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Historians Share The Best Times Humanity Came Together For Common Good

Historians Share The Best Times Humanity Came Together For Common Good
Nattapong Wongloungud / EyeEm/Getty Images

It's easy to get caught up in the negative. A quick glance at social media would have you believe all of humanity is at each other's throats, angry over a grocery line or losing a parking spot to someone. This isn't every day, and sometimes the best thing for your mental health is to look at the positive bits of humanity. Remind yourself we're capable of great things.


Reddit user, u/badlungsmckgee, wanted to brighten your day when they asked:

[Serious] History is full of well-documented human atrocities, but what are the stories about when large groups of people or societies did incredibly nice things?

Starting A Movement

Giphy

In 1989 a man named Ian Kiernan got a bunch of people off their a--es and outside to "Clean Up Australia". 30 years on and it's still a massive annual event.. oh and now worldwide..

I remember that first time teenage me went out to my local beach to help and the amount of McDonald's rubbish was shocking... unfortunately it STILL is. But every year brings more people out to clean in their local areas. Ian died last October, rest his clean soul.

ShoganAye

The Power Of Letters

A severely deformed English man named Joseph Merrick and known as "the Elephant Man" was treated horribly for most of his younger years, used as a circus "freak show" by different people (they covered him in a blanket and would take it off for people to see his disfigurements) who all robbed him blind and left him to die. He wound up in a hospital in London, where a doctor examined him and took care of him as best he could (the deformities were not painless). The hospital couldn't afford to take care of him, so the surgeon posted a letter in the London newsletter, telling Merrick's story and pleading for someone who would be willing to pay/care for Merrick for the rest of his life (it was not expected to be long).

A year later, the surgeon sent another letter to the newspaper, thanking the countless people that had sent money to the hospital, allowing them to care for Merrick until he passed.

When I first read those two letters I bawled my eyes out.

Edit: a few mistakes I made that should be corrected. The person who wrote the letters to the London Times was FC Carr-Gomm, a chairman of the hospital, not the surgeon Treves that had befriended Merrick. Treves had met him while he was doing exhibitions, not when he showed up at the hospital. The time between the first and second letters was three and half years, not one year.

Here is the link to the letters if anyone wants to read them themselves: https://www.lettersofnote.com/2016/08/the-elephant-man.html?m=1

MrGallant210

Making The Best Of Any Situation

This is just one man, but his story has stuck with me ever since I heard it.

In 1939, Maximilian Kolbe was arrested and later sent to Auschwitz. During his time there all he did was help others, praying for the dying and comforting many. In 1941, after a prisoner from his block escaped, an SS officer arrived and announced that he would select 10 prisoners to be starved to death, and Kolbe was not among them. After hearing one of the men cry out for his wife and children, Kolbe volunteered to take the man's place. The officer agreed and Kolbe led prayers and sang with the other 10 prisoners until he was the last one left alive. He was executed by a phenol injection shortly afterwards.

sebastianrasor

Unity Across The World

The Choctaw Native American tribe sent relief funds to Ireland during the great potato famine. A remarkable act of generosity especially considering that was shortly after the Choctaw had been displaced off their traditional land.

Source:

https://theconversation.com/how-a-small-american-indian-tribe-came-to-give-an-incredible-gift-to-irish-famine-sufferers-98742

doublestitch

Ireland has set up a scholarship to begin in Autumn of 2019 as a form of thank you. It allows students of the Choctaw community to come to Ireland to study.

Snugglor

Never Let Snow Stop You

In December 1917 a horrible accident in the harbor of Halifax, Nova Scotia resulted in an explosion the largest ever created by conventional bombs. Two ships carrying ammunition for the war crashed into each other and exploded. The resulting damage killed 2000 people and injured over 5000. A 16-inch snowfall the following day made matters even worse.

Boston responded and sent trains and boats of medical and building supplies. They also sent most of the entire school of medicine at Harvard to help save lives.

To this day, Halifax remembers Boston's kindness by sending a large Christmas tree to be displayed in Boston Commons each year.

article

roarlikealady

Let Others Not Suffer As We Suffer

During the plague pandemic, the residents of the small village of Eyam, in the countryside of England, democratically decided to build a wall around the city - not to keep the plague out, but to avoid it spreading to the nearby cities.

Supreme bravery and altruism, right there.

nervehacker

It was a virtual wall - they quarantined themselves in the village.

Supplies were left by a well nearby in exchange for money soaked in vinegar.

If you are ever visiting the Peak District it is worth a trip. The old houses have plaques on them showing who died there.

Mog_X34

Take To The Skies

The Berlin Airlift.

After WWII, Berlin was divided by the Allies (West) and USSR (East). But Berlin was in East Germany which was controlled by the soviets. And they eventually blocked all access from roads and railroads to West Berlin in 1948. So the allies decided to airlift all the supplies to the city which was an enormous task. They flew about 200,000 flights in a year to the city and were able to keep it adequately supplied. Eventually the Soviets gave up and opened up the roads and railroads.

HurricaneHugo

Holiday Exchange

During WWI on Dec 6, 1917, two military ships collided in Halifax harbour. One of them was filled with military explosives, and the resulting explosion levelled the city of Halifax, NS, Canada. The Halifax explosion was the largest man-made explosion until the development of the atom bomb, remains the largest mass blinding in history. 2000 people died, and 9000 were injured. Shocks were felt over 200 km away. It was a generally catastrophic event for the town I grew up in.

At 10 pm the same day, Boston sent a train of medical personnel and supplies to Halifax. Although it didn't reach us until two days later due to a snowstorm, they provided critical supplies to the town and relief for local medical teams who had not rested since the event. Their help saved many lives, and helped to mitigate the effects of a horrific event. To this day, we learn about the help Boston provided us in school, and every Christmas we send them a Christmas tree to thank them.

dentarg2

That's ONE Way To Handle It...

the gulabi gang.

in rural india, women area treated worse than property, and after witnessing their daughters, sisters, mothers and even themselves getting beaten by men and being met with "what did you do to egg him on?" a bunch of women formed a 'gang', wore pink(or 'gulabi') saris, and went around beating the sh-t out of men with sticks who beat women. Together they were terrifying to wife-beating sh-theel men, and men started to fear their wrath so much that domestic abuse began drying up in the area. The concept started spreading all over to where there were rampant problems with domestic abuse.

FatSputnik

Keep The Awful To A Minimum

When a few men sacrificed their lives to prevent a secondary explosion in Chernobyl that would've spread radiation across Europe.

Samthevidg

A Ticket To Escape

I'm not sure if a Filipino Redditor mentioned this already but the Philippines saved a large amount of European Jews by giving them Filipino passports just so they can escape Nazi Europe - all thanks to the efforts of President Manuel Quezon and his team that did it over a brunch meeting, if the history books are to be believed.

It is why Israel considers my country a friend of the nation for the actions of our first Commonwealth President.

JoseMari117

Work Without Stop

This story is from Bihar state in india. Dashrath Manjhi, famously known as the Mountain Man who single-handedly carved a path through a mountain. He carved a path 110 m long (360 ft), 9.1 m (30 ft) wide and 7.6 m (25 ft) deep through a hillock using only a hammer and chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town from 55 km to 15 km.

And this was just because he wanted his village people to have faster access to medical facilities. Death of his wife inspired him to do this, because she couldn't get the medical attention in time.

sagarcastic

Brothers Across Arms

I always remember the Christmas truce of 1914 as a remarkable act of chivalry and peace between enemies during one of the most devastating wars in history. That despite all the horrors around them and the fact that human beings were being killed in their thousands, for a few days everyone managed to lay down their arms and treat each other as friends.

sck8000

Welcome, Emperor!

In 1859, an insane homeless man from San Francisco named Joshua Norton proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States... and the people of San Francisco went along with it. He was widely beloved, treated with great deference, and the currency he created himself was honored at the establishments he frequented. When he died, 10,000 people went to his funeral, and he is either referenced by or inspired characters in works by Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore, Morris and Rene Gascinny, Selma Lagerlöf, and Neil Gaiman.

NeverEnoughMuppets

No one seems to be adding on some of the amazingly nice things he did in his life as emperor. He was once arrested and after public outcry, released. Instead of being upset about the ordeal he gave his official imperial pardon to the officer who arrested him. From that moment on San Francisco police saluted him on sight.

There was another well recorded instance where a race riot was potentially about to break out, San Francisco being famous for its controversial treatment of Chinese immigrants. As a fight began to break out, before it could get bloody, emperor norton stepped in the center and began loudly reciting bible verses. Instead of fighting everyone just listened.

ScenicAndrew

You Have Only 6 Days

Giphy

The Great Race of Mercy

It is the winter of 1924 and there is only one doctor, Doctor Curtis Welch, in the small town of Nome, Alaska. Weeks after the deaths of several children, from what was originally misdiagnosed as tonsilitis, Dr. Welch confirms the presence of diptheria in his hospital. By great misfortune, all of the hospital's diptheria antitoxin had expired just after closure of the port; more would not come until spring. Fearing an epidemic and more fatalities, Welch pleads for assistance from the U.S. Public Health Service.

A meeting of the Board of Health determined that the only way to deliver the necessary amount of antitoxin and prevent a diptheria epidemic was by dogsled relay.

Over a distance of over 1,000 kilometers.

In the middle of the Alaskan Winter.

In under six days.

In favorable conditions, this journey would normally take around 30 days. It had to be completed in six, or exposure would cause the antitoxin to expire and, as Dr. Welch had sadly discovered, expired antitoxin had no effect.

With winds exceeding 40 km/h, temperatures at or below -50 celsius, and the low visibility from the polar night, 20 men and dozens if not hundreds of dogs braved all of these conditions and, in exactly six days, successfully delivered 100% of the antitoxin.

Several of the men suffered severe frostbite and many of the dogs died on the journey. However, the epidemic was stopped and, depending on who you ask, saved thousands of lives by stopping the disease from spreading outside of Nome.

Highwatch

What Better Day To Put Your Life In Front Of Another?

I don't remember how long ago it was, but certainly around the time of the Arab Spring, when Egypt's Coptic Christian community was particularly vulnerable, a bomb planted by Islamic extremists exploded near a Copt church shortly before Christmas, which put the fear amongst the Copts that they were being targeted. Sure enough, on Christmas day they arrived at their Churches to find them surrounded by crowds of Muslim demonstrators.

Who then acted as human shields to protect them from more bombs. They knew that the extremists would be less likely to risk killing fellow Muslims.

RedWestern

Are you a historian with knowledge of a wonderful act of humanity? Share it with us!

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

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.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

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.