Redditor JeffLaRue wanted to hear how people would react without the possibility of sex, so they asked:
"What would you do if you couldn't have sex anymore due to a physical or mental issue?"
I personally wouldn't be thrilled.
But I'd find a way.
The New Me
Sad Sponge Bob GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"I do actually (endometriosis). It's sometimes really sad, but you do other things with your partner, and try again to see if there's any improvement."
"I used to have a high sex drive, but due to the pain not anymore. My partner understands that and his one preoccupation is my health."
Nansya
Likely be ok?
"My husband has stage 4 metastatic melanoma. He’s ok and will likely be ok but chemo/immunotherapy f**ked with his mojo. I’m good. We’ve found our intimacy in other ways like coffee together and just laughing in our car, our tv shows, etc.. I’d much rather have him with me than sex."
Dawnydiesel
"Let's take a moment to appreciate that 'likely be ok' and 'stage 4 metastatic melanoma' can coexist in one sentence. Science, man."
Sixmonths_Newaccount
Sucks, really...
"I was hit by a car and paralyzed from the chest down. I no longer have any sensation down there. Sucks, really. In some ways I think it is easier to get over not being able to walk, than losing sexual function. Unfortunately there isn't anything to do about it."
krunchytacos
"I’m glad you’ve made it this far. I agree with you. My vehicle was rear-ended at a red light. I learned to walk again (so I’m doing amazing really!) but I can’t feel most of my bits, peeing is weird or doesn’t work, same with poo, one foot is constantly weakening, numbness, pins and needles, bolts of pain, constant throbbing, changes with the weather and activities, and really just keeps getting worse. Can’t work a full time job anymore. But the thing that’s the hardest to deal with is the neurogenic sexual dysfunction. It’s difficult as hell."
jessibrarian
All Gone
"The real question is, what would your SO do? We have been in this exact predicament for over 3 years now... It's like living with your best friend but every single day you watch a piece of your relationship die."
"Sorry for the over sharing. This one hits hard. Prostate cancer under 50 is considered rare."
"Although if caught early its very treatable. What they don't tell you is the cancer is transplanted into your relationship. For over 30yrs we had an amazing intimate sexual chemistry that was built around if one of us isn't into it then we won't do it. No fake orgasms, no birthday sex, no wearing each other down or giving in... just raw vulnerability and trust. All gone!"
New_Shoes_999
Meh
Awkward John Krasinski GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphy"I would definitely miss it, but I'd manage."
SexyChronicPain
Some people really don't care but did address the lack of intimacy.
A Mental No
No No No GIFGiphy"Honestly I’d be devastated. Not being able to connect in that intimate way with my partner would leave a huge gap in my mental well being. I know it’s not technically essential but it’s a massive part of a relationship and without that I would feel incompetent as a partner."
whiskerbiscuit2
Quality Time
"I'd try other things to feel intimate with my partner. Like naked, but not sexual, snuggling. Or start up a hobby night where we spend quality time together. Maybe buy them a quality toy so they don't feel like they're missing out because of me 🤷♀️ But other than that? I'd just continue getting on with life!"
BinkiesForLife_05
The Struggle
"Been dealing with an inflammatory skin issue that has prevented me from having sex with my partner for the last two months. It’s been a struggle, feels like my sex life is in shambles, and it’s driven me back into depression."
"Luckily my partner is incredibly understanding, but it has put a huge strain on the relationship. Trying to explore other forms of intimacy but she has a hard time receiving touch without it being a mutual experience.
"If this becomes a long term problem I don’t know how I’ll cope."
Merp_the_People
Downgrade
"I'm going to buck the trend and say that my life would be significantly degraded. I had a fairly low sex drive through periods of my life due to mental illness. Now, I am at my sexual peak and it's as if I'm seeing in color for the first time: I know how my body works, and what it likes, and I feel powerful and sexy."
"At this point, my sense of self and identity are linked to my ability to have sex. I felt very ugly and like I was only a mother for a while, and I feel much more like a woman and a normal person now. I could live without sex... but it would take me building myself up all over again and accepting who I am without that."
PralineOwl
Inadequacy...
"It would probably devastate me, honestly. I was super overweight had very poor luck with women in my teens and twenties. I took control of my life, lost over 100 pounds and met my wife at 28. 8 years later we still have a very healthy sex life. She would understand but I feel as though it would bring up the feeling of inadequacy again."
Kingjerm731
Sex isn't everything, but it's important to many.
Hopefully everyone finds peace if this is a life issue being faced.
Curious to hear what strangers online have had to deal with, Redditor OkArm3430 asked:
"What was the worst pain you have ever felt and how did you get it?"
Procedures meant to bring you back to good physical health can be as painful as the ailment itself.
Restoring Perfect Vision
"Laser eye surgery, the numbing eyedrops did not work on me (genetics, they never worked on my grandpa either). When they put the vacuum suction cup onto my eyeball, I screamed (like directly on my eyeballs), that pain was so bad that I barely felt my cornea being cut open. (I fel that too, ofc)."
"In the end I couldn't move, I was in shock. Turns out, they messed up my cornea on my left eye, it was wrinkled up and had to be smoothened down a week after with a tiny metal tool. With no numbing eyedrops ofc. Worth it tho, I can seeeee :D"
Rather Be Asleep
"I had a feeding tube through my nose down into my stomach. One day the tube had moved so doctors told me it needed fixing into place."
" Long story short he was poking around my nasal passage with extremely long and sharp tweezers trying to fit a magnetic strip to this tube. The pain was excruciating. Turns out I was suppose to be unconscious for it 😑"
Stomach Pump
"Had surgery on my lower abdomen and a huge cut all the way across it. I thought the worst pain would just be the healing process itself,but no."
"I didn't know that they pump air into your stomach cavity after surgery, so once I woke up, my stomach was so bloated, it looked like it was about to explode. Im a really skinny guy and my stomach was like.. tripled in size. Your body slowly gets rid of it again, but this next level gas was easily the worst pain I've experienced."
Bone pain is a top contender for being the most painful experiences ever.
Twisted Torture
"Bones twisting."
"It's pretty much the same bone deformity that makes flat feet but turned to 11 so all your bones in the affected area twist as they grow."
"Used to regularly pass out from the pain while growing up and for context, testicular torsion was bad, but not bad enough to make me pass out, just throw up."
– Taneatua
Out-Of-State Trauma
"Went out of state and got a tooth infection the day of leaving. Spent a whole week with an exposed nerve. Luckily a family member had leftover antibiotics to fight the infection that week until I got back. I wanted to cry every single night. Don't know why I didn't just go to a dentist in that state... lmao"
It's bad news when something bursts inside your body.
Ineffective Pain Meds
"I had a haemorrhagic cyst on my ovary burst, filled my abdomen up with blood and infection and I had to have emergency surgery. All the pain meds they could give me did absolutely nothing and I honestly thought I was gonna die."
"They didn't take me seriously to begin with either, so I was left to get worse and become septic until they realised I actually had a medical emergency and not just period pain."
– fbbb21
Worst Kind Of Headache
"Brain anerusym rupture, 10/10 I was begging them to put me out. How I got it? I'm very unlucky lol"
– Zeliv
Appendicitis
"Ruptured appendix. It felt like someone stabbed me and then poured acid in, which is pretty much exactly what it is. Worse than kidney stones."
– fangelo2
The worst pain I ever experienced was when I got food poisoning when I was in Chicago for a gig.
I was so dehydrated after puking for the sixth time in a row and not being able to keep Powerade or water in my system.
The ensuing headaches I experienced as I lay on the bathroom floor literally made me ask for a higher power to put me out of my misery.
Fortunately, the pain subsided and I was able to nurse myself back to health.
I vowed never to eat slimy beef from Panda Express ever again.
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I once cracked my front tooth because I chose to swing around a pole like a stripper. I neglected to notice the rock in my path and once my speed picked up... BOOM!
Man Down
Tired Give Up GIF by Boomerang OfficialGiphy"I was bunk buddies with my brother, I always had the lower bunk. one night I convinced my brother to give me the top bunk. woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee. didn't realise I was on the top, face planted the floor. fractured my arm."
Roll Away
"I attempted to take my brand new roller skates on pavement. I did not understand that it was a terrible idea, I was quite young. I fell and broke my wrist trying to catch myself so I would not land on my butt, which as an adult I think probably would have been preferable."
"When the doctor removed my cast, I was screaming and crying for him to stop because he was burning me with that tool. He assured my mother I was only scared and I was held down so he could finish. I have a permanently disfiguring scar on my hand as a result."
"I do not know what is stupider, that an adult automatically assumes a child is screaming from fear and not agony, or that I took roller skates on pavement instead of waiting for rollerblades. Now that I am thinking on it, I believe that was the first actively traumatizing memory I have. What came before is only half remembered, for which I am grateful."
- micarst
Stay Sober
"When I was 6 years old I stole a beer at a neighborhood party. Someone saw me and asked me what I thought I was doing, so I told him I was getting it for my dad. He believed me, I drank the beer and got drunk. As now known to me you should not drink and drive. I learned that that day as I crashed my tricycle. That is the story of my 6 concussions. Also, I can proudly say I have never driven drunk since!"
- P3pie002
Stop, drop and roll...
"I was told to start the fire on the outdoor grill and was given a cup of gasoline. Age 11. I lit the fire and then spilled the gas on my arm as I tossed the cup on the flames. The fire like... caught and climbed up the liquid while it was in the air and back into the cup in my hand. My arm caught fire before the liquid fully fell onto the grill. I was so shocked I kind of stood there for a second before my 9yr-old brother shoved me down and started screaming, "Stop, drop and roll. Drop and roll!"
Dumb Kids
Mad Marbles GIF by DIRTY VELVET CLOTHINGGiphy"I think I was like 2 or 3, and my older brother ripped open a beanie baby and shoved a ungodly amount of the beads in our ears. I was a dumb freaking kid. Doctor had to wash and suck out like 20+ beads out of my brothers and I ears."
I never understood the marble fascination. They seem like weapons of mass destruction. And I know roller skates is death on wheels.
funny kid stuck GIFSlippin'
"Back when I was a toddler my mom would often bring me and my sisters to my grandmother for her to babysit us. One time while there, i climbed up a flight of stairs on the outside of the stairs. The stairs had a banister i could hold, but once i had reached the top, i slipped and fell 3 meters down."
"I fell down on the playden where my baby sister laid. I fell right on the edge on my belly and luckily both my sister and myself were okay. The real stupid part came when my mom came to pick us up. My grandmother was real nervous and told my mom the big lines, but didn't see it so could not tell everything that happened."
"So my mom asked me to explain what happened. I screamed: I will show you! And ran back up the stairs. My mom and grandmother tried to stop me of course. But before they could i was already on my way down. And that is the story of my 4 concussion."
- P3pie002
The Chunk
"When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade the teacher had us move our desks around in class for some reason. We had those kind of desks with the wooden top and the metal cubby underneath. At one point I bent down to grab something off the floor and somehow slammed my mouth into the metal part and chipped one of my front teeth."
"I amazingly didn't freak out, and I don't even think it hurt that much, but I looked down and there my tooth chunk was on the floor by my feet. I didn't ask to go to the nurse or even tell my teacher what happened, and I guess no one saw it cause I don't remember anyone asking if I was alright. In that moment, all my little kid brain could think was that I could probably still get at least a quarter from the tooth fairy for this, as no one had specified that she needed full teeth for the exchange."
"So I just casually slipped it into my pocket and didn't say a word about it for the rest of the day. When I got home I showed my mom to get her thoughts on what I could get for the tooth chunk, but surprisingly she wasn't as eager to talk business as I was. My tooth is fine now so I assume it was a baby tooth, so no harm done. I didn't get my due interest for the tooth chunk which I think is actually the most painful part of the whole thing."
- Mudbud16
daredevil escapades...
"I had made a jump for my bike out of 2 cinderblocks and a piece of plywood. I was having the time of my life jumping my bike pretending it was a motorcycle. Then it stated to rain. I put my bike in the garage and waited by the window for the rain to stop so I could continue my daredevil escapades in the driveway. Well, after about an hour, the rains let up and I ran outside got my bike and pedaled my bike as fast as I could go."
"I was completely unaware of what effect water has on plywood. I hit the jump, the wood bent in a way it had not bent before the rain and I was launched straight up in the air. landed back first on the 2 cinderblocks and then the bike landed on top of me. With the wind knocked out of me I laid there in quiet agony, not having the air in my lungs to muster a decent cry of pain for a few minutes."
- ELPwork
Thumbs Down
thumb cooking GIF by Disney PixarGiphy"I was too afraid of going down a slope on a skateboard, so I decided to try to go down while sitting on the skateboard. My thumb went under the wheel and the nail was pulled out right away. It hurt like hell."
How we survive long enough to reach puberty is a miracle. We should be made to live in bubble wrap until college. I send good luck to all.
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