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Police Officers Break Down How Stupid Calls Became Serious In An Instant

Police Officers Break Down How Stupid Calls Became Serious In An Instant
Photo by R.D. Smith on Unsplash

911 is not a joke people! Calling in the police is something you must be sure about. Once those in blue are involved, the game changes. However, it can be surprising how small incidents can turn into mayhem and tragedy. Life can flip in an instant, so just be competent as a person.

Redditor TurdNugget6952 wanted law enforcement to speak up about the consequences when dialing 911 without purpose by asking...

Police of reddit, what dumb call turned serious very quickly?

The Hulk Vehicle....

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"When I graduated high school, I got hired by my pd as a community service officer (CSO). We handled minor calls, transported prisoners and served arrest warrants."

"One day I was dispatched to go investigate a hulk vehicle. A hulk vehicle for those who don't know is a vehicle that has been abandoned on someones property and the property owner, who doesn't have the title, wants it gone. Law enforcement can come out and issue what is known as a hulk vehicle permit which allows the property owner to have the vehicle towed. So I get on scene of this large, wooded property (i'm guessing a couple hundred acres). The property owner is a management company and they want to build houses on the property and they discovered several hulk vehicles during their site visit."

"So I go about walking through the woods and investigating the vehicles as I came to them. They had been abandoned for at least 20 years so it wasn't much of an issue. I finally reach the last vehicle which was pretty far into the wood and as I'm checking it I realized there was an active meth lab operation next to me. I couldn't see anyone around and I backed out the same way I came in fearing booby traps. Got back to my car and called for immediate back up. Officers surrounded the scene and SWAT got called out to clear the woods. The found 4 suspects hiding, all were armed and they discovered a pipe bomb booby trap less than 50 feet from the car I was inspecting. Had I gone out a different way or approached the lab I would have been killed."

"Fortunately I listened to my gut and didn't touch anything and went out the same way I came in." techguru69

Tased Out...

"Not a cop, but the son of one. Lots of stories i could tell, but one has always stood out in particular. Police were called one night due to noise complaint at someones house. When police arrive, it's discovered that there is meth and the person in the house (we'll call him Jerry) is on it like no tomorrow."

"More cops eventually show up and none of them can keep Jerry down. They try using a taser, but it's ineffective on it's own. As taser is getting a new battery, eight cops tackle Jerry all at once and are still struggling to keep him down. Dude with taser then shoves taser against Jerry's testicles and says "Put your hands behind your back or your testicles are getting electrocuted." Jerry then magically complies with police officers."Destroyerpete95

Back to the 80s....

"Not me, but my dad who was a cop and is still a firefighter had one that I still laugh at. He was working a shift on the police department back in the early to mid 80s and got a call late one night for smoke showing from a residence. His assistant chief shows up first, I should preface by saying he was a fat and lazy fool and didn't properly check and radioed dispatch that there wasn't smoke showing and to disregard the fire department."

"My dad shows up and his AC tells him that it was a false alarm and my said he was going to check anyway. He said he smelled smoke as he got out of his cruiser and said he was going to check for himself."

"He opens the backyard fence and down the small hill to the back. As he walked to the back of the house he saw smoke pouring out of the soffits and saw flames in the back windows. He radios dispatch to have the fire department remain in route, and that smoke and flames visible and then asks for mutual aid from a neighboring department."

"Fire department shows up and was able to knock down the fire before it got too out of hand besides some serious smoke damage, but the house was eventually refinished and still stands to this day." fightinscot

SMH....

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"Drunk driving turned into man slaughter when he drove onto a side walk with OUTDOOR DINING."Wolf-man-420

He didn't make it.

"Not a cop, I'm a nurse but I was a vet tech at this time. I went to our main clinic for a meeting which was next to a liquor store. Watched a guy get out of his car, staggering all over the place, we just thought he was just another drunk getting more juice. Then he collapsed on the ground. My coworkers ran over to him and immediately started CPR. Turned out he had been sober for a year but had felt bad all day, he decided he had enough of feeling bad and was going to get a drink. Turned out he felt bad because he had had a heart attack and was in heart failure. He didn't make it."babyrn1

Frozen in Spot. 

"Not an officer, but witness to a accident which turned into a drug and gun bust."

"Back when I was 18 I got into a bit of a blackjack habit at the local casino (Canada so only need to be 18). I walked out of there one night around 2:00 am, and was having a smoke outside my truck when I see this semi-old man walk across the street to the parking lot. He wasn't on the crosswalk, but like 20 meters or so from intersection. A vehicle came straight through the intersection (not speeding, driving perfectly normal) and this guy just froze like a deer in headlights. I imagine he was thinking that the car would swerve and avoid him. It was late at night so no one else was on the road, but with all the snow on the ground you simply cant break and steer the vehicle. It just locks up, and slides while turning sideways."

"The car hit the man, but relatively minor impact for a car hitting you. The side of the car hit the guy and the snow kind of helped soften the impact to the ground. I immediately called 911, the driver got out and started helping the man. After I run over, he says he needs to go call someone and goes to his car. No biggie, the man is shaken but no major injuries and I thought the driver was just really shook up from hitting someone. Police and ambulance get there a couple minutes later, tend to the man and the driver and I both give statements to different officers. I painted the guy in a good light, said he wasn't speeding and tried to break but the snow and ice made him slide. I'm waiting to be told that I'm good to go when an officer finds a fucking gun in a snow covered planter."

"The idiot driver took it out of his car, went and dropped it in a planter on the sidewalk and walked back over to his car on the road. Smart idea, but there's only one set of tracks that go from his car to this planter and then back, and an obvious hole in the fresh snow that's been piling up. He's arrested and they search the car. So yeah, he gets put in cuffs and into the cruiser. They search the car and I found out later they also convicted him for drug possession."

"Little did the cops know I also had a quarter ounce of weed in my truck."Syrinx16

arrest them all....

"Not a police officer, but have a story:"

"Once my dad was dating this woman who had a teenage son. The kid did not like my dad at all."

"One day, dad and his girlfriend got into a fight and my dad slept in the garage. He woke up to her son and two of his friends holding baseball bats around him. The kids beat up my dad and ran off.""

"My dad called the police to report the incident, but when the cops realized who my dad was, they arrested my dad on the spot for not paying child support to my mom.

"TL;DR, my dad called the cops on his girlfriend's son, ended up getting arrested."shaingel_sle

From the ELEVENTH floor.

"Not a cop but I guarantee the ones involved remember this one. They were originally there to arrest a guy selling drugs on campus. They passed me in the stairwell (on their way up) while I was going to borrow some notes from a classmate. A few minutes go by and I'm back in the stairwell and get passed by the same cops (on their way down and moving quick). Turns out they handcuffed the guy, sat him down, did God only knows what, while homeboy Superman out the window head first. From the ELEVENTH floor. So that was an interesting day. He lived and he's somehow not a vegetable."LilJamiLouWho

Don't be unruly at McDs! 

"Not a cop... but as a McDs worker, we called 911 on a group of teens who came in drunk and unruly. We called because one of them was a little more drunk and tipsy and sat down, put his head down and passed out. His friends thought is was hilarious. Cops showed up with a smirk at first figuring it was just retarded teens. When they poured a little cold water on mr passed out and he did not flinch, they stopped smiling. When they looked at his medic alert bracelet they got REAL serious. Paramedics came and worked in the kid. He survived but nearly died. He was diabetic, and suffering alcohol poisoning, his blood sugar was WAY off. Cops said he would have died if we dod not call them. Seeing the cops go from smirks to serious like that was scary."Gouranga56

Sad Times. 

"Not me but my dad. Also wasn't a police officer at the time, but a constable. He was going to a guys house to serve him a summons, as is usual and routine. He got there and went up to the house and the guy answered. As he was talking to him and serving him the summons, the guy pulled out a gun. My dad pulled out his and told him to drop the gun. Instead, the guy then turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger, blowing his own brains out. My dad was a cop before this though so it wasn't the first time seeing something like this."nilgoc

Turkey Butt....

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"Deputy friend of mine ended up getting hospitalized after responding to a call of a home intruder."

"There wasn't a home intruder, but there was a very large, aggressive turkey that bit him in the butt hard enough he needed stitches."slice_of_pi

​Sheriff Deputy here.

"Sheriff Deputy here."

"During patrol I started noticing at one house that their packages being delivered at their front door weren't being taken inside. A lot of these packages were groceries. I also noticed their mail wasn't being brought in. Usually the postal service mentions something when they see this but I brought it upon myself to do a welfare check."

"I arrived at the door and knocked. No answer. I knocked a few more times, no answer. I started thinking maybe the person that lives there maybe gone for a while. I decided to take one peek through the front window and I saw an elderly woman laying on the ground."

"I announced to dispatch what I saw and I'm entering the house immediately. Luckily I didn't have to kick the front door down and instead discovered the back door was unlocked."

"I entered the house and the lady was alive but due to her older age, she wasn't able to stand back up on her own strength after falling and has been laying on the ground for 2 days. I got paramedics to arrive and take her to a nearby hospital. I found her phone book with personal numbers in her kitchen and called her adult children and notified them of what happened. They were very relieved and drove to the hospital to help care for her."FrankTheTank369

Damn January. 

"Police here,"

"Got a call of some lady refused to get out of the bathroom. It's around 2AM and the cleaning crew of a restaurant let her inside, but she didn't want to leave. It's raining and cold outside, I think it was January. We get there and another set of officers from a nearby precinct respond because it's boring when it's cold and raining."

"The lady comes out dressed in simple pajamas, no shoes or socks, holding an infant wrapped in a baby blanket. No jacket. No coat. No warm anything. Just button-down pajamas and her tiny infant. All of us are like/holdup. They aren't dressed for this weather at all. The mom looks pretty normal, as in she's not a transient. We learn later she's a brain surgeon and lives in a very swank condo. Turns out she walked 6-8 blocks down the street in the rain dressed like this."

"Then the mother displays behavior attributed to mental health disorders. Starts screaming "They" are trying to kill her, gets incredibly manic. Hunches down and her eyes go wild. But, she's holding that baby tight. We know she needs to go to a psych hospital, but we have to get the baby away first. We plead we want to help her, just let us hold the baby. She won't of course, because in her mind we're all trying to kill her."

"At one point she whispers (kind of spooky), "Give me a gun and I'll do it myself." We swarm her. Two for the baby and two on her and she's screaming bloody murder. It was unnerving to say the least."

"My partner and I took the call (report). We get a hold of dad and take the baby back to him. He didn't realize she had left. He's a doctor too. He mentioned she didn't want to take her psych meds anymore and hadn't taken them in about a week."

"Lesson learned: If you need psych meds, please TAKE your meds! Don't ever think you're all better without them."

"We took the mother to a psych hospital for a 72-hour eval. Hope she got back on her feet, but we don't know."No_Im_Random_Coffee

Saturday Crazy....

"Deputy here,"

"It was a Saturday night and I had a call for an erratic vehicle (unable to stay in lane, speeding, etc.) Everyone assumed it was a routine dwi because it was Saturday night and started looking."

"Well she passed me on a main road so I turned around and conducted a traffic stop. She stopped her car in a terrible place so I approached on the passenger side. She was very angry and disrespectful and she wouldn't turn to look at me, just looked forward. I could smell alcohol, wasn't sure if it was coming from her or the vehicle. I asked for her license and registration to run her information. I decided I was going to talk to her more on the driver side to see if I could find signs of impairment."

"When I walked over to her side I saw the entire left side of her face was bruised and blood was coming out of her mouth, also a bruise on her neck in the shape of a hand and fingers. I had her step out to ask about it."

"She informed me her boyfriend got drunk and thought she was cheating on him and decided to hold her down by the neck and punch her approx 10 times. She had major swelling and the blood was a cut from her cheek against her teeth."

"It took 25 min to convince her to give me his information. She told me he lives in a neighboring state and the incident occurred there. I called the neighboring state police and informed them."

"Found out the guy had 3 felony warrants and they have been looking for him."SpikeFury47

He wasn't quick enough one time.

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"It was dumb and routine BEFORE we got there...."

"It was a local, well-known, drunken criminal (jack of all trades) who was playing with fireworks."

"Not an uncommon thing."

"However, he was in his living room. And they were very powerful and illegal. He was entertaining himself by lighting the wick and putting it out."

"He wasn't quick enough one time. The mortar went through his roof. Blasted the storm door off the hinges into the front yard. His torso lacerated. Intestines needed to be pushed back in and sewn up."

"About a year later (almost to the day) he got in a fight with his girlfriend on the interstate highway. At some point they pulled over, he got out, doors were locked, so he climbed on the hood. She started driving and he fell off. Wasn't even in very bad shape. He was shirtless, of course, and I saw the surgery scars from the year prior."UFC_blackbelt

I got the opposite response here.....

"I got the opposite response here. Got a call that a woman was giving birth so me and a rookie head on over to the address. Rookie was super excited to get to help with this since he hadn't gotten the opportunity yet. So we pull up and his face drops. It's a 50 year old meth-ed up woman rolling and screaming in her grass saying that she's giving birth to a dog. Anyways, I tell my partner to heck on outta here and go help the woman deliver that dog. That call went from serious to pretty dumb very quickly."Fokouttahere

Where's My Sword?

"Dude broke into house, pretty standard burglary. Dude takes the home owner's katana and is playing with it as the guy returns home. The guy doesn't leave or call the police and proceeds to fight the guy who has his sword in a brawl. No one died but the burglar got a number done to him so he wasn't very good at sword skills ig."OriginSport

North Carolina Tales....

"There was this house she and her partner had to visit frequently for domestic disputes between a grown son and his wheelchair-bound father. It was never that bad, mostly just yelling and the neighbors would call the police to check on them. No charges were ever pressed, so they'd usually just check in and be on their way."

"They got another one of those calls one day thinking it'd be the same as usual, this time the son is waiting outside for them. The partner is still questioning the son, and thinking the old man wasn't gonna be a threat she goes inside to deal with him on her own. She announced herself and approached him to talk, he doesn't say anything but suddenly grabs for her gun. She pinned the gun and his hands to her side and tried punching him, pepper-spraying, anything she could think of to get him to let go. Eventually her partner heard her screaming and ran in to disarm him, and he was taken away. He later admitted he was gonna shoot her and then his son, and she was pretty shaken up after that."AllyMarie93

Slow Talk....

"I had a call on 911 from this guy who was very meandering and then it got really real."

"Hi, so like...I'm calling because there's this caaarrrr... I think it's a Taurus? Ford Taurus, I guess? Anyway, it's got one headlight on...I guess the other one's burnt out. And it's just...it's just running, with that one headlight on. Annnnnd it's in this parking lot for a commuuuunity center, y'know, but it's...it's...I think it's closed? So I guess it's like, what's this car, doing in this parking lot, right? Just one car in the parking lot...and it's on, and like, one headlight....oh yeah, and there'stwoguysinsideslumpedoverandthey'renotmoving"

"WHAT!"

"Turned out they were overdosing pretty hard."lazarus870

Public Issues....

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"Paramedic here."

"The police and I were called to a public intoxication. No idea why medics were called but anyway..."

"The guy was hammered and had been stranded by his drinking buddies because he didn't want to get into the car (good for him). He was on the phone when I got there and he handed it to me and said "I can't talk to her", so I took the phone from him and hung it up and handed it back. Turns out he wanted me to talk to her for him (whoops)..."

"He went ballistic and threw a punch at me, and as he was punching the cop put a boot in his back (great reaction time, still don't know how he did it)."

"The guy ended up smashing his face on the road and suffered a concussion plus some other stuff. This was years ago and I still remember because I felt so guilty at the time."MapleDanish

These are some crazy stories! Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.

People Reveal Whether They Let Their Dog Sleep On Their Bed Or Not

Reddit user Piggythelavasurfer asked: 'Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?'

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap DierenartsenGiphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPostGiphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIFGiphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...


Close up of an owl tilting their head to side, looking bewildered
Photo by Josh Mills

The old wives' tales.

They are the stories of legend.

I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.

Where did they originate?

WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!

You don't hear about them as much anymore.

It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.

But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.

Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:

"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"

"Wait an hour to swim after eating."

What a crock!

So many summer hours wasted.

I want revenge for that one.

Say Nothing

Giphy

"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."

LonelyMail5115

"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."

I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA

Say Something

"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."

Severe_Airport1426

"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."

crappycurtains

"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."

AlbinoShavedGorilla

Body Temps

"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."

chriseo22

"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."

"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."

apocalypticradish

Arms Down

"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."

Fatmouse84

10 Years Actually

Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-NineGiphy

"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."

REDDIT

"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."

Gecko-911

I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.

This tale is haunting.

High/Low

Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & GraceGiphy

"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."

LeastFormal9366

"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."

IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI

The Cursed

"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."

"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."

SmoreOfBabylon

Stay In

"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."

"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."

worldbound0514

Dreams and Facts

"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."

"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."

mattshonestreddit

"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."

Darthdemented

Cracked

Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The OfficeGiphy

"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."

Choice-Grapefruit-44

"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."

MacyTmcterry

I love my knuckles.

Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.

lottery tickets
Erik Mclean on Unsplash

A lot of workers daydream about some day winning the lottery and being able to say goodbye to their job.

Far too many workers are unhappy with their job duties, workplace dynamics or company culture.

But with a taste for luxuries like housing and food, they keep plugging away, year after year.

However not everyone feels that way about their job.

So what are these compelling careers?

Keep reading...Show less
Therapist talking during session
Photo by Mark Williams on Unsplash

Some people stand firmly stand behind their beliefs that everyone would benefit from therapy and that therapy is life-changing.

It's because of the totally life-changing truth bombs their therapist had dropped during their sessions.

Curious, Redditor anonymiss0018 asked:

"What is a little bombshell your therapist dropped in one of your sessions that completely changed your outlook?"

Communication Issues

"'If you don’t have these problems with any other person in your life, why do you think you’re the problematic person in this one?'"

- maggiebear

"I love this. I have a 'friend' who I always seem to run into misunderstandings with. Every time we had a conversation, it somehow turned into a debate even if it was me talking about my day. The conversations were never easy."

"I always evaluate myself first and take into consideration his critiques. He was very good at convincing me that I was contradicting myself or wasn't good at communicating my thoughts."

"I NEVER had this issue with ANYONE else in my life. I kept trying to figure out where the miscommunication was coming from. In the end, I just minimized contact and now I don't run into this issue."

- chobani_yo

"I read this quote somewhere once (and probably have it a bit wrong): 'It's a waste of time arguing with someone who is determined to misunderstand you.'"

- Reddit

Emotional Regulation

"'You can’t control your emotions, but you can control what you do with them.'"

"At the time, I was a young adult who had learned zero healthy emotional regulation skills (only suppression and shaming) growing up, so this blew my mind."

- lil_mermaid

Tough Relationships

"'It sounds to me like you are trying to convince yourself to stay with your girlfriend. I'm not so sure it should be so difficult.'"

"At the time he said this, I remember it was like he said, 'The earth is flat.' I thought he was crazy when he suggested relationships don't need to be difficult. But eventually, I started to realize I was trying to change myself to stay with this person rather than just being who I am."

"It took me three more months to finally break up with her but from that day on, I vowed to never again abandon myself just to be with someone I had convinced myself was better than me."

- metric88

High-Stress Situation

"I was at a high-stress time, and I asked her how people live like this."

"She replied, 'Oftentimes they have cardiac events.' She said it as an urging to care for myself as much as possible."

- KittenGr8r

The End of Alcohol

"I was struggling with my alcoholism, and we were discussing how I had been cutting back."

"She asked what I would consider success, with regard to my drinking."

"I said I wanted to get to a point where it wasn't interfering with my daily life. I wanted to just be able to have a glass of wine at holiday dinners or family gatherings."

"She simply asked me why. Why was it important for me to drink at those times?"

"It was as if she'd turned on a light. Alcohol had always been a key ingredient in every family function, for my entire life. When I smell bourbon, I think of my uncle. When I smell vermouth, I think of my dad. Alcohol ran through almost every happy childhood memory."

"But, even more than that, I was very afraid of the explanation I'd have to give when family and friends asked why I wasn't having a drink. I had tried to quit before but failed. What if I admitted my problem, only to fall off the wagon?"

"When she asked why I didn't want to completely quit, it was the first time I saw that last part of the big picture. I'd be willing to drink myself to death in order to avoid being scrutinized, or judged for possible future failures."

"That was the day I quit. I've been sober since May 6th, 2017. 2,407 days."

- sophies_wish

Acceptance vs. Enjoyment

"'Accepting something doesn’t mean you have to like it.'"

"That took away a lot of my inner conflicts about situations because I could accept a situation without expending energy internally fighting against the injustice of it."

- alibelloc

Emotionally Immature Parents

"You are not responsible for your parents' emotional wellbeing. They are independent adults who have been on this earth for many more years than you."

- SmokedPears

Not So Lazy

"'Why do you think you're lazy?' Then she listed off all the things she knows I'm doing for my family, my job, and my life."

"It kind of blew my mind when I struggled to come up with an example."

"She also described family dysfunction as water. Some families are messed up in a way that everyone can see the huge waves across the surface. Others are better at hiding it, but there's still a riptide that you can't see unless you're also in the water."

"It made me realize that trying to keep the surface from ever rippling doesn't erase what is happening underneath."

- flybyknight665

The Harm in People-Pleasing

"'Why do you make people more comfortable when you are uncomfortable?' when talking about people pleasing and fawning."

- ERsandwich

Agree to Disagree

"'Stop trying to get everyone to agree. When you need everyone to agree, the least agreeable person has all the power.'"

This really changed my outlook on planning family events."

- freef

Grieve and Start Anew

"For context, I had a major TBI (traumatic brain injury), seizures, strokes, and all around not a fun brain time when I was 28."

"They said, 'You have to grieve the loss of yourself.'"

"Most people wanted me to go back to how I was. The f**ked up truth is that part of my brain is dead. The person everyone (including myself) knew died. I needed to grieve the loss of myself."

- squeaktoy_la

Multifaceted Identity

"They told me that my job and career is just a way to make money; it's not my life or identity. That took a lot of pressure off me."

- unfairpegasus

Breaking the Cycle

"They validated me."

"'You always talk about not wanting to do to your daughters what your mom did to you. You worry about it so much in every interaction you have ever had with them."

"But your children are 19 and 21 now. They are happy and healthy and they trust you because you’ve never abused them in any way. So I just want to validate for you that you really have broken that cycle of violence."

"You did that. And you should be proud of it. I’m proud of you for it.'"

- puppsmcgee74

The Grieving Process

"I was constantly bringing up how I felt like a completely different person after my mom died... like there was a marked difference between before and after her death."

"But once, she was asking about my hobbies, I got really into describing all the things I loved to do or at least used to do before I got into a deep depression."

"She was like, 'Wow, you seem very passionate.'"

"And I just sat there like, 'Well, I mean, I can't change what I like to do, they're still fun to do.'"

"And it's like she knew when to take a step back, because it was like, wow, I may be super depressed about my mom passing, but I'm still me. I'm still my passions and those don't go away."

"I don't know, maybe it only makes sense to be, but it really started getting me back on track."

- Hannibal680

Sharing the Load

"I've never really had friends. I've had colleagues and classmates and housemates and people who have hung out with me, but I never really felt close to any of them."

"And I did that thing you see on here sometimes; I stopped reaching out to see if I would be reached out to, and I wasn't, which I took as confirmation that they didn't really want me around, or at the very least, that they wouldn't mind my absence."

"I was talking to my therapist about people I'd been close to in college, and she told me to pick one and talk about him. So I did. After I shared some basic stuff like his name and his major etc., and a couple of anecdotes, she asked me what else I knew about him."

"And I couldn't answer. It wasn't really a broadly applicable bombshell, but she said, 'What else?' and I started crying because I realized that for as simple as the question was, my inability to answer spoke volumes."

"I've never had good friends because I've never been a good friend. I'm withdrawn and reserved and I always made others do the work to drag me out, without ever extending my own friendship in a meaningful way in return. If I wanted to have meaningful relationships with other people, I would have to build them."

"I'm still working on this, but I'm trying to make more offers and extend more friendliness to others in my daily life."

- Backupusername

The discoveries in this thread were incredibly touching and profound; it's no wonder these were lasting concepts for these Redditors.

It's important to keep ourselves open to inspiration and insights from others, as we have no idea how their experiences could help us, or how we could help them.