Things that go bump in the night are a problem. And things that go bump in the day are even worse. No matter how old I get, noises in the dark, or light, still give me pause. I sleep with a stun gun just in case. I also like to keep sage and a rosary near by at all times. You never know if the noise is a person or a spirit. You have to be ready to take them all out.
Redditor u/pigthepuggle wanted everyone to discuss the times when things went bump in the night and left people shaken so they asked... What is the scariest noise that you've heard, so scary that your body had a physical response and what made it?Who hasn't been woken from a sound sleep by a glass breaking? Or who hasn't been rattled to the core by a car engine exploding in the tranquil middle of the day? We all have been victim to forms of sound terrorism. One of the worst for me is sudden tsunamis of thunder. That makes me jump sky high. Let's see who can relate.
STRIKE!
Sci Fi Lol GIF by Hallmark eCardsGiphyLightning striking a nearby gas tank (as in about 100 meters away at max) and the thunder that followed right after the explosion of the tank. Nearly sh*t myself that night. I could've been dead.
Water Issues
When I was younger, I was home alone and I thought I heard foot steps in my house. I started to freak out and I could barely get up off my bed to go to my bedroom door. I started to ask if anyone was there but I didn't get a response but I couldn't hear the foot steps anymore. I closed the door and locked it to prevent anyone from getting inside. Then, I realized it was just our water boiler making weird sounds and I was just being a dunce. :/.
Compressions
I was at my desk, working. Suddenly this absolutely piercing scream erupted. This sound was so loud that it hurt my ears even when I cupped my hands over them and pressed as hard as I could. Several of us exited the office and ran down the stairs, but that's where the sound was coming from.
Turns out, one of the pipes exploded off TWO 2000-gallon air accumulation tanks pressurized to 200psi by an industrial screw compressor. This thing made a train whistle sound like a whisper. I physically couldn't get close enough to turn the ball valve- it hurt too much. One of my coworkers was practically deaf, so he just walked up without a care in the world and shut it off.
Love is Angry
As a young and impressionable teen, I heard this horrible noise outside that sounded like an animal dying. Looked out my window. Nope. Not dying. Just the neighbor's cat having a cat orgy.
I thought they were killing each other first. Something I never want to witness again.
Cat Drama
I live alone now and heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked up, expecting to see a burglar, but I saw nothing as the noise continued. Closer to the bottom and... it's my 9 pound cat who absolutely STOMPS down the stairs. She's tiny but seems to have her own gravitational field that makes her ten times as heavy when she wakes up from her nap on my bed. She has faked out multiple people since her footsteps sound human. It's creepy.
Yeah, animals are the worst when it comes to shattering the peaceful silences. They just stir a ruckus without a care in the world. Also, any of these situations would send me for a Xanax.
"whooooooosh"
I was sitting in the office and heard a low "whooooooosh" sound coming from the living room. My cat came tearing out of the living room like something had really spooked her. I ran into the living room and my couch was in flames! Our laptop was charging and the battery exploded and ignited the underside of the couch.
The noise I heard was the fabric on the bottom burning instantly (it was a thin material). What's crazy is I didn't know what that noise was, I just knew something really bad and dangerous was going on and my immediate gut reaction was to leave the apartment.
FEAR
I was VERY close to a lightning strike one time while watching a thunderstorm outside a friend'd beach house. When it's that close it's not at all like the lighting sound you know, its like the loudest CRACK noise you've ever heard with snapping noises and even the smell of an electrical fire. We immediately all started screaming like a band of monkeys and ran inside.
To this day I can remember there was such an intense feeling all the way in my gut, inside of my primordial soul that said GET THE FREAK AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN OR YOU WILL DIE. In that moment there was NOTHING that could have kept my lizard level brain function outside with that lightning. Some real caveman primal fear crap I'd never felt before and haven't felt since.
Dinner
dog human eating GIFGiphyWild dogs tearing apart our food provisions while camping lakeside in Mexico. The growls were deep and methodical. They were keeping us scared while also establishing dominance amongst each other. Freaking terrifying.
When in Cyprus...
Air raid sirens at 5 am, and I thought war had broken out.
I had just arrived in Cyprus, having landed at like midnight. I was staying with friends in their guest bedroom, and after close to 24 hours of travel I was dead to the world.
But then the air raid sirens started.
I hid under the bed, and it felt like it went on forever, but then I slowly realized no one else seemed to be reacting to the sirens. No one outside screaming, no jets actually flying overhead, nothing.
It turns out it was the annual commemoration of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and my friends forgot to tell me.
In the Night
fox foxes GIF by Sophie CorriganGiphyWoke up to something that literally sounded like a woman/person screaming from pain or something. Turns out foxes make some freaky noises.
Well I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my nerves. What is it about sudden sounds of impending doom that sends us all a flutter? You'd think we'd all be use to violent cacophonies by now. I ponder that thought over some vodka later.
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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.