People Who've Been Tortured Share Their Experiences
Somethings are just too much to process...
Life can be a harrowing experience. Sadly, we have to be careful everyday of people. Some true evil walks among us and hopefully most of us will never have to be on the rage end of certain lost souls or soulless bags of flesh.
Redditor u/TheShadiestPillow wanted to ask survivors of darkness if they could share some tough experiences by asking.... [Serious] People who have been tortured, what happened, what was your experience like and what impact did it have on your life?
1.
I was never tortured but I used to work as a SWAT medic and we had a case where there was a child about 15 years old that had been chained to their bed and tortured for about 5 years. The parents were very violent and barricaded themselves in the house which is why SWAT was called in. I was the 4th man in a 6 man entry team and when we got into that room none of us could fathom the evil that had been done to that child.
Those guys were some of the hardest people I have ever known and they all just recoiled when they saw that kid chained to his bed lying in filth. He had been beaten, starved, drugged, cut, and I don't know what else. The entry team leader went and threw up outside later. I was one of the few guys on the team that didn't have kids so it was a little bit easier for me. I started to administer care to the victim and after that everything is just image after image of pain seared into my mind.
The kid made it 2 years into foster care and then committed suicide. The team never talked about it again. We thought we were tough and stuff but torturing kids is a whole different level.
And if anyone is wondering, the parents tried to shoot us on the way in, so we smoked them. Only time I have had zero remorse having to shoot someone. PaleGazelle
2.
Not torture in the classic sense of being tied up and beaten. But in a way, enduring years of chemo and radiation as a young child was bad enough.
You have those things (embarrassing and painful) inflicted over and over on yourself and at the same time you have to watch it happen to your friends - almost all of whom died in agonizing ways. You can't learn properly because you can't go to school very much. And then the lasting damage continues to hurt you for the rest of your life - both psychological and physical.
In the end, you're left stripped of everything. Dunno what to do or say about it. You just try and pretend it never happened and it doesn't hurt anymore. TheRainbowsEnd
3.
I grew up in a very volatile household - mother was bipolar that refused treatment, my older sister was a hellish child that would literally have fist fights with my mom.
Through the summer when my parents worked, we stayed home by ourselves (roughly 10, sister 15). She called her boyfriend over since no one would know and they'd lock me in a small closet (mobile home) for hours at a time. I was told that if I ever told my parents about anything, they'd kill my pets and I loved animals, so that terrified me.
I've never told anyone about that except my current boyfriend. I think I repressed it for a long time, but was/am uncomfortable with signs of affected or being overly touched... it's like a light switched flipped and I get overly upset. Also not a fan of small places or feeling confined.
My mom was constantly angry at the littlest things, so I grew up always apologizing for things that weren't my fault, but trying to appease everyone. She never thought about the things she said; calling me a fat, ugly whore (lost virginity at 19) that would never amount up to anything, no man would ever love me.
The emotional toll was severe. I've struggled with depression, anxiety, self-loathing, and completely devoid of confidence. At 35, I'm just now starting to find myself and love who I've become despite all the BS.
My mother died eight years ago and I was her primary care giver in her last 6 months. I dealt with the guilt of wanting her dead so many times in my life because of the horrible things she did and said to me, but watching cancer destroy her is nothing I'd wish on anyone. It broke me for many more years.
So yeah, life's been fun. Ms_Madam_Meow
4.
Like most people here, we shouldn't have had to go through a lot of it, my most hated was the "submission" game where my old boy would fold me in half, twist my arms or legs or trap me underneath covers so I couldn't breathe with the aim for me to tap out or say submit, but if I DID submit he would hurt me that much more so I learnt all giving up done was cos more pain. I'm 40 years old with a fear of authority and speaking up for myself but I gotta say. I can fight like a crazy person with no fear of pain. If my Dad wanted to raise a right S.O.B he succeeded but see if I ever saw ANYONE raise their hands to my sons, I'll kill them and no crap I will drop them where they stand no one should go through what I did. Scotchrain
5.
Don't want to get into specifics. The nastiest filth on the planet was imported to the country unfortunately. Was subjected to drawn out torture by the nasty filth (which will hopefully be erased at some point). It gave me severe ptsd, anxiety issues, took years off of my life, a huge life loss on many levels, vast resulting financial losses etc. Perhaps the biggest loss is a personality contortion, going from being kind and loving to being hateful and angry. There is very real evil out there, make no mistake. acutepresence
6.
A therapist decided the best way to cure my needle phobia was with "exposures". Under her guidance my parents bought some medical lance things (the things you use to prick your finger to test your blood), and would routinely make me stab myself with them.
I remember one time scream crying on the bed with both of my parents in the room while they tried to make me do it. I had to pee so badly that I though I was going to wet the bed in front of them, but they wouldn't let me go until I did it. They just kept saying "Just do it quick. It'll be over and then you can go to the bathroom." I was so terrified I kept trying to slowly push it into my finger instead of just pricking it. I finally did, and the let me go to the bathroom. That was the worst panic attack i had over it, but making me stab myself happened many other times.
I now suffer a very sever and crippling phobia. I can no longer get flu shots or update my vaccines. I couldn't get the birth control shot that would help my endometriosis. I will attack people or huddle up rocking back and forth hyperventilating in corners when doctors bring them into the room because they didn't take my phobia seriously. When I had to have some surgeries (many do to the Endo mentioned above), special accommodations had to be made to put me under, or to get IVs in. And even then, it always ends in tears, hyperventilating, and sometimes passing out.
It was truly traumatic, and looking back on it, probably torture. They were mentally abusive, and though not usually physically, I suppose this would count. I still have nightmares where people come after me with forks made of needles, or where people attack me with a needle of drugs to kill me. I have to close my eyes if I see one on TV.
I still haven't gotten over it, and I don't think I ever will. I don't trust therapists, which sucks because I need one for my anxiety, depression, and possibly PTSD. But how can I? Zero_Minus_One
7.
Idk if this counts, but between the ages of approximately 2-10 my dad would spend his nights drunkenly torturing my younger brother and I. He'd do stuff like pin us against the wall by our throat, smash his face into ours and scream into it; leave the room then come charging back in with no warning, grab one of us and start beating; throw heavy objects like frying pans really hard at us; drag us out of bed by the leg if we fell asleep during a beating session etc. There's a lot more but those are the most typical events I can recall.
He'd be screaming all kinds of verbal abuse the whole time. He'd chase and hunt us down if we tried to hide, even if we got out of the house and tried to run away. He'd also make my brother and I fight each other, like actually fight. Full force hitting and we'd be pulled out and beaten by him if we refused to cooperate, so we'd obey and beat each other since it was less painful than a beating from a grown man.
My mom had had split custody and took us on weekends since our dad's house was zoned for our school. Since my dad was very sneaky about it and left as little evidence as possible, my mom never knew the extent of the trauma. She knew he was on the mean side, but we never told her about how bad it was in fear that we'd have to go back and it would be worse. If we had marks or were bleeding when she picked us up, he'd give her a story about how we got into a fight with neighborhood kids or one of us fell out of a tree. We'd always agree to the story out of fear.
On top of severe anxiety, I also have very handicapped social skills and aggression triggers. I don't act on them (unless I'm asleep, but I'm unconscious and unable to control it at that point) but I can't begin to explain the amount of rage that fills my soul when I am triggered. If someone taps my shoulder, pokes me, knocks on my head, boops my nose, puts their face right up to mine or throws something at me (especially if it hits my head) I literally fantasize about clawing their face off of their skull. If I'm asleep and someone starts tapping or grabbing me to wake me up, I'll wake up enough to swing at them until they leave me alone.
I'm also very easily startled, I enjoy haunted houses and scary movies and stuff because I'm expecting the thrill, but if someone pops out and scares me as a joke it will jump start my heart and give me an adrenaline rush large enough to beat a grown man's ass to the ground in 3 seconds. Even sudden loud noises do it for me, especially metallic clangs/crashes. It physically hurts me; my chest hurts, my heart races, I lose all focus of reality for a minute and get tunnel vision for a fight or flight response. SlytherinAhri
8.
not really torture but when i had a pretty messed up childhood and when i was about 11 or 12 i found pro-ana communities online who made me think that if i developed anorexia i'd finally be loved and stop being a 'bad person' (which i believed i was). i tried to give myself an eating disorder by acting exactly like someone who had one, researching and watching films then copying what they did etc. obviously you cannot give yourself a mental illness though and i never developed disordered thoughts because it doesn't work that way. kept forcing the treatment on me.
anyway i was taken to therapy and i kept it up for a while but being there kind of shocked me out of it so i admitted what i was doing to them and was so relieved and ready to accept help for the issues i had. except they didn't believe me. i was forced through anorexia treatment despite not having stuff wrong with me and the more i tried to explain the situation the more i was told i was lying, trying to avoid treatment etc. was weighed twice a week, couldn't make friends because i was constantly supervised eating so couldn't really go out and see people etc.
my life from 12-15 was completely taken up by this and there was no escape. i have a high metabolism so i physically couldn't gain the weight they wanted me to no matter what i did, was accused of lying and the issues i actually did have just got worse and worse as they were ignored. i think somewhere along the line the psychs realized they got it wrong but it was kind of too late to admit that so they just kept forcing the treatment on me.
was eventually sent inpatient and one of the psychs there would compare me to the other girls, say something to me then claim she never said that, call me names and tell i was a bad person, a liar etc etc, encourage me to take PRN medication when i was panicked then make fun of me when i took it, told my parents and the other staff (the only people i ever got to see) that if i tried to speak about my "delusion" of being falsely diagnose, i was to be punished. she withheld an autism assessment i was supposed to have and told my parents i had been assessed when i hadn't.
eventually got out of there and was finally allowed to leave services at 15, am now about to turn 17 and my parents deny this ever happened, would probably believe them if i didn't know someone else it also happened to. i am now severely depressed, have a phobia of medical professionals and haven't seen a doctor since then, and developed binge eating disorder as i was so used to being forced to eat ungodly amounts of food that i don't remember what it was like to not do that. have no education or skills as i was never at school due to constantly being kept home to eat or at therapy. i just lie in bed all day. i'm finally free but have no idea what to do with myself since i never learned anything during my vital developmental years. not as bad as people on here but felt like torture to young me. still does. just horrible. tsukimishin
9.
I've read quite a few of these and too many of them start with "not real torture but" and then go on to describe very real torture.
It's not because it's done by your boyfriend or parents that it's not torture. Not all torture is done by the government. My heart is with all of you. Guilty_Coconut
10.
My neighbor was tortured to death almost two years ago. They pushed in an air conditioner to wait for him to get home, they tied him with duct tape, put a laundry bag over his head, and cut him with broken bottles and kitchen knives. They then stole his stuff and left him to die.
I can only guess that the lesson that he would have learned is the lesson that I surely did learn: Don't ever let someone tie you up. Make them kill you trying. Once you are bound they can do much worse than if they killed you while you were free.
Edited to Add: Link here -> https://www.lowellsun.com/ci_32038689/second-man-arrested-lowell-killing. Sort of doxxed myself but whatever. BigBobby2016
11.
Some back story, My dad was in the military, I have two sisters, one older and a twin. Our babysitter was "a good christian" lady. Anyways, my twin and I be would separated by our babysitter and she would lock us in different areas of the house. Such as a hallway closet, basement, or furnace room. She also made sure we couldn't turn on the lights by holding her hand over the switch or taping it down. She would then proceed to say that she was calling monsters to come get me and make noises like they were actually in the room/closet.
Of course being five and not being able to see well in the dark I believed her. She would then leave and go off to do the same thing to my sister leaving me in the dark alone. To keep from telling our parents she would threaten to kill us and even put a knife to my sister's throat one day. This happened five days a week for about six months because our dad was TBY in Korea, and our mom worked full time so no one was home to watch us until our older sister got home from school. (She got out 2 hrs. later than us cuz she was in high school and did afterschool activities).
Eventually, after our dad returned home we told our parents because we never wanted to be babysat by her again but they didn't believe us saying that she wouldn't do those things since she was a good christian. Our older sister did believe us, thank goodness, and quite her school activities to watch us after that. To this day, I'm scared of dark places, very claustrophobic, and have trust issues. wolfgirl2243
12.
Well, I was not tortured in the most strict sense of the word, like a prisoner would be.
But I grew up with a higly abusive, very violent step father. His beatings were way out of proportion to a kid. He would punch me and throw me around until I peed myself and couldn't barely move, and on a daily basis for any reason at all.
It really leaves a mark on you, the psychological impact is huge. I lived there from ages 13 to 17 when I finally was old enough to run away.
For years I had repeated dreams about being killed in many ways. So I never got proper rest during the night, that made me have issues to be productive during the day, it can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD... It's really a sh!t scenario, cuz you escape but in a way are still not free.
Anyways, I hope that's not too depressing, it was a long time ago, I'm 30 years old now, things changed for better, I got the help I needed, I only have like some insomnia. I managed to don't become a violent person neither a toxic partner to my SO. So...Maybe I talked too much, sorry hahaha. EmotionalMeltdown
13.
I grew up with an abusive brother who used to duct tape me and beat me and literally harass me all day. I used to tell my mother and she did nothing pretty much stop crying. It made me a lot less trusting of people. I don't expect help from anyone. EarlyBirdTheNightOwl
14.
I went through emotional abuse at the hands of narc friends and people who I thought were with me due to my kind nature—I was wrong.
This led me to lose my trust in people, develop social anxiety and I now have a few friends who I can trust.
I agree with the not expecting help from others—in today's society that's the reason why homeless people are homeless—the government doesn't do anything major, and people walking by on the streets are not going to help them for free.
In this society, people make friends to gain a connection to further themselves in one facet of their life. Artistic-Result
15.
Joe vs. Elan.School <----read
The webcomic above is a completely insane, and true, story about being psychologically and physically tortured by a "troubled-teen" cult in Maine. Everyone should read it. It is extremely eye-opening on multiple levels.
It would be dismissed as unbelievable if not for the crazy amount of proof that this place actually existed.
Believe me, clear your schedule if you start reading this. It is very addictive and puts you into that head-space of going through a very messed up and unique type of torture that apparently happened to thousands of American teenagers. dwightornado
16.
This one was run out of Georgia and was not for teens but for adults and was fronted as a drug/alcohol rehabilitation house. It's an absolute mind-screw. I ran away 10 years ago and I'm just now getting help. I was held against my will, psychologically abused, my family was financially out a lot of money. It works because the people who go are 'troubled' so family doesn't believe the crazy stories they tell. LauraB6789
17.
Only one person apart from those involved know about this.
Forgive my spelling.
When I was 10 my friend had a sleep over for his birthday, 3 of us in the party. All was going fantastic until my friend found his eldest brother's stash, including a Co2 pistol, booze and marijuana. My friends brothers were little psychopaths who could do no wrong in his mothers or fathers eyes. Anyway my friend took the stash to his mum and she instantly grounded the eldest brother. The sleepover continued without any problems.
A few months pass and I'm invited again to the same house by the same friend for another sleepover. His brothers were also allowed a friend each to stay, the brothers (13 and 16) were left in charge because their parents were staying away for a night. As soon the parents left the torture began. We were blind folded and we were subjected to lashings, force fed vinegar, knives held against our throats and beaten with phone books.
Just when I thought it was over I overheard one of them say "I'm coming up, they're good pills" my 10 year old brain didn't know what they were talking about. What followed was more cruelty then a mock execution. They tied a noose around my neck and stood me on a balcony, I peed my pants and started to cry, then they started laughing. They pulled me down and said "we are going to kill you but not yet".
I was then put in stress positions while they raved and poured beer over me and slapped me about, knives to my throat again.
Then we're both dragged to their parents allotment, their dad had a chopping block and axe there. Then began mock execution 2. My head was the chopping block and I heard them counting down from 3 then chop right next to me then laughter again.
They got bored eventually and left us in a room bound and gagged, I remember getting that airplane sleep feeling for an hour so, only to be awoken by the youngest brother, he untied us and told us "that's what you get for being little grasses, breath a word of this and we will kill you".
That was it over, they never touched me again.
I'm 32 now and I don't feel particularly scarred by what happened but I do think about every day. Newtons_Cradle87
18.
Lived in an abusive household growing up and worst abuse came from my mom. If something goes wrong it was always my fault. Worse thing that ever happened was when she had someone stay over with her 2 kids who never got along with me and one night they blamed me for destroying a paper plane that they made which in truth they were mad that the ones I've made always looked good and they wanted to get me in trouble. They're mom didn't like what was going on and that caused my mom to get mad at me and took me into my room tied me to my bed post and kept hitting me with a belt until i admit that i did what the kids said.
I don't remember when but i passed out and was in the emergency room being treated for my wounds. To this day i still have a scarred lip, no feeling near my left eye, a removed rib, and half of my face is drooped. Things like this got me diagnosed with borderline personality disorder which I've been trying to overcome. Its the memories that will stick with you, haunting you in the darkest part of your mind. odagled86
19.
A guy i used to be friends with owed some dealer (also his cousin) £15000. No one had seen him for weeks, turns out the kidnapped him, tied him up in a old warehouse, they beat him with poles, pulled ALL of his nails off, snapped all his fingers, burnt him everywhere among many many other things.
Yeah he survived, he definitely wasn't the same after that. He was always on edge, never really left the house and gained loads of weight but never told the police what happened. His cousin moved country shortly after and 'found God' then come back a few years later, he volunteers at homeless shelters and runs a anti-violence charity apparently. crazypepsicat
People Break Down The Missing Person Cases That Just Don't Add Up
Reddit user yourlastnames asked: 'what missing persons case is the most confusing / doesn’t add up?'
Content warning: suicide.
There are truly some strange unsolved cases out there, but there's nothing quite like hearing of a person who has vanished as if out of thin air.
While some of these cases have been explained away or even solved, there are some that remain a mystery that truly does not add up, no matter how the puzzle pieces fall.
Curious about these cases, in particular, Redditor yourlastnames asked:
"What missing persons case is the most confusing [to you] or just doesn't add up?"
The Last Ride of Terrance Williams
"Terrance Williams disappeared in 2004. He's the subject of a fascinating podcast called 'The Last Ride.'"
"The short version is that he was taken into custody in Naples, Florida, after being pulled over in the early hours for traffic violations. He was never seen again."
"The deputy that pulled him over tried to conceal the traffic stop even from his own organization, but staff opening a local business saw the whole thing."
"When the sheriff's department finally looked into it, they discovered the deputy was involved in a similar disappearance of a man named Felipe Santos in 2003. To this day the deputy claims no knowledge of Williams's whereabouts, despite being caught out in a series of lies."
- AlanMercer
Paddy Moriarty and Kellie
"Paddy Moriarty and his dog, Kellie. They went missing in an outback town in Australia with a population of 12 people."
"They were last seen leaving the pub riding his quad bike the one-kilometer distance to his house. He or his dog have never been found and no one has been charged in relation to his disappearance."
- Bigred0762
Susan Powell and Family
"Susan Powell went missing from her home in West Valley, Utah, on December 6, 2009."
"She is presumably dead. Her husband, Josh, was the main suspect and just a real piece of work. No one knows what really happened to her."
"Sadly in 2012, Josh murdered their kids and committed suicide after Susan’s parents gained custody of the kids."
- AlexisVonTrappe
"This case is so frustrating since his brother and father are both dead too. We’ll never know what happened to Susan, but I’m positive she’s in an old mine shaft somewhere. F**k Josh Powell."
- burittosquirrel
The Last Call from Brandon Swanson
"Brandon Swanson. He drove into a ditch and called his parents for help. They stayed on the phone with him for 47 minutes while they drove around looking for him."
"They heard him say, 'Oh s**t,' and then the phone went silent. They eventually found his car far away from where he said he was but he was never found."
- kittengoesrawr
"Reading this was absolutely chilling. It seems at first glance that it's most likely he drowned, but that really doesn't make sense because the water was only 10 feet deep and they would have found the body."
"He just suddenly said, 'OH S**T!' and the phone went silent, but he did not hang up. The phone call continued with total silence from his end. What the f**k happened to him?"
- angelposts
Babysitter Mar Lou Bostwick
"Mary Lou Bostwick. She disappeared July 18, 1972, from Waverly, New York. She was dropped off by her dad to babysit at a friend's house. This was also her 16th birthday. Her mom stopped by later with a cake and presents."
"The people in the apartment told her that Mary never showed up. However, her bag was in the residence. Nothing else was ever found."
"There was another girl around the same age, Sharon Coston, who was abducted and murdered in a nearby town about a year later. October 1983 in Sayre, Pennsylvania."
"There was a man convicted of that, but he always denied doing anything to Mary. One of the people who testified against him and was given immunity was a suspect in Mary's case. Mary's mom thinks there's a connection, but nothing was ever really found."
"I've sadly never seen anyone cover her disappearance on any of the podcasts or YouTube shows."
- Vamp459
Derek Seehausen of San Diego
"Derek Seehausen. My friend was dating him at the time of his disappearance, and he was actively planning his future in medicine, and was last seen in San Diego."
"I saw him about two months before he disappeared. Please send any tips."
- Hereforit2022Y
The Beaumont Children
"The Beaumont Children. Three kids go to the beach, are seen with a mystery man, and never make it back home."
"Never found out who the man was or where they went. Their parents just recently died without ever getting any closure."
- snguyenx96
Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes
"Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes. The whole family (parents and four kids) went missing overnight in 2011."
"Employers, schools, and the extended family received weird letters informing of their absence or departure (one of them saying they are going into a witness protection program). Two weeks later they found the corpses of the mother, the kids, and the dog hidden behind the house."
"They investigated and retraced the father’s whereabouts in the south of France. He was last seen leaving a hotel a few days before. The region was thoroughly searched, but he was never to be found."
- z4zazym
Branson Perry of Skidmore
"Branson Perry, aged 20, disappeared from Skidmore, Missouri in April 2001."
"He was working on his house with a friend, went to the shed to grab some power cords, and was never seen again."
- AdamR91
The Incomplete Story of Marshall Iwassa
"Marshall Iwassa. Good guy."
"He came back to his hometown to visit his family and friends, and everything by all accounts was good. He left to take the two-hour drive to where he was living and never made it. Instead, it was recorded he spent the entire night trying to get into his storage unit and then nothing."
"A week or maybe more, his truck was found 12 hours away on a back road in the middle of the woods burnt to a crisp with belongings thrown about everywhere, no sign of Marshal."
"From what I remember, the family was adamant that some of the things inside the truck, burnt or not, were missing, things they knew he had. The truck was even missing parts."
"It's been four years and there's never been answers. It makes me sad and fearful of long travels. From what I know of him, he was a fantastic friend; I hope they get closure one day."
- devbot8
Out Shopping Asha Degree
"Asha Degree."
"She went missing at the age of nine from Shelby, North Carolina, United States. In the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, for reasons unknown, she packed her bookbag, left her family home north of the city, and began walking along nearby North Carolina Highway 18 despite heavy rain and wind."
"Several passing motorists saw her; when one turned around at a point 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from her home and began to approach her, she left the roadside and ran into a wooded area."
"In the morning, her parents discovered her missing from her bedroom. No one has seen her since."
- EstateWeary5789
The Vanishing Marion Barter
"Marion Barter here in Australia."
"She boarded a plane overseas in 1997 and changed her name beforehand (didn't tell family). She apparently came back to Australia for a few days (according to passenger records) and completely disappeared."
"It's an ongoing investigation at the moment, there is a podcast about it called, 'The Lady Vanishes,' featuring her daughter."
"It's so tragically fascinating."
- CuddlySubject
The Grieving Bryce Laspisa
"Bryce Laspisa."
"He was driving to his parents' house (three hours) after an argument with his girlfriend, apparently due to his alcohol and video game addiction and abuse of prescription medication."
"Partway through the drive, he pulled off the highway and just sat there… from 9:00 AM to 3:'00 PM."
"A roadside assistance guy checked on him twice and said he seemed fine and coherent, and Bryce told him he would be carrying on back to his parents shortly."
"Sometime later, his car was found only a few miles away, driven off the embankment, and he was nowhere to be found. They never found him."
- Just_Raisin1124
News Anchor Jodi Huisentruit
"Jodi Huisentruit was a news anchor who disappeared in the early morning in Mason City, Iowa."
"There were signs that she was abducted and the investigation is still ongoing with new leads nearly 30 years later."
- Have_you_eaten_yet
Three-Year-Old William Tyrrell
"William Tyrrell. In 2014, the three-year-old boy went missing from his foster grandmother's yard whilst playing with his sister. His foster mother and foster grandmother were apparently watching them play outside, and the foster mother went inside to make a cup of tea."
"They then noticed they hadn’t seen or heard him in a while and searched the house and yard."
"In 2021, police began searching national parkland near the grandmother's home for human remains. They also revealed that the foster mother and grandmother were persons of interest in his presumed death."
"Earlier today, the foster mother pled not guilty to assaulting another foster child that was in her care (a 10-year-old girl). She has also been charged with intimidating and stalking a minor. Her husband has also been charged with the same crimes, but plead not guilty to all counts. The foster grandmother is now dead."
"Basically, police believe that William died whilst in the care of the foster family, and they disposed of his body to cover it up. Police are recommending that the foster parents be charged with perverting the course of justice and interfering with a corpse."
"His photos went viral at the time of the 'disappearance,' and he went missing whilst in a Spiderman costume, and the photo that was distributed was taken minutes before."
- Red_bug91
These stories are truly haunting, and it's no wonder that Redditors have worried themselves with what might have happened to these missing people.
We can only hope that answers come for at least some of these cases and that their closest loved ones achieve some sense of closure eventually.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/The realization you're getting older can smack you in the face at any given time, and boy-howdy is it fun!
It can be in the morning when you get up out of bed, and your body makes crackling noises, or when you can't seem to keep up at the gym and you cut short your running time on the treadmill.
That's just the physical.
When you suddenly have the epiphany that you're suddenly the oldest one in a group setting, it's humbling.
Curious to hear from strangers online who are no longer the young whipper-snappers they imagined themselves to eternally be, Redditor redmambo_no6 asked:
"Redditors with younger coworkers, what was your 'I’m officially old' moment?"
These moments of realization never get old. But people do.
Senior Kitty
"My childhood cat lived to 21.5 so teaching (freshman biology lab, so students were ~18) became very weird when I realized my cat was older than my students."
– mollusck_magic
Aging In Reverse
"I'm a preschool teacher. It's been a TRIP to watch parents go from Soooo much older than me, to the same age as me, and now they're younger than me!?!?"
– Smart_Alex
The Shook Pediatrician
"My kids pediatrician was also my husband's pediatrician when he was a kid. He was the first kid she had to come back as a parent and she was SHOOK."
– trixtred
Older Together
"See, that's what really kinda drives it home for me."
"I'm not bothered that I'm 48. But that means my school friends are 48, and that's weird for some reason. Like, I went to school with a guy who was wild and crazy. That guy is 48 now, and has a new grandbaby. Somehow, he's old, and I'm just 'getting up there '."
– ThatWeirdTexan
Relics of the past don't just pertain to humans.
Dialing It In
"Had a co-worker ask me, 'Back before cell phones, did you just have to wait around at your house for a call?' Uh, yeah, pretty much."
– Status-Effort-9380
"Reminds me of having to explain the concept of collect calls to my kids. The whole speed speaking where you were for pick up during the recording so your Mama never accepted the collect call."
– DaraScot
Legendary Aircraft
"Various colleagues were debating whether the Concorde had been real. They couldn’t fathom that supersonic civilian aircraft used to exist and now they don’t anymore."
"The Concorde last flew in 2003, when these colleagues were toddlers."
– geckos_are_weirdos
Foreign References
"We were talking about where we were on 9/11, and my coworker went quiet. He wasn’t even born."
"We also had a band that was famous in the 90s stay at the hotel, and he had no idea who they were, meanwhile I was so star struck as they were my entire childhood!"
– Itsagabby
Gravity is not our friend, and not just because of its effect on our faces.
The Day It Went Downhill
"When i fell down the last couple of steps on a stairway. No one pointed and laughed like I expected, instead they helped me up and asked me if I was okay. That’s when I knew."
– day_of_duke
It's About The Recovery
"F'k. That has to be a bummer."
"You fall. You know you're fine. You feel like an idiot. You get ready to wave to the crowd as they laugh and clap. But then... a hand is placed on your arm and you hear 'that was a big fall, are you ok?' You stay in shock for a moment. Of course, you're fine. Everyone is looking at you. They all have concerned faces. Sh*t. Two weeks later, the soreness finally subsides."
– minimalfighting
Ice Slip, You Slip, We All Slip
"This happened to me as well....walking my dog the day after a huge snowstorm. There were some rowdy teenage boys having a snowball fight across the street (schools were closed that day, of course). I slipped on the ice, my feet flew over my head and I landed solidly on my backside. As I struggled to get up I braced myself for the laughter and catcalls, but all I heard was "Are you OK Ma'am??' 'Do you need help??' I was in my early 50s and had never felt 'old' until that moment."
– Ouisch
Conversations with younger coworkers can be fun.
You can quote lines from your favorite TV shows and talk about the latest CD you bought at Target and brag about your new digital camera that takes better pictures than a smartphone.
And then you can watch the blank expressions on your coworkers' faces because they haven't a clue about what you speak.
Yeah. This has never happened to me...
Old.
Rethink The Ink: People Explain Which Tattoos Are A Total Red Flag
The art of tattooing has been practiced across the globe since at least Neolithic times, as evidenced by mummified skin, art and the archaeological artifacts.
The oldest tattooed human skin was found on the body of Ötzi the Iceman from between 3370 and 3100 BC.
Tattooed mummies were recovered in almost 50 archaeological digs across the Earth with locations in Greenland, Alaska, Siberia, Mongolia, western China, Egypt, Sudan, the Philippines and the Andes.
But while advancements in tools and inks have opened up endless possibilities for body art, some designs have garnered a bad reputation.
A Redditor asked:
"What tattoo is a red flag?"
Names Are For Relatives Only!
"Your girlfriend’s name tattooed after only 4 weeks of the relationship."
~ ClickWorthy69420
"My younger sister got 'Mrs *boyfriend’s name*' tattooed on her wrist when she was 16 or 17. I think she made a fake birth certificate to get it."
"The boyfriend later broke up with her when she was in rehab."
~ ElderCunningham
"Hooked up with a guy who had his own name tattooed on his ribs.
"His own full name. He ended up being a psychopath."
~ not_a_milk_drinker
"I've met 3 dudes so far that have their last names tatted on them."
"Two were in the exact same Gothic font (I met them years and thousands of miles apart). One had est.[birth year] underneath it..."
"Both were huge too, one across the chest, the other across his back. Both dudes were massive tools."
"The 3rd guy had it small on his bicep and doesn't like it anymore."
~ SceretAznMan
Red Flag, Literally
"My ex husband literally got a red flag tattooed on his wrist."
"I had no idea he did it until I saw it one day. I asked why he got it and he said it was a 'reminder' to himself to not make impulsive, rash decisions."
"He filed for divorce and moved in with his mistress two months later."
"The red flag tattoo was apt as f'k, apparently."
~ allworkandnoYahtzee
GiphySuperiority Complex?
"My daughter's ex had:"
"A ring of thorns on his forehead, like he was trying to look like Jesus"
"A 'not Nazi eagle' that looked exactly like a Nazi eagle on his abdomen"
~ gareewong
Sealed With A 💋
"lipstick kiss on the neck"
~ FunklerLing
"My old neighbor had this. One night SWAT showed up..."
~ AverageSoggaEnjoyer
"My buddy had this too, he went to prison for [drug] related crimes."
~ novicemma2
"My old coworker had this too, he got fired for getting high in the freezer."
~ Eggsor
"Also had a coworker of this ilk, proudly showed videos of him shooting a teddy bear on his couch. In his apartment. Just a grade A bozo."
~ theAlphabetZebra
"I’m sensing a theme here."
~ AzathothBlindgod
Cell Block Special
"I saw a woman at a water park with her toddler."
"She had a tattoo that said 'Trust no b*tches, love no hoes'."
"In my bones, I feel there is no way you could have that tattoo if you haven’t been to prison at least once."
~ MissElphie
Rule 34
"Chester Cheetah having sex with a Smurf."
~ Goldeneel77
"But which Smurf?"
~ Grouchy-Change-1219
GiphyProbably Not a Tribute to Her Father
"I met a lady with a 'Daddy' tattoo on her forehead. My gut told me right away that she was trouble."
"She went on a camping trip with us and mixed alcohol and drugs and went into an abusive rage."
"We ended up having to have the sheriff escort her out of our camp. Total sh*tshow."
~ margos2cents
It's All About Location, Location, Location
"I mean, come on, if the first warning sign about a forehead tattoo isn't that it's a FOREHEAD TATTOO, there's bigger issues at play here."
~ Buckus93
"Especially if it literally says 'POOR IMPULSE CONTROL'."
~ foxbones
Take a Bow 🎀
"I’ve never met a girl I liked with bows tattooed on the back of her thighs."
~ hatsnatcher23
Anti-Heroes, We Hope
"Tattoos of very questionable people….like Eichmann or Jeffrey Dahmer."
~ GamerGirl-07
"Or a giant back tattoo of Richard Nixon."
~ CataclysmicConverter
"That's oddly specific."
~ Even_Dark7612
"They're referring to Roger Stone, who, in fact, has a giant back tattoo of Richard Nixon."
~ The-Beer-Baron
Richard Nixon GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphyWhy Not a Brand?
"When a girl has a 'Property of (guy's name)'."
~ Redditor
Adult Swim
"I know a dude that has an odd assortment of Adult Swim characters tattooed on their back, mostly from Aqua Teen."
"They're bad in general, but the worst part is that they're just kinda placed randomly, not in a cohesive group or anything."
"Similar to how you might expect a kid to place stickers on their bedroom door because they weren't sure where else to put them."
~ LolYouFkingLoser
aqua teen hunger force GIFGiphyDad Jokes
"No ragrets."
~ NostradaMart
"That joke is so old, Jesus told it at the Last Supper."
~ Redditor
Red Flag, Literally—Part 2
"A Chinese flag tattoo is definitely a red flag."
~ Shiny_Whisper_321
"A Swiss flag is also a big plus."
~ Bragior
"An Austrian flag is a minus though."
~ Alarming_Basil6205
"A German flag is a big… um… three colored stripes?"
"This is hard...."
~ Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Flowing China GIFGiphyArt—including body art—is subjective.
But before you get that ink, you might want to make sure it sends the message you want.
The Most Unprofessional Thing A Doctor Has Ever Said To A Patient
"I shall do by my patients as I would be done by; shall obtain consultation whenever I or they desire; shall include them to the extent they wish in all important decisions; and shall minimize suffering whenever a cure cannot be obtained, understanding that a dignified death is an important goal in everyone's life."
~ English translation of the modern abridged Hippocratic Oath
It is the hope of those seeking medical help that the medical professionals providing it will be just that—professional.
But no profession is immune to bad days, bad attitudes or bad apples.
Reddit user Monsah asked:
"What is the most unprofessional thing a doctor has said to you?"
Reproductive Health
"I was being treated on week 2 with medication for an ectopic pregnancy—fetus in the fallopian tube, 0% chance for baby, very small chance for myself to live if not taken care of. I was told to go to the ER if I developed severe pain."
"I developed severe pain and went to the ER."
"The doctor on call sat there and tried to casually discuss what kind of pain meds I might like WITH MY HUSBAND as I was writhing in pain on the bed. Husband insists doc should just make a decision and give me the meds now."
"Finally gave me a pain pill and told me no need for an ultrasound, just did some bloodwork for my file. I go home and wait it out with a script for pain meds."
"I told him the pain was severe and could be the tube bursting and he told me that miscarriages just hurt."
"I went into the gyno treating me 2 days later and he took one look at me and booked me for emergency surgery. The tube had burst and I had so much internal bleeding that they had to have a general surgeon assist in the cleanup in my abdomen."
"My bowels were adhering to the broken tube and had to be carefully separated. Later, my doc told me I was very lucky and the moron at the ER should have sent me in to an ultrasound based on the pain alone."
"The blood work was apparently alarming."
"Went back for an IV to the same sh*tty ER a few months after. That same sh*t ER doc checked my abdomen and saw the surgery scars."
"He commented I must have recently had an operation!"
"I told him 'yeah, you misdiagnosed my burst ectopic pregnancy and I had to get emergency surgery at a different hospital'. He didn't say sh*t after that."
"If I had the money, I would sue the a**hole."
~ poppykayak
"I also had an ectopic several years ago. I had missed my period and suspected being pregnant."
"A week later had severe pain where I couldn’t stand up and walk and wasn’t sure if it was my period coming on. Went to an urgent care and they confirmed I was pregnant but probably having a miscarriage."
"The pain was bad in my side, and I even suspected ectopic—but the male doctor there said miscarriages are painful and he knows what ectopic pain should look like, and that’s definitely not what I have."
"He told me to go home and just basically rest."
"So I believed him, and headed out—a nurse, female, stopped me in the front lobby and strongly insisted I go to the ER. My husband also wouldn’t let me just brush it off and took me in."
"At the ER they did an ultrasound and my entire abdomen was filled with fluid. I had emergency surgery and got really lucky with a rare ectopic that exploded backwards into my peritoneal cavity (called a tubal abortion) and got away without a ruptured ovary."
"The female surgeon said that in her 20 year career she had never seen a case like mine."
"Still sucked, and f'k that first doctor."
~ pheonixrising23
"Doctor said that either I cheated or my husband did because that kind of cervical pain was always chlamydia."
"It was an ectopic pregnancy that ruptured and resulted in emergency life-saving surgery. But thanks for listening doctor!"
"My personal OB happened to be at the hospital that night and came to tell me the news herself, giving him the angriest look I’ve ever seen in a professional setting."
~ grannywanda9
"I’d been sent by ambulance from our local urgent care to a hospital due to kidney pain and a funny shadow on my xray. Emergency room doctor was insistent 'it must be a STI' despite me having no genital symptoms, and he demanded to do a pelvic exam."
"This doctor aggressively tried to mimic my pain from the inside by jamming his hand up my vag. The nurse chaperone looked embarrassed when I said to the doctor, 'if you’re not careful, you’ll lose your watch up there'."
"He then discharged me from the hospital at 3 am saying he couldn’t find anything wrong with me."
"At 9 am the original urgent care doc called back since she saw I was discharged but my blood tests were back and I was septic."
~ Omissionsoftheomen
Digestive Health
"My older sister had unbearable GI issues for years growing up."
"Pediatrician told our parents that 'children get tummy aches' and to try peppermint Altoids.
"She ended up having emergency surgery where they had to remove her entire large intestine because it was necrotic and had tumors.
"Permanent colostomy by the time she was 14."
~ Currentlyunsureatm
"Both my parents are doctors, a Pediatrician and a Pulmonologist/ICU doc."
"Since 4TH GRADE I’d had very frequent upset stomachs and pain. I was always told 'it can just happen' or 'it’s too hard to figure out'."
"It got to the point where when I had BLEEDING from my intestines I didn’t want to say anything cause I thought I’d be brushed off. This was until I was going into my senior year of high school."
"It flared to the point I couldn’t move and lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks."
"Lo and behold, I had Ulcerative Colitis that was diagnosed within a day of tests it was so bad."
~ GamingBeluga
"I had been bleeding for 8 months when my GP told me I 'didn't meet the criteria' for a colonoscopy."
"Finally did get diagnosed with mild ulcerative colitis later on, but that conversation with the GP was the most frustrating part of the whole saga."
~ calvesofdespair
"'It can't be colon cancer because you're too young'."
"My brother got cancer at that exact age, as she knew."
~ Liraeyn
"The really f'ked up thing about this one is that it's standard procedure to monitor for colon cancer based on family history."
"Generally guidelines recommend if a first degree family member (mom, dad, brother, sister) had colon cancer before they were elderly, they should start getting screened at an age 10 years younger than when they were diagnosed."
"So that doctor straight up ignored national treatment guidelines."
~ thatrandomdude12
"My younger sister was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer at 26 (not a typo, that's twenty six.) And it took her a couple of years to convince her doc to order any tests, despite passing blood in her stool."
"I get that she was especially young to have such an advanced case, but I will never not be angry when I read a comment about docs telling folks that they are too young to be checked for colon cancer."
~ Coldricepudding
Children's Health
"I took my then 4-year-old daughter to a pediatric gastroenterologist. First he said 'she's just being dramatic'."
"Then he said, 'well, she'll get married some day and be someone else's problem'."
"That was 25 years ago, and it still shocks me!"
"Turned out she had a partial bowel obstruction."
~ kellygrrrl328
"When I took my then 4-year-old to a pediatric gastroenterologist because she still couldn't control her bowels and clearly had no feeling down there, the specialist told me she was doing it for attention and just didn't 'want to' use the toilet."
"She went on and on about how she'd been in the business for 20 years. When my daughter told her she really wanted to fix the problem so she could go to day camp, the doctor told her she was lying."
"That human turd was in the room when I finally got my daughter tested for bowel insensitivity (I don't remember the official name) and they found out that she did not, in fact, have any feeling in her bowels."
"I looked that b*tch in the face and said, 'Now do you believe us?' She just looked away."
~ paingry
Mental Health
"'You're 27. I don't know what you have to be anxious about'."
"This was in the 1990s."
~ PrincessSummerTop
"When I described my anxiety and depression the doctor said, 'but you aren’t overweight and over thirty!'."
~ seventh-street
"I was told the same just a few months ago at age 25."
"I replied 'well my mom just died' to which he said 'that’s too bad' and continued on with the exam."
~ Familiar_Honey_98
"'That's normal in your line of work. Just ignore it, the pain will go away'."
"I went in for shoulder pain, as my left shoulder would be killing me after a day loading trucks all day. This was an ongoing thing for weeks before I went to get it checked."
"Didn't examine my shoulder. Didn't have any x-rays done, catscans done, MRIs done, nothing. Hell, didn't even have me take my shirt off."
"Turns out that I had a torn rotator cuff."
"Had another doc tell me that the stomach pain that had me pissing myself, throwing up, and passing out was from 'gas'."
"Again, without any type of examination, just listening to the symptoms. Two days later I was dying on the OR table from a necrotic appendix."
~ Redditor
A common theme in all these stories are doctors not listening to their patients or their parents.
While a doctor may be a medical expert, they should remember the patient is the expert for their own body.