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People Share Their Scariest 'We Need To Leave Right Now' Experiences

People Share Their Scariest 'We Need To Leave Right Now' Experiences
Jose Antonio Gallego Vazquez /Unsplash

There are few things in the world as surreal or unsettling as the sudden realization that you need to get away, and you need to get away now.

That building dread, rush of fear, and jolt adrenaline is one of those things you see in movies, or you hear talked about in self-defense classes, but there's nothing like experiencing it yourself.


In a perfect world, most of us would only feel it if we wanted to in controlled environments like haunted houses. But we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes life gets ... terrifying.

Reddit user the-70s-kid asked people to talk about it when they posed this question to Reddit:

"What is Your Most Terrifying 'We Need to Leave, NOW!' Rush of Fear You've Felt?"

So you know how sometimes you almost wish people were LESS open and honest? Yeah...

What Happens On Tour Stays On Tour

scott hoying wtf GIF by Superfruit Giphy

"I'm a touring musician. At one point in time my tour vehicle broke down in bumf*ck Mississippi. We were able to pull into a gas station, but had thrown a belt and needed to get it replaced."

"Cue a bunch of hicks helping us work on our car. A couple of band members rode with a random do-gooder to go get a replacement belt forty-five minutes away."

"The local sheriff pulled up and bought us all coca-cola. At this point we're stressed because we don't want to miss our next show in Arkansas, but not worried about safety... YET."

"Time stretched, and through trial and error we ended up getting things close to finished up. Then our lead guitarist pulls out his iPhone. He said he had an airdrop request, but we all kinda ignored it until the job was finished."

"Then, just as we're getting into the car to pull away, he opens the airdrop."

"There were seven pictures of dead bodies, although they appeared to be cleaned up like in a morgue or something. Among the corpse pictures was a picture of one woman sitting up and smiling at the camera, the next shot she was dead."

"The last two pictures were of us repairing the car in the gas station parking lot."

"After that we lost it. I don't know whether we were just freaked or it was genuine danger, but the car behind us followed us for almost twenty miles until we got to a major highway and gunned it."

"Once we got home (2 days later) the guitarist went to the local police department."

"They basically said since it was a different state they wouldn't do anything, and since we had absolutely no info about who airdropped it, he had nothing he could 'call in' to the sheriff of the small Mississippi town."

"They also insinuated that it was probably just someone who was a mortuary or something because all the pictures had posed bodies."

"Could be someone's sick joke (and if so, I guess they got us), but I don't see how someone fat-fingers an airdrop of corpses."

"No context, no explanation, no answers. It still freaks all of us out to this day."

- Kylar21

Following A Blood Trail

Penn Badgley Joe Goldberg GIF by YOU Giphy

"I was walking home one night, head down because I was dumbly looking at my phone. I almost stepped into what looked like barbeque sauce."

"Turned on the flashlight function for my phone - it was blood. Every step, there was a small blood splatter - less than a teaspoon. I followed it along the entire long street while walking home."

"Maybe eight blocks. It was hard to tell, in the dark, but the trail seemed to end at a residential facility in my neighbourhood."

"I'm not sure what type of facility it is, but I've often met people with intellectual disabilities in the area - I've helped them with how to order a train ticket, counting cash for groceries, etc."

"There were two people in the fenced off yard, talking low. I could only see their lit cigarettes in the dark."

"Suddenly I was filled with a sensation of wrongness. All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and I felt cold. I kept walking, and did some loops before going back home and calling the cops about the blood trail."

"My partner felt I overreacted, and it was probably just an animal or someone with a bloody nose."

"But that was a lot of blood in total, over eight blocks. And something felt deeply wrong. I didn't sleep well that night."

- manlikerealities

Heading Home

Dance Music Dancing GIF by DEEPSYSTEM Giphy

"I was overseas at a competition and my friends and I left the after party. We part ways with me going my own way."

"Almost immediately I see a few men on the other side of the road, out the front of a bar look up, nudge each other and say something between them. As I walked past I see them cross the road to walk behind me."

"Mentally I'm thinking 'oh sh*t' - the rest of my walk would be down a not well lit, and sometimes very quiet, stretch of road."

"I turn down a shorter street and pick up my pace a bit, and sure enough the men follow but I've put some more distance between us. I make the turn I was dreading and just bolt."

"There were a few houses here with decent gardens and I just needed to make it to one before the guys turn the corner."

"I make it to one of the houses, it has a giant hedge surrounding a small gate so I lean right back into the gate and hedge. I'm in total darkness, peering through the hedge when the men turn the corner, take a few steps and stop."

"They talk to each other, then turn around and leave. I wait a few more minutes to be sure then jog the rest of the way checking behind me."

- Grieie

Air BnB

red dead redemption 2 rdr2 GIF by Rockstar Games Giphy

"Several years ago, 6 of my friends and I were out of state for a wedding. We rented an Air BnB for the group."

"Immediately after getting there we learned that the guy who rented out his house had a roommate who was almost never home, but happened to be there for the first time in weeks, and didn't realize the house was going to be occupied."

"The owner insisted that he spoke with him and he was planning to pack up and stay at his girlfriends so we could have the home to ourselves as planned. Sure enough, he was gone that afternoon."

"We went out that night and came home intoxicated, as 20-something's do from time to time. One of our guy friends came up from the basement looking shocked."

"Apparently the roommate was back... and based on him being asleep, it was clear he planned to stay."

"We quieted down and rearranged where we'd all planned to sleep. But this was only the beginning."

"The next morning we were woken up by excruciatingly loud death metal blaring from the common living area/dining room upstairs. Two of the people who'd slept in the living room came down immediately and told us we needed to pack our things and get out FAST."

"We didn't ask many questions. Just sort of grabbed all our stuff, tries to clean up, and piled into an uber XL to head to the closest hotel."

"Apparently before the music started earlier that morning they woke up to a bunch of clank/banging only to open their eyes and see this dude sitting at the table cleaning a shot gun and a hand gun."

"Needless to say, I don't think he wanted us in the house."

"I wasn't the one who had rented the Air BnB. But yes, my friend was able to get a full refund and a big ol' apology from the owner. He said he didn't really know the roommate very well and hardly saw him, like he just sort of paid rent and stopped in only now and then."

"In retrospect the whole thing just seems mind boggling."

- jillaaa

We Could All See His Face

fast food robbery GIF Giphy

"It was more of a gut feeling than a rush of fear, but I was 12 or 13 with a friend in a corner store and a guy walked in. He didn't look like a criminal, he looked a bit shady but not too too off."

"But for whatever reason I just felt weird, and I whispered to my friend that I wanted to leave. so we quickly pay for our stuff, which was just a pack of gum 2 sodas and a large bag of chips and we leave."

"A couple seconds after we leave we hear 'Open up the drawer! I will shoot!' and we both book it."

"I don't know what this guy was thinking, his face was visible, I don't know if he put a mask on while he was somewhere in the store but either way the cashier, me and my friend all saw his face when he entered."

"Anyways he did get arrested, and the police found that his gun was in fact loaded, the cashier was not shot nor harmed, nothing too serious happened but it scared me that I was in a store with a man with a loaded gun."

- chonky_boiii

Bill

Get Out Leave GIF by Filthy Rich Giphy

"A few years back coworkers and I went to another coworkers house. The house was owned by an owner of the company but this one coworker, we will call him Bill, had a key and 'permission' to use it following a company Christmas party."

"Everyone was enjoying some drinks and some smoke. About 30 minutes into us partying, Bill started acting strange."

"Basically he started aggressively hitting on the girls at the party in disgusting ways. 'If I guess your age and you're older than me or younger than me you have to sleep with me' was a common thing he repeated to more than one girl that night."

"He started trying to separate other coworkers from their dates and got aggressive about it. When I say he got aggressive about separating other coworkers from their dates, he was taking dominoes and throwing them on the floor in front of coworkers and telling them they needed to help him pick them up."

"The first time he did this he got help from our coworker, at that moment Bill stood up and started trying to get our coworkers date to go into the next room with him. He was unsuccessful but about 10 minutes later he tried it with a coworker I was pretty close with, we will call him Dan."

"He threw a deck of cards and kept telling Dan to pick them up but Dan knew what Bill was up to. After a minute of Bill trying this sh*t I walked over started grabbing cards and stuffed them in his pockets."

"I was pissed, I kept repeating 'Come on Bill let's pick up some f*cking cards.' With a plain face and monotones voice Bill simply said 'I can clean it up myself.' "

"Bill was aggressively hitting on the girls at the party but Dan later told me that Bill told him 'You're hot, I can see why so-and-so wants to f*ck you.' Nothing against anyone sexual preferences but clearly Bill was going through some sh*t."

"Right around this time I started smelling gas."

"I walked through the house and realized he had turned the stove burners on but never ignited the flame. I turned them off but the smell kept building. I realized he had done this with the fireplace as well."

"As I turned off the fireplace gas I notice Bill messing with the stove again. At that point I lost it, I made a scene."

"Bill looked shocked when I yelled 'Yeah f*ck this. Everyone out, Bill is doing some weird sh*t. Out everyone out!' "

"He rushed to the door and tried calming everyone down. I'm telling you all it was weird."

"We had to push through Bill, who was blocking the front door telling us we were being crazy. 9 of us crammed into a friends Chrysler 300 as Bill tried blocking us in with a golf cart."

"He ended up moving it and saying we were all over reacting. I have no doubt Bill was up to some nefarious stuff and to this day I believe I saved a few lives."

"People reported it and Bill was fired not long after. A few months back I was doing some home improvements and while at Home Depot I hear Bill shout 'Hey!' "

"I turned around and had a few words with him. He works there, apparently loving life. I now shop at Lowe's."

- jupitersrise

Window Cleaners Share The Best Things They've Ever Seen | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Window washers have quite an interesting job. From death-defying heights, they see cities from unique perspectives and often catch glimpses into the lives of...

BBQ Bummer

zac efron bbq GIF by NEIGHBORS Giphy

"I had just moved to South East Georgia. I moved into a predominantly black neighborhood which was totally fine by me. My neighbors were so welcoming and accepting."

"About 2 weeks in, I'm approached by a few white men in suits at work, asking me if I was new. I said I was."

"They said they were from the Chamber of Commerce. They wanted to invite me to a BBQ that weekend."

"Free BBQ? Sold!"

"... It was a Klan Rally. Many of them were wearing black shirts with the distinct symbol of the cross and flame."

"They introduced themselves as such eventually, though growing up in Portland, I was already pretty familiar with the symbols."

"Yeah, I wasn't keen to find out what was going to happen if they found out I was gay."

- DamionStJames

The Mall

Fast Food Mall GIF by Billie Eilish Giphy

"A friend dragged me to a mall (her old workplace) to visit her old coworkers. After arriving, I suddenly started feeling ill but not normal ill."

"Like really ill accompanied by a really bad gut feeling."

"I kept trying to get my friend to leave and she kept saying 10 more minutes but wouldn't leave."

"Something in my gut felt like something was really wrong and we HAD to leave and I was so panicked that I finally decided I'd leave without her if she wouldn't leave this time even though I'd have to walk over 5 miles to get home since she drove."

"She finally agreed to go and when I got home and flipped on the computer to do homework I saw that there had been a shooting at the mall after we'd left and it started at the store we were in."

- Informal-Amphibian-4

High Alert

Breaking Despicable Me GIF by Regal Giphy

"One time I was shopping at a Walmart with my wife and a young, bald guy seemed to be following us around the store. He had a very intense look on his face and was speaking urgently into a headset."

"He wasn't wearing a Walmart uniform, but he was dressed in business casual with a name tag. He wasn't always following us; sometimes he would pass us going in the opposite direction."

"At some point, I realized he was making announcements on the overhead speaker for people to gather at the back of the store in the electronics department because there was going to be a drawing for cash prizes."

"I couldn't tell if he was actually making the announcements on the headset or relaying a message to another guy who was, but he was pacing through the women's clothing section (I was there buying scrubs for a job that I started the next day) and intently repeating the message for people to gather at the back of the store."

"He had no expression on his face and was just repeating the message in a monotone."

"Out of the two of us, I'm the level-headed one and my wife is the one who is scared of everything. In this moment, however, I just knew there was going to be a mass shooting at that store."

"I told her to put what she had down and get the hell out of there with me. Since I'm not normally scared of much, it freaked her out and we bounced."

"Of course, nothing happened and we had to go find scrubs somewhere else, but it was the strongest fight or flight reaction I've ever had."

"I think it must have happened right after a high profile shooting (god bless america), so I must have just been on high alert."

- CryptographerShot296

Party Pranks

Punch Alcohol GIF by Grease Live Giphy

"I was getting ready to go to a party with my friends after prom. We never go to the big parties because we were not as popular, but it was open invite and our parents let us go."

"We all got there and something felt off right away. I got a wave of anxiety and almost had a panic attack and we all left the party after being there for 15 mins."

"I thought it was just me being shy or overthinking until we wake up to the news that one of our classmates put drugs in drinks as a party prank and caused people to trip out. One girl overdosed."

- the-truth827

The White Vans

scared inglorious basterds GIF Giphy

"I was at work one night and walked to my car before leaving to bring some things inside. I hate parking lots so I always park pretty far away to avoid having to pull out around other cars."

"I didn't think anything of it till after, but the parking lot was mostly empty apart from two white vans RIGHT NEXT to my car with people inside. I work next to a park, so it really isn't too unusual for people to just chill there in their cars for awhile."

"As I was walking up, the door of one of the vans slid open but no one stepped out. I wasn't paying attention so I didn't see the faces of the people inside."

"I was a little creeped out so I called my boss and he came with his dog. As soon as he stepped out of his car, both vans left."

"I get a call from my boss at 3AM that night, asking me for better descriptions of the car. Someone was assaulted and carjacked there that night."

"I don't park far away from the building anymore."

- euphoriugh___

For His Wife To Find

Season 19 Nbc GIF by SVU Giphy

"Several years ago I was outside on a Saturday morning cleaning out my truck in the parking lot of my complex."

"A guy who lived in the building right across from me, but parked on the other side of the complex normally, suddenly pulled in a couple parking spots from me and just sat in his vehicle."

"I had my back to him, but I got such an overwhelmingly creepy feeling all of a sudden. I switched sides so I could watch him."

"He sat there watching me for about 5 minutes and then started his truck and drove off. I couldn't shake the weird feeling I had."

"Fast forward 2 weeks later and I'm just coming home from shopping with my son. On our walk to the apartment, I watch the guy's wife and two sheriff's go into her apt and 2 min later they come speeding out."

"Come to find out, when the wife went to work, he called a sex worker, they did their thing and then he killed her. He then stuffed her body into one of his military bags."

"Then he left her there in the middle of the living room for his wife to find. It was terrifying to learn that!"

- Pretend_Impression90

Storm Chasers

Oh My God Omg GIF by Audible Giphy

"Californian in foreign Kansas ground. Always loved the severe thunderstorms - so cool with nearly constant booming rainfall and torrential downpour."

"One day when I was playing on my computer and hear sirens. No clue, look outside and sunny outside and some people walking their dogs. Go talk to my wife and we look on TV and there is a tornado warning."

"Having no clue what to do, we huddle in the bathroom under a mattress with the news on display. Panic on the news is increasing (shocking I know) and they say this is a big one and if you're in a second-story place, you are not safe."

"Soon after they abandon the news station and all we hear is pounding hail, almost a deafening silence. Well sh*t."

"We panic and start knocking on neighbors' doors but no one is there. Not a cloud in the sky. Adrenaline is kicking in and I'm getting shaky."

"I call friends and they are all true Kansans and say 'noooo problem easy peasy.' Thanks alot."

"One offers for us to come to his house for safety. Me and my girlfriend jump in the car ready to go."

"We turn the corner and a sheet of golfball-sized hail starts pelting the car. It sounded like the car was being torn apart."

"Gut-wrenching metallic pounding mixed with glass clacking to hold with every ounce of its might. My wife starts screaming and crying and I just put my arm across her chest to try to calm her."

"I look out the car and the wind is whipping on itself and leaves are circling about. She reminds me the nearby grocery store has a shelter, since our friends house is far and not easy to find even in broad daylight."

"I begin speeding there racing through an intersection with a red light. I veer up to the grocery store greeted by dozens of cars with smashed in windows."

"To this day I have no idea how ours held."

"We get out right in front covering our heads in hopes we don't get hit by hail. The doors to the store are closed."

"Panic sets in. A man is beating the front doors screaming 'LET US IN! ITS HERE ITS HERE!.' "

"The store employee inside is pale and confused and shrugs to indicate no way to open. I contemplate throwing a pot through the window."

"After what seemed an eternity a fellow employee sprints up fumbling her keys and opens a side door."

"I look back and I can see nothing but wind and tree branches circling about... and darkness. My girlfriend and I run to the door and... she trips."

"I have that movie moment where my mind thinks.... should I grab her and risk us both or just go? Well I'd be dead either way lets grab her."

"We bolt inside to the meat locker shelter. As soon as we get in all conversations stop and everyone stares at us."

"We must've been white as can be and they could see the mixture of terror and relief in our eyes."

"We learn later that the guy banging on the door beside us was a tornado chaser and the tornado got rain-wrapped, or impossible to see, and he panicked."

"To this day I get a powerful feeling in the bottom of my stomach whenever I get a phone warning of a severe thunderstorm."

"At least picking up my girlfriend paid off as she's now my wife and we have a beautiful baby girl :)"

- getloppy

Welp. We'll be doing a LOT more trusting out gut from now on.

What sorts of "near danger" experiences can you recall? Sound off in the comments.

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Old Wives' Tales People Still Believe For Some Reason

"Reddit user the_spring_goddess asked: 'What is an old wives tale that people still believe?'"

Close up of an owl tilting their head to side, looking bewildered
Photo by Josh Mills

The old wives' tales.

They are the stories of legend.

I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.

Where did they originate?

WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!

You don't hear about them as much anymore.

It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.

But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.

Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:

"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"

"Wait an hour to swim after eating."

What a crock!

So many summer hours wasted.

I want revenge for that one.

Say Nothing

Giphy

"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."

LonelyMail5115

"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."

I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA

Say Something

"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."

Severe_Airport1426

"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."

crappycurtains

"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."

AlbinoShavedGorilla

Body Temps

"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."

chriseo22

"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."

"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."

apocalypticradish

Arms Down

"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."

Fatmouse84

10 Years Actually

Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine Giphy

"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."

REDDIT

"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."

Gecko-911

I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.

This tale is haunting.

High/Low

Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace Giphy

"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."

LeastFormal9366

"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."

IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI

The Cursed

"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."

"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."

SmoreOfBabylon

Stay In

"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."

"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."

worldbound0514

Dreams and Facts

"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."

"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."

mattshonestreddit

"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."

Darthdemented

Cracked

Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office Giphy

"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."

Choice-Grapefruit-44

"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."

MacyTmcterry

I love my knuckles.

Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.

lottery tickets
Erik Mclean on Unsplash

A lot of workers daydream about some day winning the lottery and being able to say goodbye to their job.

Far too many workers are unhappy with their job duties, workplace dynamics or company culture.

But with a taste for luxuries like housing and food, they keep plugging away, year after year.

However not everyone feels that way about their job.

So what are these compelling careers?

Keep reading... Show less
Therapist talking during session
Photo by Mark Williams on Unsplash

Some people stand firmly stand behind their beliefs that everyone would benefit from therapy and that therapy is life-changing.

It's because of the totally life-changing truth bombs their therapist had dropped during their sessions.

Curious, Redditor anonymiss0018 asked:

"What is a little bombshell your therapist dropped in one of your sessions that completely changed your outlook?"

Communication Issues

"'If you don’t have these problems with any other person in your life, why do you think you’re the problematic person in this one?'"

- maggiebear

"I love this. I have a 'friend' who I always seem to run into misunderstandings with. Every time we had a conversation, it somehow turned into a debate even if it was me talking about my day. The conversations were never easy."

"I always evaluate myself first and take into consideration his critiques. He was very good at convincing me that I was contradicting myself or wasn't good at communicating my thoughts."

"I NEVER had this issue with ANYONE else in my life. I kept trying to figure out where the miscommunication was coming from. In the end, I just minimized contact and now I don't run into this issue."

- chobani_yo

"I read this quote somewhere once (and probably have it a bit wrong): 'It's a waste of time arguing with someone who is determined to misunderstand you.'"

- Reddit

Emotional Regulation

"'You can’t control your emotions, but you can control what you do with them.'"

"At the time, I was a young adult who had learned zero healthy emotional regulation skills (only suppression and shaming) growing up, so this blew my mind."

- lil_mermaid

Tough Relationships

"'It sounds to me like you are trying to convince yourself to stay with your girlfriend. I'm not so sure it should be so difficult.'"

"At the time he said this, I remember it was like he said, 'The earth is flat.' I thought he was crazy when he suggested relationships don't need to be difficult. But eventually, I started to realize I was trying to change myself to stay with this person rather than just being who I am."

"It took me three more months to finally break up with her but from that day on, I vowed to never again abandon myself just to be with someone I had convinced myself was better than me."

- metric88

High-Stress Situation

"I was at a high-stress time, and I asked her how people live like this."

"She replied, 'Oftentimes they have cardiac events.' She said it as an urging to care for myself as much as possible."

- KittenGr8r

The End of Alcohol

"I was struggling with my alcoholism, and we were discussing how I had been cutting back."

"She asked what I would consider success, with regard to my drinking."

"I said I wanted to get to a point where it wasn't interfering with my daily life. I wanted to just be able to have a glass of wine at holiday dinners or family gatherings."

"She simply asked me why. Why was it important for me to drink at those times?"

"It was as if she'd turned on a light. Alcohol had always been a key ingredient in every family function, for my entire life. When I smell bourbon, I think of my uncle. When I smell vermouth, I think of my dad. Alcohol ran through almost every happy childhood memory."

"But, even more than that, I was very afraid of the explanation I'd have to give when family and friends asked why I wasn't having a drink. I had tried to quit before but failed. What if I admitted my problem, only to fall off the wagon?"

"When she asked why I didn't want to completely quit, it was the first time I saw that last part of the big picture. I'd be willing to drink myself to death in order to avoid being scrutinized, or judged for possible future failures."

"That was the day I quit. I've been sober since May 6th, 2017. 2,407 days."

- sophies_wish

Acceptance vs. Enjoyment

"'Accepting something doesn’t mean you have to like it.'"

"That took away a lot of my inner conflicts about situations because I could accept a situation without expending energy internally fighting against the injustice of it."

- alibelloc

Emotionally Immature Parents

"You are not responsible for your parents' emotional wellbeing. They are independent adults who have been on this earth for many more years than you."

- SmokedPears

Not So Lazy

"'Why do you think you're lazy?' Then she listed off all the things she knows I'm doing for my family, my job, and my life."

"It kind of blew my mind when I struggled to come up with an example."

"She also described family dysfunction as water. Some families are messed up in a way that everyone can see the huge waves across the surface. Others are better at hiding it, but there's still a riptide that you can't see unless you're also in the water."

"It made me realize that trying to keep the surface from ever rippling doesn't erase what is happening underneath."

- flybyknight665

The Harm in People-Pleasing

"'Why do you make people more comfortable when you are uncomfortable?' when talking about people pleasing and fawning."

- ERsandwich

Agree to Disagree

"'Stop trying to get everyone to agree. When you need everyone to agree, the least agreeable person has all the power.'"

This really changed my outlook on planning family events."

- freef

Grieve and Start Anew

"For context, I had a major TBI (traumatic brain injury), seizures, strokes, and all around not a fun brain time when I was 28."

"They said, 'You have to grieve the loss of yourself.'"

"Most people wanted me to go back to how I was. The f**ked up truth is that part of my brain is dead. The person everyone (including myself) knew died. I needed to grieve the loss of myself."

- squeaktoy_la

Multifaceted Identity

"They told me that my job and career is just a way to make money; it's not my life or identity. That took a lot of pressure off me."

- unfairpegasus

Breaking the Cycle

"They validated me."

"'You always talk about not wanting to do to your daughters what your mom did to you. You worry about it so much in every interaction you have ever had with them."

"But your children are 19 and 21 now. They are happy and healthy and they trust you because you’ve never abused them in any way. So I just want to validate for you that you really have broken that cycle of violence."

"You did that. And you should be proud of it. I’m proud of you for it.'"

- puppsmcgee74

The Grieving Process

"I was constantly bringing up how I felt like a completely different person after my mom died... like there was a marked difference between before and after her death."

"But once, she was asking about my hobbies, I got really into describing all the things I loved to do or at least used to do before I got into a deep depression."

"She was like, 'Wow, you seem very passionate.'"

"And I just sat there like, 'Well, I mean, I can't change what I like to do, they're still fun to do.'"

"And it's like she knew when to take a step back, because it was like, wow, I may be super depressed about my mom passing, but I'm still me. I'm still my passions and those don't go away."

"I don't know, maybe it only makes sense to be, but it really started getting me back on track."

- Hannibal680

Sharing the Load

"I've never really had friends. I've had colleagues and classmates and housemates and people who have hung out with me, but I never really felt close to any of them."

"And I did that thing you see on here sometimes; I stopped reaching out to see if I would be reached out to, and I wasn't, which I took as confirmation that they didn't really want me around, or at the very least, that they wouldn't mind my absence."

"I was talking to my therapist about people I'd been close to in college, and she told me to pick one and talk about him. So I did. After I shared some basic stuff like his name and his major etc., and a couple of anecdotes, she asked me what else I knew about him."

"And I couldn't answer. It wasn't really a broadly applicable bombshell, but she said, 'What else?' and I started crying because I realized that for as simple as the question was, my inability to answer spoke volumes."

"I've never had good friends because I've never been a good friend. I'm withdrawn and reserved and I always made others do the work to drag me out, without ever extending my own friendship in a meaningful way in return. If I wanted to have meaningful relationships with other people, I would have to build them."

"I'm still working on this, but I'm trying to make more offers and extend more friendliness to others in my daily life."

- Backupusername

The discoveries in this thread were incredibly touching and profound; it's no wonder these were lasting concepts for these Redditors.

It's important to keep ourselves open to inspiration and insights from others, as we have no idea how their experiences could help us, or how we could help them.

Aerial view of a church in a small town
Sander Weeteling/Unsplash

There's something comforting about living in a small town.

It's characterized by close communities where neighbors know each other by name and there is an abundance of kindness extended to others.

Gift-giving is a commonality, as is the sharing of recipes, and people going out of their way to help each other in a time of need.

The pace of living in small towns is also a striking contradiction to city life, where crowds of people go about their busy lives without much interaction.

Curious to hear more examples of what small town living is like, Redditor official_biz asked:

"What's the most 'small town' thing you've witnessed?"

These are positive examples of a tight-knit community.

Live Updates

"We have a village Facebook page. Every time the ice cream man drives into the village, the entire page goes ballistic. People send live updates of where the van is and which direction he's heading. The ice cream man has started accepting DMs so he knows which streets to go down."

– PyrrhuraMolinae

Brush With The Law

"I’m from a town of less than 2,000 people. When I worked at the grocery store there people would often drop off stuff for my family members because they didn’t want to drive all the way down to our house. I no longer live there but recently got a call from my daughter. She had been stopped for speeding and handed over her license and insurance which happens to be in my mother’s name. The officer goes 'Hey, you’re Donnie’s granddaughter! I ain’t gonna write you a ticket but I’m telling Donnie when I see him tomorrow cause we’re going fishing.' She replied 'I think I’d rather have the ticket.'”

- Reddit

Roadside Catchup

"The traffic on the 'main street' of my town is so sparse, two drivers going opposite directions can stop and talk to each other for a few minutes without causing any problem."

– anon

When things go wrong, people take notice without incident.

Bank Robbery

"A guy robbed a bank and everyone knew immediately who he was and the teller got mad at him."

– AlexRyang

"A local bank was robbed and one of the tellers told the police to bring her a yearbook from about ten years earlier and she would be able to point the robber out. He had been in the grade before hers in school."

– Strict_Condition_632

Wise Woman

"When I worked at the bank in town there was an older lady that had worked there through 5 mergers."

"She knew everyone, there was a young guy yelling at me one day. She walked out of the back and he immediately quieted. She went off about telling his grandmother that he was treating young women like sh*t. She also said that if he didn’t straighten up not one girl in town would ever marry him she would make sure of it."

– ilurvekittens

Intoxicated Local

"Town drunk was paralyzed and used a motorized wheelchair to get around. I was driving home one Saturday night and said town drunk was passed out in his wheelchair doing circles almost directly in the town square. Had to call his brother who came and picked him up on a rollback truck. Strapped him down and drove off into the cold dark night."

– DoodooExplosion

Grazing Over To The Bar

"In my former small town, there was an older guy who'd lost his license after getting a few DUIs. Every day, he would ride his John Deere lawnmower to the corner bar around 3PM and sit around watching TV and sipping his beer well into the night. Then he'd head the couple miles back home on his mower. He even had a little canvass shell he put on when it rained or got too cold."

– brown_pleated_slacks

It's not surprising how small town people behave differently than those who are from metropolitan areas.

Welcoming Committee

"I lived in a small town. When I moved there, people would ask, 'Whose house did you buy?'"

–MoonieNine

"Move to a small town. 30 years later, you are still the new guy."

– impiousdrifter

"I lived in a small town for most of my childhood but I wasn't "from there" because my grandparents weren't from there."

– raisinghellwithtrees

"Worked with an older guy, relative of the owner of the business, he was 73. I asked him if he was a local, he said 'no his parents moved here when he was two.'"

– realneil

A Busy Day

"Lived in a town of about 5,000: A woman walked into the DMV on a Friday, saw that there were 3 people ahead of her and left to come back another time when they weren't so busy."

– KenmoreToast

Who Let The Dogs Out?

"My dogs got out while i was working. the police called my niece's elementary school (she was a 5th grader) to get her to round them up and take them back home."

– mediocrelpn

"There was a small kennel behind the police station for runaways. They called us saying they had our dog, and moments later our dog showed up home. He broke out of jail."

– Worried_Place_917

While life in a small town sounds appealing, I don't know if I can ever live in one.

I'm so used to life in big cities, I think it would be quite unnerving to adjust in a neighborhood where everyone literally knows your business.

I would be paranoid.

And I'm sure the same could be said of life in the big city.

Would you consider making the switch to life in a different setting?