Rock bottom is a place where you expect nobody to help you, at all, ever, full stop.
Homelessness in our society is seen as rock bottom. Homeless people are ignored, maligned, and often feared. But once in awhile someone will be kind. Those kindnesses are so important and so well remembered, as they are so few and far between.
u/laur38 asked:
Former homeless people, what did you need the most? What was the best thing someone did for you?
Here were some of those answers.
Rain
Gifted me an old, baggy waterproof jacket with a big hood. It had many pockets too. A little large to carry around, since I was carrying a lot of other stuff, too, but proved very useful. It was very rainy at that time.
A Simple Shower
Most homeless people aren't long term, living on the street type homeless. They're couch surfing or living out of their car. In my case mostly the former and some of the latter, for maybe 4 months many years ago.
I had a job, some savings, and a working car. All I needed was a restroom and shower so I could go to work and not stink. I saved some money and got a place with roommates when a room opened up.
Yes, my situation wasn't severe, but it was common. Luckily I had friends and wasn't addicted to drugs, so it wasn't really a terrible hardship.
I usually would do dishes for people after staying there before I left, cleaned up if I was staying at after a party, etc. Gotta repay people's favors and avoid being a burdensome mooch if you want to sleep on couches.
Just Keeping It At Bay
Employment. I wasn't addicted, and wasn't mentally ill. But I had legal trouble and employers aren't going to hire someone who is probably going to jail 5 months from now.
I had to work under the table for like $4 per hour. If there had been a way for me to get a decent temp job I could have probably got a crappy apartment for the interim.
I was able to secure a spot in a church basement for a little while. The nicest thing anyone did was one of the people from church brought me a super nintendo and a stack of games to help keep the boredom and loneliness at bay.
Giving Me A Home
I was homeless with a dog, so that made everything a lot more difficult. Just finding enough food and water for us both to survive. When I was first homeless it would get pretty cold at night and it was hard to keep blankets because when it rained and they got wet it took forever for them to dry again. Me and my dog would huddle together under a tarp just shivering.
This is the best spot we had. Lived at an abandoned tire shop, in a tire rack on a sort of bed I made us of stuff I found in various dumpsters. I would pick up bottles of water or whatever kind of drink people throw away, and fill them up at a water faucet outside this church that was nearby.
They never chewed me out so that was really nice. I was so scared every time I would go to fill up water, I remember shaking so bad, eyes darting around everywhere, ready to bolt. But it was so hot, I was so thirsty and hungry, sometimes on my way to get water I'd get too tired to even walk anymore from the heat and dehydration I'd literally fall asleep on the sidewalk on a main street for hours. No one once ever stopped to check if I was dead.
The best thing someone did was getting me off the streets. I was passed out under a bridge with my dog, and I get woken up by this guy holding a box of doughnuts. I was in awe. He gave me two, one for me and I gave the other to my dog. It tasted so good. Food! And it hadn't even been on the ground! He was with three people, they were part of an outreach group. They got me into a shelter, with my dog, that day. I was just crying, so happy, so thankful. I was barely surviving.
A 180
Clean socks and underwear and basic hygiene. The best thing a person did for me was explain to me that nobody gives any thought to me except me and my family. That conversation went a LONG way to me stopping shooting up in alleys and getting a career.
It's Not A Project
My wife was homeless as a teenager.
On Friday afternoons, a "business man" would walk up to her and ask her if she was hungry. She would say yes, and he would take her into the restaurant on the corner. She never felt any danger with him (and she has had to cut somebody badly before). He was just some dude offering her a meal.
He would let her get anything in the menu. He would sit and read the paper and drink a cup of coffee. There was never any conversation. When he was finished, he would pay the bill and leave. There was never any exchange of words other than "You hungry?" and "have what you want", and "have a good afternoon".
This happened multiple times. She never felt like a project to him. She never felt less than him. She never felt in danger. He was just a guy who saw a dirty girl on the street who needed to eat.
She has since gotten her GED, graduated from a trade school with a fitness degree, and now has earned her MBA with honors. She is an amazing woman and an amazing mother. The one wish she has is that she can run into the "business man" who bought her lunches and thank him.
For The Pup, Please
Definitely letting me shower, giving me new sharp clippers for my toenails(from constantly wearing boots and not having clippers, your nails get really long and start to become really painful), giving me bags of food for my dog, letting me bathe my dog. Fresh socks and underwear, doggie sweaters or rain jackets for my dog. Pretty much hygiene for myself, food/treats and warmth for dog face.
Simple Helps
Currently homeless, ok and on my way to getting in a place
The one that struck me the most: I was sleeping in my car in the back of a parking lot about a week after I lost my place. About 6:30 am security knocks on my window. "Sorry, lady, I can't let you stay here," the usual. I apologized and told him I'd be out of hi is hair in a few minutes. So I got up and was packing my blanket and pillow into the trunk when he came back and handed me $5, told me to go get a coffee. I pride myself on the fact that I'm working, not begging, he's the only person who has handed me money. It was one of the most touching things that has ever happened to me. I sat in my car and ugly cried for about ten minutes, then went and got myself that coffee.
The biggest thing someone did for me, however, was a complete stranger covering the cost of my storage unit for a month. I'm in there almost every day, clean clothes and all that. She does eBay or something similar, we've run into each other a couple times a week since I became homeless. She picked up on the fact that I was leaving in different clothes then I had coming in and asked about my situation. I'll admit, I was a little defensive, but honest. Stopped seeing her around after that, not sure if she moved or changed her routine or what. Come the end of the month I go into the office to pay my bill and am told that it's been covered. I wish I could thank her.
Simple Acknowledgement
I was a street kid. From 13 to 18 I coasted around on my own. As you can imagine it was a pretty rough ride. I don't remember an awful lot of it, but a few people stand out even now. I think the only thing they have in common is that they saw me. It's amazing how invisible you feel on the street. People steer their children away from you, avert their gaze, pretend you're invisible. It gets to you.
I vividly remember this one woman. Immaculately dressed, gorgeous eastern European woman. Around 40. I was panhandling and she walked right up to me and asked me to eat with her. We sat on a patio smoking cigarettes, snacking, drinking coffee. She asked me questions about myself like she really cared. And she listened. Didn't offer miracle solutions or pity. Just fed me lunch and listened. I remember her face 15 years later. It's why now, in my reincarnation as a soccer mom, I teach my children to always acknowledge when it's safe to do so. You don't always need to give. But a smile, or a "how are you?" goes an incredibly long way.
The Weirdest Thing People's Partners Did That Totally Turned Them On
Reddit user thann3 asked: 'What is the weirdest thing your partner did that turned you on?'
Part of the fun of dating and being in a relationship are the unexpected, impulsive moments.
What's funny is how these could be equally arousing moments, too, even if they're moments that we never expected to make us feel that way.
Redditor thann3 asked:
"What is the weirdest thing your partner did that turned you on?"
Backing Up
"When he backs into a parking spot, he puts his right hand on the back of my seat when he looks behind him."
"Hnnnngggggghhh. Gets me going and I don't know why."
- evilpinkmoney
"Every time someone mentions this, I am reminded of the time I did it and accidentally backhanded this girl in the face."
- kingoflint282
That Reading Voice
"In high school, this girl had a soothing voice. Every time she read out loud, I had goosebumps and she gave me butterflies."
- donbruh
Overwhelmingly Happy
"I can’t think of anything weird my husband did, but the first night of our honeymoon, we were talking about the wedding and our future, and I started crying because I was so happy (and told him that’s why I was crying)."
"He was smiling and gave me a kiss and then whispered, 'I don’t know why, but you crying just now turned me on.'"
"Lol (laughing out loud), it didn’t turn me on, but it did make me laugh, and I thought it was weird-cute."
- snarkylarkie
Safety First
"On the first date, he put my seatbelt on. It surprised me because I heard of men opening doors for their dates but not putting their seatbelt on. It just showed a very caring yet masculine side of him."
"The tension of knowing we wanted of each other but agreed to take it slow just made me go feral in my head."
"A year and a half later, he still does it to this day. He even gets 'mad' when I don't let him. I still blush when he does it, especially when other people are in the car with us."
- eeeeriemarie
Certain Accessories
"It wasn't my girlfriend, but over a Skype call maybe a decade ago when I was a teenager, I was on a call with a female friend I had the hots for."
"I casually mentioned that I had a thing for girls in glasses."
"She gasped, told me to wait there, and scurried downstairs. About 20 seconds later, she rushed back up, jumped onto her bed with her jaw resting on her fists, and low and behold, she was wearing glasses."
"We laughed, I didn't know what to say, but that was the cutest and sexiest way of letting me know she liked me."
- GemoDorgon
Good Chemistry
"I know it sounds weird, but her breath is intoxicating. It’s naturally somewhat sweet, and of course, she thinks I’m crazy."
"Edit: We know it’s not diabetes, ketosis, or any other medical issue. We’ve been together for over 30 years and it’s just good chemistry."
- yoooozername
That Deep Stare
"An ex-girlfriend of mine looked at me in a certain way every now and again that just did something to me, like a bit of a stare deep into my soul knowing she wants all of me. Every day I hope someone will recreate and enhance it."
- SamCham10
The Perfect Sweater
"When she wears THAT sweater, I'm powerless."
- wastedmytwenties
"Can someone link a pic of this type of sweater? Asking for a friend."
- schnaizer91
The Sleeve Roll Trick
"My boyfriend rolled up his sleeves kind of slowly the other day, and I felt like I couldn’t hear anything for like a solid minute, lollllll (laughing out loud)."
- farrah_barra
The Corniest Jokes
"This man will make the corniest joke in the whole world, and then his whole face lights up as he giggles at it. Gets me every time."
- Hobbbitttuallly
The Perfect Wine Pour
"We had our honeymoon in Italy and he noticed the waitstaff poured wine really beautifully, so he replicated it. Now I have him pour all my drinks for me."
"For some reason, the way his wrist moves when he pours really gets me going."
- chicken-and-awfuls
Specific Arm Movements
"Two things."
"When he's working on something mechanical and he starts getting serious, he'll flip his cap backward. It's an absent-minded thing and F**K is it sexy. And when he's working overhead, the way his arms flex. Watching him lift things into our attic is an instant turn-on. It's f**king weird, but godD**N does it do it for me."
"Also when I wear something sexy or low cut and he's not expecting it, he'll stutter if he's mid-sentence. We'll be talking from another room for instance, and I'll toss on a revealing shirt and walk in there and he'll lose his train of thought. Or shake his head like he needs to clear it. Your man making you feel sexy is the ultimate sexy move."
- shimmydownnow
Love Language: Physical Touch
"It's the gentle physical touch in public. That little 'Love you' touch as they scurry away to do a thing. Those random touches turn me on so quickly."
- 1beeratatime
Totally Saved It
"He fixed the shower in my truly horrible, low-rent grad school apartment and changed the oil on my car. Not sure why, but that just did things to me."
"If you were to ask my husband, self-deprecating humor would probably be his answer."
"On our first date, he and I went to see this stage production of 'Jekyll and Hyde.' At the bar, they were selling these cute little shots of Bailey's/Kahlua, with each liquor on separate sides of the glass. Me, being incredibly graceful in all things always, completely dumped the Bailey's half onto my blouse."
"His eyes got all big, not sure how to react, and I just sighed, turned to him, and reintroduced myself like, 'Hi, I'm (my name). This kind of thing happens a lot.'"
"He busted up laughing, I ordered a scotch, and we've been together for the past 11 years."
- anyesuki
Simply Existing
"Exist. My girlfriend could literally just stand there and I could and would get a chill down my spine."
- andytheloser12
While we were expecting these responses to be, well, weird, most of these were actually pretty cute or heartwarming.
Sometimes when it comes to relationships and intimacy, something can feel weird simply because it's unexpected, but maybe the unexpected moments are among the best parts of the relationship!
Unlike introverts who tend to shy away from engaging in random discussions, those who are comfortable–or too comfortable–in their own skin love to get all chatty.
That doesn't mean they have anything significant to say.
"What’s the weirdest thing someone casually told you as if it were totally normal?"

People whom you don't know tend to overshare as these Redditors experienced.
A High Request
"A story from a friend - in Colorado, someone once asked, 'Could you watch my wolves, I can pay you in weed.'"
"There's a lot to unpack in that question!"
– surlymoe
"You don't unpack wolves, you keep them together."
– hwarang_
Unsolicited Prediction
"Husband (30) and I were pushing our shopping cart out of the grocery store when a random man (who honestly looked like dumbledore) looked at my husband and said 'take my hat, you're gonna need it, you'll be bald very soon.' Obviously my husband didn't take it. It was super odd of him to say because my husband had a FULL head of hair."
"Three months later, my husband was diagnosed with a condition that made him lose all of his hair. Weird coincidence."
– hollyjollyaf
Self-Casting
"A guy once told me how he loved the feeling of wearing casts, so he'd put casts on himself- for days or weeks on end. Even if it meant he couldn't drive and would be stuck at home the entire time. He'd use vacation time just to wear full leg & arm casts."
– Present_Dust_2308
Homophobic Homosexual
A homophobic guy I know: 'Being gay is a choice.'"
"I said something like - ok, choose to be gay for a day, an hour, a single minute if you can."
"Guy - That's easy, I'm attracted to men all the time, I just choose to only like girls because I'm not gay."
"Me - Ummm..."
– discostud1515
Longheld Grudge
"Once, an older woman came up to me on the street, took hold of my wrists and simply said 'they ripped out my afterbirth', and then carried on walking."
– JennyW93
"It's strange to grab strangers. But one day in Walmart, my granny walked ahead of me, and reached to grab me to show me something, without looking and she was pulling on an old lady's arm obliviously, and the old lady's eyes were like O.O."
"My grandma didn't even apologize, she just let go and yelled at me to stay closer."
– chzygorditacrnch
A Hairdresser-In-Training
"I was getting my hair done this last weekend by my daughter at her cosmetology school. One of her fellow students was excited to meet me. She talked nonstop and eventually told me that she has hemorrhoids and that she has her husband push them back in. So much TMI from a stranger!"
– Digjam823
You never know about the personal lives of people you see on a regular basis.
Squeaky Clean
"I had a college professor on the first day of class say that she is obsessed with Q-tips and cleaning her ears and that her family has to limit her to 3 a day-"
– lokeilou
Here's The Story...
"That they have 6 kids, all with different dads & each dad is in prison."
– ChyCgx2
"I once had a coworker who had seven kids with five different women and he'd constantly complain about how most of his paycheck went to child support. You uh, dug your own grave, pal. I'm really not sympathetic to your plight."
– apocalypticradish
It's the end of the world as we know it.
End Of Civilization
"I know a guy, we don't talk often but due to business we cross paths on occasion. More or less every time we talk he asks if I'm ready for the total societal collapse coming next week, or Tuesday, or at the end of the month.. and so on."
"I just tell him that it's not gonna happen; he usually then asks about my "crystal ball" so I remind him that I've been right every time."
– rkpjr
Zombie Apocalypse
"I went to a ComicCon type event in my city years ago(Walking Dead was a new show, first season for reference) and went to a panel about zombies. They talked about historical zombie lore, the first zombie movies, and the exciting first season of the new show Walking Dead, with some actors on the panel. When they opened it up to the audience for questions one of the first ones was, 'what kind of zombies do you predict we’ll have in a real zombie apocalypse? (Fast vs slow)'…panelists don’t really know how to answer, each gives their personal favorite or worst case scenario. Then we get to, 'What do you think the timeline is for the start of a coming zombie apocalypse?' Panelists are kind of like….? Talk about how things usually play out fiction."
“'No, but exactly WHEN do you think we’ll need to be fully prepared for zombies in real life?' Like, guys, these are actors and media studies academics, first of all they don’t have the level of belief you do and second, the people you should be asking about this stuff are probably biologists."
– AlternativeAcademia
Whenever I feel threatened by a homeless person who is pressuring me to hand over them cash, I tell them, "I''m allergic to corn."
The random phrase throws them and in the brief moment they assess what they heard I'm afforded more time to distance myself from them.
It always works, especially when they realize I'm all kinds of crazy and not worth targeting.
Doctors Explain How A Patient Went From Nothing Serious To Life-Threatening In An Instant
Generally speaking, if we have a cough, headache, or runny nose, we assume it's nothing to worry about in the long run and don't bother seeing a doctor.
Most of the time, this proves to be the case, as our ailments and symptoms tend to go away after a few days.
Other times, however, what we thought was a minor illness ended up being more serious than we could have possibly imagined.
In some cases, had we gone to the doctor any later, we might not have lived to tell the tale.
Redditor mothermurder88 reached out to the Doctors of Reddit to hear shocking stories of minor illnesses that turned out to be far more serious, leading them to ask:
"Doctors of Reddit - what is your craziest story where a patient present with mild symptoms thinking it was nothing and it turned out to be a serious life or death situation?"
The Cause Of Severe Back Pain...
"My dad woke up with severe back pain one morning after not doing anything strenuous the weeks/days leading up to it."
"My mom flipped her sh*t and finally put her foot down that he had to go to the doctor after him putting off going to a doctor for years even for a routine check-up."
"That appointment showed a broken rib from a huge tumor on his spine, along with tumors around his buttocks/pelvis and upper back."
"Diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer."
"5 years and 100 treatments later he’s still kicking it."- vulpesvulpex
An Antacid Won't Cut It...
"Saw a patient with minor cardiovascular symptoms and a slight pain in his upper back."
"The senior debated back and forth whether it would make sense to run a CT to rule out anything more serious."
"She finally decided to do it and it turned out he had a massive aortic dissection and was basically wheeled right into the OR."- Beneficial-Bee7765
A Parent's Worst Nightmare
"My son."
"6 weeks old."
"He was also 6 weeks premature."
"Only symptoms at the time of me bringing him to the ER was inconsolable crying and wouldn’t drink his breast milk."
"Was told by others that I was just being a paranoid first time mom…he probably has gas or was colic."
"My instincts just told me otherwise."
"Brought him to the ER."
"Triage asks me what my concerns are."
"I told them he won’t stop crying and I can get him to eat."
"A couple hours later my 6 week old baby coded blue and went into respiratory failure."
“'Code blue pediatrics' will forever be the most haunting thing I ever heard."
"Since he was so tiny they were having incredibly difficulty intubating him."
"Was being kept alive in between attempts with that bag thingy (unsure what it’s called) and compressions."
"His diagnosis was late on set group b strep, sepsis, and bacterial meningitis."
"Had I not brought him in when I did and waited, my son would not be alive today."
"So yea…listen to your instincts, you have them for a reason."- PokemomOnTheGo
Mints Won't Cut It...
"A man came to the hospital because his wife always complained about his bad breath."
"Long story short, I met him because they consulted my department when the tissue biopsy came back as esophageal cancer."- TeamMiserable
Never Underestimate The Importance Of A Check Up
"I'm a dentist."
"New pt came in with what he thought was a mild ache in his teeth."
"Thought it was a toothache."
"Hadn't seen a dentist in years."
"Took a radiograph and the jaw bone around the teeth looked strange."
"Had him see an oral surgeon that day."
"Turned out was a very aggressive metastatic bone cancer and died a few weeks later."- jakeology_101
A Second Opinion Never Hurts
"I’m a nurse, not a doctor, but we had a guy come in years ago asking for a medication to 'help him stop sweating'.”
"He said he had had a sore throat for about a week, went to a walk in clinic, was diagnosed with strep throat and put on antibiotics, but he was so sweaty and just wanted a break from it."
"He looked pale and was indeed sweaty, so we took him back and ran some blood tests."
"His white blood count was the highest I’ve ever seen and he was diagnosed with leukaemia."
"We sent him to another hospital for immediate treatment, but we were informed he died literally hours after arriving. Incredibly sad, I couldn’t believe it."- madicoolcat
"I am a nurse, so naturally my mother called me one day when she had strange symptoms."
""'Earlier today, I had this feeling like there was a squirrel running around in my belly'."
"I reassured her that it was probably gas."
"It happened again a few days later when she was in the car with me."
"Something made me take her right to the emergency room."
"The doctor evaluated her and basically accused her of making things up."
"I asked for a different doctor, because she is not a complainer or a drug seeker."
"Turns out it was a malignant brain tumor (glioblastoma) that was manifesting itself as abdominal seizures."
"They said she had 1-2 years to live."
"It is now 7 years since surgery, chemo, and radiation and she is still alive."- feistynurse50
Some Things Need To Be Seen
"Patient’s wife called."
"Patient had a temperature of 98.6."
"No other symptoms."
"I explained that was a normal temperature but the wife said 'that’s a fever for him'.”
"She said she felt like something was wrong, despite no other symptoms."
"I told her that I respect that and that if she feels something is wrong she should get him checked out in the ER."
"The ER doctor called four hours later and said they did all they could do for him but he died of sepsis."
"He appeared to be normal when he got there but rapidly declined."
"That gave me a new appreciation that we truly can’t evaluate someone thoroughly over a telephone."- DisastrousNet9121
The Cause is More Important Than The Symptom
"8 year old girl gets brought in complaining about back pain she'd had for 3 months, several different doctors had given her painkillers to no avail."
"After about 5 minutes I asked her if she had any problems going to the toilet, she says it's 'foamy' when she pees."
"Bone cancer."
"She made a full recovery, and from what I know is in her 20s now, but to this day I hate how she'd been suffering for 3 months and no other doctor had bothered to even ask any more questions as to why an 8 year old girl was getting severe back pain."- PalpitationAdorable2
Never Fault A Doctor For Being Thorough
"Still in school and I was not present for this patient’s initial admission but rather her clinic follow up."
"However, patient was healthy 50-something year old who had an extended nosebleed after a long hike."
"It wouldn’t stop so they went to ER to get it cauterized/impacted (happens all the time)."
"Anyway, they did a CT scan as protocol and discovered she had a 20+ cm tumor on her uterus that was wrapping around her right kidney."
"She was immediately referred to a serious academic hospital and had a specialized oncology surgeon remove it."
"Amazingly, They got it completely removed without even having to damage the kidney."
"She had an amazing outcome and about a half a foot scar running around her abdomen from the surgery."
"I do not believe the CT scan was due to the nosebleed itself but rather I imagine as they looked further into her blood work and coagulation studies they found something that warranted further work up."- KocoaFlakes
Most of the time, a cold is just a cold, and an achy foot is just an achy foot.
Even so, should you have even the slightest bit of doubt, there is no shame in consulting your doctor about it.
As doing so may turn out to be a literally life-saving decision.
When it comes to romantic relationships, it's a lot harder to maintain a relationship than it is to start one. And unfortunately, it's all too easy to end that relationship.
A lot of things can end a relationship, and sometimes, it could be as simple as a single comment. Sometimes it's so hilariously stupid that you can't fathom being with the person any longer. Other times, the person says something so cruel that you know it's time to run. And sometimes, the comment isn't even necessarily bad -- just ill-timed.
Redditors know all about this and are ready to share.
It all started when Redditor AdditionalDentist100 asked:
"What's something you confessed to your partner that ended your relationship?"
Faking It
"Not me, but someone I know was finally told that her husband was faking his English heritage, background/upbringing in England and fake accent. Dude kept it up for years, eventually admitted that it was all a lie and that he grew up on West Coast."
– NE_Golf
"I would think that was a lie but there are people who have faked being a 9/11 survivor. Apparently this type of stuff happens more frequently then I'd imagine."
– jdefr
Oh, The Humanity
"That I didn't rinse off the Mac and cheese noodles. This isn't even a joke it's a true story."
"They were done cooking and I didn't rinse them off. And yes this was a break up waiting to happen I guess lol."
– Ohlookavulture
"It says right on the box not to rinse them."
– Strong-Solution-7492
"The starch is good for the sauce. Dodged a bullet, I'd rather die alone than eat sh*tty mac & cheese."
– pleachchapel
The Past Is Not The Past
"Didn't happen to me, but a guy I knew married a girl I knew (both a bit older than me) and everything seemed great. However, they were at a party and someone mentioned that the guy used to smoke weed in high school (he admitted it, didn't think it was a big deal). She divorced him a month later, claiming that she couldn't forgive him for smoking weed. 😳"
– bomland10
"There had to be something else going on with her because this is so ridiculous. It's not even something he was currently doing."
– woodenmittens
But Faaaamily
"I didn’t want us to move in together with 6 other relatives."
– Ne0nGalax-E
Three Words, Eight Letters
"I believe it was "I love you.""
– AssistantManagerMan
"How f**king dare you!"
– Illustrious_Cancel83
"Oh yeah, I was out of line."
– AssistantManagerMan
And She Communicated
"I wanted better communication sooo she broke up with me."
– Plus-Bunch-4265
"I mean….."
– Outrageous_Egg6340
"Loud and clear."
– EchtGeenSpanjool
Run!
"I said, while crying because he got angry with me at a restaurant, that “I am sometimes afraid to tell you how I feel because I’m afraid of how you’ll react.” And he said, “well, thats f**king pathetic.”"
– internetgoth
"My partner had a habit of starting a convo by asking how I felt about something, then would criticize me for feeling what I felt. It always ended up being a debate about why I felt the way I did. It was never okay for me to feel sad, worried, scared, etc."
"Over time I started to feel anxious when he’d ask questions, and purposely responded vaguely, or just straight up said that I didn’t feel comfortable sharing (which would incite anger or more judgment)."
"Eventually my response became exactly that. A teary “I don’t know if I want to share because I’m worried about how you’ll react/respond” and his responses were along the lines of “that’s stupid” “you’re ridiculous” “don’t be an idiot” “seriously?”"
"I don’t know if it’s because I got so used to it, or from being distracted by all the other bigger things in the relationship…but for some reason I didn’t even notice that this was another bad thing until reading this comment. It was just…normal."
– alexanteros
Looks Always Matter
"It’s not necessarily what I confessed, but I showed him my picture from 8th grade and he couldn’t handle that I used to look like I did in 8th grade."
"If I knew that I had to peak in middle school I would have at least plucked my eyebrows 🥴"
– aero_love
""Sorry babe, you just weren't hot as a middle schooler. Gotta end it here.""
– bobbitdobbit
Happy Ending
"True story. I confessed that I wanted to do more for her. I thought I was neglecting her and working too much."
"That next week, she sat me down and told me that I was threatening her independence and that she needed a week to think about us. The week after that, she broke up with me."
"I later got the real reason from her former best friend. She never had a guy who wanted “all in” like I did and panicked."
"At the time I was destroyed. LOL I thought I was going to marry that woman. Turns out I was one woman off and my next relationship would turn into my current family. So all’s well that ends well."
– Salty-Technology8912
Better This Way
"Broke down crying during a more realistic war movie. She told me to suck it up."
"After she confronted me for drinking too much I finally sought VA disability. Diagnosed with depression, PTSD, anxiety, among other things. Bills started pouring in and I told her we can’t afford certain luxury things because I was the sole breadwinner. I said I felt like I was drowning and my head is slowly slipping under the surface. She told me to “figure it out.”"
""So, I did. We divorced. And I’m much more happy and no longer on the train of “be a man and tighten your boot straps.” I got help and know that it’s okay to do so."
– NyetRifleIsFine47
"So much easier to keep your head above water without the anchor around your neck."
– Probably_Not_Evil
The Cards Don't Lie
"That I didn’t believe in astrology and tarot cards. She then said her tarot cards told her to break up with me. Sure dodged a bullet there."
– Zenith_21
"The tarot cards were right! And still you don’t believe!"
– TDLMTH
Let's Hear It For The Boy
"I didn’t confess, I just went to a couple bars with her to dance. She left me because “YOU CAN’T DANCE!” Of all the things that she could’ve said that was the weirdest reason ever. Like, I had no response. I was 28. I’m happily married for 22 years now to someone who I constantly do bad dancing for because she thinks it’s hilarious. I mean, since I was told I can’t dance, I developed a habit of dancing badly when celebrating ANYTHING. It’s a real crowd pleaser. I am loved for my bad dancing now."
– generic230
I can't dance either! But this is exactly why we all need to find someone who loves us for our quirks, not despite them.