There are just going to be times in life when we don't win. There are always going to be ups and downs, births and deaths, love and heartbreak. And there are just going to be times where all we've got is a faith that whatever the circumstance... somehow we'll make it through.
Redditor u/yeet-or-yote wanted us all to share those times in life when... life is a little too much by asking.... What is one situation in which you've felt completely helpless?
Never Again....
GiphyBeing robbed at gunpoint at work. Guy approached me outside as I was walking to my vehicle to go home. Held a gun to my head and then said if I wanted to make it home that I'd do what he asked. Had me turn around and walk back inside then had me take him to our petty cash then tied me up. Took me about 30 minutes before I felt like I could get up (I thought he was still in the building) then another 10 minutes to get myself loose. Definitely not a rollercoaster I want to ride again. delap87
The Back End....
Having severe sciatica. To the point where I had to use a cane and it was terribly difficult to cross my apartment. The pain would cause me start crying and I truly felt helpless. For reference, I'm a 23 year old male who also felt like my health was invincible. No history of back pain. Luckily things got markedly better, but for awhile there I didn't have much hope. JohnGalt1776
Mom....
When my dad called me at 1 a.m. and then just didn't say anything. I somehow knew that my mum had died. I mean, if she'd just been in hospital or something, he would've spoken up immediately. Instead he was just... silent. Because what was there left to say, really? So I had to ask him. And then he confirmed it, and asked me to go and tell my sister (who lived in the dorm room next to mine) .
I don't think I've ever felt more helpless than I did then. (My mum had not been ill beforehand. She'd just collapsed and died after having dinner with a friend.)
Leave the Bottle....
My parent was an alcoholic when I was a kid. I was the only one who seemed to know. I didn't have any other family I felt like I could tell, so I told my teacher at school. Cue my parent twisting things, calling me a liar, mentally ill, accused me of ruining their lives, etc. This when on for over a year. They made my life a living hell for telling someone. I felt like there was nothing that I could do but take it. Pruneyfingers
Bedside Manner....
GiphyThe first time I had a patient die. There was nothing more we could do for him, so I just sat at his bedside till his daughter could come to the hospital. Morfa_
Travel Smart...
I was young and stupid on my first big vacation on my own in Turkey. I put my one and only debit card into a free standing ATM that was on a corner in a quiet part of the town I was visiting and nothing happened after it went into the machine. It just made a whirring sound and nothing changed on the display or anything. I felt waves of helplessness crash over me as I realized I now was in a strange far away country literally without money, what the hell do I even do, call my embassy or something? It's all going to be a huge nightmare.
I sat down on the curb by the ATM thinking about what to do and literally like ten minutes later my debit card was whirred out of the ATM again. Now I travel with several credit cards and only use my debit one at home, I also never use free standing ATMs, I try to find ones that are inside bank branches. Smegma_eyedrops
Life in Toronto....
My mom has Alzheimers and is slowly losing her mind. She knows something is wrong and gets scared and frustrated and angry (and abusive) sometimes, but doesn't realize that she's not capable of making decisions and doing all the things she used to. I'm trying to have her drivers license revoked, enact my power of attorney, take over all her affairs, and probably put her in a home.
Every step I take involves so many appointments with useless doctors, etc, and it's nearly impossible to get her to appointments. She has money to pay for care, but I can't access it, and she pissing it all away on scams that target the elderly and forgetful.
I took so many days off to bring her to medical appointments or deal with emergencies that I was fired from my last two jobs. The rest of my family criticizes and complains that I'm not doing a good enough job or moving swiftly enough but nobody helps me, and I live in a state of complete chaos where it's difficult to even make breakfast or take out the trash. If anyone knows a good therapist in Toronto. madeamashup
Blood is Never a good sign....
My mom had a manic episode on Valentine's Day, and cut a 1 inch by 3 inch hole in her arm. She went into psychiatric care, and my grandparents decided the stress was too much so they left town for vacation, leaving me with her piece of sh!T boyfriend. If I wanted to shower, I had to clean up her blood. There was no way he was going to do it. I was 14.
Finally, luckily, a friend's mother took me in until my grandparents got back. They fed me, let me sleep a ton and let me participate in all their wholesome family stuff. I don't think she could ever know the depths of my gratitude. An_Lacha_Bhacach
Too Soon....
Right now. A family member died last week from a genetic disease and the funeral is tomorrow. He had just turned 3.
My heart is breaking for his parents and words seem so shallow. I wish I could make it stop hurting for them. shakeybakeylady
Everybody Hurts....
GiphyOne of my friends was very suicidal, everything in her life was going badly (familly, breakup, university stress and so on). She was admitted into the Hospital, but the hospital wouldn't release her unless they knew she wasn't going to be alone. I took time off work and spent a whole week with her. I really thought I was helping if even a little, but one night when we were in bed ready to go to sleep, she told me everything she was feeling. I was speechless, I was scared, at one point I was even convinced the ending her life was the right answer. I realized that I had no idea what to do.
I made sure she was eating, I tried to keep her distracted with random news or stories, etc. but after that night I felt helpless to help my friend, I felt like nothing I did actually helped and the week ended in a somber note, but I didn't leave her side until I knew she had someone else there with her.
We talked later, when she was feeling better, and she told me how much my being there helped and she apologized. Even though I felt like I did nothing, just being there helped even if slightly. Moral here, don't give up on your friends, even if you feel helpless. MessyDiddle
"What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever heard teacher say in class?"
And Anyone With Such Closed Minded Views Shouldn't Be Teaching...
"Had the Head of the Department in college claim in class that anyone who actually needs accommodations for mental health issues should not be in college to begin with."
"This was while we were discussing 'Death of a Salesman' and the discussion had veered over to unhealthy pressure and social standards for success."- RavensQueen502
Wait what?!
"My very well-respected Biology teacher in college spent almost an entire lecture telling us that Jamie Lee Curtis was a hermaphrodite."
"It seemed oddly personal to him."- Urbane_Cowboy
Sad On So Many Levels
"Not heard but my freshmen year high school teacher once pulled a bottle of Jack out of his desk and took a shot during class."
"He was dying so towards the end I think he just stopped caring."- Mangothefello
Can't Take The Heat, Then Stay Out Of The Classroom...
"High school science teacher told my class that a kilometre was longer than a mile."
"Refused to budge when refuted and kicked out several students for doing so."- SupersonicDebris13
"5th grade teacher: 'Mount Whitney in California is the tallest mountain in the world'."
"5th grade me blurts out: 'No it isn't, Mount Everest is."
"Whitney is not even the tallest mountain in the USA, which is Mount McKinley in Alaska'."
"I got in trouble for 'contradicting the teacher'."- gtmattz
get out GIFGiphyIt's Not Just Students Who Are Bullies...
"I had a teacher ridicule a fat kid about his lunch choices in front of the whole class."
"He ran out crying as she was making fat guy blimp gestures and telling him he was going to be huge as an adult."- SnooOwls5859
Some Dramatic License It Seems...
"I had a literature teacher who told the class that he didn't believe in dinosaurs, because the universe is only a couple thousand years old."
"The bones were put there by Satan."
"Thank f*ck he wasn't a science or history teacher."- AllBadAnswers
of montreal dancing GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphyEveryone Deserves Nice Acomodations...
"My English teacher told us that he genuinely believes that the Rothchilds own a hotel for aliens in the Bermuda triangle."- TroyLear77
Well, Then...
"We had this kid in our 6th-grade class."
"Very dark skinned kid from Africa."
"His name was Tajak."
"Every now and then when we'd line up to go to another class or lunch and the lights would go out some of his friends would go 'where Tajak at?'"
"Anyway one day we had a sub and we we're lining up for lunch, the lights went out and there went the 'where Tajak at?' and the SUBSTITUTE TEACHER who was also black went 'Boy you darker than night'."
"6th grade was f*cking wild."- 11221mikew
Sad Premonitions
"Psych teacher in high school told us that 1 in 10 of the people were friends with in high school would be dead within 5 years of graduating."
"At the time I thought it was hyperbole, but it turns out he was being conservative."
"3 of the people in my high school friend group were dead by the time I was 22."- Reddit
Do They Really Need A Reason?
"'Now girls, don't you let them boys touch your breasts'."
"'It'll give you cancer'."- jondru
Maybe Should Have Checked With The Geography Teacher?
"A teacher in Elementary school claimed during history class that the Colosseum was in Greece, as an Italian kid I was very confused, this was in Mexico."- Spascucci
So Much For Instilling Hope...
"Didn't hear this personally, but read in a book about a guy who recalled his teacher skipping chapters in a textbook and saying 'You will not need to know this when you are down in the mines'."- futanari_kaisa
The mark of a good teacher is that students will take everything they hear from them with them for the rest of their lives.
Though, the less-than-wonderful teachers may also say things their students will never forget.
Redditor RedditPenguin02 wanted to make a list of the best inquiries to make when starting a relationship, so they asked:
"What is a good question to ask before you start dating someone?"
From what I've learned in my past, always ask... "Are you into Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The TV show."
If it's a no, then it's a dealbreaker.
I Do
Shocked Schitts Creek GIF by CBCGiphy"Are you married?"
wrenchmonkey135
"I would ask that. If they said no, the next question was 'Would your wife agree?'"
"If they laughed, they were telling the truth. If they got indignant and pissed off that I thought they were lying…they were married."
"Worked every time."
Squibit314
We Lived!
"Do you clap when the plane lands?"
dont_u_know
"I swear people used to do this all the time when I was a kid (early 2000’s), and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone do it in 5+ years. I guess 9/11 really made people afraid of flying for about 10 years and then most folks decided they didn’t need to applaud when the plane landed safely?"
jmims98
Family Planning
"Do you want kids in the future? If one person wants kids and the other wants to stay child-free, then they are not compatible. And it is better to try dating someone else."
GoodAlicia
"It confuses me whenever some couples who disagree on this end up in a conundrum because one expected the other to change their mind. This is something I bring up early cause I see no future with someone who wants kids when I do not."
GoodAlicia
"You should always put childfree on your dating profile. It's not a small thing. Either you agree on it or not. If I had to date, I would put childfree on my profile too."
GoodAlicia
Carb it on...
"Do you like bread? That is the extent of my flirting skills."
HumpieDouglas
"Being German, bread is like a frickin' cultural phenomenon here, we have around 300 kinds of bread, there's a bread museum, every time I go on vacation I'm like yeah it's nice here but the bread ain't it yall, never as good as home lol. So yeah, valid question and the only answer to this is an enthusiastic yes."
Nayeliq1
Room Temperature
Frosty The Snowman Winter GIF by filmeditorGiphy"What temperature do you set the thermostat to throughout the year?"
OneFingerIn
"Haha this one always gets me as someone who needs low temps - you can always put on more clothes, I can't peel my skin off to get cooler."
djdante
The thermostat is a dealbreaker for me.
It's gonna be 60. Love it or move on.
Discovery
Blown Away Wow GIF by AminéGiphy"When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
"Opens a window to how they think."
youcantkillanidea
"If that was really early on in the dating I’d think it was a bit of a head-f**k question. I’d probably find that question a red flag, tone dependent, although I agree with the sentiment."
LivestockMarc
Personal Time
"Aside from major differences about finances, kids, politics, or religion, a big one is; What are your hobbies? If they don’t really have any, you may be the next hobby, which isn’t going to work unless you’ve got that kind of time. If the hobbies are time-consuming ones generally done with a SO."
"But you have no interest in them, that could be an issue as well. If only one of you likes camping, wanted to spend vacation lounging instead of exploring, didn’t like sports, etc either that partner is annoyed or the other feels like they don’t get to enjoy what they love."
Githard
Past Issues
"Ask them about their exes. If they think every single one of them is an a**hole... they are likely the real a**hole."
CantTakeMeSeriously
"I have mixed feelings about that - I've been in three previous relationships and all three were emotionally abusive towards me (one wasn't nearly as bad as the other two, though) in various ways. I know this is a common sentiment and it always makes me afraid that people won't believe me or something.
"I mean, I realize in your comment you said 'likely' and not '100% sure' and there's plenty of room for nuance."
phiore
Values
"I would try to take care of any dealbreakers. If I find out that she has different political values than I do, it's not going to work out in the long run, so I wouldn't bother. Same thing with other factors (religion, financial values, etc.). I would also ask how much cuddling she likes to engage in, as I prefer a lot."
SkullKrusher9000
Essentials
Tell Me More To Do List GIF by Disney ChannelGiphy"When I was dating my three essential questions were always kids, sex, and money. If you're not on the same wavelength for any of those three things, just don't even try."
KhaosElement
TRUTH PLEASE!!
"So, how much personal debt do you have?"
"Source: the guy who dated a woman with huge debts and was asked to pay for everything and then some".
"After that, I'd go with, 'Have you ever been diagnosed with borderline, narcissistic, or histrionic personality disorders?"
extracensorypower
The questions are basic.
Just ask for the truth.
Do you have any good Qs to add to the queue? Let us know in the comments below.
