Top Stories

Spooked People Share Their Animal Related Paranormal Experiences

Spooked People Share Their Animal Related Paranormal Experiences

Spooked People Share Their Animal Related Paranormal Experiences

[rebelmouse-image 18360346 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Have you ever had a strange encounter with wildlife or other animals? These people have and they are sharing their spooky stories with us!

u/rmrgdr asks:

Hey Reddit, have you ever seen a mythological, spirit or ghost animal or a nature spirit or entity, or other spooky occurrences with animals, what's your experience?

The ghost dog

[rebelmouse-image 18360347 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

A couple of years ago I slept over at my sister's house in my baby niece's bedroom. At 02:38 am I was woken up by a small dog getting onto the bed with me and settling itself down to sleep. I reached out to touch it, it was really comforting but then I realised my sister's dog was downstairs and definitely not little. I reached for the dog again but it had vanished. Sister told me my niece woke up every night at about 3am and I've always wondered if it was the little dog.

when's the last time you had your eyes checked?

[rebelmouse-image 18360348 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My grandma had a Welsh Corgi who lived to be 19. The week after they put him down, the next-door neighbor came over and was surprised that the dog, who was very protective, didn't bark when he knocked on the door. My grandpa told him that they had put the dog to sleep a week ago. The neighbor got really serious and said, "No way. I've seen him every day standing under the big tree in your front yard." We took this as a sign that he was still near us.

The phantom kangaroo

[rebelmouse-image 18360349 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

When I was living in Western NSW, I was out exploring the area when I saw a kangaroo with unusual markings - it had a white face.

A while later I mentioned what I'd seen at the local pub and everyone got quiet then quickly changed the subject. I find out later what I'd describe was considered a bad omen in the local dreamtime, and I totally believe it.

The walking coyote

[rebelmouse-image 18360351 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

One time I was hiking in southern Utah along a sandstone ridge, when I saw a pair of coyotes trotting along an adjacent ridge, maybe a hundred yards away. This could have been a trick of the light, confusing perspective, or me being tired, but I swear one of those guys suddenly stood up on his hind legs, looked around, and sauntered down the opposite side of the ridge and out of sight like a guy going for an evening walk. I just stood there for a few minutes thinking, "That was the weirdest f******* thing I've ever seen."

The hallucination is strong

[rebelmouse-image 18355940 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

In the hours before my dad died, he saw his pet dog from 40 years earlier, our cat that died 4 years earlier and even my pet rabbit that died 4 years ago. He sort of marvelled at it all, "Even the rabbit is jumping around, she probably shouldn't be in here."

That's a scary tradition

[rebelmouse-image 18345358 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

When my grandfather passed away we sat on his front porch later that night and 3 great horned owls flew over our heads. My mom busted up crying saying that when her sister passed away a great horned owl flew over like that, and when my grandmother passed away 2 owls flew over. I'm very curious if when my mother passed away the same will happen for me.

When it's a friendly ghost

[rebelmouse-image 18360352 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Our black Chow, Padfield, was hit by a car just before Halloween. Halloween night I was listening to a podcast of spooky stories before walking downhill to my studio in the dark. The wind was blowing and clouds were skimming across the moon and the trees were tossing wildly. I got spooked since we lived way out in the country, plus Halloween plus spooky stories. I actually felt then saw Padfield come out of the moving shadows from the place he usually slept and walk me to my studio door. I told him thank you then went inside and told my husband that our dog had just walked with me down the hill. He said, "Sounds like he was making sure you were okay." We miss that sweet dog. He was a good boy.

The shadow people guardian

[rebelmouse-image 18360353 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I used to live up in New Hampshire and for a brief period of time was having semi-frequent encounters with shadow people. At the time I had a job where I wouldn't leave work until about 1am and I lived in a densely wooded area. For a while it was bad enough that when I'd get home at night I'd be scared to get out of my car and walk to my front door. Then one night I was driving home and as I came around a big bend I looked up and at the edge of the tree line, looking right down at me, was a giant silver stag. When I say silver I truly mean it - not gray, not white - and it even shimmered ever so slightly. He was massive and beautiful and I immediately felt very calm and safe. I closed my eyes for a split second because I knew what I was looking at couldn't be real, and when I looked back he was gone.

I never saw another shadow person after seeing the silver stag and feeling that calmness come over me. Sometimes I wonder if he was some sort of guardian.

The cat man

[rebelmouse-image 18346400 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I had 5 other people with me at the time it happened. We were camping in southern Ohio at a private camp grounds. It was about 11PM and we were walking to pool that was at the front of the site. When all of a sudden it looked like a large black cat (about the size of a mountain lion) was crossing the road about 60 yards in front of us. As it gets about half way across the road it stands up and walks (like a person) into the woods. We were all about 16 years old and freaked out. But being teenagers we wanted to see if we could spot it. So we all run toward the spot with flash lights, never going into the woods. We never saw anything again and I'd never seen anything like that before. My family has been going to the same place for over 40 years and has never experienced anything of the sort.

When your pet knows...

[rebelmouse-image 18346388 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

When I was a teenager, I went to a two day music festival, and while I was gone my mother decided that was a great time to have the dog I'd had my whole life put down. (She was really old, and I knew it was coming, but I wanted to be with her). So needless to say I was heartbroken, couldn't stop crying, and as I'm laying on my bed I feel this big whomp, just like when she'd decide it was bedtime. I could feel her curled up against my back, all warm, and I heard that huff she'd make when she got comfy. I put my hand behind me and I could feel her fur, and I calmed down and fell asleep. When I woke up, my dog was gone, but there was a big warm dent in the covers, like she'd just left.

Animal senses

[rebelmouse-image 18360354 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Growing up we had horses. I lived in New England and we had lots of area to ride on a hill near us (the town called it a mountain, but they had delusions of adequacy). One time I was riding and my horse stopped suddenly and refused to move forward, he then moved around the area we were traveling, a little panicky. I looked and could barely make out the remains of an old stone wall and a few rotting posts. I later was talking to our local 'town historian' and he was telling me of the lost smallpox hospital up there (in 17th century New England, if you had smallpox, you were sent to a quarantined area - the 'hospital' - and if you recovered, you could come back). When he described the location, it fit. I took him up there later, and he found fallen stone grave markers where the horse shied. That horse was always nervous around cemeteries.

Old habits die hard

[rebelmouse-image 18359229 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My cat used to run down the hallway at top speed and jump onto the bed every night when I would tell him it was bedtime. The day after he passed away I turned the kitchen lights off and told the dog it was bed time, then heard the cats collar bell and footsteps run down the hall.

The presence is real!

[rebelmouse-image 18360355 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My girlfriend and I had just had her boxer put down after a lingering illness. I had a dream a few nights later of her dog coming into the kitchen and then leaving, and of me turning to my girlfriend and saying "did you see that?!" In the dream, she hadn't. I was asleep a few nights later and had a vivid dream of her dog coming into the room and jumping up onto the bed, then lying on my chest. I could feel his weight, and I struggled to come out of sleep so that I could see him. I managed to wrench my eyelids open (it's very hard for me to surface from this type of vivid dream), and i could see his silhouette against the dark of the room, before he slowly faded.

When you can't logically explain what happened

[rebelmouse-image 18353687 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

One morning my girlfriend and I were laying in her bed on a cold morning. We didn't have work or school that day because it had snowed. She lived out in the middle of nowhere, like no neighbor for a mile nowhere. Well I hear someone right outside the window say "get down, they're going to be able to see you if you don't get down." So of course this startled me and I turn around and see a guy and three dogs right outside walking toward the garage door. So I grab my handgun and go to meet them at the door and find out why they were there. So in those 10 seconds I get outside and no one was there. Right outside our window there were shoe prints and paw prints in the fresh snow. I tracked them down the back of the property and after about 100 yards or so there were only paw prints. I looked over to my left 10-15 yards there were very similar paw prints that looked like they had come from the forest towards the house. So I tracked those up to the house and then shoe prints appeared about 25 yards from the house. So I followed them to see if maybe they had gone out the front of the property but there were none. To this day I'm not really sure what happened or what was outside our window.

The zombie cat

[rebelmouse-image 18360356 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

In college, my roommate and I we're walking around town at like 2 am (not drinking, just..weird kids) and we passed a dead cat in the gutter. It was a calico, big brown spot on one side and an orange one on it's face. Rigor mortis had set in, and there was a kind of greasy smear coming from under the head. We guessed it had been mashed by a car.

We walk down to a park, wander around, and come back the same way. A car passes us, and in it's headlights we see a calico cat crossing the road away from us. We get back to the spot where the dead cat was, and it was gone. Same storefront, same street light, same greasy smear in the gutter. No cat.

Kitty in the dryer

[rebelmouse-image 18360357 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

A little over a month ago I had to put my cat down because she was suffering from an illness related to old age. The next day I was making my bed and I lifted up a blanket fresh out of the dryer (nice and warm) and my beloved kitty was under there. I saw her plain as day, blinked, and then she was gone.

The faries in Ireland are brutal!

[rebelmouse-image 18345368 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Friend is Irish. Her uncle has a sheep farm out in the country. One day he was clearing new grazing areas and came across a fairy circle. He's not the superstitious type so he didn't think twice about destroying it. This is a big no-no in Ireland.

Every single one of his lambs came out stillborn that year. Every. Single. One. He respects the fairies now.

The cat that wanted attention

[rebelmouse-image 18358494 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

During my sleep paralysis episodes i used to see this cat in my room just doing normal cat stuff like scratching my furniture and laying around. I would see him pretty frequently too. One day he was scratching my nightstand, i tried to yell it him but couldn't. I always thought it was weird that i see the same cat everytime i have a sleep paralysis episode.

It could be true

[rebelmouse-image 18360358 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

My dad swears that back in the 70's when he was camping in the BC interior he saw a bigfoot that threw large rocks at their campsite. My dad also did lot of drugs in the 70's.

At least it was a friendly dog ghost

[rebelmouse-image 18348544 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I've had a few strange animal-related experiences, but one that stands out for me was an encounter I had while staying at an inn. The innkeeper made no mention of any pets upon my arrival (usually innkeepers will warn you if a pet might be wandering into your room), but in the middle of the night I was awoken by the sensation of a dog licking my hand (I slept with my hand hanging over the edge of the bed). I opened my eyes to see a long-haired black dog standing right beside the bed. I love dogs, so it was quite heartwarming to me although unexpected, and I reached my hand further out to pet him. My hand passed right through his face as if he was nothing more than an apparition. The figure quickly faded out completely, and this startled me out of bed.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

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.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

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.