The things that make people feel powerful can vary widely, but we've all had that moment where we feel that surge of power. For some of us, the power goes to our heads. Others are capable of using it for good (or for awesome).
We all feel that power at some point, but it's what gets us there that Reddit user RedDanubeWaltz wanted to know about when they asked:
What was the most power you ever had?
And yeah, the answers are sometimes ridiculous, sometimes adorable, and pretty solidly entertaining. Enjoy the power trip, guys!
Festival Jesus
Giphy
You know the last night of a music festival when everything's gone a bit weird and a large group of people will follow a random person around the site? I was Festival Jesus for half an hour. It was like Simon Says with 100s of people
Itty Bitty Kitty Committee
I used to volunteer at a rescue center for cats. I quickly became the favorite of the cat army. My army of kittens was the cutest army you will ever see.
The In-Flight Emergency
I'm a RN, and once on a flight another passenger had a health emergency. When they did the "Are there any doctors or nurses or paramedics on board?" Overhead page, it was just me. I had to decide by myself what was going on and how the person was doing, and what I needed to do.
It was a large, close to full flight, and I had to decide if it was safe for us to continue onwards to our destination or if the plane needed to make an emergency stop (we were still like 2 hours away) and potentially make 100+ people miss connecting flights.
I was working in an ICU at the time and frequently was part of our code team/medical emergency team, and at various points was responsible for leading code blues (where a Patient stops breathing or their heart stops beating) until an MD arrived. Part of working in an ICU as a nurse means that sometimes your patients will life or die based off of how well you do your job, but the plane thing felt much harder to me because I was by myself, and because my decisions affected so many other people.
The passenger was fine. They just hadn't had anything to eat or drink for like 18 hours before the flight because they were afraid of getting sick on the plane and had passed out. They were easy to arouse, vitals were okay, etc. I just asked them to have a paramedic crew meet us at the gate at our regular destination, and grab the potentially sick person first to check them out and do their triage before they let the rest of us disembark.
I got a thank you letter in the mail from the airlines with some free miles I could redeem for a short plane trip somewhere, and I think the person was okay; I never heard anything, but my best guess what that they were probably fine after having some food and a few glasses of water.
- seulless
The Applause Instigator
One time I started clapping after a song at church and then the entire worship center of like 600 people started clapping.
- Alec-M2
$10k
I don't think it counts the way you mean it, but a member of my family won the lottery years ago and he gave me $10k US dollars. Here in a third world country (Uruguay) it was a lot. We bought a house with that.
The Dog Whisperer
I brought treats to the dog park once. I was the dog whisperer for a little bit there.
A Man Of Peace
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I had a loaf of bread on the beach once. Every little crumb I threw swarmed an army of hundreds of birds to that location. I could have used my powers for evil, but I am a man of peace.
- R483
George
Our college had a closed Facebook group where just our class would post stuff about campus life, etc. There was a guy in my major, George, who posted incessantly in that group. He was the most insufferable person to be near in classes - constantly talking about South Park and gaming apps he liked and begging people to join them.
One day George made a post that said something to the effect of "[Our school] is so messed up because there's more girls than dudes. Fat girls think they're better than everyone else when in real life, no one likes a chubby chick."
Mind you, George is a VERY heavy dude and VERY single.
I responded to the post. I wrote:
"George, posting as a 'chubby chick' myself, don't worry - you're easily heavier than any girl in our class, but the reason no one wants to date you is because you post things like this."
He didn't respond.
The next day I walked into class and George was sitting there, facing the door. I made direct eye contact with him. He looked at me, then promptly at the floor. He didn't talk to anyone in that class for the rest of the semester.
I felt ultrapowerful.
No Contact
Maintaining no contact with my toxic ex-husband during our divorce. Communicating in any form was the way he would take control back. So silence for me was power. And taking the high road gave me a sort of power in a different way. Having the ability to expose or destroy him but taking the high road by not doing that.
The Crowd Went ... Mild
Standing at the lighting console at a Guns n Roses show my friends were opening up for. The opening band wasn't announced. When the sound guy told me he was ready and kill the lights whenever I felt like it I realized how much power I had in that moment.
I took a deep breath and killed the lights. The crowd went wild!
As I brought them back up on my friends the crowd went... mild. All in all it was a blast and I would love to do it again.
Fail Us All!
Group project in middle school where I was doing all of the work. I came to a crossroads due to frustration. I could either turn it in and let the other 3 get full credit for my work, or I could fail us all.
I failed us all then made up for it in extra credit.
- Alefur
You Can't Handle The Suit
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When I was a Team 2 trainer at Chuck E Cheese's. Basically I was in charge of showing the new hires the ropes about the basics of the job like working the prize counter, cleaning tables, running orders, and the best part the - darn mouse suit.
If the new hire was pretty chill and actually listened then I would go in the suit and they would just follow me out there; ya know watch and learn. Now, if they were being a little brat and not paying attention...they got to experience the horrors of that suit!!!
Rowdy kids, smelly nasty suit, being out there for 20 hot minutes taking photos and high fives in this monstrosity of apparel. So yeah...made me feel kinda powerful sometimes. Also, a few of the new hires quit after the suit happened. lol.
Get Your Grind On
Fooling around with my now-boyfriend and was grinding on him pretty intensely. In that moment I knew he was mine. So to prove it, I suddenly hopped off of him and laughed at how he begged me to come back and cursed me for leaving.
Until I Say
Crossing guard in elementary school. You will not go to class until I say it's safe!
- jx84
Hey!
I was a senior in high school while I was an assistant to one of my favorite teachers in her 6th grade P.E. class.
The kids were being loud and wouldn't listen to the teacher. I had a headache and was getting tired of their shit. I shouted "Hey!". I was an 18 year old guy with a deep voice so this made half the kids jump and they all went completely silent.
I never felt more powerful as I told them to listen.
A Microphone
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I once played a concert to over 1,000 people. It amazing what control you have over people just because you have a microphone.
Nothing To Be Alarmed About
My dad and uncle are firefighters, in fact my uncle is the chief of the local firecompany. A perk of this is we can use the smaller field trucks to fill our pool every spring if it's too low. I am not a member, but I was riding along with a senior driver (as in he's old and only drives the rigs) to help fill the truck at a local water tower in a development. A worried older lady comes out and asks me if there is a problem, and quite calm and sternly I said "Ma'am, everything is under control. Nothing to be alarmed about" and she was satisfied. 16 year old me felt pretty powerful in that moment.
- Bulletoverload
The Fire Drill
I worked nights at a tiny college library as a circulation assistant while I myself was in college (not the college I worked at.) One day before she left, my boss told me they were going to have a fire drill that evening and apparently whoever is in the library is the one who has to check all the rooms on that floor of the building and make sure they're clear, make sure the fire doors to both stairwells closed, then radio the head of security that information. As I was usually alone in the evenings, that fell to me.
It was only maybe 4 classrooms, 2 bathrooms, and the library, but I felt a rush of responsibility. I, the lowly circulation assistant, would be the one to ensure the safety of those on the third floor of the 1000 building. I started asking a bunch of stupid questions, like what if there's an individual in a wheelchair and the elevator isn't working because of the fire? "They won't turn the elevators off for a drill, they can use those to go downstairs." Etc. My boss answered all of my overly-worried questions.
I spent the whole night nervous in anticipation, I did NOT want to screw it up by somehow missing the blaring fire alarm. I'm also super non-confrontational so I was anxious about having to chase people out of the library because the students were notorious about not giving a damn and would just keep working or doing whatever rather than responding to the drill.
I knew security would sweep the building afterward to make sure it was empty and I'd be the one on the hook. Finally it happens; the alarm goes off just as the sun is going down. I hop up and grab the walkie talkie, lock the door to the circ desk, and make my rounds. I have to get stern with a girl who refused to leave her table, and I had to help the girl in the tech lab chase everyone off the computers. I check the classrooms, shout into the bathrooms, then finally it's time - I radio the head of security and say, "This is the library, building 300 is clear!" as I'm going downstairs to exit myself.
Only problem is... it's building 1000. There is no 300 building. I messed up. I hear someone else on the radio say "Did she say the 300 building?" and someone else replied, "She probably meant the 1000 building." Then I had to stand outside burning with embarrassment that I screwed up until they cleared the building and we could go back.
Once inside, I realized I'd left my keys hooked to my purse and couldn't unlock the door to the circ desk, so I had to hop over the counter using a chair to unlock it from the inside. Also I was supposed to have locked the library after everyone had exited (for drills only) to secure the computers etc. I hadn't done that, obviously, since I didn't have my keys.
Clearly I'm not meant to have any power.
Power and Justification
I had both the power and justification to fire someone once... turns out it's not something enjoyable at all.
Eventually I helped him update his resume and obtain a job elsewhere that would better fit his personality, then I myself applied for a different role where I wouldn't ever have to face that situation again.
Mr. Ed
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When I was doing Rocky Horror we had a big tenth anniversary show. 1000 people showed up to a cinema with only 900 seats! I started handing out rice, but was running out fast.
"I'll only be giving rice to those singing the theme song from Mr Ed" I announced.
A few people started singing "A horse is a horse of course of course"and I handed them rice. More people started singing and I handed them rice. The singing grew and crept and grew. Soon all 1000 people were singing the theme song from Mr Ed.
That day I truly was a god!
- dedokta
Clear Roads, Powerful Cars
Had to deliver cars from one dealership to another. The thing is, we did it after an event that ended at 3am. Clear roads, powerful brand new cars... man we probably left skid marks behind from the gas pedals being hit so hard.
I haven't tried these rooms yet. Not sure I want to. Highly claustrophobic. Convince me...
No touching...
"I used to work at one. I can’t tell you how many people thought that power outlets were a prop and tried to stick keys into them. Guys. There was a lamp plugged into it and a 'do not touch, not a part of the game' sticker on it. It’s not a trick, don’t do that."
brasscassette
Shackles
"A friend of mine works for an escape room and he told me one about a puzzle where the key to the next door was shackled to a desk by a combination lock. What you are supposed to do is figure out the combination for the lock from the clues around the room to free the key. What one group decided to do instead was get a guy on each corner and pick up the 150 pound desk and carry it across the room, slide the key into the lock, and then rotate the entire desk to unlock the door."
sharrrper
'Yale'
"I am not an escape room employee but I did a lot of em and talked to the employees often. One of them told me there was a simple lock (opened by a key) that had 'Yale' written on it (the name of the lock company) and a lady (not native English speaker) thought it read 'yell' and legit shouted 'OPEN!!' at it, expecting it to open."
Dorza1
searching the fountain...
"Recently went to an escape room with my co-workers. Before we started, we were explicitly warned not to touch or drink the bright blue water coming out of a fountain because it would turn our skin blue - clearly people had tried searching the fountain as part of the escape room previously and now they have to warn everyone."
babers1987
Voice of God
Whos That Voice Of God GIF by Shark WeekGiphy"I was in an escape room once where one puzzle involved some objects that needed to be manipulated inside a structure that made it very awkward."
"We were all looking at it trying to figure out how to proceed when I said 'Well, the bottom is held on with screws and I have a screwdriver in my purse, but that would probably be cheating.' Instantly the Voice of God came over the intercom 'THAT WOULD BE CHEATING!' So we didn't do that..."
Miss_Speller
Well people really do get creative at this game... don't they?
Reverse
genius GIFGiphy"Had a group of engineers who were familiar with the style of the lock effectively reverse engineer the lock. They showed us how they did it afterwards."
Snowf1ake222
Smoked...
"When I was in one they told us several times that the fire extinguisher is NOT part of the puzzle. They said it so many times, I'm 98% sure someone once used it lol."
Zirael_Swallow
"I always wait to see if they say not to disassemble smoke detectors, if they have that warning, I ask about it, and every time they will always have a story about a dumby who ignored the warning labels and disassembled the smoke detector."
cleverplaydoh
Group of 4
"There was a story on here a while ago about a guy in a group of four who took a broom from the first room because 'it had to be for something.' He said it looked too out of place to not be needed. Well he was half right. It was out of place but that's because it was the broom used by employees to clean the room."
"It was simply forgotten when they cleaned last time. The guys giving hints thought it was hilarious that this guy carried a broom through four rooms expecting it to be the key to their escape at some point. I thought that was funny as hell."
PCCoatings
Damages...
"Take in a screwdriver and dismantling furniture or taking doors off hinges... all the while we specifically tell them not to use force and that furniture is just furniture. Though I don't care cause they gotta pay the damages. Also had some groups press our panic button cause that opens all the doors (for emergency cases)."
"So they can skip puzzles and be faster. Makes zero sense to us cause they are paying for an hour of playtime and to solve puzzles, not like the prize is reduced cause you solved less in fewer minutes. Especially since our prices aren't cheap."
karmasabitterpill
Idiots
Idiot Facepalm GIFGiphy"Breaking EVERYTHING. Trying to eat or drink things they should totally not be trying to eat or drink."
Radiant-Comb9058
Even though there are a million ways to escape, I'm still gonna pass. My claustrophobia won't allow it.
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While many cultures should be celebrated, there are some individuals who just can't help but reserve their opinions about those whose behavior and customs differ vastly from their own.
At the risk of coming off as offensive, some might even call these customs, "weird."
European culture got the spotlight when Redditor CoffeeBoy88 asked:
"What is something weird about Europe that Europeans don’t realize is weird?"
Apparently, there's never a dull moment in European nations.
"German tourists are OBSESSED with mooses."
"/A swede."
– worldkeeponspinning
No Offense
"The UK has 30 accents per square mile. And if a large man calls you duck in Stoke … that’s okay."
– InItsTeeth
Nighttime Exposure
"Norwegians don't close their curtains when it gets dark."
– judochop1
The Swarm
"The amount of mosquitos in Finland, Americans go crazy in Spring because of it."
– TheFargus
Redditors discuss what it's like traveling around Europe.
Come And Go As You Please
"How incredibly inconsequential it is to cross country borders. Cycled through France - Belgium - Netherlands and there is barely even a sign."
– sicknessandpurgatory
The Contrast
"You drive five hours in the US: you’re basically still in the same place."
"You drive five hours in Europe: everyone’s talking funny and the cheese is different."
– KaimeiJay
The Short Commute
"The first time I was in the UK my husband wanted to go to Wales and I looked at the train route from London and was like 'It’s all the way on the other side of the country! We’re only in the UK for a week. We don’t have that kind of time!' And my husband was all, 'you know it’s a 2.5 hour train ride, right?' I thought it would all day."
– KateDinNYC
Germans In Transport
"the absolute lack of air conditioning even at 40°, german transport gets sticky and stinky quite fast and nobody seems to care, many people even shut the windows to avoid the 'annoying breeze.'"
– ahorasimeaborregue
Maintaining distance was a thing long before pandemic measures recommended people to be socially distanced.
All About Respect
"Finnish people are silent, small talk doesn't exist. Their personal space larger than COVID-19 social distancing rules, and it's considered normal. Don't speak unless spoken to, and don't invade other people's personal space - it's seen as a sign of a respect."
"Those Finns, who haven't been to abroad or haven't met too many foreigners, don't often even recognize this behaviour being unusual in the global scale."
– RockNRollNBluesNJazz
The "Safety Coffee Cup"
"I'm from Finland and one European thing that all Finnish people hate is cheek kisses when greeting. Its mostly southern european thing but still. There is this saying in Finland that goes 'Everyone has their own safety coffee cup' meaning the closest distance someone should get to you should not be closer than your coffee cup when you're holding it."
– eelisonparas
Let Them Shop In Peace
"Weird at first but I appreciate and wish for it. It might be just a Germany thing but from what I’ve been told German Walmart failed because the North American style of customer service was very unliked. From the greeter at the door to clerks asking if you need help unprompted. German shoppers just want to shop and go home as undisturbed as possible."
– UnusualHospital9579
I remember being weirded out when I went to Paris and asked for some ice at a cafe.
The waiter served me coke by opening the room temperature can and poured some of the contents into an empty glass. With no ice.
When the server came back, he had with him a spoon with one ice cube on it. I thought it was stingy but it got worse.
He poured the rest of the coke over the ice on the spoon he was holding and then walked away with the ice and spoon.
I guess the coke was colder than when I had my first sip, so according to the server, it was viola: mission accomplished!
Do the French not like ice-cold beverages? Weird.
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People tend to forget that therapists–the professional we seek for guidance when we're vulnerable–are also human and are just as prone to feeling the feels.
Curious to hear from therapists who've exposed their emotional vulnerabilities in front of their clients opened up when Redditor Unkw0n_pers0n asked:
"Therapist that have cried in a session, why?"
A patient who feels seen and understood reinforces why therapists endeavor to help people in the first place.
It Wasn't Her Fault
"I was working with a deeply depressed client who had a lot of negative self talk about how she was always a failure. We were exploring the origins of this and how young she was the first time she felt self-blame. She told me her earliest story of when she was in 2nd grade."
"Afterwards, as we were processing it, I expressed that 'it wasn't your fault' about the story. She just broke down sobbing and said 'nobody has ever said that to me before' in between sobs. It hit me and I cried a little."
– Ayzmo
Relatable Experience
"i cried after i worked with a kid who described an emotionally difficult situation with a sibling. the kid’s experience aligned very similarly to something i went through with my own sibling when i was the kid’s age and i hadn’t realized how much hurt i was carrying from the experience."
"being a therapist sometimes means being confronted with things you didn’t realize had such a strong impact on you. luckily, i have a stellar therapist of my own that i can work through these moments with."
– rejecteddroid
The Patient With A Disorder
"I was doing a cognitive assessment for a girl. We were doing tests and at one point she started crying she was unable to tell me why, she was fine just one moment before. I let her collect her thoughts, then she said softly 'I don't want to be more stupid than my friends'. She wasn't actually, she was very bright, but she didn't know that she has dyslexia, dysorthograpy AND dyscalculia. I realized that she went through THIRTEEN years of school without help. Her parents didn't want to do an assessment as they thought she was just lazy. I told her that she was very brave to decide to get help and things would get better after our assessment and I felt tears in my eyes."
"Edit: first of all, I have great empathy for parents, for most of all is just a matter of ignorance, fear and parenting is hard. If you are a parent and you see your kid struggling, PLEASE listen to professionists, we are here to help, not judge, and we will find ways to help you and your kid. Disorders don't go away, don't underestimate it, the sooner you get help, the better the outcome can be. It's ok to be scared but we're here for you and we understand you."
"Second, I'm really sorry to read so many heartbreaking stories about people that weren't believed and struggled being undiagnosed. I wish you all the best, I hope you are in a better situation and you got or you'll get all the help you deserve, because you do deserve it."
"Third, if you think 'something's wrong with me', get help if you are in a position to do so. Worst case you understand yourself better and have a chance do make peace with parts of yourself."
– ---honeybadger----
A patient who has already accepted their heartbreaking fate recalls seeing their therapist getting emotionally involved during a session.
A Mother Who Didn't Want To Let Go
"My therapist cried while 'mediating' a discussion between my mom and I. I have a neurodegenerative disease and she is my full time caregiver. Because of my severe disability, she also has legal guardianship of me, even though I am in my 20’s (this is all fine with me, I need the help, and I agreed in court to all of it. This was the first true 'disagreement' that we ever had.)"
"I am ready to die. I am in pain, unable to do anything for myself, and it’s only getting worse. I asked my mom to sign a DNR, because I have been resuscitated before, it was a mess, and I don’t want it to happen again."
"She refused. She doesn’t want to lose her child and wanted to do everything medically possible to keep me alive."
"The session was essentially me begging her to let me go, while she sobbed and said she could never sign a paper that would lead to my death. It was a terrible situation. No one was 'the bad guy', no one was trying to hurt the other. It was someone wanting their suffering to end, verses a mother not wanting to lose her child."
"My therapist agreed that I should be allowed to make this choice, but certainly didn’t think my mom was manipulative or evil, just already grieving and trying to hold on to me as long as possible. I saw her wipe her eyes several times, and they were red by the time we were done. She actually hugged us both at the end."
"The situation wasn’t resolved during the session, but my mom came around shortly after. She wouldn’t sign the DNR, but gave me legal permission to do so (so, in her mind, it wasn’t her making the final decision.)"
"BTW, my mom and I have a GREAT relationship! This was just one issue that we couldn’t come to an agreement on ourselves. But it worked out, and I’m now in palliative care and have a great team looking after me, INCLUDING my mom!"
– fightwithgrace
The following examples continue to demonstrate how therapists are more emotionally invested in their patients and clients than you think.
Responding To Tragic News
"I cried in a substance treatment group. A client’s mom had reached out via email to me to say that her daughter died from an OD. She called during my group so I chose to take the call and spoke with her briefly. I thought I could continue with the group. Ended up in tears instead."
– ChicagoOwls
She Patient Who Felt Unloved
"My patient cried and said 'there's nobody on this planet who loves me anymore.' I cried when I left because I knew she was right. For context: she was 95, her husband and son had died, she had a personality disorder that made her behaviour unbearable for her environment after her husband died and every person still in her life were paid for to be around her. She died a few months after this conversation."
It is unsurprising that therapists are compassionate people.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be in the room to help someone who is struggling internally.
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