Finding yourself in the wilderness, lost and alone, is nothing to take lightly. When the chips are down and every minute counts, you need your wits about you and the right bit of technique to make it through. Fortunately, you remember all the random bits you've read online to see it through alive. But WAIT! It's probably wrong. Seriously. Don't do it.
Reddit user, u/ConvenientSpoon, wanted to know what's the most messed up myth when they asked:
What is a survival myth that is completely wrong and could get you killed?
Knew That Anna Paquin Was Full Of It
"Follow flying birds to find water" They can simply be flying to spend a night anywhere, so we can't rely on them
Snakes...Why'd It Have To Be Snakes...
GiphyIf you ever find yourself in snake country, make as much noise as possible. Most people want to avoid snakes so stay quiet, but they are more scared of you than you are of them. Talk loudly, stomp, but obviously keep an eye and ear out for any fellas who don't want you to be there.
Source: Australian
Alright, Listen People, It's POISON. Seriously.
Sucking a snakebite, it will often make it worse
Alright, Listen People, It's A BULLET. Seriously.
Removing a bullet is more dangerous than leaving it in. Trying to remove it can tear vital organs, it can be pushed in even deeper, or removing it can cause the person to bleed out.
Get That Shelter Up
The first mistake is to look for food and water first before having a shelter up to keep yourself dry and warm!
Edit: When I say shelter first it includes having a fire too which I forgot to mention. When you are wet and exposed to the elements your core body temperature can drop and you can get hypothermia if it gets too cold and you would burn more calories than necessary. A big reason to building a shelter too is to also keep yourself off the ground because the ground is an infinite heat sink which means you lose your body heat way faster than you would think and will be more exposed to the cold/elements.
Guys yes it's good to be near a water source, but remember that it's always colder around rivers,streams, lakes, and oceans. Make sure you are able to easily gather shelter/fire material within the area. Plus finding a prime location to set up shelter.
"Snow Dad Is Better Than No Dad"
Don't eat snow to stay hydrated if you're in a winter survival situation, losing the heat to the snow while eating it is more dangerous than dehydration.
Heat it up or let it melt in a container first to lose less heat.
If you have fire and a pot, put ice in it, not snow. It is cleaner and more dense than snow, i.e. you get more water out of it.
Edit: Not sure about the cleanliness of ice vs. fresh snow. But we are still talking about boiling that water. And my main argument, that you get more volume of water from ice than from snow still stands.
Don't Brace Yourselves!
Closest I can think of is brace yourself if you are about to get in a accident.
Try to go limp, you're more likely to walk away with minor injuries if you go limp. That's how drunk drivers survive crashes.
GET DOWN!
Jumping in an elevator if it falls. You want to drop to the floor if an elevator falls, because if you jump, hitting the ground could either break (or shatter) your legs or kill you on impact.
YOU Are The Alpha
Do not lie dead in an animal attack. They'll eat you anyways. Instead, assert your dominance by spreading your arms and making yourself look big and scary, as if you were trying to intimidate a high-school bully.
Correct me if this is wrong, I don't want blood on my hands.
You're Not Rambo
Don't pour alcohol on open wounds.
It damages the f-ck out of the cells and hurts like a motherfucker. It can cause permanent damage. Water is way better for cleaning any wound.
Seek Protection In The Group
In Germany there is a saying that goes „Eichen sollst du meiden, Buchen sollst du suchen"
Which roughly translates that in case of a thunderstorm you shouldn't stand under oaks, but u should seek shelter under a beech.
Just don't go anywhere near a tree in a thunderstorm...
That one kind of makes sense. Dont stand under a lone tree during a storm but if there is a wooded area nearby that's much safer than an open area. Beech trees grow in the shade so usually around other trees.
Take Your Time
Don't always drink the first water you see
I was on a school residential trip near a lake and we kanooded across the lake and when we stopped for a break our instructor told us that the lake has lots of metals in and wasn't advised to drink from it without a filter
Leave It In
Never pull out anything stuck in your body (sticks from a fall, arrow, a knife) like they do in the movies. The foreign object is forming a seal inside the wound, keeping whats supposed to be inside, inside.
Wrap around the object with gauze/cloth to stabilize the object so it doesn't scramble your insides when it moves around. If you need to travel, you could clip the ends of the object if its like a sharp branch so it doesn't bump against anything.
Water Always Wins
Water - rivers, oceans, large streams, floods, pools, hot tubs...even buckets with water in them for young children.
Don't ever think you can overpower some of these and just "swim across". Water gives no f-cks and is very very heavy...it moves fast and will kill you.
Learn to swim and teach your kids to respect water.
Poor Pa Kent...
Hiding under an overpass during a tornado.
It's been pretty widespread news that it's more deadly to do this, but come to the south during a tornado warning & watch how many people still do it & jam the interstate putting more people in danger. If you're on the road with no real shelter in sight, you should park & lie flat in a low ditch. Only stay in your car if it's a must & don't hide under an overpass.
Winds can throw things in at you or just plain suck you out & kill/hurt you worse than doing what's suggested.
Ugh, Florida...
the myth that if you move from left to right in a zig zag with help you when running from an aligator.
that is COMPLETELY wrong and the croc would run down the middle
If You Didn't Know, Now You Know
Using your phone battery to start a fire.
Chances are if you don't know how to make a fire and are in such an extreme situation that you have to resort to murdering your phone battery, you'll die sooner or later; it won't help if you don't have a phone.
May I also point out you could die from those lithium fumes? 😂
Crack The Ribs To Save Lives
GiphyRescue breaths are wildly overrated in most movies and TV shows. You'll see someone in cardiac arrest, and the rescuer will stop giving compressions and focus on breathing into a persons's mouth and BLAMO! Awake, alert, alive!
Nope. Don't do that.
Your body does store a fairly decent amount of oxygen in its blood at all times. If someone in front of you OD's and their mouth is covered with saliva/vomit or someone collapses in front of you of a suspected cardiac arrest your plan of action is 2 fold:
- Are they breathing do they have a pulse? This is easy to f-ck up especially in a moment of panic. My rule (as an EMS provider) is that if you don't feel it in 10 seconds, it's not there. Start compressions! If they are not in cardiac arrest they will let your ass know - and the law covers you under good-Samaritan clauses in most of these cases.
- If you are the only person attending to this body - do not stop and give rescue breaths if help is on the way and will be there soon. It takes about 4-7 decent compressions to get blood recirculating in the body after stopping to give mouth-to-mouth. That's a lot of blood, carrying a lot of vital oxygen reserves, that aren't making it to the brain. Obviously if you're a long way out from help, and you feel safe to do so, give rescue breaths. But it should NEVER be priority #1.
BTW if you hear ribs crack, make a face, make vomit noises if you have to, tell the person their bones are f-cking grossing you out, but don't stop compressions.
Because what are compressions? That's right. They are number f-cking one.
A Different Kind Of Survival
You do not need to wait 24hrs to report a missing person. If you think someone is missing report it as such. The faster a missing person report is filed the greater the chance the person will be found
Especially if it's a child. Missing children are at high risk during the first 24 hours especially if abducted.
In 76% of child abduction murders, the victim was dead within 3 hours. 88.5% were dead in the first 24 hours.
Edit: Source
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.