People are losing it all around us these days, heck we've all been losing it for awhile. It just seems like those teetering on the frays of reality are out in force lately. It is a scary thing to watch people lose their grip on on what is real, right before your eyes. It feels like they're not really wth us, though they're standing right before us. Mental health is a fragile thing, don't take it for granted.
Redditor u/mouldygoldie wanted people to share some of the times they've witnessed others on or over the brink by asking.... What is the most severe case of someone being completely out of touch with reality you've ever seen?Good Ole Rick.
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Rick Snyder, former governor of Michigan. When the Detroit area was wrecked by massive flooding, and most houses with basements flooded a few feet deep and people lost tons of their stuff, and thousands of cars were written off because of the flooding of the roads, Rick let us all know he understood what it was like - because one of his vacation properties (multiple) had a leaky roof one time, and some carpet got wet.
The Deep Layer....
My sister in law. Kicked out by her boyfriend, comes to stay with us for a few days. We suggest looking for a flat/cheap house to rent near us. She won't live in the scummy part of town near us, she'd like a three bed house with garden in the best part of town. She has no savings and isn't sure if she has a job (was a part time cashier in a super market, stopped going to work when Covid came (note, not furloughed, super market still open, she's just not going in).
When I suggested maybe she couldn't afford £500k on a family home on her salary, she suggested she'd "just get a council house." Disregarding the huge waiting list and the fact that most council properties are I the ghetto parts of town!
This is just the crust of a deep layer of unhinged fantasy world that she lives in.
How the World Works...
My sister. Grew up with everything handed to her, and literally cried when her 1st car wasn't the color she wanted. Married rich. Can't fathom why I can't take off work whenever it suits me, and says stuff like "I wouldn't ask my boss for a week off, I would tell him I am taking the week off."
Lucky Star.
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A woman I knew a few years ago. She had a job. She was convinced she was supposed to be a movie star. She never did any acting, though. She also told me about the married man that she had slept with, "he loves me, but he can't leave his wife.". She actually did stop having sex with him, but they still hung out.
"Tennessee?! HA! Tennessee?!"
My boss's wife 28, she grew up in a wealthy family and married to a man who was 3rd generation owning the company he was in, they were a regional power, etc.
She was talking to a staff that in general - made 36K a year, mumbling about a staffer who was on his Honeymoon.
"Tennessee?! HA! Tennessee?!" She looked around the room for everyone to join in. "My GOD! How did she agree to that? We did Hawaii and that was least I told him was acceptable.
Let's Just Jet....
I went to a private international school in London as a teenager, most kids there had parents working good jobs but in-between them were some filthy rich kids with parents in the oil industry or something similar.
In 8th grade we were talking about our easter break and my friend from Belgium was talking about how his family had decided last minute to go there over the break, but had decided to drive there because there were no flights available.
Then this Russian billionaire classmate of mine asked him "why don´t you take a private jet?". She was so clueless when we started laughing.
Training Day.
I worked on shifts with a guy for years who thought every single person was out to get him. I've never met anyone who had such a warped sense of reality.
He would joke on with someone then go away for the weekend and stew on one particular thing, then come in on Monday absolutely raging over taking something the complete wrong way.
I've seen him attack 2 people and heard about a third. Thing is he's so dopey, everyone thinks he's harmless and "that's just the way he is."
A guy I trained as an apprentice has just started on shifts with him, doesn't take anyone being a fool well at all. I think they'll do well together haha.
He just tried to duck the system.
My Father. He is an habitual liar. I somehow think he believes his own lies. Over the past couple of years I've noticed he doesn't actually have anything new to say. Sort of regurgitates sentences in slightly different ways. Its caused his business to fail. He lied to everyone that was employed there saying he had to liquidate the company. Going so far as to tell people he met with lawyers and the process has been started.
I did some digging and found out there were no lawyers or liquidation. He just tried to duck the system. I have no contact with him but my brother says he is still trying to use the same tactics. I just feel he believes everything. Sort of like living in his own head. Very sad that he damaged lives in the process.
Ok Karen. Calm Down.
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My cousin's wife got very sick while we were at a wedding in Mexico BecAuse she drank NO WATER. Only alcohol. She said, "There were ice chips in my drinks, so I thought it was enough."
Anyways, she complained because at the hospital some of the staff didn't speak English.
YOU'RE IN A SPANISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY!!!!!
For the Feet....
My girlfriend was traveling in China when she was 18 years old and was once randomly approached by a man claiming to be a scientist performing a medical study on feet. He would need to measure the exact dimensions of her feet. For this she obviously had to take off her shoes and socks and he would also need to take some pictures of her feet as well.
Years later she tells this story to me and some friends in a bar. At first we start laughing but then realize she isn't joking and still doesn't realize what had happened there. We actually had to spell it out for her. I'm sure she made some Chinese foot fetishist's day.
It's always at a bar....
I was at a bar and some guy was giving an impromptu lecture of why millennials are so broke and blamed it all on us being lazy students who don't want to work and go to school. When asked what he did he was a property owner and owned a few apartment buildings. Then someone chimes up with he fact he doesn't own any properties he manages them for his uncle who pays him to do nothing all day.
'they'd take the fraud thing so far'
My 'friend' stole my card information and bought loads of expensive stuff. I asked her if it was her before reporting it, knowing that a) she was going through a tough time and I wanted to give her a chance to make it right and b) that I could be in trouble for conspiracy to fraud if I reported it and they believed I'd got stuff delivered to my friend to claim fraud for the money back.
She said no, I thought someone else had done it so I reported it.
When she got arrested she said she didn't think 'they'd take the fraud thing so far'. She thought you could just call up banks to get the money back and they wouldn't investigate.
In the McMansion.
I have an aunt who's never really worked a day in her life because her husband created his own business early on in life. They live in a McMansion and I was over once and we got to talking about fitness, and she told me "Oh yeah we send Pamela to this special training gym, its only 200$ a week, you should try it!"
The fact that to her it was "only 200$" really kills me. I made 9.95 an hour at the time. She's nice enough but not in touch with reality at all.
Maybe he's not into you....
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Had a friend who insisted she was in a relationship with a C-list celebrity whom she met once during a comic convention.
All the celebrity's Instagram and twitter posts were for her and everything had a meaning behind it.
When the celebrity got married, she said that it was just for the media so she and celebrity could live a quiet life.
When he didn't do anything for her birthday, she had a breakdown. She went to therapy not long after.
"who writes a check anymore"
My cousin was spoiled and sheltered her entire childhood through college. Then her parents stupidly cut the leash without any preparation and released her into society.
She quickly got in trouble for bouncing checks all over town. My mom picked her up and asked why the hell she was writing bad checks everywhere.
Turns out my cousin was under the impression that as long as you had checks in your checkbook, you had money in your account. She didn't understand that you deposit in a number and then can spend or withdraw up to that amount.
Please teach your kids basic finance.
Note: this was like 1996 before it turns into a "who writes a check anymore" discussion.
What Children Learn....
This is my time to shine....
So I grew up with a lot or restrictions that at the moment, had no idea the options existed. For example I was only allowed two options of shoes but the catch was that i need to make the right choice. Or that I can make friends on my own, not needing to be told this is your new friend now so go play with them. Sadly my dad kept me in a small box and he was the only one allowed to control what would go into that box or come out.
So when i was 10 cps was involved and was taken into foster care. Thats when my world exploded. I didn't know truly how bad it was until they took me to a shoe store and told me to pick out ones i liked. I swear for the life of me i had no clue what to do. I stood there for what felt was hours until they noticed and asked what my favorite color was. I said green because that was what my father told me i liked.
But i guess i was too overwhelmed that i just remember saying yes to everything and ended up with ugly brown and pink sneakers.
What children learn to do at their normal age is what I am just figuring it out in my 20s. So reality was a hard thing to live because the whole time i was in my dream world.
$$$$$ Only!
This was from a Regional manager of Starbucks, after they removed merit based raises that could go up to a 5% increase, changed to a flat 2% increase. When she asked if people liked the new raise plan, I said actually no, they feel unmotivated with no reason to perform any better than just normal.
Regional manager "your staff need to realize working isn't about money."
Bye Girl...
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I knew a girl who cheated on her boyfriend. When he found out, he broke up with her. She said "you can't break up with me, it has to be mutual."
"that man"
My step-fathers grandpa suffered from psychosis in a strange way. He wasn't able to distinguish mirror reflections from real life. He would often be found talking to the mirrors (his reflection) for hours. Later on, he wasn't allowed to have any mirrors because he would believe that "that man" was there to kill him and often would turn violent. Turn violent as in he would start punching and clawing against the mirrors.
Who Loves Me?
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One bully of a boss asking the three people who suffered most from his behavior if they would want to move to a new employer with him as a team. Hmm.... how about "no way in hell"?
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Of course, most of the time, it was “just a phase". And looking back, those phases are regrettable, to say the least. Here are some prime examples of that.
SirGergoyFriendman asked:
What was your biggest/most regrettable "It's not a phase, mom. It's my life." that, in fact, turned out to be just a phase and not your life?
The enthusiasm of a young person can lead to some unexpected changes that parents are just not ready for.
Hi, Wheeljack!
I was VERY into The Transformers when I was a wee lad in the 1980s. One day, I decided to change my name to the name of my favorite Autobot. My name was lame, and I wanted an awesome Transformer name. And I was VERY insistent that my parents only call me by my new name. Calling me by my 'old' name would cause a big fat tantrum on my part.
So for the better part of a week, my poor parents had to call me Wheeljack.
Very 2008.
Ariana Grande Shrug GIFGiphyMy cat-ear phase. I wore cat ears every single day. Everywhere. I had like 20 pairs of them. Now everyone thinks I'm a furry.
I find that very cute and wouldn't have thought you'd be furry. Even if you'd had cat mittens. I think my suspicions would have started if you moved a bit like a cat, displayed catlike grooming habits or got a cat mask.
Not gonna lie, that car sounds cool.
I went to a car show once as a teen, and the only newer car there was some chick's PT cruiser. It was hot glittery pink, and at the time I was obsessed. I insisted that one day I would have a hot pink car, with pink seats, pink dash, pink carpets, etc. I was pretty heavily goth at the time, so my parents just rolled their eyes.
These phases can often lead to some very strange fashion choices.
That’s commitment.
When I was a teenager (early 00s), I was waiting for my mother to pick me up and was wearing one of those sh!tty sports wristwatches. It was itching me so I took it off for a second, but then she arrived and because I was struggling to get it back on my wrist, I looped it around the equally sh!tty chain I had around my neck in a rush to get out the door.
My mom asked me about it in the car, and I told her this was my new style and I planned to wear it like that every day. She rolled her eyes.
I wore that watch on a chain around my neck every single day for 3 years or so. There are even professional family photos where I'm wearing it because I refused to take it off.
One day, the chain broke and I lost the watch. I was in high school at that point anyway and it was a major lady repellent, so... phase over.
Not everyone can be Eminem.
slim shady eminem GIFGiphyBaggy pants, being a rapper someday and being a professional skater.
When I was about 14 and Eminem was starting to blow up I bought myself a keyboard with a synthesizer. It cost like $200 which was all the money I had saved up. It finally came (this was way before amazon prime and such) and I tried rapping.
My sister told me "you're effing horrible" and I gave up right then and there.
This should be a sin.
I used to button the top buttons of polo shirts.
I must say, this is probably the worst one I've read.
Looking back at our regrettable choices, all we can do is cringe.
An optimistic look at bad tattoos.
check me out season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphyBeing a tattooer. Regrettable because of those poor people who have my awful doodles on their bodies.
Take heart! My favorite tattoo is the one I drunkenly got my buddy to do in his living room one year during March Madness! It's dumb and frankly mediocre? But such a good story and has such good associations I smile every time I see it.
RIP Fredro’s.
My friend and I decided we were going to open a bar in Jamaica with exotic snakes in glass cages in the walls at each booth. We convinced ourselves it would be amazing for at least two years in college. It was going to be called Fredro's.
My entire family made fun of me for it. Once we got out of college, we realized it was not feasible and joined the office grind. We're also two white guys with no ties to Jamaica.
Talk about cringey.
I wore a top hat with an anime pin on it for around a year. Met one of my current best friends while wearing it, idk how he could bear to speak to me after that.
My weirdest phase was probably when I insisted on wearing knee-high rainbow socks to school every day. But honestly, I don't regret it. I rocked those socks, and I wish I still have a pair.
To all the people out there cringing over their past selves, remember that you were just a kid, and to be easy on yourselves. After all, we've all been there
Yet, too often, manufacturers who oversell their products fail to deliver what is promised and are inevitably left with angry customers who want their money back.
Whether the merchandise was defective or ridiculously overpriced, strangers online shared some of their worst purchases when Redditor BooksMcGee asked:
"What is the worst product you ever paid money for?"
Short Life Span
"This NERF gun that's supposed to shoot tennis balls for your dog. I bought it cause I thought you could load 3 at a time and shoot them far, but it's just one and it's super loud and the gun broke after like 4 shots (reading reviews later, this was a common issue)."
Lame Pets
"There were these toys called squiggles when I was a kid and the commercials made it seem like the toy was alive. It looked like you would get this crazy little fuzzy worms as pets that would follow you around an so sick tricks and listen to your every command. It was really just a piece of fluffy string tied to another piece of string with googly eyes on it. People may say that it was supposed to be a magic trick but they should also explain that to a 5 year old who really wanted a pet."
Card Value
"Not their fault, but I paid $70 for a Yugioh card hours before it was limited to one copy. Probably dropped to $20 by the end of the day."
These purchases were bad for your bum.
"A bicycle that literally fell apart before I made it out of the parking lot."
Not Worth Sitting On
"Joybird brand couch. Was so terrible, we returned it. Still hard to believe, we returned a freaking couch."
Going Nowhere Fast
"A 2000 VW Beetle (used)."
"Biggest piece of sh*t that literally had to have just about everything replaced before 100k miles and would still break down every time you left the driveway to the point where the tow-truck driver knew us on a first-name basis."
Expensive Lemon
"An Oldsmobile Achieva from one of those buy here pay here places. I should have known better, but I was young and thought I was getting a good deal. I had the thing for about 5 months, I drove it for maybe 3 weeks. The rest of the time it was either in the shop, or in my driveway waiting until pay day so I could afford to fix whatever broke on it this week. Eventually told the dealer just take it, I'm not paying for it any more. He said nope, and I will make sure your credit is ruined. I said well you sold me a lemon, do you really want to go this route? He came and took it. Never reported anything to credit. I heard he got sued by several other people who sold sh**ty cars too and eventually went out of business."
"Always amazes me when I see them driving around still, I can only assume there's enthusiasts who just love repairing horribly designed cars."
– zerbey
These Redditors were not convinced what they ingested was edible.
Bad Cereal
"A box of plain Cheerios. Thought they were honey nut, poured a bowl, was very disappointed."
"If I wanted to taste cardboard, I'd just eat the box."
– gor8884
Space Pizza
"A burnt frozen pizza at the air and space museum cafe in DC. I Don't wish that experience on anyone. There are some amazing restaurants in DC, don't settle."
– Alseids
The following electronics just gave off a bad charge.
"Asus Transformer Pad TF700"
"This was one of those early 'high end' Android tablets that was grossly underpowered, and it showed. Thing was slow as sh!t in no time flat. Rookie mistake investing into shiny new tech while they were still working all the bugs out. Think I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for it..."
– Luke5119
Bad Apple
"macbook pro 2018 13" touchbar. 2 years old and dead (battery). they're asking $300-$400 to change the battery. malfunctioning keyboard with double presses and missing presses. that's a lot of money for bad design."
Chilly Reception
"Past winter my old room heater broke down and I had to buy a new one. Went to a store nearby and somehow got convinced to buy a very costly heating device.. It's also my fault, since there were some sligthly cheaper options around, but nope. I wanted the expensive one thinking it will make my small room a volcano with little to no effort/cost (that's also what the seller told me). Long story short the device wasn't doing ANYTHING. No significant temperature changes, too much space, a weird noise, and was doubling my previous device in utility cost. I still gloom over those 80 euros.."
Some of my disappointing purchases was clothing, but only because I purchased them online. Unless they are a brand I'm familiar with, I'm usually fine with buying new jeans off of their websites.
But when it comes to graphic tees only available on specialty shops, an M-size shirt is not necessarily the same size as those found in other reputable stores.
I bought a medium sized T-shirt from a boutique store online because I loved the look of the design. But when it arrived, the supposed medium fit me like an XL.
At least I gained a fierce cleaning rag from this impulsive purchase.