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People Divulge The Most Painful Thing Someone Has Ever Told Them

The truth can be the most painful thing to hear.

People are going say awful things to you that view as truth.

And the worst will probably be from people you know and love.

You have to learn that most of it has nothing to do with us.

It's all about them.

And that still hurts.


Redditor Gaia-of-hellwanted to see who was willing to discuss the things we've heard that have sunk the heart a bit. They asked:

"What is the most painful thing someone has ever told you? "

I can't recall any truly heinous thoughts being told to me. So I grateful to be spared. But I feel a big dose of ugly coming on...

Truth Hurts

"A year after he died. 'Your father never loved you anyways. That's why he pays me child support to look after you.' BS. His room was decorated with my childhood art. All his passwords were my name or birthday. He would have long talks with me about his regrets when we hung out. I knew it wasn't true but nothing has ever hurt so much."

Ackbarwasthetrap

Mean what you say...

"Once, my ma told me and my brother that she would have been relieved if we were dead. We were annoying siblings but that's pretty dark, given we were quite young back then. Now I'm 25, my brother is 20. I am pretty sure she didn't mean it word by word, but still sad thing to say to your kids."

perpetualgrunt

Adopted

"I was adopted at age 3. Last year at age 26, my adoptive father told me he never wanted me. That hurt like a *itch."

Super_Thunder_Walrus

"My father was adopted at 7yo, when he was 43 his adoptive mother looked him dead in the eye and said: 'you owe me your life, you would be a low life if it wasn't for me.' I was by his side when that happened. I have never seen him cry like that."

rostrovski

Mistakes

"I was told by my mother that she would still be happy and married if I hadn't been born."

Tjoliva

"My mom told me I was her second biggest mistake, her first was marrying my father, so many times I don't even remember the first one. My dad is seriously one of the best people I've ever met. I'm still angrier for him than I am for me."

So_Many_Words

Home

"Wasn't anything he said, but it was the action of him walking the door. My mom was in the hospital with terminal cancer. Dad lived there, and hadn't been 'home' in ages. We were staying at my aunts house and my brothers and I were sleeping on the living room floor. The front door opened, I woke up and looked at him, he said nothing, I said nothing. I just knew. She was gone."

"Edit: thank you all for the kind words. I also wish I knew what to say to those of you going through this awful experience as well, I’ve never quite figured out what to say other than time is finite and we take a lot for granted. If you can, give someone a call, a visit, a word. There’s a lot I never got to learn about or say to her, so if you can, my advice would be to do so."

Ithxero

Well that is a lot of darkness and crazy. It makes you never want to leave home.

Death

"That my father didn't die the way i was led to believe for 20 something years of my life and he actually died from an OD."

hypr_activehyprdrive

"My husband died of prescription meds when my daughter was 13 days old. When she was young, I said it was an asthma complication. When she was older I told her the cold hard truth. Also, being a young widow & someone asks how my husband died, I don’t owe them my story."

Chutneyonegaishimasu

It's all Messy

"I have a father who I’m not really in contact with anymore (messy) and my mom is really the only person left in my life. One day she was pissed off with me and admitted that she never actually liked who I was, even as a child. She loved me and did her duty as a mother, but other than that- she didn’t like me."

Mediocre_Highlight_4

Moving Day

"My mom telling me that me moving to the other side of the country was going to be another one of my mistakes that I would regret. I didn’t regret almost anything I had done in my life and was really hurt by her thinking my life was full of mistakes."

"I asked someone I was in love with and thought I was in a pretty good relationship with if we could celebrate our one year anniversary of starting dating and he answered no because it was just supposed to be a fling and not something to celebrate. I’ve never felt lower or less important in my life."

polkaspot36

Gotta Go!

"A few months after I had turned 18 my Dad came downstairs as I was getting out of the shower to tell me that I was a terrible son and that I had a day to move whatever I needed out of the house. I had to go into work that day and let my boss know what had happened and that I couldn't work that day. I came back and hugged my little brother and sister, packed my crap and left. My Dad and I have (sort of) made amends since then but I'll never be able to get what he said out of my head."

tunesis2cool4youk

Crazy

"My mom once told me she must have committed some terrible sin to have given birth to me and that I was pure evil All because I told her I was quitting dance classes. Overreaction, much?"

the-book-anaconda

"As a mom, your mom was downright crazy. That is an insane thing to say to anyone, much less your own child. I am sorry that you grew up with that, you did nothing to deserve it and it’s not your fault."

Good_parabola

Realities...

"I'm a city bus driver. With very good intentions I once informed a homeless woman of where she could get free showers in the city as she smelled horribly of feces. I thought i was helping her. She informed me very calmly that she chose to live in filth and smell that way because it was the only thing that kept her from being attacked every night. Nothing has ever crushed me like learning that has. That is the reality of many homeless women."

BootiMcboatface

Nasty

Mean Girls Shut Up GIFGiphy

“You don’t have any friends do you?”

"My teacher in 10th grade in front of the whole class."

rurubarb

Back Pain

"Husband had images done for his horrendous back pain. I went to the orthopedic appt with him. Doctor walked in, stuck the films on the light panel, and pointing to numerous shapes along the entire length of his spine said, 'Your spine is covered in cancer.' We were so stunned we just looked at each other for about a minute. My partner of 40 years, health nut, clean liver, had multiple myeloma. Eight weeks later he was dead from a brain bleed caused by a chemo drug. I miss him every minute of every day."

imrealbizzy2

Awake

"When the paramedic told me, 'we did all we could, but we couldn't save her.' after I woke up to find my wife dying next to me."

Mcsmack

Wounds

"'You should’ve just let her stab you.' My mom after I told her my aunt slapped, pushed, and tried to stab me with a kitchen knife earlier that day. She just doesn’t care at all. she’s just a very terrible mother and telling my stories about all the emotional, mental, and physical abuse i got from her would take hours."

"That also happened when I was just 16 years old, i’m 20 now and everyone (including my aunt mentioned) acts as if nothing happened in the past, but i still remember every detail as if it just happened yesterday."

01bia_

being 15

"When I was 15 and badly depressed my parents found out a diary I kept (where i vented a lot). My dad was very worried and upset about it which prompted my mom to tell me to 'kill myself if I wanted to do it so bad instead of making my dad worry so much.'”

obooooooo

Seeing Red

"Just yesterday my mother (during an argument) told me I was the reason my dog died of cancer. My dog that I drove to a special clinic almost every week for her chemotherapy since 2019. My dog that I would've given everything for. It was her puppy that she abandoned and I took in. What she said wasn't just painful. It was the first time in my life that I saw red."

modsherearebattyboys

The Witch

"'I don't love you and never have' we were together for almost 5 years and I was literally stepping on the bus to go to war. I came home to literally an empty house. The witch took the appliances. This was 14 years ago. The last I knew she was on her 3rd divorce and living in Wyoming. I'm happily married with a child now. But that first night back I drank a 5th of vodka and slept on the floor hoping to not wake up."

boxedcrackers

Horrible Woman

"When I was in Middle School we took a class trip (Theatre Arts) to NYC. Went to Broadway and Statue of Liberty etc. I was a fat kid at the time. We went to Chinatown to eat at a Buffet and one of the Mother chaperones told me she felt sorry for my parents. It always stuck with me the cruelty of her comment to a 12 year old kid. What a horrible person in hindsight."

Nairbfs79

lazy bones...

"It’s not as heavy as almost any of these, but growing up all the way to age 18 I was perpetually called lazy and that I’d just need to settle for some kind of factory work because that’s all I’d ever be able to get. My sister was the golden child and overachiever. For some reason it always just cut me deep even when I was older. My mom didn’t even work, the irony of it all."

samiam871

Sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes the people telling the truth are just evil.


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People Divulge Their 'How I Almost Died' Experiences

"Reddit user Typical_XJW asked: 'People who have cheated before, why did you do it?'"

An hourglass with blue sand sits among a field of rocks
Photo by Aron Visuals

Just the other evening, I was walking home, and I barely survived.

I tripped on a dead tree branch.

The next thing I knew, I was flying in the air and landing on my back.

My belongings were strewn about.

And my to-go burger was dead.

A simple walk.

A simple dead branch.

And almost lights out.

Redditor Typical_XJW wanted to hear about the times people eluded death, so they asked:

"How did you almost die?"

Don't even get me started on any and every car ride.

We're always moments from the end on highways.

Back in the Day...

Hunger Games Student GIFGiphy

"Almost drowned when I was 5 or 6, been hospitalized twice for sepsis between 2016 and 2019, and had a stroke this year. I'm 29."

ChristmasKid88

On the Disk

"MRSA infection in the disk on my lower spine between L5 and S1. Showed up two days after a cortisone shot but the hospital said it was from something else. Was in hospital 25 days multiple emergency surgeries."

EatA**FromBack

"I worked for a doctor who did these in-house and other procedures, and it 100% made me not trust medical facilities, cleanliness, and sterilization procedures. Had about twenty patients all come down with the same gut infection, 'coincidentally,' the same patients who came in for endoscopy procedures the same day."

dimlylit_

Saved

"Saving a younger friend from drowning, he panicked and almost took me out."

loztriforce

"Had that happen with a younger cousin when we were kids. His brother and I went to save him, he climbed on both of us and pushed us under. Lifeguard didn’t even see us until he pulled younger cousin out of the water, then we popped up gasping for air."

coffeejunki

Shucked

"16-year-old farm kid me, stepdad told me to go pick up a load of corn seed for planting. I had gone with him many times before, and driven the truck (full ton dually diesel) and hauled light stuff with it. Nobody told me how different it is to haul 10,000 lbs of seed on a big flatbed trailer on gravel. I had a lot of common sense and was driving slowly and carefully."

"Still… 10,000+ lbs pushed me down a gravel hill skidding, praying to god I stopped before the stop sign at the T intersection to a busy highway. I came to a grinding halt JUST as the front of the truck crossed the plane where the gravel turned to asphalt. A semi was coming from one direction and regular cars from the other. I shudder thinking about what if on that one. Don’t let untrained kids tow potentially deadly, heavy trailers, with zero training."

datnetcoder

Finding Tracks

College Sports Sport GIF by Sealed With A GIFGiphy

"Was backwoods camping in Yellowstone and if I hadn’t considered for 30 seconds if I REALLY needed to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I would have walked out of my tent headfirst into a brown bear, which I heard before leaving and found tracks of next to my tent in the morning. Spookiest moment of my life in hindsight."

danvo5

Bears are a no go for me.

Camping is an even bigger HECK NO!!

Several Strikes

Reassuring Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphy

"Twice. 1. Woke up to my apartment on fire."

"2. Hit head-on by a drunk driver on a small bus, just after everyone got off bus exploded."

lizard_king0000

Oh Barb

"Lmao okay, so I was getting my teeth cleaned, and I got nitrous oxide because I have so many exposed roots. Well, my hygienist at the time was this lovely lady from Minnesota. Kinda flaky, but super sweet, and talked about her family all the time. So I'm in the chair and she hooks up my mask, and away we go. I actually fell asleep! Except not so much."

"Turns out Barb had forgotten to turn the oxygen on and had been feeding me straight nitrous. She only noticed because I started gasping for air while unconscious. So that's how I almost died at the dentist. I never saw Barb again, but I tell you, that was the best nap of my life!"

CharismaticAlbino

Climb Up

"I was snorkeling. I had my other stuff stored on a rock by the water, about 3 meters high. When I got out, I decided to climb straight up. Almost at the top, the rock I was hoisting myself up on came off and I fell back first onto the coral. If a friendly wave hadn’t come in, I would have broken my back, at least."

Yugan-Dali

Blood Loss

"I was diagnosed with a rare fatal blood disorder from birth, doctors projected I’d live till about 6 and then die from massive blood loss. As this was the mid-90s, they tested the idea of using stem cells from my sibling's umbilical cord; administering the first successful stem cell transplant from a sibling donor and I’m still here to tell the tale!"

Material_Cry1697

These were some tremendously close calls.

Do you have any near-death experiences to share? Let us know in the comment below.

Paper heart ripped in half
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

When it comes to the dating scene, most of us have a pretty low opinion of people who choose to cheat on their partners, not to mention serial cheaters.

But that doesn't seem to stop some people from doing the deed.

Curious, Redditor miaah214 asked:

"People who have cheated before, why did you do it?"

Revenge Cheat

"He cheated first, and I was young, petty, and thought revenge would make me feel better."

- Witch_on_a_moped

Immature and Selfish

"Unbridled ego, unsatisfying regular sex life, and a girl who threw herself at me."

"I was an idi*t, I acted like an a**hole, and I will regret it for the rest of my life."

"It was a hard truth to face. It was a dark time in my life where my ego and my immaturity caused me to hurt several people I loved."

"Fortunately, I learned from it, and while I can't take back the pain I caused, at least now I know that I am 100% capable of being an a**hole and so can choose not to be one."

- Seba_King

Insecurity

"Insecurity. I was always on the lookout for someone who would make me feel more desirable than the last. It was a serious youthful lack of judgment."

"Once I grew up emotionally, I realized what a piece of s**t I was and the hurt I caused. Hard to live with, to be honest."

- Penfold_for_PM

Just Desire

"100% pure lust. That’s it. I’m not proud of it."

- mydepressingpoems

Lots of Options

"Willing partners. It was amazing how many times when I did have a steady girlfriend that I would suddenly get propositioned by random women or worse yet, my girlfriend's friends or sisters."

"Too many times to be a fluke."

"It was like they figured if you are in a relationship, you're worth pursuing."

"But when I was single, most times I couldn't get a woman's attention."

"So it was an ego boost, but ultimately, I decided to be a better person, and I met a person who I truly thought was 'the one.'"

"And to a certain extent I did, it just didn't last through no fault of my own."

- Patient-Quarter-1684

In Need of Validation

"When you grow up being in turn neglected and told you're not good enough, validation is like a drug, and intimacy is the ultimate validation."

"Sooooo much therapy to undo this."

- RowhammerBitflip

"This. I’m just recently realizing how I didn’t receive enough attention and validation from my parents and how much it’s influenced my choices. Meeting someone and having them be into me physically is the easiest validation boost I can find."

"People who grew up with parents actually interested in them and with an instilled sense of self-confidence don’t know how good they have it."

"I don’t inherently feel important or relevant so I’m always looking for someone to tell me otherwise."

- tellitothemoon

The Thrill of It

"Because I was a f**king a**hole 20-year-old who only thought of himself and getting some action. The high of it."

"I'm 37 now. No cheating since then."

- Temporary_Fault6402

The Real Joy

"My ex was done in the bedroom and even said they were no longer interested in me physically or sexually."

"I should have left at that point, but with kids and the financial hit of divorce, I just looked to fulfill that need."

"I later divorced, and it was a big financial hit, but oh my god, what a relief it was getting out. Getting out of an abusive relationship is where the true pleasure comes from."

- loomdog1

In Need of Attention

"My partner cheated on me shortly after I had his baby. I wanted to leave, but I convinced myself to stay. The logistics of having a baby and 24-hour care are challenging on your own. He refused to have sex with me."

"At some point, someone got me in a weak spot. Somewhere between exhaustion, low self-esteem, and the sheer opportunity of having an orgasm were too strong for me. I’m deeply ashamed."

"Shortly after I picked myself up, the relationship ended. I should have left sooner."

"Someone telling you that you are beautiful, talented, and special after being invisible can feel like a drug. I don’t expect sympathy from anyone for my actions. But I do have a lot of sympathy for others now."

- throwawaythrowyellow

The Easier Option

"Because I chose a cowardly and easy path. Instead of going to therapy and ending my toxic relationship, I cheated on them with someone who I had convinced myself I was in love with and loved me."

"As it turns out, breaking up with someone is a lot less harmful to everyone involved than cheating."

- dodongosbongos

Devastating Choices

"Not me, but a guy friend cheated and the reason he gave was that he loved his fiancée but they had very different sex drives."

"He also said that when he brought it up to her (the difference in their sex drives and the problems it would cause) she begged him not to leave and insisted it wouldn’t be an issue."

"He told her it already WAS an issue and, as a last resort, she said she would understand if SOME DAY he felt the need to look elsewhere…just as long as she never found out."

"The girl admitted to saying all this but explained that she would have said anything for them to stay together in that moment, she didn’t think he’d actually be 'f**ked up enough to cheat' and she never imagined he would do it so soon."

- Dramiotic

The Perfect Combination

"A perfect storm of poor impulse control, untreated mental illness, and boredom."

"People on the moral high ground will tell you not to cheat for reasons like morality and integrity; from the moral low ground, I can tell you that the lifelong guilt, shame, and remorse are not worth it."

- LowCarbBeesechussy

Emotionally Done

"Because the relationship was done and I was already moving on emotionally. I just didn't care about her enough to care whether she was hurt or not. Honestly, in hindsight, I have zero idea why we were still together. It DID make the eventual breakup a lot messier."

"I was young and it taught me an important lesson. If you're done, just be done and leave. There's no point in dragging it out. If you're ready to start looking for another relationship, start by ending the relationship you're already in."

- codefyre

Ready to Make Up for It

"I had a perceived lack of affection. I felt ugly and disgusting and like I was just an emotional tampon."

"I would never do it again. In therapy, I learned a lot about the reasons I did what I did and in all honesty, if she would even entertain the idea of trying again, I’d spend every day making up for it and making sure she felt more love then can be imagined."

"I’m currently fulfilling into the man I know I can be. I just wish it took a more positive trigger in order to start that for me."

- Anthonys455

Let's end it -- the article, that is -- on a lighter note.

The Worst Kind of Cheating

"My wife wasn’t around. The house was empty."

"I couldn’t wait for her to get home, so I watched the next episode without her knowing."

"Honey, if you’re reading this… I’m so sorry."

- six6sickx

"You're a monster."

- Efficient_Ad_8367

It's so hard to imagine what's going on inside someone else's head or why they might choose to do the things that they do, especially if it's something we don't agree with.

It's at least heartening to see that many of these Redditors used these experiences as learning opportunities and have since gone on to treat the most treasured people in their lives a little differently.

Smartphone showing a lighting switch app
Moritz Kindler/Unsplash

Making yourself feel at home takes work but not as much as you think.

Homeowners, for example, are apprehensive about renovations because of how much costs.

Even tenants renting a home can feel like they're stuck in a situation where they don't feel comfortable because of minor inconveniences they think requires major solutions to fix.

Cut to this Reddit thread, where the ideas for affordable home improvement options were shared that may make you wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Curious to hear some tips from strangers online, Redditor Super_dupa2 asked:

"What small upgrade made a huge difference at your house?"

We tend to overcomplicate things when solutions can be simplified.

Taking Charge

"Methodically buying phone chargers with long enough cables to not have to ever move one again."

– ihadtowalkhere

"I am a pretty mellow dad (benign neglect parenting style for 5 kids) but I have two rules. Nobody messes with my bedside charger and nobody steals my two pillows."

"So, as such, I make many, long chargers available for everybody. It costs me a fortune:)"

– nicktam2010

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

"Blackout curtains for sleeping. Such a game changer."

– blehbleh1122

"And they keeps my bedroom cooler."

– BunjaminFrnklin

"Insulated blackout curtains make a 10f difference in my living room on hot days."

– TryUsingScience

A Cool Idea

"Attic heat exhaust fan. Our attic used to get up to 140F on the hottest days, and on those days our ceilings were hot to the touch. The whole house was consequently uncomfortable. Now the attic fan is thermostatically controlled to 90 degrees, and the whole house is cooler."

– jermleeds

"I added a passive whirly bird that does the same thing. Heat rises and escapes before it can accumulate to those extreme levels. It also happens to be clear acrylic so now there's always light up there too which helps keep away any vermin.

– cantwejustplaynice

No major bathroom renovations are required to make tenants happy.

No More Slamming

"Soft close cabinets and toilet seats."

– AreWeCowabunga

"We have a soft close toilet seat at our home and every time I'm at a hotel, I completely forget that they aren't usually soft close and the slam startles me 😂"

– PinkHamster08

Nozzle Upgrades Can Do The Trick

"A better shower. If you can't redo the whole bathroom, just replace the head. This also works if you rent, just keep the old one in a box, so you can bring the nice one to your next house."

– maartenvanheek

"I'm a renter and I finally installed a better shower head this year, after just using the default head in all my apartments for almost 20 years. 10/10, highly recommend."

– Am_I_a_Guinea_Pig

Perfect Welcoming Gesture

"My wife and I own a smallish apartment complex . One of the things we do every time a new tenant arrives is replace the toilet seat. I learned that trick from my parents who had about a dozen single-family rentals. It's amazing the goodwill you receive from a tenant simplify giving them a new toilet seat. We actually put the box behind the toilet so they know it's new."

– YouInternational2152

It's electrifying!

Think Smart

"Smart outlets for Christmas lights, both inside and outside. I have them scheduled to turn on at sunset and turn off at midnight."

– Revolutionary-Try746

"Smart outlets are one of my favorite purchases. During Halloween and Christmas, we’re using multiple outlets for inflatables, house lights, and tree lights. The smart outlets allow you to have everything synced so they all turn in at the same time."

– cppadam

Things Are Looking Bright

"Replaced dated lighting fixtures - fixtures are now properly grounded, the interior looks more updated, and there is more/better light."

– SnooCauliflowers9981

Energy Conservation Option

"Motion activated light switch for the laundry room. Never have to worry about turning off the light when leaving with an arm full of clothing."

– AmazingAsian

Creating an environment can make a huge difference.

Source Lighting For The Win

"Lighting can absolutely make a huge difference in the way you feel in your room. Get some shoulder height (when you are sitting) lamps for your living room. You will notice a shift in how much more relaxed you feel when you use those instead of the overheads."

– ShoesAreTheWorst

Home Art Gallery

"Spending a day mounting my artwork. It felt so much more like my home after that."

– GinGimlet

"Every time I've moved, I put that off for way too long, then finally break down and do it and the house feels so much better to be in."

– Triolion

One major upgrade was our VE hybrid tech water boiler and warmer we got from Japan.

The Zojirushi kitchen appliance uses VE, or vacuum electric, technology for very minimal electricity to maintain the water temperature at a constant 195° so we always have hot water at the touch of a button.

There's no more time wasted boiling hot water over the stove every time we want tea or the occasional instant cup noodles.

Game changer.

woman making the shushing gesture

Bjorn Pierre on Unsplash

Full disclosure at all times with your significant other, right?

Yeah, good luck with that.

Let's get real—there are things we don't tell our partners for a lot of reasons.

Sometimes you just don't feel like having to explain something that doesn't really affect them.

Sometimes you're protecting them from something that will have a devastating effect on them.

These are probably going to be more that second one...

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