Flickr: Sander van der Wel
Folks on Reddit shared the most prominent warning signs to be aware of in ourselves in response to a question posed by evection94:
What are some red flags we should recognise within ourselves?
Plan For Today
if you've been saying "It's only temporary" for a couple years.
It's real easy to get stuck in a rut and distract yourself with some far off plans. Always have something you could be working on that directly contributes to your goals. MajorMustard
No Excuse
Continuously making last minute excuses for yourself. Before you know it, a year has gone by and you've done absolutely nothing. GoochBurrito
Giphy
Temper, Temper...
Personally- temper.
Realize that if the people around you are constantly making you angry, chances are that they are not the main issue.
Obviously this won't be the case for everyone but it certainly is for me. I'm spending more time thinking through my responses these days rather than just snapping back at people that probably don't deserve to be snapped at. joegekko
Put Your Behind In Your Past
Dwelling on past events that are completely irrelevant to your current existence. viramp
You Know What Happens When You Assume?
If you are constantly frustrated that no one understands you then you probably arent communicating effectively. Dont assume anyone knows your intentions or thoughts. Try to see the world through a third party view with none of your internal dialogue. cecilium
There Might Be More To Talk About?
When your only way of striking up conversations is by complaining about s*** in your life. That is unhealthy as f***. JohnnyOnslaught
Definitely Don't Keep Score
Keeping a tally of how your loved ones have wronged you and using it in arguments later. ttrriipp
What's The Common Denominator?
If you compulsively destroy all your romantic relationships just to stop worrying whether they'll reject you at some point?
You might have an anxiety problem and should see someone. BeMoreLikeMae1
Learn To Say Thanks
Not being able to accept kindness from others, be it compliments or gifts.
Not only is it a big red flag about your self esteem, it's very off-putting to the people you reject kindness from. jobaisntreal
Are You As Well As You Thought?
When Im doing well but when someone touches a nerve and I get upset, chances are Im probably not doing as fine as Ive led myself to believe. theworldismylobster
Link Feelings
If you notice your mood is greatly dependent on the attitude of someone else, especially in relationships, it can be VERY toxic in the long term. notrub95
Monitor Your Personal Worth
You have to re-orient how you evaluate your personal success and self worth. Start measuring yourself by criterion criteria that are under your control, not other people's. Set some realistic goals and assess how hard you're working to meet them.
For Example:
Rather than "Does Karen like me," try "Have I treated Karen with respect and consideration today?"
Rather than "Do people think I'm fat," try "Did I overeat today?"
Rather than "Is Dad proud of my career," try "Am I supporting myself with my job?" Bearracuda
Last One. Promise.
If you say last one more than a time or two about absolutely anything. nehthan
This Isn't Hollywood
I try to stop pretending I live in a movie. E.G. getting the girl in the perfect way, getting the perfect job, scoring the game winning touchdown.
Holding yourself up to standards found in Hollywood will likely cause upset. Lebagel
Check Your Spending
When you start needing excessive pleasure and happiness...it's because you are depressed...perhaps you aren't able to cope with the daily stress of life or maybe something traumatic happened. shewshoe
It's Not Always About Youred flag when you start talking too much about yourself in a conversation. don't assume everyone is your superfan and is interested. 2timessauce
Source
Keeping To Yourself?
Isolating and pushing people away. uncertainhope
Try Not To
Letting people in is fine and normal. But when people ask me, "How are you?" I totally have no idea what to say. Trying to learn that right now, with a close friends help. Jcashman317
Opposites May Not Attract
For the longest time I was always falling for girls who dont do relationships. Spoiler alert: they werent good at commitment. jtb3566
Say Hi To Your Mother For me
If you're unpleasant to your loved ones while waiting for a text message from your crush/partner, but pleasant to them as soon as you receive that text, that's a huge red flag. maryteresasarvaas
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Don't Always Trust Yourself
Learn your biases and be most suspicious of yourself when you want to believe/disbelieve something instantly, without really thinking about it. satanicpuppy
But, What If I'm Sick?
Using life's difficulties as a crutch for 1.) never doing anything or 2.) hurting others. Depression/anxiety suck. They really do. But they are not a free pass to hurt your friends and family under the excuse of "but I'm sick." allthebacon_and_eggs
What Do You See In Others?
Sometimes the traits in others that annoy us the most are attributes we have within ourselves that we (at least subconsciously) wish to change. ljahb
And, when the flag is the most red...
Always watch for when you stop giving a f*** about things that matter to you. I_have_no_use
The Reddit thread includes tons of links and numbers to call in case you or a loved one is in need of help.
H/T: Reddit
"What’s the most amazing thing about the universe?"
Our Brains Are Like The Milky Way
"A single human brain has as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy."
"Around 100 billion."
"Source: a neuroscientist filled with useless facts about the brain."- Afferent_Input
Where Our Deep Uncertainty Comes From
"This is one I thought about recently."
"I believe that Carl Sagan said that we, sentient entities, are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
"With this in mind, when we think about the end of our universe, whether it be through a big shrink, big cooling, or what have you, we get apprehensive."
"We probably will never see this end, many of us will be dead."
"Yet, we still get a cold fear in our hearts."
"We are also a way for the cosmos to fear it's demise."- TheClassyEngineer
A Little Perspective
"If you were on a planet 65 million light years away from Earth and had a really good telescope, you could see the dinosaurs."- Swimmergent
lisa simpson space GIFGiphyWhat Got Us Where We Are
"That every single random event since the dawn of creation."
"The birth and death of stars, planets and galaxies, the very genesis of life has led to you being here right now to ask this question."- Jesus_marley
There's Another World Out There...
"Imagine being transported to a parallel universe that was almost identical to our own."
"Somewhere out in the vastness of that universe, there is a tiny planet."
"This much is true in both universes."
"On this planet, there is a beach, and on that beach, there is a small stone."
"Once again, both universes are alike in this regard."
"Beneath that stone, however, there are several million grains of sand, and while they are all are in precisely the same location in each universe, one of them, a tiny speck of particularly clear quartz, hewn from a larger whole millions of years before, has a single atom that is positioned a fraction of a femtometer differently than its twin in the mirror dimension."
"You may think that such an insignificant difference would label these two universes as being functionally identical, and you would be right."
"In fact, they are so similar that the multiverse has long since combined them into one reality."
"That single atom in that tiny speck of sand on that lonesome beach on a distant planet merely occupies two spaces at once, seeming to an outside observer to vibrate back and forth at a predictable rate."
"That every atom in existence seems to do the same is probably a coincidence."- RamsesThePigeon
Loop Space GIF by xponentialdesignGiphySpeaks For Itself
"That it exists."- phillipsd001
The Age Old Question...
"It must be true that either it didn't exist, then it did."
"Or it has always existed."- realFraaErasmas
What Makes Our Brain Work...
"That somehow all the particles accumulated in a specific way and in specific quantities to give you conscious thought."- Sphyrwa
Stars Glow GIF by Erica AndersonGiphyThe Inevitable End...
That whatever our problems are, big or small, it won’t matter in 1,000,000 years (worst being a nuclear war or something). - Reddit
There are countless things about the universe no one will ever know.
But mysterious and, sometimes, unsettling as it may be, there's something oddly wonderful about the unending exploration and study to learn what is out there.
And all the discoveries we have yet to make.
"What fictional character's death still hits you hard no matter how many times you watch it?"
Dear, Noble Artax
"I have to say the death of Artax, the boy's horse, in 'The Neverending Story'."
"Watching him sink into that swamp was pretty awful."- powderkegpitbull
Bubba of Forest Gump
"'Bubba was my best good friend'."
"'And even I know that ain't something you can find just around the corner'."
"'Bubba was going to be a shrimping boat captain, but instead, he died right there by that river in Vietnam'."- FlyingVI
Stoick The Vast
"Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, Hiccup's father, from 'How to Train Your Dragon'."- Waldo_007
how to train your dragon animation GIF by Universal KidsGiphyThe Iron Giant
"The Iron Giant."- roo719
Noble Canine Companion
"Fry’s dog from Futurama."
"Another testimony to the fact that animators can be true storytellers, who don’t always need words to get their point across."
"The changing of seasons as the dog sits and waits in front of the pizza shop."
"Waits and waits for Fry, who never returns."
"No dialogue."
"Just the absence of the dog, eventually."
"Ugh."
"Gut wrenching."- iwokwuplikwthis
Animated GIFGiphySweet Ofelia
"The little girl from Pan's Labyrinth."
"In fact I just started crying even thinking about it"- choppcy088
Beloved Dr. Greene
"Mark Greene on ER."
"20 years later and I've never watched that episode without bawling like a baby."- LadyGreyIcedTea
A Hero's Death
"Wally West in 'Young Justice'."
"It’s been about a decade and I’m still mad about it."- Remarkable-Duck-2306
Video Game Laughing GIF by DCGiphyA Heartbreaking Escape
"When Brooks hangs himself in 'The Shawshank Redemption'."- Horror-School-6713
As the saying goes, those we love never truly leave us.
In the case of fictional characters in film and television, however, they are literally preserved for eternity.
Paving the way for new generations to be devastated and traumatized by their deaths.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/