It can be easy to write feelings of unease off as simple paranoia, especially when you aren't the one feeling uneasy. There's an important reality to keep in mind though, before you write someone off as simply being paranoid:
It isn't really paranoia if you're right.
Reddit user IMjudas asked the users of r/AskReddit:
"People who have been accused of being paranoid but ended up being right, what happened?"
10.
I was called a conspiracy nut years ago for claiming that my text/phone conversations and even in-person conversations with my phone on the table were being recorded and used for advertising.
Even did an experiment with my brother talking about parrots all day (a topic we've never had occasion to bring up) and watched our targeted ads from instagram. Hoho! Seeing birdfeed ads come up on my explore was VERY gratifying, but not enough to be taken seriously.
And now it's so apparent that it's a common joke/meme.
9.
I was being stalked via social media. Kept getting follow/friend requests from sketchy looking profiles and people talking to me who I hadn't contacted in years. I mentioned this to a few people but they all seemed relaxed about it and made me think I was overthinking (which I do do sometimes..). Turns out this was all from one guy who had made HUNDREDS of fake account and even hacked (or faked) other accounts to get in touch with me. Had to delete all my socials and return with a new name.
8.
GiphyI was studying abroad in Spain this semester. I decided to go home early because the coronavirus seemed to be getting bad and it was giving me anxiety to be there. Everyone told me I was overreacting and making fun of me for essentially being a wimp and leaving early. 3 hours after I booked my flight (for the coming Friday) Trump announced the European travel ban.
7.
In college, this new guy joined the org I was president of. Always thought there was something off, but he got along so well with everybody else. About a semester goes by, and we've all become friends, but I'm still a little off put by him. Pretty sure he drugged my drink at a hangout once, but a friend of mine drank it instead. That friend ended up in the hospital.
ALWAYS trust your instincts.
6.
I was worried during my junior year of high school that my best friend secretly hated me and was trying to sabotage parts of my life. My boyfriend at the time said that that wasn't true; that he's talked to her and she really loves and cares about me.
Fast forward to a few months later, just before senior year starts. I broke up with that boyfriend and for some reason a bunch of my friends seemed to have stopped talking to me. I find out during the summer from two of my friends that she had spread rumors about me after the breakup to make people think I'm crazy, and for years she's told the whole group about my love life and how badly I "mishandle" it. Cut her off that same day.
5.
GiphyI could smell gas everytime I opened the cupboard under the stove and said something to my mum. She just shrugged and said "pretty sure that's normal" and kept using it.
It took a long time, but one day the spark didn't ignite right away, so she used a lighter. PHWOOSH. Big rush of fire explodes out of the cabinet.
It made her nervous, but she STILL didn't do anything about it for a few months before she decided to upgrade. The installer who removed it was shocked nothing worse happened.
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4.
My ex boyfriend and his best friend ending up together. I knew it the day I heard him speak about her when we were 2 weeks in the relationship. We dated for a year, broke up and they started dating a while after. Now, they have been together for 5 years, engaged for 5 months and a bun in the oven. I'm so happy for them, I love being right about love!
3.
Worked in a company for almost 16 years and knew everyone from the facilities workers up to the president, would go to lunch with the director of HR at least once a month.
One day I came in and made my usual rounds but people that I knew really well seemed a bit off. They didn't want to engage in conversations like they were doing the day before, this happened several more times and I just couldn't put my finger on it but I knew something was up.
2 days went by and one of my jobs was to upload the board meeting minutes to an online database so they could search it. While doing it I saw that they retained a management consulting firm and tasked them with evaluating salaries and tenured employees but didn't explain why.
Put 2 and 2 together and got my resume out in the field, IT was booming and I got 4 interviews in the first week. 3 weeks later I got to upload the board meeting minutes and see the results of the management consulting firms analysis it had my name on the list along with numerous other employees that were suggested for termination.
I received 3 offers from other companies and selected one of them, walked into my directors office and handed him my resignation. He acted surprised and asked why I was leaving, I said just saving you the trouble of terminating me.
The company laid off over 300 of it's 600 employees within the next 3 months, I wasn't paranoid.
2.
I've always had anxiety, and one of the problems that came with my anxiety was the fear that nobody actually liked me or wanted to be my friend— they were all just pretending. Eventually I settled into a group of three girls while I was in High School.
Well one day I hit a very low point. After years of knowing these girls, I confessed to one of them that I had this anxiety, and that I wanted to kill myself because it was non stop all day. She tearfully assured me that I was wrong; they all loved me and wanted to be around me.
Until two weeks later when I didn't want to go to the mall with them and that girl flipped the f*ck out saying none of them actually liked me at all, they only hang out with me because they feel bad for me and because I paid for things. She told them all those pathetic things I'd said, so now they knew I was crazy, and it was rude of me to “dump all that on her" because she had to “pretend she cared" otherwise people would think she was a b*tch.
When I asked the other girls if they felt the same, they admitted that they absolutely did. She not-so-subtly suggested I should just kill myself and get it over with because all those things I think about myself are true.
If you’re out there, f*ck you Cassie, you short, nasty b*tch. I‘m still here.
1.
Anybody who's been cheated on has had the experience of picking up on clues, getting a bad gut feeling about the situation, and being told they're paranoid. If this goes on for awhile, it's one of the harder things to get past as you need to learn not only to trust other people again, but your own instincts.
Yep. You don't know why you know something is off, but you know something is off.
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/
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No matter how long ago we saw it, there are some scenes or images from movies that still send shivers down our spine or keep us awake at night to this very day.
Pennywise appearing in the sewer in It, Janet Leigh surprised in the shower in Psycho, Freddy Kreuger's tongue popping out of the telephone in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Of course, some of the scariest, most disturbing, or most emotionally traumatizing scenes from films might have been featured in films outside of the horror genre.
Even more shockingly, some of these films were primarily marketed towards children!
Redditor alina_love was curious to hear which non-horror films the Reddit community saw as children still send shivers down their spines today, leading them to ask:
"What's a non horror movie that traumatized you as a kid?"
It Was Tim Burton, After All...
"'Pee Wee's big adventure'."
"Large Marge scared the crap out of little me."
"I was even scared of the fortune teller."- BlueStarrSilver·
With A Title Like "Temple Of Doom"...
"'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'."
"The scene where the guy gets his heart ripped out traumatized me for years."- Pbhf
That Funeral Scene Though...
"'My Girl'."
"Fear of death, fear of losing a friend, fear of bees, fear of puberty."- heidismiles
macaulay culkin kiss GIFGiphyJurassic Park's Got Nothing On This...
"'The Land Before Time'."
"Watching Little Foot’s mother die was awful."- HourglassSass
He'll Always Regret Not Bringing Her To The Museum...
"'Bridge to Terabithia'."- jumpstart-the-end
"Everything goes so well and it falls apart SO FAST and your left absolutely traumatized."- VortexDestroyer99
The Reason People Hold On To Their Appliances For As Long As They Do...
"The Brave Little Toaster'."- Catgurl
"The junkyard scene alone was responsible for so many nightmares."- ManChildMusician
brave little toaster animation GIF by Coolidge Corner TheatreGiphyAnd Let's Not Forget The Coachman's Smile...
"Disney’s version of 'Pinocchio'."
"The scene where kids are turned into donkeys and kept on the island and then resold was f*cking weird."
"You felt bad for that bully kid after he looked sad and nobody understood what he said because he was a donkey."- earnestlikehemingway
Few Things More Sad And Scary Than Deforestation
"'Ferngully: The Last Rainforest'."
"That evil tree scared me so bad."- slutsdotnet
Anything But "Truly Scrumptious"...
"The 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' Childcatcher guy!"
"I'm still scared of him!"- Jet_Maypen
child GIFGiphyOffing Children One By One...In A Children's Movie!
"'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' boat scene."
"Honorable mention of claustrophobia when Augustus gets stuck in the chocolate tube."
"UGH!"- looseseal-bluth
At Least We Know He Had A "Sole"...
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
"That poor shoe….."- dalalice5555
At Least The Song Is Catchy...
"Neverending Story."
"Not even Artax, which was awful, but the Rockbiter and his good strong hands."- marxychick1
Neverending Story 80S GIFGiphyDorothy Gettying Electro Shock Therapy Says it All...
"Return to Oz."- Jeff_Steelflexx
"Horrifying! What about the animated wig heads?"- weensfordayz
The Reigning King Of Childhood Trauma
"Old Yeller."- IceTech59
"I remember watching this on TV during, I think, Wonderful World of Disney (Sunday nights were Disney night on TV)."
"Cried and cried and cried."
"I've never been able to watch it again and I've never shown it to my kids!"- crowwitch
Not All Friendships Are Tenable... A Terrifying Thought
"'The Fox and the Hound'."
"Still makes me incredibly sad, lol."- mental_reincarnation
best friends friendship GIFGiphySometimes, writers and filmmakers simply overestimate what might go over a child's head.
Or, for that matter, they might underestimate their emotional capacity.
Regardless, ask any of Fairuza Balk's fans which is scarier, Return to Oz or The Craft, and their answer will be immediate...
(... and it won't be The Craft...)
Sometimes it's fun to toy with someone.
Especially if it's an enemy or a loved one who simply deserves a good ribbing.
Some cryptic sentences can send anyone into a tailspin.
And oh the fun that can be had.
You have to be as vague as possible and as sincere.
You have to sell the sincerity. That's vital!
And then just watch them implode.
Redditor theary18 wanted to hear about the most creative ways to throw somebody off their game, so they asked:
"What is the best thing to say to someone to subtly f**k with their head?"
I love to come up behind someone and say "I can't believe they would treat you this way. I got you girl!"
Then I scurry away.
Tee-hee...
It's YOU!
For Me GIF by Liz HuettGiphy"Just tack on the phrase 'given your history' to any question you ask someone."
"Are you sure you want another drink? Given your history?"
"Do you mind driving? Given your history?"
hamletreset
Mean Kids...
"I moved to my elementary school in the 5th grade. Mid-year, a boy came up to me and said, 'I really thought you were gonna be somebody.' I'm now 45 and I'm still like, what the f**k was he talking about?"
NicklePlatedSkull
"Likely something they heard a parent say to someone. Kids love to repeat the dumb stuff you say the next day at school."
itsallgoodman2002
"All jokes aside he probably thought you were someone else. I've done the same things countless times and it's happened to me a few."
Download_more_ramram
"I would interpret this as this kid hearing there's gonna be a 'new kid' and then their imagination ran wild as to who this new star is going to be, that it will be like in some kid movie or something, but you turned out to be just another kid student."
i_was_planned
I Like You
"I don't get why other people don't like you."
Dependent_Main2643
"Another variant is..."
"I don’t care what everyone else is saying. I think you’re great!"
"They’ll take it as a compliment at first but then they’ll think about it and it’ll eat away at them."
Oh-Cool-Story-Bro
"A guy I work with says this time to me every time I help him 'I don’t care what everyone else says about you you’re alright. Literally everyone else. We did a poll.' XD guy says some crazy s**t. When he started he tried to convince us he was a flat earther. He just likes fucking with people."
ThreeBeatles
Rumors
“'I heard about you.'"
ignorantpigeon
"Whenever I hear this I always respond with 'if it’s all good, it’s all lies.' Usually shows my sense of humor and if it is bad things they heard it usually lightens the mood."
ElApolloLoco
"Years ago I worked at a cafe and function venue which was sold after a few years to a new catering company. The first time I met the new restaurant manager I introduced myself and she exclaimed 'Oh, you’re winoforever!' and I was a bit weirded out. Then not long later I met the new owner and she also said 'Oh, you’re winoforever!' I still wonder twenty years later what they’d both heard about me."
winoforever_slurp_
Problems
Drunk Party Girl GIFGiphy"Go up to someone at a party and say: 'I just want you to know that personally, I have no problem with you being here.'"
LuketheMook
"I once got drunk and effectively said that to a girl at a wedding. 'I don't care what everyone else thinks, I always liked you' or something like that."
Supersnazz
Parties are the perfect setting for these shenanigans.
Especially with the drinkers.
But get them at least semi-sober.
I got You
Okaay What GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy"If you are chatting with someone and another person walks up look at them and say 'I just want you to know that I was defending you' then turn and walk off. It's a good 2fer."
could_use_a_snack
Hush
"'We know, but don't worry, we'll keep it a secret.'"
ch3rrycsmos_
"A friend in high school (actually still a current friend) said something similar to me and it definitely f**ked with my head. 'You know you're not fooling anyone, right?' He wouldn't elaborate and it took me the rest of the day to figure out he was f**king with me. As a guy with imposter syndrome, especially as a teen, that had me turned for a bit."
ablackcloudupahead
You Again
"If it’s someone you interact with repeatedly, always introduce yourself as if you’ve never met before."
Stillwater215
"I keep doing this to a guy I see very occasionally. He's a friend of my sister-in-law, but I've introduced myself to him at least four times. Right now, I'm trying to picture his face and I totally can't, so if I see him again, I'll introduce myself again. He remembers me though. And I don't have this issue with anyone else, I just can't remember this guy's face for some reason."
KrtekJim
Big Mouth
"You really need to brush your teeth."
setthepinnacle
"Somebody jokingly left a message on the 'tip' line that said 'Take a breath mint.'"
"I'm like 90% sure it was just the first thing that came to his head but it f**ked with me for weeks. I was self-conscious when talking to people, being close to them with my mouth open, and I'd constantly be brushing longer/harder taking mouthwash a couple extra times a day, and using mints."
ToFaceA_god
Head Issues
Think About It GIF by IdentityGiphy"Give all your friends a few dollars to compliment their hat if they’re not wearing one. When 50 people insist you’re wearing a hat, you start to think you’re wearing a hat. It will drive them insane."
Stillwater215
Hats off for that last one. That's harmless but devious.
Do you have any tips to add? Let us know in the comments below.
