We make choices, practically thousands within a day.
Sometimes we make choices within choices.
And each choice is a gamble.
We can burn our lives to the ground without a match.
And often destruction is fast and furious.
RedditorNinhaLatinawanted to give out some warnings to everyone on how to keep life on track... they asked:
"What is the quickest way to f**k up your life?"
Excess in anything as always brought me down more dicey roads. So I try to stick with moderation.
Blow it out...
"Forgot you lit a candle and ended up burning your apartment complex down which caused the death of multiple tenants."
Ok_Cryptographer_535
Addiction
"Went to school with a guy who was valedictorian... couple years later found out he overdosed... he was set up to go to Yale or Harvard don't really remember... either way that sucks."
GetoBoii
"Yeah, developing an addiction to drugs or alcohol is a surefire way to screw up your life and it can happen surprisingly quickly. Source: ruined a lot of things for myself because of a drinking problem but luckily managed to turn things around."
Strange-Bee5626
For fast results...
"Drugs and Crime. For fast results. Get naked in public and punch a cop."
ghigoli
"Growing up, my parents didn't shelter me from that crap, they showed me what drugs could do to me. They had a few co workers who were recovering addicts talk to me and tell what they went through because of drugs. As I got older I never wanted to do anything harder than weed, and that was very infrequently. Now I'm 35 yrs old happily married with a beautiful son and I haven't done anything harder than weed."
Mike_Hav
Black Holes
"In high school, I was in all of the AP classes with all of the top 10% of my graduating class and this was actually not too uncommon. I know so many that dropped out of college or never went to college and a few that turned to drugs at least for a little bit. Number 3 in my graduating class dropped out after a semester and started working at Walmart."
"She still does 14 years later and not even a manager or supervisor as if she purposely chooses not to be in a position of power or advance at all. Just something about being considered a child genius and having that constant pressure to always be perfect just messes with so many people."
"I admit that I fell into that same black hole and did nothing for over a year before I woke up and pieced my life back together. Luckily I never had any interest in drugs. I think our school system needs to change or at least provide better support to these students."
Taiyonay
Used People
"Marry or cohabit with someone who doesn't love you but wants to use you."
Genshed
Don't jump on the FOREVER bandwagon without really knowing them first! That's a good one.
15 years ago...
"Get caught on To Catch a Predator. There is still a very active community of fans that watch and discuss episodes from 15 years ago. Every guy from that show has a nickname and a wiki page with all the dirty details whether they did an interview with Chris or just showed up in the background for 5 seconds."
Sleepy_Tortoise
Bad Charge
I Got This Credit GIF by HustlersGiphy"Get into massive credit card debt."
toothfixingfiend
Russian Roulette
"So, heard a story about a guy that I went to high school with. He was a big druggy and the kind of guy that always wanted to look like a bada**. SUPPOSEDLY he and some friends were crazy high and decided to play Russian Roulette. The spun the gun and all that, and the first guy wised up and didn't pull the trigger."
"From what I was told he said 'don't be a pu**y' put the gun under his chin and fired. The bullet went up through his jaw and tore off the front of the left side of his face along with his nose and eye socket. Somehow survived. Now he is missing one eye, his face is all messed up and I think he is blind in his other eye because of it. No brain damage though, somehow."
towmader
No parental help...
"A friend was all set up to go to university with a full ride scholarship but ended up knocking his GF up and had to drop out to support them. He now works as a gas station attendant."
Dire-Dog
"If you have parents support pregnancy doesn't have to be the end obviously it makes it harder and no additional support from relatives is really difficult."
"But a lot of people actually have an incentive to do better with kids. Having a parent to look up to growing up who actively pursues higher education and incentives to provide a better life is inspiring. My dad did that for the purpose of qualifying for promotion. No parental help."
queen--c
Death
Oh My God Wow GIF by The Roku ChannelGiphy"Maybe not the quickest, but punching someone who falls, hits their head, and dies. Quick, AND probably unexpected!"
TwoTonMantis
Revolver
"Playing Russian roulette."
the_man_with_none
"Some kids near my town decided to do it not even with a revolver but with like a .45 and this 17-year-old guy shot his brains out in front of his friends."
"Edit: I don't wanna speak ill of the dead, even if there was a lack of thought process in such a senseless death."
Train wreck
"Having a baby unexpectedly and you broke as hell.and you don't even like the other person that much... f**ks up so many people's life."
ExpressBug8265
"Legit, also happened to me. Ex fell pregnant around 2 months into dating, she ended up losing it. Lord if that happened I'd have been messed because looking back, the relationship was a train wreck. When I broke it off with her, she asked me to marry her to'"Fix it.'"
Brammerham
Snake Eyes
"Gambling addiction."
mythrowaway9684
"I'll never forget going to a casino on my 21st birthday. I was sitting there at the penny slots, and sitting a couple of chairs away from some dude. You could smell the booze and stale cigarettes from multiples chairs away. He asks me how old I was, and I told him I just turned 21."
"He told me he was in his late 40s (though he looked older than my 74 year old dad) and due to his gambling addiction he worked mornings as a Walmart bag person, and spent his nights at the casino, while living with his parents. I'm now in my early 30s, and have gambled at a casino like twice since that conversation. Fu***kkkkk all of that."
mothershipq
24/7
"Paying attention to 24h news."
Kringlepuff
"I’ve cut out almost all news and politics a few weeks go, as well as most social media. The best way to describe it is that my life feels insanely more clear. As if I can see all my goals and things I want done."
"I’m reading and learning more. It’s like a weight off my shoulders. I feel so much less stress not looking at politics and news specifically."
"Now, if I could just get rid of reddit and TikTok for the endless scrolling during breaks."
Fire_And_Blood_7
Trauma
kristen bell narcissist GIF by SAG AwardsGiphy"Dating a narcissist. Your life will never be the same again. Not even after the relationship is over. The trauma will remain."
OlichkaLove25
"socially unacceptable"
"Get caught saying something horrific on video and having it go viral."
Bgerrits3
"I'm worried about doing something 'socially unacceptable' on video and it will go viral. Like arguing with a cashier and I will look like a 'Karen.' Or attacking someone because that other person attacked me first but the video conveniently does not show me being attacked. Or I will bump into a woman by accident and it looks like I did it on purpose."
shf500
Discharge
"Join the military for some. For me it was a huge blessing. VA loan and GI bill hooked me up. For others they got DUIs drug incidents and all sorts of reasons to get kicked out. Doesn’t look good to future employers to get kicked out. An honorable discharge is the way to go!"
Harambes-Revenge
Forever
"If you're American. Messing with your credit score That crap will haunt you for life."
Deadly_Zinnia
"Does it not get wiped in America? In U.K. old debts get wiped after 6 yrs no contact (you mustn’t ever have admitted the debt/agreed to a payment plan etc... or the 6 yrs starts again from that date) Then u start off again building credit."
bellDor
Drugs. Stay away from hard drugs. All of them. Be careful out there.
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.