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People Share The Most Passive-Aggressive Gift They've Ever Received For Christmas

People Share The Most Passive-Aggressive Gift They've Ever Received For Christmas
Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash

We've all heard the saying, "it's the thought that counts" when it comes to gifts.

But not all thoughts are kind.

While Christmas should be honored with well intended gift exchanges, some people take the opportunity to surprise unknowing receivers with something unpleasant.

Whether they're inspired by a grudge or petty argument, a passive aggressive gift can really spoil the holiday cheer.


Redditor e2hawkeye wanted to hear people's stories about purposefully bad gifts, and asked:

"What was the most passive aggressive gift you ever got for Christmas?"

Saving A Marriage

"My step-dad got my mom Poo-Pourri last year for Christmas. She was pissed lol"

- MrMet25134

"Poo-pourri saved my marriage. I was about to divorce his ass."

- [Reddit]

What's In The Box?

"My girlfriend's decapitated head in a box."

"My brother likes jokes, and homages, and movies; particularly thrillers from the mid 90s. And he adores David Fincher..."

"However he took that one a bit far with his 'homage' the the end of Seven. I've only just forgiven him."

"It was a long 2 weeks of semi-aggressive communication and slights."

- ProgressingSlowly

Not Missing Out On A Good Deal

"My dad said he got grave plots for my sister and I."

"It wasn't the only thing, but he said he got them cheap and didn't want to pass them up 😂"

- ThatFinnishGu

A Potato Legend

"When I was 9 and my brother was 7 we got potatoes for Xmas. (Coal was clearly too hard.)"

"We have that year on video and I’m clearly devastated."

"My little bro was a legend, tho. He states ‘I’m going to have it for breakfast.’ "

"We have a photo of him that year proudly eating his potato for Xmas. He made my mum cook it."

- Lozzif

Oh, Lord

"Lord of the rings films on DVD usually came out to buy around my birthday."

"I wasn't into it, but my Dad was."

"He got it for me several years in a row and then promptly put it on his shelf to watch whenever he wanted."

"When I moved out, I made a point to take them with me since they 'were mine' and he was furious. Yes, the petty revenge was delicious."

- JustJenR

A Gift For Himself

"When I was thirteen my dad told me got me a Christmas present."

"I was soooooo excited! I grew up in a traditional family where my mom did most of the cooking, cleaning, Christmas shopping etc."

"My dad did not normally purchase our Christmas gifts although he paid for them. My mom was always the one that did the majority of the shopping and preparing for Christmas and my dad worked as a full time electrical engineer."

"So I genuinely was excited to see what he picked out for me when Christmas Day came. It was a Sally Fields cookie cookbook."

"I didn’t love baking. My much awaited gift was actually just a nudge to make my dad some homemade cookies."

"I laugh at it now but it was a bit of a disappointment."

- Kylielou2

A Game For A Gamer

"I am 24 and a casual gamer. It's one of my favorite hobbies, though I have many hobbies."

"Anyway my Stepmother always hated it and my Dad who used to love gaming had given it up all together in some facade to appeal to her."

"Last Christmas I received a family game that resembled Kerplunk but with noodles... for Ages 3-7."

"I got her a £50 necklace because my Dad advised strongly for it."

- [Reddit]

Sabotage Chocolates

"My husbands foster mother was really vain, always talking about how small her waistline was— she claimed it was 21” and how at 45 years old she could still put on her wedding dress."

"Unfortunately for me, I had a lot of stress in my life, and at 18 years old I was 8 months pregnant and really hadn’t gained much weight. Looking back at pictures I realize I was really underweight."

"So she buys from the Walmart store this gigantic box of chocolate— the cheap stuff, it literally was 2’x3’."

"I don’t think she knew this but I have a chocolate allergy so the gift was useless. But I always thought this was a sabotage gift to protect her self-image."

- sandee4872

Getting Their Goat

"My parents split up when I was 10."

"My father was majorly depressive and abusive. My mum struggled after the separation and we were pinching pennies just to get by."

"He even refused to pay the $13/fortnight of child support for 3 kids - which didn’t even cover bus fares for 2 days."

"After the divorce had finally settled, a year or two later, my brothers and I received Christmas cards in the mail from his parents. They were those cards donating a goat to a third world country..."

- Shakierag

Dear Diary

"A diary 'to write down my thoughts so I dont talk so much' "

- realdappermuis

Ho ho ho

"My wife gave a very passive/aggressive gift to her brother's girlfriend one year for xmas. It wasn't actually the gift itself, it was the wrapping paper.

You see, this girlfriend was the woman who cheated with him on his wife, causing the marriage to fail and the the family to be split up. As you might imagine, my wife didn't care much for this woman. So, a gift was purchased and wrapped in Xmas paper. The paper had 'Ho Ho Ho' written all over it. Basically, just white paper with Ho Ho Ho.

Everyone got it. New Years was not fun."

Never_Been_Missed

You can't fall off of a video game, just sayin'

"When I was a kid I played a lot of video games and my dad gave me a skateboard in hopes I would go out more often.

Eventually that worked, but with a mountain bike"

zuugzwang

Backpacks are just more practical

"For whatever reason, it drives my boyfriend's mother and aunts bonkers that I use a backpack instead of carrying around a purse a lot of the time (like for going to/from work or just general travels). Every year, someone from that little family group always thinks they're doing me a favor by getting me a purse. They're also not even that great of quality (like it's that cheap pleather that scuffs and looks like crap after a week of use)."

jets3tter094

I would boycott Christmas too

"Half a bar of chocolate , I got my sister the $100 in cash that she insisted on and she got me absolutely nothing at first , but she was shamed by everyone else at the party so she threw a half eaten bar of chocolate at me that she was eating and told me that this was my present.

This year I am not celebrating Christmas. Nobody gets any presents. It will be just an ordinary day for me."

Erisian_Neko

What are you trying to say, mom?

"My mom's bought me a stationary bike and two scales. I feel like she's trying to tell me something"

PenguinSparkles007

This is why they don't visit

"I once had an entire sarcastic christmas where all my family members unanimously decided to get me gag gifts without telling each other. It wasn't a planned thing they just all got me insulting presents without realizing it. I ended up with EU de toilet cologne, a poo emoji stuffed animal (im 23) a shirt with a far right political cartoon insulting Bernie Sanders and a maga hat (im the only family liberal) and a candy cellphone in an iPhone box

Grandma: why don't you come visit?"

victorbarst

A gift only a mother in law would give

"My grandmother (dad's mother) once got my mom tablecloths for Christmas. My mom was not impressed"

fairyfinn

At least you can make a ton of mashed potatoes...?

"My mom got my wife a 10 pound bag of potatoes.

When my wife asked literally 'what the heck', my mom said 'I worked the church food bank last weekend and I knew you were poor so I got you something to help out.'

Yeah.

Mom was something else."

SquidPoCrow

Giphy

Speaks for itself

"a t-shirt saying 'I'm not arguing with you, I'm just explaining why I'm right'"

MarcusofMenace

That backfired

"Cousin gave me a Spice Girls album hoping I wouldn't like it and would give it to her. 'You're a boy, you probably don't even know what Spice Girls is. If you don't like it, you should just give it to me.'

I listened to it so many times in spite if her that eventually all I really really really wanted was a zig-a zig-ahhhh."

thefartographer

That wasn't very subtle...

"My aunt gave me a box of 'Thank You' note cards.

On the gift tag, she wrote: 'You should try using these sometime.'"

Back2Bach

'Santa' should mind his business!

"When I was in middle school, going through my tomboy phase, 'santa' gave me a book called How to Raise a Lady, and when I opened it my mom just looked at me and said 'Maybe Santa is trying to give a hint.'"

azelakoort

Giphy

So who got the iPod?

"When I was younger I managed to somehow lose my retainer at a Denny's. We searched everywhere, including the dumpster for over 30 minutes... my parents were furious. Fast forward a month, and the new iPod is released, and I really want it. I tell my parents that is the only thing I want for Christmas.

Come Christmas time, we are opening gifts and I see one that matches the shape of the iPod box... and sure enough, after unwrapping it - it's the new iPod! I hop up and immediately hug both my parents and I'm jumping around in joy! I sit back down and begin to open the box, and inside this iPod box is a new retainer. No iPod"

Cheesegratersuicide

Don't take your anger out on children

"All growing up my aunt always got me really nice clothing. I always got sweaters or sweatpants from American Eagle or Hollister which were very popular in my tween years. Then, she got mad at my mom for something and I started getting very juvenile presents including a children's robe with Hello Kitty on it that didn't fit, a plastic bracelet loom when I was 17, and a cork board in the shape of a flower."

Erimax24

At least you could donate them

"Pack of underwear from my mother in law 4 sizes too big. Smiled, thanked her, though that was the end. Told my husband I was going to donate them as they were too big. He told his mother and her reaction was, well she will eventually grow into them."

CylonsInAPoliceBox

I bet they never forgot their anniversary again

"One year everyone forgot my grandparents' anniversary (it's sometime in October). That Christmas every family got a professional picture of my grandparents with their anniversary on a plaque on the frame."

nikcoal

Those are the worst gifts under any circumstances

"A bible and a pretty hair band.

I'm a lesbian. At the time I was very butch."

shinyhappycat

Thanks a bunch, dad.

"They've definitely come from my father, both times.
1st time, I had a bad looking beard, so he gave me a pack of razors and some shaving cream.
2nd time, I asked for a pretty large gift -- a laptop. Apparently he didn't like that. He gave me a watch. A watch that he was previously given as a gift but didn't want. A watch that didn't work."

alexdiogenes

I think you can sue your boss for this...

"I had a real bully of a boss that delighted in making me miserable, but I was broke and desperate for a job so I didn't have a lot of options. The bullying kept escalating so I stupidly went to HR (because this was before I realized HR is there to protect the company not the employee). I told them what she'd been doing and gave them as much evidence as I had and told them that she was creating a hostile environment and I was genuinely concerned for my mental health.

Nothing came of the HR meeting and apparently that comment got back to my boss. Christmas rolls around and at the company party the bosses would always give their employees some little something. My co-workers got gift certificates to get a massage. I got a little tin bank that says 'I'm saving up for some therapy.'"

AbortRetryImplode

I'm guessing this is why they're an ex now

"My ex bought a plush raccoon, and then drew tire marks on it to commemorate the time I hit a raccoon while driving. I felt bad about hitting it and cried. Ended up crying again Christmas morning."

Sheldwyn

Giphy

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People Break Down The Craziest Money-Making Schemes They've Ever Heard Of

Reddit user primeiro23 asked: 'What are the craziest ways you’ve heard of people making money?'

When I was in seventh grade, I had aspirations to be a poet. I made a Mother's Day card for my mom with a cute (but now, cringe-worthy) poem inside, and a hand-drawn picture of a rose that took me hours to perfect.

A friend saw the card and said they wished they could do the same. Then suddenly, she asked if she could buy the card from me. I said no, since I needed to give it to my own mother, but I said I could make her a copy. From there, my friend got the idea for me to make copies of the card to sell. I went along with it, mostly because I didn't think it would actually work.

Turns out, it did. After making sure people would actually be interested, we went to the library after school and made several color copies of my card for 10 cents each. The next day, we sold each card for $1. Not only did we make enough money so that my friend and I could both afford to get our moms an actual present in addition to the card, but we had enough leftover to put us over the top for the money we needed to buy the matching faux leather jackets we'd been wanting all year.

The next year, many people who bought cards asked me to do it again, so I did. Once again, we made a killing. We didn't try to do it again once we got to high school, but it was definitely fun while it lasted.

When we tell people this story, they think it's a pretty crazy money-making scheme. Maybe it is, but we're not the only ones who ever did anything like this. Redditors know all about crazy money-making schemes, and are eager to share their own stories.

It all started when Redditor primeiro23 asked:

"What are the craziest ways you’ve heard of people making money?"

Tumble Into Business

"In college, I take a class on how to start & run a small business. Prof tells us to think of ridiculous business models for our fictitious businesses as we will get more out of the class that way. Stupid ideas ensue. Selling paperclips door to door, refilling car gasoline tanks in people's driveways, service to read & summarize the newspaper to executives etc."

"One classmate decides he is going to sell tumbleweed."

"Guess who quits college and started a successful business? Tumbleweed guy. Takes a van to the desert, collects tumbleweed and sells them to Hollywood movie & TV studios who need them. Keeps the tumbleweed in a warehouse and since they never spoil, his only costs are gasoline, storage & a website. He eventually becomes the number one tumbleweed provider to studios around the world, shipping tumbleweed globally."

"Made a heap of money selling what millions of people drive by and ignore every year."

– Accomplished-Fig745

Synopses

"I did have a job reading and summarizing newspaper articles to the boss. Literally only task I was hired for."

– Draigdwi

"An actual union job in the film industry is reading scripts and summarizing them in short mean book reports."

– Trixiebees

Jump!

"Heard of crazier, but a guy I know, friend of my mother's, went to Texas 30+ years ago. (we are from Norway), and he noticed every single garden had a trampoline. And it was almost always "jump king" - the circular with blue mat ones."

"So he went to the HQ, bought 10 and took back to Norway. Within days they were sold, and he ordered 50 more, same thing. So he became the only importer and has God knows how many millions to his name today."

– alexdaland

"This IS wild. I went to Norway recently and one of the first things I noticed was that almost EVERY yard had a trampoline in it."

– TrulyMadlyCheaply

Working For A Home

"Back when Dogecoin took off I wrote a guide on recovering old lost wallets and it got so popular I was flooded with requests for further help. Some corrupted wallet files, some lost passwords, etc."

"I have a background in computer science and experience in data retrieval and password cracking, so I started helping people in exchange for a percentage cut (industry standard for wallet recovery). All above board with a contract and everything."

"For a while I was getting new clients every week and making hundreds up to thousands of dollars on every successful recovery (with a fairly good rate of success). The biggest one I ever recovered was a 19 letter long password someone had lost. The work dried up when the price of doge dropped but it got me the down-payment on a house."

– internetpillows

Horsing Around

"A cabbie in Dublin once told me a story about one of his fares who had a brilliant hustle."

"The guy was a sculptor. He would watch horse races, then when a horse won, he'd use social media to contact the owner directly with a digital mockup of a life-sized sculpture of the winning horse. Now, the people who own winning racehorses tend to be very rich - we're talking sheikhs, oligarchs, billionaires. Every now and again, one of these owners would bite, and spend €100,000 euros or so on a statue commemorating their animal's win."

"Dude only did a couple a year, and spent the rest of the time living the good life."

– escoterica

Sweet!

"Richest guy in a rich town near us makes enormous amounts of money buying Hershey bars and rewrapping them with customised retirement celebration designs or corporate logos to be given away at events. Literally just rewraps them in pieces of paper and doubles or triples his money."

"Every time I try to start a company or invent a better product or something, I ask myself why I’m not just rewrapping candy bars."

– perchance2cream

"F**k man, I think I found my new niche."

– LibertyPrimeIsASage

Slightly Used

"I went to college in a capitol C college town. A friend of mine bought an old school bus, fixed it up and took out all the seats."

"At the end of every semester she would drive around the neighborhood that was the fancier side of off campus living and collect whatever the rich kids were throwing out before they moved / went home for the summer. Flat screen TVs, couches, computers, tables, it was wild to see what people would chuck out and replace the next semester rather than having to deal with getting a storage unit or moving themselves."

"Sold it all on Craigslist over the summer or the beginning of the next semester and made a killing."

– sam_neil

Credit Where Credit Is Undue

"When I worked in a really busy, upscale restaurant my coworker would put all of his cash-paying customer’s bills on his credit card and keep the cash which he used to promptly pay off his credit card."

"He did this all day, every day for quite a while and the points started to add up and he was getting free airfare, etc."

"Worked great for a while until management notice a rise in credit card processing fees with an emphasis on one employee and they shut him down real quick."

– blinkysmurf

We Found Gold!

"My buddy worked his way through college by panning for gold. This was in 2009 in California. Most days he made nothing, occasionally he would come home with a couple hundred bucks worth and I think once he found a night worth over $1k."

– discostud1515

"My cousin had a metal detector when he was in HS. He would go every weekend down to the lake and take it with him on vacation. He found all kinds of things. He did find gold jewelry and would sell it online. He made so much money he bought his own car."

– Content_Pool_1391

Sleeping For The Job

"I knew a woman whose job was literally to sleep."

"A local office building owner wanted somebody on-site 24/7 to be the point of contact with first responders if they ever needed to be called. So they hired her to come in to the building in the evening when the maintenance crew was finishing their work. And she would settle up to sleep for the night in a bedroom they'd set aside for her. In the morning she'd hand the building back over to the office employees and go on about her day."

"No first responders were ever called. It's about the least stressful legitimate job I could ever imagine."

– CaptainTime5556

The Secret

"Back in the 90s, I knew a guy who put an ad in the classified section of the newspaper which read something along the lines of, “For $10, I’ll tell you my secret to making easy money. Send $10 cash to (address) to find out how.” People would send him $10 & he would then instruct them to put a classified ad in the newspaper telling people to send $10 & how to make money."

– freudianfalls

Accident Payment

"I was pushed down the stairs by a teen girl who told me to "pay attention and get out of her way" i ripped my dress during the fall and was getting back up when some guy rushed up to me, apologized for his daughter and handed me $500 as compensation."

– thebrilliantcounc

"LOL - years back, I was in a parking lot during a snowstorm. A guy was trying to pull around me, slid on the snow/ice and hit into my passenger side door. It really and truly was an accident. He was all apologies. We exchanged info - he said to get a quote and he would pay for the damage."

"Well, the car I was driving at the time was a crappy old Ford worth maybe $500. But, I went to a body shop, got a quote on the repair and it was $900. I faxed it to him (this was back in the 90's, LOL) thinking he'd tell me to go through the insurance company and just have the car totaled out."

"To my surprise, I had a bank check for $900 from him in my mailbox three days later. Now, I already owned another car, so I pocketed the $900, sold the smashed car for parts for $300 and ended up with $1200 on a car that was worth only $500 before the accident. I was very glad that he ran into me!"

– Deleted User

Only Feet

"I have a friend who sells pictures of her feet. In heels. Barefoot squishing cake. In mud. She charges extra for special requests. Has strict ‘no go’ rules. Never shows anything above the calf so she can’t be identified (no tats). All proceeds go to her kid’s college fund. Has made enough to fund a PhD."

– NotACrazyCatLadyx2

The things people do for money! But, I guess it works for her!

hospital waiting area
Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash

When we're in pain or scared, we're not on our best behavior.

We've got more important things on our minds than proper etiquette.

Couple our lowered inhibitions with the bizarre amalgam that is the human body and weirdness is bound to happen in hospital waiting rooms.

Keep reading...Show less

No matter how good it might be, no relationship is 100% perfect 100% of the time.

On the contrary, there are some relationships that seem pretty doomed to fail, and it's disheartening how many signs we can spot of the relationship coming apart, perhaps even before the couple themselves is aware of it.

But as clear as a sign of trouble might be, it can feel impossible to talk to a loved one about it when it's about their relationship.

Redditor AnitaDeckenme123 asked:

"What are some signs that your married friend doesn't have a good marriage?"

All Joking Aside

"Talking s**t about their spouse, even if it’s in a joking way, is a clear sign to me. I went to a bachelor party with a bunch of guys I didn’t know and they spent the entire time b***hing about their wives, and they all sounded miserable."

- FunctionBuilt

Desperate to Hide the Truth

"They are withdrawn or secretive. If your friend is suddenly withdrawn or secretive, it may be a sign that they are having problems in their marriage."

- LiaRipsx

Weird Gestures to "Mark Their Territory"

"His hang glider now has a full-sized graphic of his spouse holding the cat on it. And he wasn't asked beforehand."

- BarcodeNinja

Hypothetical Divorces

"They talk about divorce hypothetically."

- LaximumEffort

"Okay, but what if, say, I am watching a lot of true crime murder shows, and he tells me we can just get a divorce instead of me killing him? Does that count? Lol (laughing out loud)."

- HopefulKitty

Detached Relationship

"When they don’t care what the other person is doing or where they are. Basically, two people who live separate lives and live like roommates."

- Lucyinthesky

"My friend never says anything bad about her husband, but she also doesn't speak about him much at all. They’ve been married less than a year, but she's said things like not caring what he's up to a couple of times, and it made me wonder if that was normal in marriage. It feels wrong."

- happinessinasong88

Fighting in Public

"I’ve known two different couples that off and on fought a lot around me at certain points, which isn’t obviously a great sign."

"The fighting stopped, but what I realized after a while that may be worse is that they didn’t interact at all unless absolutely necessary."

"I’m mostly oblivious, so it took my wife pointing it out to notice that both of these couples never really talk to each other besides mandatory stuff like plans or the kids."

"No casual conversations, no eye contact, no touching each other; literally no interaction that’s not necessary for the family to function."

"I suppose it’s better than fighting in public, but it’s kind of weird once you notice it."

- non_clever_username

Social Media Cover Stories

"If they're plastering social media with how HAPPY they are, and they're SO IN LOVE, and THEY'RE GOING TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER, that's a sure sign that things are in the process of going sideways."

- wilderlowerwolves

"This confuses me SO much. I have two close friends (women) who have been texting me nonstop about how s**tty their significant others are, like going OFF about them, long voice messages, etc."

"Then between messages, I will open Facebook and see they just made a post about how much they love their partner with a cute picture and tons of hearts and s**t."

"Like... WHAT. I have never called them out, but what the h**l?"

- perfectdrug659

"Gah, my BIL (Brother-in-Law) divorced after a short two-year marriage, and this was the prime indicator of knowing that they were doomed."

"They did this kissy cutesy schmoopy lovey-dovey thing in public, and the worse their relationship got, the more publicly showy they were about showing how in love they were. It was horrific to watch unfold."

- abqkat

Controlling and Jealous Behavior

"In my experience, going out with my old homie that was married, I couldn't ever post us out at the bar or anything. If his wife saw it, she’d blow her top apparently."

"We went out for my 23rd birthday a couple of years ago and merely his elbow was in the video of me sipping on whatever drink I had. In a panic, he urged that I delete it before his wife saw it for whatever reason."

"They’re divorced now."

- jailbreakthetesla_

Mean to Their Partner

"When their identity is the 'person who is mean to their spouse.'"

"I was at a party this weekend and there was a woman who just bad-mouthed her husband and talked about how nice it was to be away from him and the kids for the night. That’s like her shtick… she talks about how her kids and husband are s**tty. It’s such a gross personality, and it’s relatively common. It shouldn’t be common at all."

- SpacemanPete

Flirting Elsewhere

"They flirt a lot. A lot of unhappily married people I know are quick to flirt with anyone who seems interested because they want to feel that spark again."

- FlatulentDwarf

Constant Check-Ins

"When one of them is out and their spouse does not stop calling them."

- BansheeShriek

"I can't imagine living like that. I took a 10-day road trip to the beach alone, and all my husband asked of me was to keep my location turned on in case of an accident, and text a few times a day so he knew I was alive. That's trust."

- HopefulKitty

The Depression or Glow Up Era

"If they suddenly seem really down on themselves or stop taking care of themselves for seemingly no reason, If their outlook on relationships and/or marriage had changed since getting married, If they have nothing good to say about their partner or just don't talk about them..."

"The list goes on."

- Misspent_interlude

"Or reverse, they start glowing up. They lose weight, focus on appearance more, it means they're getting ready to split."

- Alternative-Post-937

Wishful Widows

"When my husband died, some friends admitted that they were a little jealous."

- emmymcd

"My ex-husband responded, 'One can only hope,' and looked at me when he heard someone’s wife died."

- foldinthecheese89

"I would never say this to someone, but I understand the sentiment. I absolutely wished my ex-husband dead a handful of times. It's one of those things where you can't leave because I had very little money of my own and staying meant living with abuse."

- IsThatBlueSoup

Jealous of Working Relationships

"It's bad when you avoid or feel guilty talking about how happy you are or about the nice and thoughtful things that your partner does because you know your friend can't relate."

- anemic_girlfriend

"Yikes. This is how I am with a friend group of mine. They’re always complaining about their husbands, and I stay silent. I don’t want to rub it in that I love my husband and he’s mostly awesome. In the past two years, one has gotten divorced and another is on her way there."

- Nonny70

"It gets weird for me when people are like, 'Must be nice to get away from the wife' if I'm on a work trip or something."

"I don't understand. I sleep better when my wife's next to me, I feel better about the day when I get to see her and talk to her, she makes me smile all the damn time."

"Everybody on the planet is a very distant second on my list of people I want to be around, and even though we do plenty of things separately I don't see time apart as some sort of reprieve from her presence."

- HereToTheSquatch

Wishing They Were Out

"I got married young and a lot of older guys gave me s**t for it, like they resented their wives for settling down too soon. It upsets me when men talk s**t about their wives. If you hate your wife, then leave, she’s probably better off without you."

"My wife is my best friend. Seven years later, our relationship only grows stronger over time. If you love someone and they love you back, be grateful for that and show it!"

- Apprehensive-Hall254

There are many ways to tell that a relationship is in a downward spiral, especially when the relationship is not our own.

But these accounts were intense and ones that we can only hope are less common.

Whenever we feel like something isn't right about our bodies or we're suffering from some kind of medical issues, we want them taken care of straight away.

The problem with that is, that depending on whom we're getting information from, we tend to believe in the initial diagnosis or remedy because we trust the professional sources and we want quick solutions.

But do doctors and health specialists always know what they're talking about?

Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Strangers online shared their medical horror stories when Redditor Ohyo_Ohyo_Ohyo_Ohyo asked:

"What is the worst health advice you've been given?"

Not doing further research into something that raises eyebrows can be a fatal mistake.

Turns Out It Was Brain Cancer

"i went cross eyed and my primary said 'could be a sinus thing, get some mucinex.'”

"turns out it was glioblastoma."

– Guy_Faux

"Wow, that's an absurdly sh**ty doctor. The same thing happened to my mother and it was quickly determined that it was stage 4 lung cancer. She made it about 3 months after that. She was 48 and I was 18 so the idea that any doctor would ignore that is infuriating to me."

– Frisky_Picker

Second Opinion Saves Lives

"My primary doctor kept telling me that nothing was wrong with my thyroid, and I was a hypochondriac."

"I had been told at 12 years old that I had thyroid issues and she told me that doctor was wrong. I had to see a whole other doctor to get a referral to the endocrinologist because she literally refused to refer me to one."

"The endocrinologist said, I had scarring all over my thyroid, I had Hashimoto’s, and my levels were horrible, and she didn’t know what the doctor was talking about. She said she was glad I advocated for myself."

– littlemybb

Tiny Grandchild

"I was not the recipient of this 'advice' but I had a coworker proudly say how small her new grandchild was when they were born and that her daughter smoked her whole pregnancy to try and have a smaller baby. This was in like 2010, not the 1960s for reference."

"ETA: smoked cigarettes. clarified since that can mean more than one thing."

– Emkems

Unforeseen Ailment​

"Was sick for a year in my late teens. Saw multiple specialists to find the cause. Experimented with diet. Saw a naturopath that did some ‘electric pulse test’ thing that apparently gave indicators of organ health. After a few visits, and months of eating the weirdest sh*t, the test said things were improving (including my gallbladder). Months went on but I was still quite sick. I eventually ended up in hospital and one of my specialists decided to take my appendix out on a whim to see if it might help. Turns out I had something called a ‘grumbling appendix’ and it completely fixed me. Funny thing is, while they were in there, they discovered I was born without a gallbladder."

– Ok_Ear_8848

These are not appropriate remedies.

That's Not How That Works

"When I had an urinary tract infection someone told me to wash my vagina with vinegar..."

– _Puke_Bucket_

"And maybe add some diced onions and tomatoes to make a refreshing Mediterranean salad."

– Bos_lost_ton

Pushing Through

"Just push through whenever you're sick. If you can get to a doctor's office for a doctor's certificate you can get to school/college/work."

– BoyMonday

"My childhood pediatrician told my parents that 'A sick child never smiles.'”

"I tend to laugh/smile when I’m nervous or uncomfortable to self regulate."

– pinotproblems

"A doctor once told my parents that a child who isn’t crying can’t really be hurt. Because of that, it took me days to convince my parents to take me to the doctor after I fell on my arm because I wasn’t crying. It turns out it was broken."

– slowsunslumber

"Ignoring" The Problem Isn't A Solution

"A friend of mine was in horrible pain, and was repeatedly told (by multiple doctors) that she should stop complaining and just get used to it because periods are painful and that’s the way it is."

"After being blown off for years, she finally got a doctor to take her pain seriously- and it turned out she had severe endometriosis. The surgeon said it was the worst case he had ever seen in his career, and was horrified that it had gotten so advanced with no one listening to her."

– sapphireblossoms

Choking On Blood

"The school nurse telling me to tilt my head back for a bloody nose. That was an awful experience."

– hypo-osmotic

"I do like doing this because when I cough up the blood I can pretend I’m in a period drama and I have tuberculosis."

– OrangeTree81

These Redditors discovered that all pain is not necessarily "normal."

The C-Word

"Doctor said certain pain is normal as you get older. Turns out it was cancer."

– REDDIT

"That's a fibrous strip of breast tissue, you're too young to have breast cancer."

"Delayed diagnosis by 6 months. I was 31."

– juniper_max

Thinking Twice About Back Pain

"I got from a doctor, 'everyone has back pain. There’s nothing wrong with you, just use a heating pad.' It was kidney stones."

– 5hrs4hrs3hrs2hrs1mor

"Yikes, I am so sorry."

"I had a kinda similar experience. I went to the doctor for a morning appointment to get some persistent, worsening back pain checked out. Doc asked me where my back pain was, looked me in the eyes and told me I was fine and must have just slept wrong. He shut me down when I tried to advocate for myself."

"That night, I was admitted to the ER due to the crippling pain I was in. Turns out I had a serious kidney infection that was turning septic."

"One of the ER staff who helped me told me if I had waited another 24 hours, my kidneys would have shut down and I very likely would have died from organ failure?!"

"I’ve been dismissed by doctors over and over again in my personal health journey, and it is so frustrating and scary, as they’ve dismissed me for 'being dramatic' when there’s actually something very serious going on with my body."

– Yarr0wFeather

Vitamin D Overdose

"If you have pale skin, get just a little sunburnt every day so that your skin will 'learn' to get a tan. That’s how everyone else does it."

"My Solar Keratosis skin cancers would beg to disagree."

– comfortablynumb15

As much as we want to believe our doctors when they give us a health assessment and assure us we're "fine," you should never ignore your inner voice telling you that something is not right.

Your conscience is there for a reason.

Even if a doctor tells you it's okay to ignore the problem, you should think twice about ignoring your gut feelings.