Until we're in a situation, we'll never really know how we'll react.
I have been in this scenario, though.
Sex matters. And people rarely want to admit how much.
But sex isn't a lifetime guarantee.
It fades, as does love.
It's important to speak about it.
It can be a fixable situation.
A relationship without sex may not be the end of the world, but it's definitely a sign that something is off.
Redditor Deviant55 wanted to talk about physical intimacy in relationships, so they asked:
"How important is sex to you in a relationship? Could you be with someone you love even if sex was off the table indefinitely?"
I learned how much sex matters in my last relationship.
Once I wasn't interested, it kind of killed everything.
Forever
GIF by moodmanGiphy"When my wife of 30+ years became too ill for sex to be even remotely interesting for her, I certainly did not end the relationship. I loved her and I took care of her until she died. No other course even occurred to me."
fvillion
Frustration
"When I met my wife we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. This lasted a few years. I was in my mid-twenties when we married. She developed a chronic medical issue. I’ve gone twenty years being sexually frustrated. There are stages and phases to this."
"What I came to realize is that I love my wife. Yes, sex is important in our relationship. But I would rather have her in my life with no sex than have sex without her."
"The thing is, I love her. She can’t help her situation. I can’t help it. One deals with it. Marriage is more than sex. It is building a life and memories, raising a family, and loving each other regardless of the challenges life throws our way. But sex is very important. It helps keep the closeness and the emotional bond. But it isn’t the only thing that does that."
QuietusNoctis
I Love Her
"It is complicated. I am in a near-sexless marriage. The wife needs antidepressants to function. And it kills her libido. So usually it is four to six times a year. My libido rages. And yeah, it sucks. I dream of more sex."
"But I love the chick. She loves me to the moon and back. I’m not willing to sacrifice her love so I can try dating again. Divorce rates these days? And I found a woman who more than tolerates me, she loves me. I’ll stay. And not to be crude but yeah I masturbate. A lot. She doesn’t begrudge me that. Occasionally she even encourages it."
"She went off her meds for a while. And man did we do it. But she was a mess. I need her healthy more than I need a shag. We travel together. We enjoy each other’s company. We actually like each other. I could claim that it is hell, but I choose to see all of the good I am blessed with."
painthawg_goose
Heartless
"Quite important. But I think it depends on where you are in the relationship. I've been married for 10 years. I have kids. If my wife suddenly couldn't have sex with me for some reason -- illness or injury or something -- I'm not divorcing her over it. That's heartless."
"Now, if she just decided we weren't ever having sex again because she didn't feel like it, that'd be different. Or if I was just starting to date someone and they told me they'd never have sex, I probably just wouldn't keep pursuing the relationship. Plenty of people out there who will."
Arkhangelzk
Necessity
"It depends on the circumstances. I LOVE doing it with my man but I love his heart and soul more. If we had to stop having sex for medical reasons or something I’d definitely stay with him and stay faithful. If I was single, I think it’s unlikely I’d start a new relationship knowing it would be sex free."
Fit_Technology8240
Heart and soul is just as necessary and hot and sweaty.
At least a lot of people recognize that.
Percentages
Giphy"Sex life is 10% of a relationship when it’s good and 90% of a relationship when it’s bad."
jakovichontwitch
"The other way I've heard it put is that sex is like the bathroom in your house. It's not the only reason you bought the house, but if it's not working it's a big problem."
molten_dragon
Age Related
"50-year-old here married for 27 years. It’s not important. It was important when we were younger but honestly, if sex wasn’t possible I would still love my wife and really nothing about our day would really change."
Kantforall
"I’ve been reading these comments and wishing that everyone’s age was flared on their post because I sense that there are a lot of under-60-year-olds. I am older than my wife but she is starting menopause and I can see the writing on the wall. Not super thrilled but I love her completely and understand. The real intimacy is in how we still (and will always) want to sleep touching each other and waking up next to each other."
caffeinated-hijinx
Kiss Me
"I honestly considered this before. I absolutely adored this guy. It was like a child relationship; we'd kiss and cuddle and hold hands and things, but he wouldn't have sex with me, nor would he commit properly. Any time we came close to sex, he'd go soft or back off."
"I couldn't understand it, wondered if I could keep doing that. My sex drive was wild. Why kiss and the rest but not sex?"
"Then one day he told me he was in love with me and asked me out properly. I said yes there and then, had a wonderful day with him, but when I went home, I was left questioning if I could possibly live without sex. I decided that yeah, I loved him but it would be tough."
"We had sex the next day. So yes, I think I probably could."
Adventurous_Train_48
Touchy/affectionate...
"It's very important. I'm a very affectionate and physical person and touch/caresses and anything physical is one of my love languages. I couldn't function with someone who is the opposite of me or who's uncomfortable with how I am. I already was in a relationship with someone who wasn't that touchy/affectionate and it created frustration for both of us."
Borboleta77
Don't Look at Me
"I am in a sexless relationship. He has erectile dysfunction and I really don't like sex in general. I'm really uncomfortable naked or even vulnerable. I'm shy around him despite the relationship being 10 years nearly, I'm even shy around my family and friends. Everything about sex makes me feel so embarrassed, and I feel nothing but negative feelings when I used to be sexually active. Not through choice of partner, I just hate that sort of attention."
NucularOrchid
Definitive!
Shake Handshake GIF by OriginalsGiphy"10/10. Sexual incompatibility is a deal breaker!"
oeeiae
Sex is important but not everything.
Until it is everything if it becomes an issue.
Good luck couples. Open and honest communication is key.
People Describe The One Thing They'd Remove From The World To Make It A Better Place
We all have ideas of what would make the world a better place.
"If only everyone had unlimited supplies of THIS," you might think. Or, "If only everyone had easy access to THAT," others might suggest.
You could spend hours making up what would make the world better if you could give everyone what they want.
Yet, not often do we think of what would make the world a better place if we got rid of something.
What if, one day, a particular thing was simply gone? Would that make life better?
Reddit user, alpham_11, wanted to know what would make the world a better place if it was gone when they asked:
"If you could remove one thing from the entire world to make it a better place, what would it be?"
Maybe the thing we'd have the power to get rid of is small, minuscule, but its impact would be felt the world over.
Protect My Bum
"those toilet paper dispensers that only let you take out one square that is inevitably torn as a result."
Andmoreagain96
"do you mean paper towels or is this some other monstrosity I have yet to encounter"
Mike2220
"You know when you know. You're one lucky person to have never encountered it."
InfamouslyishFamous
Poor Horses
"Horseflies"
LucifugeRofocaleX
"Frick those things, I thought I’d been stabbed by a needle once when I got bit by a very large horse fly on the back of the neck. Everybody thought I’d just lost my sh-t when I was freaking out and squealing atop my horse. I can only imagine what horses feel all the time"
montananhooman
Are We Ever Going To Be Rid Of It?
"Facebook"
djmonsta
"It occurred to me a while back, eventually somebody would’ve invented it, just named it differently."
Cable3805
"It occurred to me a while back, eventually somebody would’ve invented it, just named it differently."
Slithy-Toves
Perhaps everyone can see its influence spreading already. After all, no one likes to be lied to, but we do it all the time.
Not Everyone Can Be Leslie Knope
"Corrupt politicians"
DieLawnUwU
"You can just call them 'politicians.'"
Star_x_Child
"Wouldn't it be crazy if public servents actually served the public?"
rastashem
Protect Yours And Loved Ones Necks, But Don't Overdo It
"Greed"
chillmagic420
"Was gonna say this. So many of the problems humanity has caused for itself and the Earth are born from greed"
spaloof
"I dunno, definitely has some extreme cases. But I would argue greed has evolutionary roots. It's almost a survival mechanism. It definitely played a part in getting us where we are. But that being said, I think if we could now just remove the idea of greed from current society, would it have a positive impact, is a really interesting question."
Slithy-Toves
We Don't Need To Know Everyone's Thoughts On Every Situation
"24 hour news cycle."
urbexcemetery
"What happened to only reading newspapers after breakfast?"
Very-berryx
"News shouldn't be a profit center in general. If the aim is to make a profit then content will be selected based on audience preferences. Turns out, people like programming that entertains them and confirms their worldview - which makes for pretty sh-t "news"."
silenttd
Opinions Are NOT News
"Infotainment "news" networks. I want a quick, easy, unbiased way to know what's going on in the world. I don't need your damn opinion on the matter."
bradpliers
"I agree, the news has never been the same since they came out with 24hr news channels. It's all about ratings."
"The newscaster's or network's opinion should not be what they call "'news'"
"How are you supposed to be able to come up with your own opinions or stances on whats going on if all you hear is someone else's opinion and bias one way or the other"
nemesis-of-HEman
And then there's situations like these, where a little more of a delicate touch is needed to make sure the world is handled carefully after these things are gone. We want people to be happy, after all.
A Clear Mind
"Mental illness"
Emergency-View-1258
"God maybe even more considering how much of human suffering is caused by people with mental illness who inflict suffering on others"
"Like you just know dictators are sociopaths, and mass shooters would largely be eliminated"
Peppinito
No Place On This Planet For Them
"Child abusers"
Spoonloops
"Children will one day run the world. It’d be amazing to see a generation of people who were all properly loved and cared for in childhood"
LeeannC_137
"I luckily got out of an abusive household but I had many friend in my old hood not get out... it's f-cking tragic to see yourself grow and do well while your childhood friends circle the drain. It's a terrifying reminder of what could have happened to me. I would give my life if it meant no more kids got the childhood I had and worse."
kitkatattacc04
"Bad/abusive/toxic parent and child relationship. There’s too many children who are starving, hurting, alone, confused, belittled, abused, molested, and mentally destroyed at the hands of their parents. I would remove all of that to make sure every child has a chance to grow up in a healthier household and given a better chance to thrive."
kaitlinhathaw
Shouldn't Be Happening
"Addiction"
duckdancerr
"Yeah. This is it's own kind of cancer. And it affects so many more people than just the person with the addiction."
"My brother is an addict and my brother-in-law's brother died a few years ago of liver disease caused by alcoholism. He was in his 40's and died a slow, painful death in a hospice surrounded by people much older than he was."
"That sh-t shouldn't be happening."
AjaxTheWanderer
It's fun to imagine.
It's tough to actually do the work. Maybe it's time to do something tough, today.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
People Who Suffer From Mental Illness Share What's Been Most Difficult About Their Struggle
*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm
Mental illness still carries a great deal of public stigma.
Ignorance leads to a lack of empathy for those whose daily lives are impacted by disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar, clinical depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder and autism.
Education and empathy are key.
Redditor Seagoated asked:
"What is the most difficult part of suffering from mental illness?"
Guilt
"The feeling of being a burden to others." ~ 029384756
"This sometimes extends to even feeling like a burden to your therapist as well." ~ Reddit
"That one thing will haunt you."
"It’s always there, where on good days your first thought is that at least I’m not a bother today." ~ PeyroniesCat
"Stuck in this constant cycle of not having the drive to get things done (so you don’t) and then having to play catch up on everything. This can be anything from school work, job, house work, keeping up with family and friends."
"I am always apologizing for my little disappearing acts and eventually there are just no more excuses or jokes you can use to get out of it. I have lost tons of friends because I just ghost everyone…it’s easier to burn that bridge quickly instead of continually apologizing for doing the same thing.
"Additionally, I always think I’m going to kill myself so there is no need to go into work, I’ll just be dead soon…but then I don’t kill myself and still need to work so that’s a big oopsy f'king daisy."
"It all sucks." ~ sippydippylippy
Destroyed Plans
"The wasted potential."
"On my good days I get so much done."
"It's hard not to think about how much I could have accomplished if I always felt like I do on my good days." ~ majorbedhed
"I know what you mean."
"I often feel like I’m not living the life I should be. There’s so much wasted potential because I can’t get my sh*t together long enough to do something about it."
"Like, I like my job and I’m good at it… but at this point I’m just grateful that someone’s willing to employ me and put up with my bullsh*t."
"I’ve got a dual undergrad and a masters degree. I should have done things with that.
"The opportunities were there—I was literally receiving job offers from government departments & private companies, in my country and overseas, while I was doing my masters."
"But then the wheels fell off my life, and I was diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar, and all those doors slammed shut."
"And to be honest, they were already really f'king wobbly through those 7 years of uni, I just hadn’t slowed down enough to notice, and no one who knew me saw me enough to realise something was majorly wrong." ~ FormalMango
"God I feel this so much."
"I went to a good college on a full scholarship in a pre-law program that would have me get my JD after 5 years. I was supposed to study abroad and intern at the UN."
"I was going to prove everyone back home wrong, show them that I am a force to be reckoned with. I’d sue the pants off my school for the constant abuse and discrimination I went through. I’d be successful."
"Then I went through a major trauma, which gave me PTSD and serious depression, made my OCD worse, and a little brain damage (as a treat…)"
"Now I’m here. I work at a pet store."
"I’m slowly working on getting off of SSI. My life is fine, but every time I see my college friends post online, it’s another reminder of how sh*tty my life is." ~ Chihuahua_enthusiast
"Yeah this. I have ADHD and it's pretty much destroyed all the potential I had in life."
"There's so many things that I would have loved to do, or so many opportunities and passions I could have pursued but missed out because my stupid f'king brain won't cooperate and constantly loses all interest in everything."
"And even when something good does happen to me I can't even enjoy it fully because my brain's dopamine response doesn't work properly. It sucks, but I just tell myself that we'll all be dead relatively soon so nothing we do in life really matters in the end... that's the only way I know how to cope with it."
"I just have to continously find short lived, unfulfilling sh*t to keep my brain occupied until I die so I don't fall into a deep depression. Reddit, video games, exercise, sex, porn, internet browsing, etc..."
"Easy dopamine releases that keep me sane while simultaneously controlling my life and preventing me from being happy. I've done my best to stay away from alcohol because I know I'd drink myself to death, its too easy."
"I can't stand when people call this disorder a superpower. It's not, it fucking sucks and my life would be far easier without it." ~ 14thCluelessbird
No Understanding
"The inability to explain it to some people in a way they’ll understand." ~ QTYokoTaro
"It would be such a relief to just go 'look, here it is' like with a flesh wound. They would immediately grasp what is wrong and would be able to sympathise."
"But you look normal, sometimes happy even and have nothing to show to people." ~ golodiac
"In my experience, there's not only a lack of empathy, but outright mocking and contempt at times. A big reason why I keep my mental health issues to myself." ~ tacotruckrevolution
“There’s nothing more isolating than mental illness.” ~ Seagoated
"With OCD, it’s people not understanding how debilitating it can be and that it’s not just 'liking things near and tidy'—and people are so blasé about it too." ~ holly__sophia
"Thank you! I remember there was this trend of people saying 'OMG! I'm so OCD!' when they just like things neat. Me and my Mother have had to deal with that for ages."
"While it can include being overly neat, it's so, SO much more than just that." ~ Squiddy_102
"I have OCD, but the average person would never believe it because I live in a hoarder's hellhole. It runs in my family, and we often joke about 'the good kind' and 'the bad kind'."
"I understand that there is no 'good kind' of OCD, but I wish I had my cousin's version where everything is always spick-and-span and highly organized. Instead, I got 'the bad kind'."
"I don't clean, I just say 'I want to kill myself' out loud, compulsively, 3,000 times a day, and struggle with 'unevenness' like 'one hand knocked the wall, better knock it with the other hand. Nope, that didn't feel the same, better knock them both again'."
"And again. And again. That's not all of it, but you get the idea." ~ TheLaramieReject
Loneliness
"Always wanting to be alone and hating the loneliness." ~ Immediate_Ad4627
"The loneliness I feel around people hits harder than the loneliness I feel in solitude." ~ GookNukem45
"Yep. For me, I see how other people are having fun, are with friends, basically doing anything except being lonely and I want it but there´s a sheet of glass between me and them that won´t break no matter what so even if I engage it still feels like I´m on the outside looking in."
"Also so much worse when someone makes an effort to include me cause it just highlights how unnatural my inclusion is." ~ Good-mood-curiosity
"It's better to be alone than to be around people that make you feel lonely." ~ amadeus2490
Help Is Available
"If you ever need help, then please know that there are many qualified people who would like to help you."
https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres
https://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/GetHelp/LifelineChat.aspx
https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you [United Kingdom]
https://www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/ [Australia]
"There are crisis services worldwide that are trained to provide support. They are designed to give temporary relief from feelings that are overwhelming you and while they are unlikely to fix any underlying problems, can help you get through a tough hour/night/week."
"Chat services are usually available on these sites. In the US, calling 211 or going to their website is a free referral source."
"They have providers who will see you regardless of your ability to pay. Just as you would see a doctor when you are sick, you deserve to take care of your mental health." ~ AskRedditModerators
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
A little empathy could go a long way.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
People Divulge The Things They Underestimated Until They Happened To Them
They say experience is one of the greatest teachers there is and these Reddit users would agree.
It's not always pleasant, but these are lessons these users won't forget.
Reddit was asked:
"What is one thing you underestimated the severity of until it happened to you?"
We're going to talk about those things you see others go through and scoff, wondering why they're being so dramatic about it. We're talking about the things we see on TV and it's resolved in an hour.
We're talking about why it's called "heartbreak."
There is a lot of ugly ahead, we will touch on racism, childhood abuse, trauma, disease, and the very real ways life changes in an instant.
It may not be a comfortable read.
Grief Hits Different
"The grief of losing a parent."
"I lost my dad in August and yesterday at the cinema watching Spiderman: No Way Home I burst into tears 3 times because I realized I couldn't remember what my dads voice sounded like anymore."
- Owlface616
"I inherited my Mom's love of music. The two acts she loved the most were The Eagles and Vince Gill."
"She'd only been gone a year or two when I heard Vince was joining The Eagles. I was so excited I picked up the phone to tell her about it and started to dial her number before I remembered she was gone."
"I broke down crying at work right then."
- rhett342
"I read something similar years ago. It prompted me to save voicemails to the cloud."
"My mother in law passed suddenly in August. I told my husband the voicemail is there whenever he is ready to listen."
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
- iamsuperkathy
Changes Everything
"Car crash. Specifically a head on collision."
"It changed my life."
"I dream of it. I get shivers on the road randomly, when a light post or a guard rail reminds me of what it felt like to be flung into it going 60mph. I think about how I should have died, and why I didn’t."
"I think about it all the time, and it happened almost 8 years ago now. I've been to therapy, but nothing will erase the memory or the way it changed me."
- Maleficent-Tie-4185
"For me it's the emotional trauma that you're left with."
"In the moment there's shock and chaos so it doesn't really register but only later on does the full gravity of it all hit you."
"I couldn't drive along a highway or anything like it for nearly a year afterwards because I would get panic attacks and flinched at the slightest movement from other cars or pedestrians standing on the side of the road; which is extremely dangerous as a driver."
- minimal_effort_done
"I’ve been thinking of my wreck almost everyday for over a decade."
"The degree that my seat was reclined saved my life (from what would’ve been a severely gruesome end). I️ struggle with thinking about ‘what if’ I️ was fully upright."
"Sorry to hear about your experience but it is comforting to know it is at least somewhat common to over reflect on these events."
- F33dY0urH34d
"Puppy Love"
"I was stalked."
"The guy who stalked me had a crush on me for years (5+) and because of that, no one would take my concerns seriously (“It’s just puppy love!”) and as a result, I didn’t either until years later."
"This kid paid someone to find my address, and would ride his bike back and forth in front of my house every night. We had a window in our dining room, and he rode his bike past our home enough to figure out my daily routine and when we had dinner."
"And every night during dinner, he would ride back and forth and stare at me while I ate. It got to the point that my mother put curtains up, because although I didn’t tell her who it was, she said it made her uncomfortable."
"He would also wait across the street from my bus stop and stare at me."
"In school, he would leave me notes and messages in terrifying ways. Started out with finding them tucked in between my books in my locker (that he didn’t have the code to), ended with finding a single rose in the driver’s seat of my locked car in high school."
"Towards the end of it all, I actually found him sitting in the driver’s seat, and he refused to get out unless I gave him a kiss, and demanded me to get in the car with him."
"Other creepy instances happened such as he wrote an erotic novel, featuring me, and spread it around school. He also hid in the stage curtains during a play rehearsal so he could watch me during practices."
"But everyone said it was 'puppy love.' "
"The last time I saw him in person was right after our high school graduation. I had some 'friends' who thought it would be funny to invite me to a graduation party and not tell me whose it was."
"I trusted them, so you can imagine my anger when my friend pulled us up into his driveway."
"I was furious but she was my ride so I stayed, but kept my distance as much as I could. Shortly after arriving, we were all around the bonfire when he tells everyone to hang on, he 'has something cool' to show us."
"He ran inside and ran back out with a picture of me sitting in my 6th grade English class. He then announced to everyone that he had “such a big crush” on me that he used to sneak disposable cameras into school and take pictures of me in class/the hallways/at lunch."
"Everyone, again, just thought his years of stalking was adorable."
"I walked up to him, ripped the picture out of his hands, and threw it in the bonfire."
"He shrugged and said it was alright because he had more pictures in his underwear drawer. I got booed for being a 'party pooper' and I demanded my friend to take me back home."
"She still thought it was funny, so I ended up calling an Uber to take me home. Never saw him again, or my 'friends' for that matter."
"I ended up moving across the country for a fresh start shortly after."
"It's been years. He still occasionally tries to add me on social media."
- absoboly
Til It Happens To You
"From 2004 to 2010 I had been a registered Republican."
"I parroted all the lines about 'personal responsibility' and 'working hard' and 'entitlement' and 'self-sufficiency' dutifully. Paul Ryan would've been proud of me."
"Then, in 2011, I ended up without healthcare insurance and unable to refill my ADHD medication without spending hundreds per month."
"Even with my state's healthcare safety net, MassHealth, I was unable to get approved for about half a year, and even then, I wasn't able to make an appointment with my doctor until almost the next February."
"I rationed my Vyvanse out for as long as I could, and struggled for the rest of the time."
"I was also unable to go to the optometrist to replace my very outdated glasses prescriptions, or to the dentist when I had a sudden and inexplicable gum infection, and had to rely on constant mouth washing and a mix of leftover amoxicillin I had to source from multiple friends/family members."
"I was an otherwise very healthy 20-something at the time; I can't imagine how bad it would be for somehow who needed lifesaving medications or treatment."
"Needless to say, I did a 180 on my stance on universal healthcare after that, and it led to a domino effect that made me reevaluate my now former views on many, many other things too."
"Responsibility and hard work are good things; but the Republican stance on them is that everything is achievable through those things. They're just not."
- Dahhhkness
"Everyone always thinks all the personal responsibility etc is great until they are the ones who need help. It’s funny how that works isn’t it?"
- HeyZuesHChrist
"Don't get me wrong, it's awesome to see someone change and that's the ultimate goal, but it's beyond frustrating that people don't give a f*ck until it happens to them."
- dmkicksballs13
Not Unscathed
"Chemotherapy."
"Movies made me think I would be throwing up 24:7. Reality is that it’s nothing like they show in the movies and it’s more like a dementor sucking your soul out very slowly over time."
"It’s slow and constant pain. I’ve never felt closer to death. I knew it would be bad but I had no idea how much it would mess with me mentally as well as physically."
"Happy to report I’m cancer free now, but I did not come out of that battle unscathed."
- gamergirl007
"3 years in remission."
"I have severe, crippling PTSD from cancer and chemo. You are absolutely correct. It sucked the soul out of me... and I can't get it back."
"I am a shell of who I used to be with no way back as far as I can tell."
- alreinsch
No Slurs Needed
"Institutionalized racism."
"I’m whiter than the little mermaid. My first name is one of the top five black names in America."
"When I got out of the army, I had to stop putting my first name on resumes so I would actually get call backs."
"If I dropped a resume off in person, I got called. Same resume, initials only? Called back."
"First and last name? Never got an interview."
"It took me about 18 months to figure out why I couldn’t get a job even with veteran status."
"That sh*t was so demoralizing and I’m embarrassed and hate that it took that experience to finally understand how racism destroys lives without uttering a single slur."
"You bet your ass I educated myself on as much as I could and open my mouth whenever I see that sh*t now."
- Severe-Two-7435
Panic Seriously Attacks
"Panic attacks."
"I never fully understood it. Anxiety wasn't my struggle and on TV it looks like no big deal. I never had anxiety or a panic attack until my dad died."
"First day back to work I was heading out of town and had, what I come to find out, was a full blown panic attack. I started hyperventilating. My legs started shaking."
"I very honestly thought I was going to die and had to have my co worker pull over."
"I got out of the truck laid on my back and stared at the sky what felt like forever, might of been 10-15 mins."
"I've been struggling with the anxiety and ptsd it's caused for about 5 years now. I have mostly got it under control and it's more manageable now."
"But before it happened to me I always blew it off as a minor inconvenience at best. It's not a joke, though."
"The panic literally attacks you and it scared the hell out of me."
- donChonalucci
"Before my 20s, I thought I had real panic attacks when I got really nervous, stomach jumped up to my throat, and I would get red and start stuttering."
"Nope. That’s not a panic attack."
"First time I had one I thought it was it, legit thought I was having a heart attack and dying right then and there."
- PoopyInMyPants
"Same. I always thought people could think or act their way out of an anxiety attack, then my husband had a stroke at 34 and I had my first one."
"WOW. My heart and soul sink thinking of how calloused I was about it."
- No-Security-6101
"Panic attacks fully change you as a person and I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy."
- GoingOverTheStars
Heartbreak
"Getting cheated on when you're in genuine love, and the heartbreak that follows."
"The kind where you need to pull over on the way to work as you're suddenly crying so hard you can't see.
You lose weight and people notice. You sleep okay but you look like you haven't."
"You question who you are, what went wrong, why, just why."
"Took me over a year to get over it, like I'd wasted 2 years of my life and lied to myself, was never really happy, and the day I got over it in a truly enlightening experience."
"I cried on and off all day but it was crying while smiling and laughing. Because I remembered what it was like to be happy again."
- Dynasty2201
"This was mine. I understood why they called it heartbreak."
"It felt like my heart was literally shattered. Physical pain."
- queeniesupremie
"Yeah this hits so hard."
"The thing that got me was the absolute embarrassment. I felt so humiliated and just downright stupid thinking back on all the times she said she was one place and I said 'okay have fun, love you' meanwhile she was cheating."
"Sh*t is hard to get over."
- Whitechapel726
I'm Not At That Age
"Getting shingles."
"I'm not in the age this is supposed to happen, it was pandemic stress that activated the chicken pox virus in my body. I was six when I, along with all my siblings, got chicken pox."
"Holy smokes the pain. Imagine your ribs are needles."
"You hurt so badly that you can't wear a shirt. Hurts that bad. And now, a year later I get random tingle on my ribs and get paranoid about another outbreak."
"I'm furious there IS A VACCINE but normally drs don't think about giving it until you are over 50. Get that vaccine now; you do not want this."
- BexYouSee
"I had shingles 2 years ago next month."
"It started on the small of my back and went down nearly my entire left leg. I couldn't wear anything on my legs, couldn't stand up, couldn't sit down, couldn't even lie down comfortably."
"It was agonizing pain and I still get post hepetic neuralgia."
"I'm 30 now. People are always amazed when I tell them I had shingles at such a young age, but the more I talk about it the more young people I find who had it."
"It's ridiculous that there is an age limit on this vaccine. I begged my parents to get it asap because I would never want them to go through that pain. Please if you are able, get the shingles vaccine."
- jordy_lo
"I had shingles abt 3.5 years ago and I’m TERRIFIED of getting it again."
"The pain was unbelievable and lasted months after the blisters were gone. And it gave me a case of post-viral dysautonomia that still affects me sometimes."
"I f*cking hate shingles."
- Send_me_snoot_pics
"In my 20s I was so stressed out from work I broke out into shingles."
"I had just one singular blister on the side of my face and it is the worst pain I've ever had. I can't imagine a larger outbreak."
"I spent days laying on the couch in a Vicodin haze while my husband checked every few hours to make sure I wasn't going blind because that was apparently a worry with it being so close to my eye."
"Every time I get so much as a spot of dry skin near there I panic a little. I never want to go through that again and I wouldn't wish it on anyone."
- mathcamel
Why It's A Big Deal Now
"I underestimated the damage cause by childhood sexual abuse, because I was busy blocking my own experience out."
"I was one of those men who would read about some middle-aged dude bringing charges or accusing somebody of something decades later, and ask myself 'It's been 30 years, why is it a big deal now?' "
"And then I had the moment where I had to admit to myself I was also a victim, and just how much it has affected all my relationships."
"I underestimated what that moment of realization feels like."
- Squigglepig52
"I’ve been worried about this more as I get older."
"I only realized a few years ago that what happened was childhood abuse, but I don’t really feel affected by it even now. It still feels distant and I never thought of it as traumatic."
"I’m scared of the day it really hits me (if that day ever comes.)"
"I’m also a man and I used to think of sexual assault victims, 'yeah that happened to me and it wasn’t that big of a deal, why are they acting so traumatized when it only happened to them once?' and terrible things like that."
"I know now how ignorant that is, but some part of me still feels like it wasn’t that big a deal when it happened to me. Denial and blocking it out is easy."
"Letting it really hit me is terrifying."
- unbridledirony
"THISSSS."
"I ignored/blocked out my childhood sexual abuses and trauma for a long while and never addressed it. It spiraled into relationship problems, low self esteem, eating disorder, body dysmorphia, depression, anxiety…"
"And those are the things I can list off the top of my head."
"Thankfully I’ve been going to therapy and have been doing the ACTUAL work to love myself and reparent myself and learn to handle my emotions. Therapy is great y’all. Go to therapy if you can afford it."
- Ok_Accountant_8716
Menstrual Monsters
"Menopause."
"I now understand why women who have experienced it don't talk about it. It's too damned traumatic."
"But, to be honest, if I would have known what was coming for me in my 40's I would have off'ed myself in my 20's."
- squrlio
"PMDD."
"Premenstrual syndrome taken to an 11. I honestly thought I was maybe bipolar when I was a teenager (starting at 11) but we could never afford to visit the doctor so I never even tried to ask about a shrink. I just lived with it."
"For 2 weeks out of a month I was alternately super happy and just good with life and the other 2 weeks I was suicidality depressed."
"You would not have known it to talk to me. I never burdened anyone else with it so I just planned in silence and put on a happy public face. My goal was that no one ever know."
"I met someone when I was 25 and due to that went on Depo Provera shots. It stopped my period and I was happy all the time. I thought it was just the relationship until I couldn't afford my shot and down the rabbit hole I went."
"I researched and found my answer."
"My husband told me we'd eat ramen all month if need be just to never let my shot lapse because it scared him to see me off it."
"I finally FINALLY talked a doctor into perma birth control in my early 30s and had Adeana and NoVo Shure done and it gave me birth control and took away my periods."
"Without the period I am fine. I can sometimes feel the dark creeping up but I can also see that 'Hey, it must be the time when I would normally get a period.' "
"I let my husband know and he keeps an eye on me and all is well. We just had our 20th anniversary and we back each other up for the hard sh*t."
"If any of you out there have it, you are not alone and you are not crazy. I'm with you."
- Femmefatele
More Sacrifices
"The time you sacrifice being in the military and being a first responder."
"Upon joining the military and police department everyone is told to do their best to prepare for the time they will miss because of the nature of our chosen profession."
"For example, missing life events like birthdays, weddings etc. due to deployments or working crazy hours that constantly change and working just about every holiday and weekend when you are a new guy. Also, being the new guy and working in an undermanned department, it is difficult to take leave since older officers get first pick on days off."
"I understood and accepted that. I didn't think anything of it and it only became clear to me when I attended a close friend's funeral."
"The funeral director reached out to everyone and ask for pics/vids of us with my close friend as they will show them all on a slideshow during the service. A couple hundred submissions were added to the slideshow."
"I was not in any one of them."
"I recognized majority of the pictures and videos were of parties and small get togethers that I couldn't be a part of because of work."
"It made me feel terrible because I kept thinking of how everyone else, especially his family were thinking, 'who the f*ck is this guy?' It took my friend's funeral to finally see how much time I've missed."
- Dookmarriot
"Just A Headache"
"Migraines."
"I used to think people were just being weak; it’s just a headache and you’re acting like a little b*tch."
"God’ll smack ya."
"About 15 years ago, I suffered a traumatic brain and cervical spine injury and, after I recovered, I started getting migraines."
"I felt like I needed to apologize to so many people! I wouldn’t wish them on my ex-wife."
"They’re excruciating and I’m absolutely useless for at least 24 hours. I had a surgery a few years ago that helped somewhat with the frequency, but they’re still awful."
- leadfaucet
Worse Than Childbirth
"Kidney stones."
"I was 19 when I had one. Took the ER docs a while to figure out what it was because they’re primarily an old-people thing."
"I woke up in the middle of the night with excruciating stabbing pain. Tried to let it go away but it got to the point where I could no longer speak, just uncontrollable moaning/screaming while curled in the fetal position on the floor."
"I live literally 1 block away from a hospital but had to Uber there because the thought of walking was inconceivable."
"After it passed, I had like 3 months of deep, unstoppable back pain that was actually coming from my kidney."
"After that entire experience I COMPLETELY understand how people can get addicted to painkillers so easily. They were the only thing that enabled me to sleep."
"Later, I asked around to try and figure out if I was exaggerating my memory of the pain, and two older women in my life BOTH said that when they had kidney stones, the pain was worse than childbirth for them. WTF?"
- Pitiful-Ad815
No Awareness
"Insomnia."
"Because of childhood trauma, I had insomnia from age 5-26. I had no idea how much being tired all the time had impacted my life. I had no awareness of what it felt like to wake up and not feel tired."
"I’ve been shocked at how different I feel."
- shann0n420
Caretaking
"Being a caretaker to my husband whilst he went through treatment and recovery from throat cancer."
"I had never really thought about dealing with cancer from the caretakers point of view until I was there myself. I knew it might be difficult for someone but when I got there it was 'questioning my sanity' hard."
"Not to downplay what my husband went through at all. I'm know he had it wayyyyyyyy worse. But this thread is about what I underestimated, so there you go."
"It was devastating, stressful, draining, and frightening."
"All of this in addition to worrying about him being in the hospital when Covid was strongly spiking and keeping a happy calm face for our 3 year old son."
"But, three surgeries and a round of radiation later he pulled through like a champ and is now cancer free. Yay!"
- SubtleSubstantial
All I Did Was Lean Forward
"Lumbago."
"My. F*cking. God."
"All I did was lean forward while sitting on my bed playing video games. Somehow I threw my back out."
"Went to the hospital and they said it was lumbago and put me on these pain pills and told me to just relax. I couldn’t even sit on my stool in the kitchen to drink anything. Had to sit on the couch while my roommate brought me my drinks."
"Lumbago is no joke, man, that sh*t hurts."
- Xirokami
A Little Gas Pain
"Intestinal blockage and gas pain."
"I wanted to kill myself it was so bad. 36 hours of screaming, puking, pissing myself, no sleep, and more screaming."
"Medical staff could not administer any pain killers as that would slow down my digestive system and exacerbate the situation. It had to either pass naturally or they'd have to go back in surgically for the 2nd time in a week."
"I ended up actually dying for a few minutes, my heart gave out from the pain. When I 'reanimated,' the blockage had miraculously cleared."
"Otherwise, I had literally considered smashing the window with a chair and jumping out of it to end the pain."
"Brutal."
- ZookeepergameSea3890
A Fall
"I fell."
"Which turned out to now be 'a fall' ie what old people have when they fall over. In my case I tore my hip labrum and sprained my ankle and I dunno, disrupted a goblin's lair or something."
"Either way, arthritis that was kinda there anyway just absolutely kicked up a notch."
"I'm constantly sore and arthritic in my hip and knees (the knees, I guess, took all the pressure with me walking funny). And I had arthritic knees already."
"I am 41."
- sjp1980
Now that you know what Reddit has underestimated, it's your turn on the mic.
What's something you hadn't really considered the impact of?
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
As someone fascinated by movies and Hollywood, I possess a significant amount of knowledge about celebrities.
The Golden Age of Hollywood? Yes. Modern-day performers? You name it.
I also have a morbid mind so as you can imagine, I have a lot of knowledge about celebrity deaths. I sometimes think about Heath Ledger, who died of an accidental overdose in 2008. What must it be like to die that way, and to die alone?
What about Bobby Driscoll, best known for voicing the title character in Disney's Peter Pan?
He died of heart failure, also alone, and his body was discovered in an abandoned building in the East Village of Manhattan. His body was later buried in a pauper's grave and remains on New York's Hart Island.
There are other tragic celebrity deaths that have captured the nation's–and even the world's–imagination.
People shared their thoughts after Redditor Boldstarspindleshawk asked the online community:
"What celebrity suffered the worst death?"
Owen Hart
"He won’t be the biggest celebrity on this list, but the wrestler Owen Hart plunged to his death from 70 feet in the air in front of 20,000 people during a live pay-per-view. He was supposed to descend from the rafters in a superhero-like entrance, but it went terribly wrong."
"WWE insisted on doing the stunt without the proper safety equipment (since they wanted Owen to do a 'quick release'), and they hired a below-par rigging company that would agree to do it (since most wouldn’t). They were grossly negligent."
Cinammon16
Hart's death was also extremely controversial because WWE chose to continue the event even though he was severely injured in front of a live audience! Can you imagine?
Isadora Duncan
"Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer in the 1920’s wore a long scarf. She jumped in a sports car with no roof and the scarf got caught in the spokes of one of the wheels, and she was strangled."
JazzRider
Duncan's death always frightened me.
It's an example of how one thing, one choice, can go horribly wrong.
Kirsty MacColl
"It's Kirsty MacColl to me. Sliced up by the propeller of an illegally operated boat while saving her children from the same, for the boat's rich owner to buy his way out of justice."
Hattix
She died saving her son, who suffered minor head and rib injuries.
She died instantly.
Vic Morrow
"Jennifer Jason Leigh’s father, Vic Morrow. On the set of the Twilight Zone movie. Morrow and two children were killed. The helicopter crashed decapitating him and one of the children. The other child was crushed to death."
Illustrious_Tie491
These deaths caused a major scandal, ultimately impacting the career of director John Landis and resulting in a change to child labor laws in regard to film sets.
Sharon Tate
"Sharon Tates' was pretty bad. Getting stabbed to death while pregnant and begging for your unborn child's life is pretty f**cking brutal."
HempParty
The horrors and crimes committed by the Manson family continue to draw fascination to this very day.
Lou Gehrig
"Lou Gerhig. ALS causes loss of muscle control but many people diagnosed know what's in store for them. They know they will be losing the ability to walk, talk and even breathe."
legumey
The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award is given annually to the MLB player who best exhibits Gehrig's integrity and character.
Judith Barsi
"Judith Barsi voiced characters in The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven. She died at the hands of her father in a muder-suicide after years of abuse."
"A murder suicide after a long campaign of both physical and psychological abuse too. She was just 10 years old."
darkwolfuwu
Barsi and her mother were buried in adjoining plots.
Her tombstone includes the phrase "Yep! Yep! Yep!" a phrase uttered by Ducky, the character she voices in the 1988 animated classic The Land Before Time.
Selena
"Selena. Being murdered by someone you thought you could trust and being snuffed out when she was on the cusp of superstardom. All her hard work since a little girl down the drain."
JadeStratus
Selena is more famous now than she was when she was alive.
It's crazy to think about.
Meanwhile, Yolanda Saldivar, who murdered her, is still in prison.
She is eligible for parole in 2025.
Christopher Reeve
"Christopher Reeve (Superman) died after bed sores became infected after breaking his neck and getting paralyzed."
SerVimesGOT
Christopher Reeve led a hard life after his horseback riding accident and yet remained such a kind and generous figure.
Anton Yelchin
"Anton Yelchin. I can't imagine anything worse than slowly dying in a torturous manner with not a soul nearby and zero way to get help or save yourself. I'm not afraid of much, not heights or claustrophobic or drowning, but dying in a helpless manner slowly is one thing that terrifies me truly."
KassSpin
This death was such a shock and a huge blow to Star Trek fans worldwide.
Yelchin was 28 when his SUV rolled down his driveway and pinned him against a brick pillar gate post.
His death was due to blunt traumatic asphyxia.
Jon-Erik Hexum
"Jon-Erik Hexum. He was an actor who was playing around with a gun loaded with blanks during a delay in filming. As a joke, he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger."
Flashpoint123
This death, much like the death of Brandon Lee and the death of a crew member on the set of the movie Rust, have challenged views about safety on the sets of Hollywood films.
When you learn more about Hollywood, you can very easily fall down a rabbit hole.
James Dean: That car crash sounds terrifying.
Barbara Payton: Became a prostitute and died of alcoholism in her late 30s.
Phil Hartman: Murdered by his wife.
Have a celebrity you'd like to mention? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.