Sometimes, people find themselves in perilous situations where they believe their time is up as a mortal living on this planet.
For some, people exclaim they're "going to die" as a hyperbolic reaction to an adrenaline rush–like riding a roller coaster that launches them from 0 to 60 m.p.h. into the stratosphere and back down letting gravity taunt them through endless camelbacks and barrel rolls.
"What was your 'I’m going to die' moment?"
These Redditors thought they were seeing their watery graves.
Stuck In The Muck
"Put a ramp up on the side of a shallow pond. Raced my BMX bike up and hit the ramp. Flipped over and landed on my back in the water."
"Was immediately sucked into the sludge on the bottom about two feet down — just far enough to not be able to reach the air and still have the bike on top of me. My cousin was able to get to me in time and pull me out of that glue. F'king horrific."
– JonSmith12345
A Lesson Learned
"This is more or less a similar moment that i had."
"We were riding in the woods at night with a couple of buddies on motocross bikes and we came upon a ditch. It had some sort of a bridge which consisted of five small tree trunks. The first madman of our group went over the bridge with his bike while i followed and had my front wheel drop through the 'bridge.' I fell down to the freezing cold water and i was completely submerged. Things weren't bad enough because the 100kg bike followed soon after and held me underwater. This was the moment where i thought that 'i'm going to die.' My friends moved the bike over so that they could pull me up from the water."
"Safe to say that riding home from that trip in a 5°c weather in complete darkness felt like a fun experience."
"I'm never ever using closes motorcycle helmets again while riding in the woods."
– VACkizuu
Violent Waves
"Almost drown in the ocean. Got pulled out and couldn't get back in. Waves kept crashing over my head and pushing me down untol I couldn't figure down from up. I was so exhausted from fighting to get to shore and getting my head above water. I would just pop out and another wave would push me under."
"I just gave up at one point and I so clearly remember thinking, so this is how I die. And it didn't seem a bad way to go at that moment."
"Then suddenly I felt a hand around my arm and a jet skier pulled me up out of the water and gave me a lift back."
– Different_Bedroom_88
A Heat Wave
"First time with volunteer firefighters trying to knock down a small swamp wildfire off a rural road."
"Wind suddenly picked up and a wall of flame came racing toward us. Clung to the back of the fire truck and fled just as a giant wave of fire crossed the road literally a few feet behind us."
"Damn that was scary."
– QuackedUp99
Death was at their door but these Redditors were mercifully spared. This time.
Terror Storm
"I was driving home in a bad thunderstorm, when suddenly the wind became insane. I pulled my car off the highway onto an exit when suddenly a limb off a tree sailed through the air, and cracked my windshield, so I hit the brakes."
"A second later, the car began to lift slightly off the ground. I thought for sure I was going to die."
"Moments later, the storm had cleared. Windows in shops all around were blown out."
"I got home and turned on the local news. Apparently a tornado passed directly through where I was, in my car."
– ToBePacific
Sweet Danger
"I experienced the same thing when I got a sweet stuck in my throat, think I was about 13 years old. I was in the house on my own. I was running around like a headless chicken because I could only get about 10% of breath. After a while I just laid on the floor to try and calm down and that's when I just let go and could feel myself drifting off. It was like I had separated from myself and I felt completely calm, just slowly fading away. I can't remember who it was but somebody had come back into the house and found me on the floor. They kicked me in the back apparently and it dislodged the sweet."
– sutbags
Hanging By A Thread
"Fourth grade. Slipped on the side of a crowded slide and was hanging by the side. Somehow my jacket got stuck and was choking me as I hung from the thing. 10 y/o me thought 'this is it,' until a friend came to help."
– the_immovable
When Cancer Lost
"I got diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in the emergency room this past summer and had to spend three weeks in palliative care, I lost 50 pounds and couldn't move. I bounced back, responded well the chemo and gained almost all of my weight back. I'm so insanely grateful for the extra time."
– TripGore
Getting The Pox Late
"Getting Chickenpox at 27 almost did me in. Shit was wild."
– SystemOnset
When In Maine...
"Septic shock from a ruptured appendix. Laying there on the hospital bed and the infectious disease specialist walked in, looked at my chart and noticed my white cell count, and asked 'have you had any gay sex'. Never go septic in rural Maine."
– Ekunstler
Threatening Ex
"My ex pointing a gun at me and saying 'I could kill you right now and no one would know it.'”
– ayyoowhatevr
The Thing About Withdrawals
"I was withdrawing from alcohol, hard. I was shaking, sweating, paranoid, hearing things that weren't there, and everytime I tried to sleep I would wake up to a hypnic jerk. It scared the everliving shit out of me, and I was convinced I'd have a seizure and die. Luckily, I didn't, but I should have gone to the hospital; alcohol and benzo withdrawals are dangerous. Luckily, have over four years sober now."
– angelsgirl2002
Allergic reactions and panic attacks are no joke.
Trauma In The Mediterranean
"Having an anaphylactic reaction for the first and only time in the middle of nowhere in Greece on a field trip. If one of the other kids would not have been highly allergic with emergency meds I would have probably died. Traumatized me deeply."
– Za_Paranoia
"Impending Sense Of Doom"
"16 days ago. Tried out a new insect repellent I’d bought."
"You can have an anaphylactic reaction at any age (never been allergic to anything, don’t even get hay fever)"
"Fortunately, an ambulance was called, but I honestly thought I was gonna die on my bathroom floor. The phrase ‘Impending sense of doom’ makes so much more sense to me now"
"Do not recommend."
– nurseofdeath
Struggling To Breathe
"I've had very bad panic attacks with impending doom and you honestly feel like you are going to die. Heart racing head getting dizzy short of breath and the more you think about it the worse it gets. It's an awful experience"
– edslerson
The Bee Sting
"Hey man. I was 7 years old and got stung by a bee on my thumb at a family get together. No one believe me but my throat hurt really badly. About twenty minutes later I was breathing through a hole the size of a straw. I had about 4 minutes left when I got to the hospital."
"I was probably traumatized for almost decade after that. I wouldn't trust any adults other than my mom. I also was terrified of being in nature or around barbecues or ice plant since bees tend to hang out around there. I carried my EpiPen with me and was bullied pretty badly for it too."
"I ended up just getting confident in my self with how I would handle the situation if I ever got stung and that made a huge difference. I've been stung three more times since then and Ive handled it pretty well. Oddly enough, those times have only made me even less traumatized because I've relived that day the more times and have walked myself through it instead of trusting others and being a confused/panicked seven year old."
– WatDaFuxRong
When I got "certified" for scuba diving in Cozumel, I followed a group that explored the reefs nearby.
Either I missed the part about adjusting buoyancy or it wasn't covered at all during the brief informal training, but I remember my body was dragging along just above the ocean floor as we followed our guide into a series of small caves.
I forced myself to float higher and in the process, I misjudged the distance from my head to the roof of the cave.
I smacked my head pretty hard and nearly blacked out. But at that moment, I thought "this is it."
Luckily, I didn't hit my head as hard as I thought. I managed to come to quickly and guided myself out of the cave and made it to the surface.
The sun never felt so good on my skin.
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
homer simpson episode 23 GIF
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.