problem By Now...
"Most technology designed to be replaced every few years."
"We used to design things to last."
"Now we design things to wear out so people keep buying new ones."- riphitter
Lucky For Vegetarians...
"Meat from the supermarket."- pretty_monotonous
Supermarket Sweep Shopping GIF by ABC NetworkGiphyNo Matter Where You Get It...
"Food, in general."- BillyBobBarkerJrJr
Renting Or Buying...
"Housing."- pineconewashington
Something's Afoul...
"Scented candles."
"In fact, what used to be the premier candle, Yankee Candle had so gone down in quality the son of the original founder of Yankee Candle made his own company based on the original premise, quality, and scents of the original candles."
"It's called Kringle candle, but they're not available everywhere, so unfortunately, Yankee Candle it is."
"Yankee Candle, while never cheap, were of good quality and smelled good."
"Now the scents aren't as strong, the candles tunnel way too easily (they never used to do that), and they don't burn evenly."
"Yet they cost up to twice as much."- llcucf80
christmas sniffs GIF by TargetGiphyEspecially In America
"Education."- Inevitable-Ad-6315
Especially Over The Last Three Years...
"Living."- Callistai
Things Ain't What They Used To Be
"AirBnb, Uber, Lyft, and pretty much everything else that has always been too good to be true."- CatherineConstance
When Even The Nosebleeds Are Too Expensive...
"Tickets to major sporting events."
"I read somewhere that going to a family of 4 going to an NFL game is like on average a $1000+ expense."
"Who in the world is paying for that?"- lUNITl
Jacking up the price of anything is an easy way to make people believe it must be a quality product.
Even if customers will quickly realize they did not get their money's worth.
It's easy to roll our eyes at the ludicrous things people still somehow believe.
For instance, the earth is flat, or the moon landing never happened.
All of which are nothing more than sensational conspiracy theories with no facts to back them up.
That being said, even those who laugh at others for believing ludicrous things often still believe a conspiracy theory or two of their own.
"What's a conspiracy theory you believe is 100% true?"
Anything Found On Reddit
"I would believe any conspiracy theory that explains why I see a version of this question in my feed 3 times per day."- Longjumping_Ad_6988
Hold On To Your Butts
"Several years back, Samuel L Jackson did an AMA."
"He announced it a few days before and said he would read, up to 300 words, any statement that was the highest voted."
"The initial comment that was in the lead was a series of words for a gps system."
"Left, right, turn, 1,2,3,4,5 etc and of course motherf*cker."
"Halfway through though, another comment took the lead and ended up winning."
"It was a rather bland announcement that he was retiring from acting and taking up a life of crime fighting."
'Till the end of time, I will believe that his team said there was no way he was going to read a script that would immediately be posted to create a product that he would not get paid for."
'I am sure Reddit admins put their thumb on the scale to get the other comment to win."- frodosbitch
Samuel L Jackson Wink GIF by LionsgateGiphyMystery DNA Collection...
"When I was in middle school some group came and had every kid in the grade fingerprinted and mouth swabbed as a 'If My Child Goes Missing' packet for the children and parents."
"We got a copy of our fingerprints with our name on a form."
"And the sticker from that form was put on the tubes the mouth swabs would go back into."
"They set up in our gymnasium and the whole school of about 500 kids did it."
"I believe that was just a super easy way to get biometrics on the population before cellphones became popular."
"This was early mid 2000s."
"I’ve always wondered exactly who got that dna."- Equivalent_Seat6470
"I’m still convinced all these DNA test kits will be used/sold as a means to do things like deny medical coverage, plant evidence at crime scenes, population surveillance on a biometric level, etc."
"Got one as a gift once, handed it right back."
"NOPE."- nomadiceater
"The Candy Man..."
"The Ms on M&Ms have always been Ws."
"Willy & Wonka."- NorthernGamer71
Willy Wonka Smile GIFGiphy"Cost Cutting" My A**...
"All the recent tech layoffs (except Metas) weren't about cutting costs but about making workers afraid again and trying to claw back some of the leverage workers had been gaining."- boones_farmer
Maps Be Damned
"Bielefeld, Germany, does not exist."- Mikeavelli
They're Not Fooling Anyone
"Area 51 is where the US develop and test Intelligence, Surveillance, Tracking and Reconnaissance equipment, and the UFOs people are are actually new forms of surveillance equipment."- dazedan_confused
Area 51 GIF by MOODMANGiphyWhy They Didn't Release The Snyder Cut...
"DC makes sh*tty movies to give people comic book fatigue to spite marvel."- Season8isGreat
All In The Eye of The Beholder...
"That Contemporary art is used to launder money."
"Look it up. It makes sense."
"Rich person buys an art piece for $1,000, turns around and values it at $1,000,000, then sells it to a private buyer for 1.5x it's value."
"The buyer pays with a form of legal tender (cash) that cash has now been cleaned and is in the rich persons pocket, then he goes and commissions more art and repeats the cycle."
"After 5 years he has cleaned more money than offshore accounts, shell corporations, and high cash flow businesses could in 50 years."- Weird-Replacement-61
Bored Modern Art GIF by unimpressionismGiphySeriously though, who actually uses change?
"The 'coin shortage' is just a way to have us all move to using our debt/credit cards and digital currency 100% of the time."
"When that finally happens, the government will have full access to viewing our funds and income and can freeze it whenever they want, which would give them full power over the economy."- Tomb5t0ne
Who Actually Bought Baseball?
"Michael Jordan’s first 'retirement' was because he was suspended for gambling."- trojan_man16
What Else Would "Central Intelligence" Mean...
"CIA drugging US citizens without their knowledge to learn how to manipulate people's minds."- Xtrepiphany
cia GIFGiphySome people will believe literally anything they're told.
But just about everyone believes at least one sensational fact with zero evidence to back it up.
Mental health is so important, and we all know it.
If we can't manage our mental health, we can't manage anything else in our lives, either.
Now that the importance of mental health is acknowledged and talking about mental health is more accepted, it's easier than ever to get advice or tips on how to gain control over your mental health.
Of course, you can -- and should -- consider methods like therapy.
However, there are some easy tricks you can try right now, just to help start the process. This could include finding a little joy in each day, throwing yourself into your hobby, developing an exercise routine, or even cleaning the house!
Redditors have lots of great mental health tips, and are ready to share.
It all started when Redditor spiritualsplash asked:
"What's the greatest mental health tip you've gotten?"
Kind To Yourself
"Would you be friends with someone that talks to you the way you talk to yourself in your head? Be kinder to yourself."
– steppinrazor2009
"Yes. I am thankfully over my disordered eating, but struggled with it for years."
"seriously... would I tell a friend, "oh no, you can't eat today, because you ate yesterday, you pig?" I would not. So how on Earth is it okay to say that to yourself?"
– finewhateverbot
Just Do It
"Anything worth doing is worth halfa**ing"
"Cant shower? washcloth. Cant cook? frozen dinners. Cant exercise? stand outside for a moment or by an open window."
"Do the little things"
– crazymissdaisy87
"This was a huge push for me breaking out of my depressive episodes. Don't have the energy to just brush your teeth, floss, then mouth wash? Grab your tooth brush wet it and do a few scrubs. That's all it takes."
"Often times you will "I'm already here might as well do the rest of it" and it helps a ton."
– damboy99
Helping Others Help You
"You know that good feeling you get when you help someone? Asking for help is giving someone else the opportunity to feel that way."
– WingZombie
Them, Not You
"I was having trouble with a co-worker. She was always criticizing me and annoying me. It didn’t have any practical effect on my job or career (she wasn’t on my team, nor was she in a position of authority) but it was demoralizing and unpleasant."
"I brought it up with my boss and he sighed and before he walked away, he said only “She’s a b*tch.”"
"It was terrific! I realized, yes, she is a b*tch. She complains about me and insults me, because she is an unpleasant person. It has nothing to do with me and it only has the effect on me that I allow it to have."
– substantial-freud
Lower The Pressure
"The best advice a coworker-turned-friend ever gave me when I complained sometimes I found the company drinks excruciatingly boring was "you know you don't have to enjoy things, right?""
"Suddenly showed me that I somehow had internalised that me finding things boring meant something was wrong with me, rather than with the things."
– SteveXVI
Superheroes Are You
"You're not your trauma"
– nomnemnem
"Unless your trauma was being bitten by a radioactive spider, in which case, you might be Spiderman."
– mahmoudhanine9t7
I Like To Move It, Move It
"To start working out ( Nothing major, walks etc) and to find a hobby I like to do."
– Connect_Door6700
"A lot of people roll their eyes at this one, but it’s so true. Even something like walking daily can have a massive impact on your mental health."
– underhooking
Appreciate You
"Go where your celebrated not where your tolerated . idk why but this quote got me a lot further in life when I was going through my trauma"
– sudocanna
"After the last 4 years being at a job that sucked my soul and confidence out of me every single day, I feel this. Found a new job where my knowledge and skill was appreciated and acknowledged (and the pay was wayyy higher). I literally cried after my first day at my new job because I had forgotten what it felt like to be seen."
– ChaplnGrillSgt
Hydrate
"I was so confused when someone told me to start drinking water regularly. I feel myself much happier and healthier"
– buggybboo
No One Cares About You...And That's Good
""People don't give a f*ck about you. Everyone gives a f*ck about themselves and has anxiety of how other people perceive them. They are too busy being paranoid themselves. Literally nobody gives a single f*ck about what you do or did or didn't do.""
"This extremely helped my panic attacks about joining a new team and having to give presentations to them, feeling super self conscious. As soon as I realized they don't actually notice the things about myself I'm hyper aware of, everything became easier."
– momoji13
Looking Forward
"To always have something to look forward to. Whether it's a new episode of a show every week or a D&D session with your friends just make sure that you always have something to look forward to during the week."
– Heather_Chandelier
Lesson Learned
"Mistakes should be treated as lessons not regrets. Once you realize what you have learned from the mistake, let it go."
– Xuntosub
Control Your Reactions
"You are more than what happens to you. Also, you have a right to feel angry if you've been wronged, but you still have to find ways to move forward. Even if you don't forgive and forget."
– Levelless86
"This is true. I went through a major depressive episode in my early 20s and had a friend cajole me into therapy. I had dropped out of college, gone through a series of dead-end jobs, and isolated myself from any meaningful relationships."
"I spent the entire first session explaining how everything that had gone wrong in my life could be connected back to my father. When I eventually took a breath, the therapist halted my rant. She told me that the abuse was categorically his fault, but everything I had done since and was doing now was my choice and in my control."
"That statement alone didn’t fix anything, but I saw that I was stuck emotionally at the age of my abuse. I needed to find a way to restart the clock. We started focusing my efforts on mindfulness, accountability, and forming healthy, mature relationships. I worked on moving forward and building self confidence. It was infinitely more beneficial than rehashing the past and “how did that make you feel” discussions."
– imgoingtostealtheDOI
Is There Any Evidence To Back Up That Theory?
"If you’re an overthinker, learn to segregate your thoughts by asking yourself is it an assumption based thought or an evidence based one."
– Downtown_Mixture6380
As a fellow overthinker, this is amazing advice!