
There are so many secrets a single person harbors throughout their lives.
There are secrets they tell some others, secrets they tell only the closest to them; secrets they tell no one, and then secrets they don't even tell themselves.
Occasionally one of those secrets slips out. And that secret has the power to change the space in which you live your life.
It can bring others closer or isolate them even further. It can do serious damage or be a healing agent.
It all depends on the secret.
Redditor dougy181 asked:
"What is a dark secret that you have?"
Here were some of those answers.
Pandemic Secrets
"Last year I went into the hospital for Covid. I had to be put on a vent for three weeks, put into a medical coma, resuscitated a couple of times and was pretty close to death for those entire three weeks."
"My dark secret is I wanted to die. I was going through a divorce and suffering from severe depression. I just felt like my world was over and there was nothing to live for."
"I was almost happy that a virus was going to do what I was too chicken shit to do myself. I was accepting that death was coming and didn't care to fight it."
"It wasn't until while in my medical coma they had my family come to tell me bye as they thought I wouldn't make it through the night that I decided I wanted to live. I am an only child and was raised by a single mother. I heard her telling me how much she loved me and that I was such a fighter and to keep fighting."
"That was a moment that turned everything around. It gave me a will and want to live. I had a turnaround that night and lived and slowly started recovering. It has been a long and hard road to recovery and I am still not there yet. Had I not had that moment of hearing her I am pretty sure I would have died."
"I have told my mom about how much hearing her meant to me, but I have told no one about how I was ready and wanting to die at that time. If the hospital hadn't lifted their Covid protocols to allow my mom into the room to say goodbye I think I would have just accepted death."-throwingaway_316
To The Grave
"My best friend from childhood came over to my college dorm to hang out one night. He bought coke and pills from other guys living on my hall for a party he was going to, and honestly I was impressed with him for being so well-versed in the buying of drugs and charismatic with my dorm mates."
"Before he left he told me not to tell his mother what he was doing but to tell her he loved her if he died and I thought something was wrong, but I let him go because we had plans for the next day and I figured he had just developed a dark sense of humor in the time since we’d last seen each other."
"In retrospect he’d shown all of the signals, but I refused to see them, so I let him drive away. He didn’t make it; he crashed his car many hours later that night, with no seatbelt, probably high."
"His mother asked me what happened. I didn’t tell her anything because I wanted her to think it was an innocent accident. I didn’t want her to know what he got into. I’m still keeping his secret."-jrm2003
Fake It Til You Make It But Srs
"I had a friend create a fake High school diploma for me, then I used it to get a job teaching English in a foreign country. Then the company that hired me created a fake BA in English for me."
"That was then used for me to get my residence permit.....Yup."-Naive-Camel-7364
These secrets have been bursting at the seams to come out for ages.
Gotta Eat To Live Gotta Steal To Eat
"Years ago, I got a summer job at a grocery store. I was a teenager, from a poor family, just trying to get a job so that we could afford food. My mom couldn't afford to feed us in the summer without the school lunches, but she made slightly too much to qualify for food stamps."
"If you've ever been poor, you know how it goes. The manager was a complete a**wipe who fired me two weeks in because, and I quote, 'I just don't like your personality.'"
"We had never actually spoken until that point. I cried because my mom was counting on me to be able to pay for the groceries that week and I told him that. He told me I was being dramatic."
The store had these barcodes they would stick on things to mark them down if they were expired. I realized that I still had the rolls of printed-up stickers in my pocket when I got home because I had been marking things down that day. I copied the stickers off onto sticky paper and stole probably a few thousand dollars of groceries that summer."
"I technically did pay for the groceries because I was checking them out at the self-checkout and paying money for them, but I was getting salmon fillets and racks of ribs for $2, big veggie trays for $1, expensive cheese for $.99, etc. I was careful not to be too greedy and not try to buy a cartful of expensive sh*t at a time."
"I would do several smaller transactions at self checkouts and spread it out over about a dozen stores (it was a big, sh*tty, national corporate chain). I paid always in cash. I never got caught. I told my mom that I got an academic scholarship and that's where I got the money for the groceries. I don't feel bad about it and the statute of limitations is expired anyway."-ScyllaOfTheDepths
These Actors Were Perfectly Cast In Their Roles | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Sometimes an actor comes along that is able to reach the audience on a deeper level. The actor that immediately comes to mind is Robin Williams. Although it ...Bébé From Beyond
"My aunt kept hearing other baby voices on her baby monitor - not her baby. There were no babies next door but it must have been picking up some other baby somewhere and as I am in I.T. I knew this."
"But as a joke I told her I saw a program on TV and that baby monitors can pick up deceased children. I thought she knew I was joking but then I find out she got a priest in to bless the house."
"Then she put it on the market for cheap and moved out. I think she lost 50-100 grand. She never mentioned it to anyone else in the family why she was moving and I just kept quiet and kept it to myself for all these years feeling guilty."-Happy5Day
Petty Legends
"I had a former coworker who was a total c**t to me. She straight up bullied me at work. Twice i walked into a room while she was actually sh*t talking me by name."
"A few months after quitting that job, I looked up a revenge prank site, and had a box of cow sh*t mailed to her at my former workplace."
"According to other people still working there, she threw an ugly crying tantrum the day she opened the package and was coddled by upper management. Sweet, sweet vengeance."
"I didn't tell my live-in partner about what I had done, he would have been livid and scared for the feds to show."-SummerNothingness
Obligatory Poop Entry
"Summer camp, I was 13/14 years old. Seven days no poop, in the middle of the eighth night I wake up because I'm exploding."
"I don't reach the bathroom on time, so I pooped almost everywhere while running, I reached the bathroom, washed and then went back to my tent to sleep."
"The next day everyone thought an animal like a bear or deer had entered the camp and sh*t everywhere. No one ever found out that that bear was me."-afabri
Are these bringing any secrets up to the surface for you?
Black Widow
"My maternal grandmother, who recently died, murdered at least one of her husbands for his money, and possibly more (because she had several who died under mysterious circumstances)."
"She was never convicted, but the dude died from rare earth metal poisoning that developed from years of eating tainted food."
"She cooked every single one of his meals during that period of time. Notably, she did not get poisoned herself."-Doomkauf
A Son No Matter What
"Not exactly dark but I'm pretty sure my son isn't biologically mine. There was a lot of doubt about the date of conception and multiple people his mother cheated on me with. But after months of being promised he was mine I foolishly just accepted it or told myself to anyway."
"Cut to him being 3 months old she decides she's scared of him and can't look after him. He's now 7 years old and never sees his mum, she's vanished and doesn't even check in with him."
"He's my son no matter what anyone could tell me as far as I'm concerned at this point though, I've raised him and loved him unconditionally for the past 7 years and will continue to do for the rest of his life. And if I'm being honest I'm also really scared to get a DNA test more than anything for fear that if I found out he isn't mine I wouldn't love him or look at him the same way."
"I don't think I would ever do that personally but you just never know how a highly emotional situation is going to make you react or feel sometimes."-niell2
Secrets are highly emotional and complex pieces of information that we've given a bit of undue weight to.
The fact is, that truth that you're keeping down low has the potential to really set you free—if you work WITH it.
But working against a life of secrets is no way to keep a life alive.
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Don't be alarmed: There are some terrible corporations out there (looking at you, Nestle) but there are also some great brands that are selling decent products.
I know, surprising, right? Maybe we've all just gotten used to brands selling things of questionable quality that when we stumble across something worthwhile it stuns us.
Hold on tight when you find a brand deserving of your loyalty!
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor spwf asked the online community,
"What brand(s) do you swear by and why?"
"Their cast iron pans..."
"Lodge. Their cast iron pans are super durable and can last a lifetime."
StillForest989
Not just a lifetime. Your Lodge cast iron will outlive you, if (and even if you don’t) take care of it. Even if they get rusty they can be resurfaced. And damn is it satisfying to resurface a forgotten cast iron pan.
Asics, specifically the Gel-Nimbus series. I've suffered from joint pain and unbearable plantar fasciitis from a relatively young age... These shoes are life savers. Very pricey and I don't love the look of tennis shoes of any type but nevertheless I will praise these shoes to the end of days. Hopefully, I will always be able to afford them once a year.
Glad to hear you've found some much-needed relief!
"Warranty and service..."
"Victorinox. Excellent pocket knives, multi tools and their kitchen knives are probably the best ones you can get under 100 USD. Warranty and service is top notch."
CharacterComb3039
Anyone who cooks, but can't afford or doesn't want to invest in a professional-grade chef's knife should get a Victorinox. They aren't nearly as good as a top tier professional chef's knife, but they are night and day compared with everything else in their price range.
"This one brand..."
"This one brand of granola bars called Sunbelt Bakery. Every other granola bar brand is so dry I can't eat them anymore."
[deleted]
Yes, these are so good! An excellent choice.
"Very comfortable."
"Dickies. High quality pants. They're meant to be work pants so they're pretty durable and breathe well. Very comfortable."
GargantuanCake
"High quality" is right. Those pants last forever.
"It helps clean..."
"Dawn dishsoap. It helps clean dishes and it's great when one of my kids has an accident and I have to wash their clothes. Sometimes leaves a small stain but no smell. It has saved so many outfits."
[deleted]
Fantastic – it sounds like you should be their salesperson.
"They don't use..."
"New Balance. They don't use slave labor to make shoes."
Tink2013
They are comfortable and fit well.
I personally still don't like the aesthetics of many of their shoes, but still recommend them to people who want a good shoe.
"They are a retailer..."
"REI. Stand behind everything in their store. They are a retailer but you can beat something up they sell and they give you a full refund."
bigturkey1738
Many people use them for shoes, for camping gear... all kinds of stuff. They're very reliable.
"I wear my Timberland boots..."
"I wear my Timberland boots almost every day, I’ve had them for almost ten years, and they’re still just about as sturdy as they were the day I bought them."
RedWestern
These shoes tend to last forever. "Durable" is the perfect word.
"One large bottle..."
"Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. One large bottle lasts me about a year and I use it for everything. No toxic BS in them like pretty much every other soap and they smell fantastic."
"Also when I say everything I really mean it. All purpose cleaner, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, carpet extractor wash, dog shampoo, it’s called 18 in 1 for a reason."
drumkid74
If you're interested in the story behind the company, the documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox might be right up your alley.
See? Not all brands are terrible. After reading about some of these, it might be time to change of your buying habits.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If society could just stop with arbitrary dress codes. If you're not working with the public, why should you have to dress up so much? If you're a police officer, then it makes sense that you'd wear a uniform that identifies you as a police officer. If you're Ted from IT who sits in the backroom all day, I really don't see why you have to come in every day in a suit and tie.
Let's just toss them out, shall we?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Levels2ThisBrush asked the online community,
"What should be socially acceptable but isn't?"
"Leaving the office..."
"Leaving the office whenever you've finished your tasks for the day."
misringuette
This is why I'm so glad remote work is the new office.
"And yet, I get it!"
"Taking off sick from work, WITHOUT giving an invasive reason. I supervise a small team and so I see all the OOO emails, and for gods sake I want people to PLEASE not feel the need to explain in detail what kind of diarrhea is afflicting them, or how bad their period cramps are, or how much bad sushi they ate the night before. Just say “I’m under the weather, I won’t be online today.”"
"And yet, I get it! I do it too! I feel guilty or like I’ll be looked at with suspicion if my reason for taking off isn’t sufficiently debilitating enough!"
"But… we need to stop this. As a manager I don’t care, I don’t THINK the people above me who are also on these emails care… let’s just all agree to take sick days without any details from now on!"
imnotwallaceshawn
I do not miss my retail days where I had to organise someone to cover me and beg on bended knee.
"Cashiers or workers who don’t need to be standing all day not having a stool or chair."
Lavatories
Another thing I do not miss from my retail days. Having to stand for hours and hours only to come home with my feet killing me was not fun.
"Prices on apartments..."
"Prices on apartments and their respectable reasons for such price directly on their websites or advertising without the need for a tour or any secrecy."
Spiceinvader3124
I always assume if I have to ask the price I probably can’t afford it.
"Being quiet..."
"Being quiet/not wanting to engage in conversation all the time."
[deleted]
In Finland, if somebody tries to talk to you, they are probably a tourist.
"Choosing not to..."
"Choosing not to have toxic family members in your life."
[deleted]
It feels very liberating once you accept that you don't have to put up with it.
"Employees..."
"Employees calling customers out in public for being a**holes."
gameboy1001
Absolutely. Many customers get away with treating employees horribly because they know they can do it without any pushback... most of the time.
"The fact that I sometimes..."
"The fact that I sometimes need to take my insulin in public. No, Karen, I am not doing drugs, I need to live."
blubberwinx
You’re getting that sweet sweet insulin high… the high of being not-dead.
"Afternoon naps."
"Afternoon naps. I’m on team nap. Give me 25 minutes to charge up and I’ll give you back 3 hours of high quality work. Everyone wins. Plus I go home with extra energy instead of dead tired."
Governmentwatchlist
Short naps don't work for me. I can't do a 25 min recharge. When I take a nap it needs to be like a solid 2 hours
"Speak up!"
"Salary transparency. For some reason, in the US, there’s a taboo or stigma around discussing one’s salary. This should be done openly and freely, with zero embarrassment or judgment. The only winners from avoiding these conversations are the corporations that are able to pay people differently for the same roles. Speak up!"
Jumping_Bear
The "for some reason" you're referring to is simply propaganda on behalf of corporations.
It's evident that something's got to change around here, and we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
As much as many of us don't like to disrupt the status quo, there is only so much time a person can tolerate a miserable situation before things become so unbearable that they ultimately have to peace out.
For some people, it takes a while for them to reach a breaking point. Eventually, there comes a time when they realize their self-worth is more important than continuing to please others who don't appreciate them for the sake of keeping up with appearances.
Curious to hear from people whose patience ran thin and made a strong decision, Reddit Prestigious-Order-62 asked:
"What made you say 'f'k this sh*t im out?'"
The unwarranted reprimanding was something that was never mentioned in the initial job description.
Feeling Criminal
"In the late 90’s."
"One time I got pulled into the Security office at a Department store I worked at. They accused me of constantly using the sales day coupons for people that didn’t present one (we always kept an extra copy at each register). I had watched my own department boss do it many times so I assumed it was okay. We didn’t even collect the coupons to be counted for the cash office, we just chucked them after use."
"They claimed I lost the store hundreds of dollars and had been watching me 'for months' do this awful, unforgivable crime for people spending 90 bucks on already bloated price designer jeans. I’m sure the occasional 10% discount was just devastating. 🙄""I got this huge lecture of how I was LITERALLY stealing from the store and they COULD call the police but would give me a chance to work off the damage. I couldn’t believe how criminal I was made to feel over it. The best part when they called my boss in who pretended to have never done it before to save her own a**."
"I asked if they were firing me. They said 'Yes and No. You will be let go, but you can choose to work off the damages so we don’t take you to court.' I told them I will just quit and asked for my last check. They said they will deduct what I owe from my last check. And I said 'Well then you need to show me all the footage and prove that I was stealing.' They wouldn’t produce footage, finally called the cops, and when the cops arrived, they were just as confused and called it an internal problem and advised them that this was overblown. I think they felt sorry for me. So finally upper management came in and just said 'just issue the last check, I will sign it here.' So much drama over so stupid a thing."
"It was sad because that actual day my Mom and daughter had come to the mall to meet me for lunch and I had to explain I just was forced to quit that job and was never allowed in that store again like I was some awful jerk."
"It was nice a few short years later, the entire chain bankrupted."
– Munich11
Power Trip
"A coworker waited until we were in front of a large group of people to start 'disciplining' me for something 'wrong' I did (I took my lunch 15 mins late to help another coworker) when she wasn’t even my supervisor. Applied for a job transfer the next day and couldn’t be happier where I am now."
– _shes_a_jar
Abusive Boss
"I had a piece of sh*t of a boss. He'd praise you in private but berate you in public. In front of coworkers and customers. Always about stuff that didn't matter."
"He'd also happily break company policy to side with customers after you spent an hour telling a customer you can't give them stuff for free, for example. Any time he was around, everything was miserable."
"My only regret is that I wasn't there to see him marched out by corporate when he got fired, because I had gone on to a better job by then."
– redisforever
Human Punching Bag
"I used to work in a Kitchen at a pub, it was grim work, but I had freinds there and had worked there for 3 years, So it wasn't too bad."
"One Christmas season we were being absolutely pumped, full out functions and busy services. My boss at the time was very stressed and fair enough, We were busy, We were all working overtime and full out. He used any excuse to completely blow up and absolutely scream at me for little to no reason, essentially him yelling at me was his stress relief. But fine, whatever, kitchens are rough places, no appolagies or anything, move on."
"I then go away for 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays and spend the time road tripping around the country having an amazing time."
"First shift back, not pleased being back, he makes a snarky comment."
"F'k this, Im out."
– Freddy54323
Even though these employees weren't chewed out in front of co-workers, the low salary without room for negotiation made them not wanting to stick around for much longer.
You Only Get One Job
"They cut my hours so I had to get a second job. 3 days before I was supposed to start said second job, my manager at the main job told me that I couldn't get this second job because I had main job first and I needed to make it my priority. That's when I said f'k you and left. I didn't even give a notice, I literally just sent an email saying I wouldn't be coming in the next day, grabbed my sh*t and went home."
– ginger_princess2009
Meager Wage
"I used to work Retail and after 7 years at the company, I found out I was only making 50 cents more an hour than someone who just started yesterday. I understood if they couldn't pay me more and asked for a good schedule. 7-3 or 8-4 every day and the same two days off every week. I didn't even ask for weekends off."
"I was told that they couldn't give me a good schedule so I quit."
– maybeashly
Situations weren't much different outside the work place. Social dilemmas prompted these Redditors to say, "nope."
Rude Reception
"Went to a pub because a friend kept asking. When I got there, he was with a group of people I didn't know, so I introduced myself and got the next round. As I come back with the tray, I hear them saying something along the lines of 'why is that b*tch still here? I thought she was just supposed to drop off a bicycle?' 'Ya, we don't want her to come to <this other town with more pubs> and now she is drinking with us?' 'She's so dumb' *proceeds to imitate and ridicule me as I was actively listening and nodding when I was having a conversation with my friend."
"Gave the beer to random people and walked right out after saying good evening to my friend and briefly explaining I did not appreciate being tricked into being a bicycle taxi for people who hate me directly after meeting me."
– ILikeLamas678
A Shocking Incident
"I was on my boat fishing for bass. I casted out my line and watched the lure hit the water but the line just floated in the air. Lightning and thunder crashed and the line fell to the water. F'k this sh*t, I'm out."
– fsh4fun051
Femme Fatale
"She lined my bed with broken glass put the blankets over it and I dove on in lol."
"Edit: She was violent/crazy and on drugs, was like the 20th attack I took and that made me really think lol."
– MyLifeForAuir1Ally For The Ex
"I found nudes of his ex (from ten years ago) that I’d previously asked him twice to get rid of tucked in a pair of MY socks. Our couples counselor asked why he’d kept them and he said, 'You know. In case I ever needed to blackmail her.' He said it like it was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to plan to do. The therapist and I locked eyes and I noped the f'k out of there and moved out."
– Previous_Mood_3251
Most of these Redditors realized leaving their situation was better than dealing with the consequences of sticking around.
The latter is never a good option. Why remain in a scenario you know is already going to consume your soul?
The lesson for today is–Don't be miserable. Your sanity is worth saving.
Besides, you would never know that something better awaits if you just don't get the F out.As we enter into the summer months, people now have to decide whether or not they want their morning coffee to be hot or iced.
Lucky for them, it's delicious either way.
One could make an argument that foods that are equally delicious hot or cold are perhaps the best, or at least the most reliable.
And this can include foods which are not customarily sold both hot and cold (cold pizza anyone?).
Redditor NectarineOther4989 was curious to hear which foods people enjoy either hot or cold, leading them to ask:
"What is something that tastes good both hot and cold?"
Fresh out of the oven, or the next day!
"Cookies."- SuvenPan
Chocolate withstands all temperatrues
"Brownies."- Reasonable-Software2
Can't go wrong with fruit and pastry
"Pie."
"Apple pie."- Hak_Saw5000
This doesn't only apply to food
"Revenge."- pushthestartbutton
Let the flavor develop
"Banana bread."
"2 totally different flavors depending on warm vs cold from fridge."- nonkowledge
So many to choose from!
"Sandwiches."- Designer-Usual1691
A matter of textural preference
"Cheese, ya fools."- eat_dontpray_love
Under a hot greek sun, or during a cold winter's eve.
"Spanakopita."- mrsxpando
While there's no better smell than a batch of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, those eating them the next day likely aren't missing out either.