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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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.