WARNING: the following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm
As much as many parents try to shield their kids from the dangers of society, children inevitably witness the very things parents protect them from seeing.
Although children are unable to process many of the problems they may witness at any given time, the unsettling visuals stay with them.
Eventually, in adulthood, they experience an epiphany about the past.
Curious to hear about horrific experiences from strangers online, Redditor titanic_trash asked:
"What’s something f'ked up you witnessed as a child that you were oblivious to until you grew up?"
Although they may never volunteer information, many families have skeletons in the closet.
Mom's Mental Condition
"When I was 5 or 6, my mom used to never want to get out of bed and just kept saying she was sick. Finally, my stepdad took her to a hospital, where she stayed for nearly a month. I thought it was so cool that her hospital let her do arts and crafts all the time, plus she got better and started doing arts and crafts with me too when she got home. I remember telling her that I wished I could go to the hospital and draw all day."
"She sat me down and told me that she hoped I would never get sick like she did, but if I do, there's nothing wrong with needing help to get better, even if you have to go somewhere for a little while to do it."
"It wasn't until I was probably 12 or 13 and didn't want to get out of bed myself that it clicked that the hospital she had gone to was a mental health hospital. But because of her, I've never felt shame about needing therapy when things are getting bad, or even just to maintain a healthy mindset."
– kenda1l
The Drunk Uncle
"I wasn't a child but when I was in college I lived with my uncle Tom, who was only 4 years older than me. He used to come home from work with a six pack of beer and would crack one open as he walked in the door and offer me one."
"15 years later, just before he died a meth addict, we talked about the good 'ol days when we lived together. He confessed to me that after work he would but a six pack and a 40 oz beer. He would drink the entire 40 oz bottle and then walk into the house like he was just cracking his first can of beer. That always stuck with me."
– Loggerdon
Deep Depression
"My mom attempting suicide in front of me on more than one occasion, as well as being in the car as my dad drove her to the hospital after said suicide attempts."
– Resident-Mention-481
Lighting Up
"My mom used to let me watch cartoons late at night in her room as long as I didn’t turn around or be too loud. I would always hear her flicking a lighter but didn’t think too much about it. Years later I found out she was smoking meth right behind me and blowing it out the window, she would use me as a excuse as to why she was awake if my step dad woke up and caught her."
– dirtydandii
Major Withdrawals
"My uncle withdrawing from drugs. He was always the fun loud crazy uncle. I was around 10 and my mom and I came home from somewhere and when we pulled up he was sitting outside and said he needed a place to stay."
"My mom had to work the next day and he and I were both hanging out at the house and I could tell he didn't feel well and was dry heaving. It was really scary."
"I asked him if I should call 911 and he said no he'd be okay. I had no idea he had drug problems until I became an adult. He passed away not too long ago from liver failure."
– CoolHipLady
Complimentary Grandma
"When I was probably around 4-6 years old I used walk my grandma up stairs at her house every time we visited. She said she liked holding my hand. When I went to her room she’d always compliment my shirts and be like 'what’s this on your shirt here called?'”
"And I’d say 'Oh that’s Winnie the poo' Or whatever I was wearing. And she’d go on to tell me stories about the character or talk a bit about it."
"When I was 16 I learned she’d been blind for years. She’d ask me to hold her hand up the stairs so that I could help guide her to her room. She’d ask what was on my shirt bc she could feel a pattern on it."
"Idk why but that kind of made me feel both sad and very loved? Like she couldn’t see anymore but she never wanted to let me worry about it and still managed to compliment what I was wearing all the time. She passed away while I was still very young but those memories stuck like glue."
"Edit: Waking to everyone’s replies on this post was so nice! Thanks everyone for all the love for grandma! _. I’m glad people found this post heartwarming in the midst of the rest of this thread."
"I guess I found it f'ked up just bc while she was alive I thought I would have wanted to know bc there were times where I (as a 5 year old) would think to myself 'man’s grandma always forgets who Mickey is' LOL And when I later found out I remember thinking 'oh god I’m such an idiot' or felt bad that I thought she just had bad memory or something."
"My immediate thought was I wish I would have known so I could have given her even more love. But as I got older (almost 30 now) I realized it probably made her really happy to hangout with someone for a while who didn’t ever think of the disability and just spent time with her. So yeah, thank you again, I appreciate all the awards too I know those cost money so wow, thank you!"
– ADirtyCasual
Predatory Grandfather
"I have a big family (aunts uncles cousins ext) and whenever a reunion came around all the adults told us not to be alone with our grandfather (their own father). It turns out that he was a child molester, even his own kids couldn't escape him until adulthood. They lived in very rural Rocky Mountains where the closest neighbor was five miles away."
– Express_Topic_4081
This is why proper vetting of adults as role models is crucial.
The "Odd" Babysitter
"My really odd babysitter got fired after she broke her glass table. I was playing with her son in another room when we heard a crash. She actually used to lock us in his room a lot. I don't recall much but I remember a big commotion soon after."
"I remember my dad screaming at my mom that night about how I was banned from going over there ever again and how it was my mothers fault for letting me go over there (which I didn't understand)."
"Grew up to find out that babysitter was shooting up and fell through that glass table. Neighbors had heard the crash and rushed over and found her high as a kite with 2 kids locked in a room (me and her kid)."
– NotBadSinger514
Her Foaming Mouth
"Damn. I have a similar story. My babysitter was having trouble with her bf and tried to commit suicide while watching My sister, brother and I. My brother and I were 3, sister 4. She drank bleach and bee spray."
"I can vaguely remember looking at her foaming mouth in curiosity. My sister had the wherewithal to call my mother at work and tell her that Audrey was foaming out of her mouth because of what she drank. My mother called 911 and Audrey made it. Years later she asked my mother for a reference LOL 😆"
– GiantBlueSmurf
Church Secret
"A guy who was forced out of the church and none of the kids knew why. 30 years later he was arrested for pedophilia dating back to when he was kicked out of the church. All the kids loved him as he always showed a ton of interest in us. Turns out, the church covered for him to not lose face and he went on to molest more kids across the state for 30 more years."
– ph3l0n
The "Kind" Officer
"In 5th grade when we had the D.A.R.E program, there was this police officer that came to my class to teach us about drugs and drugs prevention and whatnot. He for some reason had a fondness for me. He told me I looked like his son and from then on would call me 'my son.' He would always massage my shoulders and ask me about my life and sh*t. At the time I thought it was kinda cool, because the police officer gave me more attention than everyone else. A bunch of years later, I saw in our local news paper that that police officer was arrested for child molestation and child pornography."
– HAN_CH0LO
Taking Advantage Of Innocence
"My friends in Junior high (around 13-14 y/o) having relationships with older men... Men in their 50s. They were so proud of it, also they were so proud of being sexually active with them. And when I was a kid I never once thought that was weird, I would just think oh it's their boyfriends... So that's ok, yes?"
"Then I grew up, learn things about the world and realized how f'ked up that was, I wish I knew better and I wish I had gone to the police. I still feel bad to this day in my 30s."
– PenutLover
People from broken homes or in abusive relationships often avoid talking about their situation.
The Trigger
"Finding out that breaking a cup or spilling a drink wasn’t a big deal was quite an eye opener, watching my girlfriend look at me like I’m nuts while I apologise for 20 minutes about dropping a glass of water made me reevaluate a lot of my childhood."
– HELLFIRECHRIS
Bruised Mother
"Went to a friend's house on the weekend to play video games at the age of about 10. We had a good time and played a lot of games on the ps2. His mom came upstairs from the basement to ask if we wanted food."
"I turned around and said yes please and before I could finish saying please I noticed she had a black eye. I asked my friend what happened to his mom's face and he said 'I can't say.' 10 year old me just said oh okay and we preceded to play video games. I didn't realize until I was about 19 this happened."
– bardownhockey15
The Lonely Girl
"On a day out with my dad when I was little I was playing in the park with a girl same age as me I didn’t know her but she was on her own , me and my dad left after an hour or so leaving the girl on her own again , obviously my dad asked where her parents were etc..."
"Later on that night there was a big story on the news about a girl who had been abducted and all my family kept asking me question about this little girl . It went right over my head at the time being about 5 yrs old . 40 yrs later I still think about her."
– Eve-76
The Friend Who Changed
"From 4th to 6th grade, I would go to a friends regularly. For most of the friendship his mom was super nice and engaged with us as kids, while his dad had always been this mysterious person at a high powered job that everyone tip-toed around once he got home."
"My friend’s attitude started changing near the end of our friendship, being abusive to his dog that he used to be obsessed with and overall high strung. Parents were a little off compared to before."
"I stayed for dinner one night like I had before many times and his mom sits down with a black eye. I was confused, like, how did she get hurt? It was a bit awkward, but the dad was there and those meals were more about finishing up than chatting. I guess everything was always less fun when he was around."
"My friend was not the same as he was before. More aggressive and that wasn’t my style. Our friendship just kind of waned off."
"I didn’t realize till many years later that his dad was likely an abusive a**hole, was hitting his wife, and maybe his sons. I'll never forget the weird anxiety that filled the house in those last few months, and that my presence may have been a kind of reprieve period where the dad had to play it cool."
"That anxiety did end up pushing me away, and looking back I hope my friend, his brother, and Mom got out of the situation."
– DogsBlimpsShootCloth
The Slap
"When I was about 10, my dad offered to buy me candy and stopped at a store to run in. We had a long drive back and I asked where the candy was. He said in the bag in the back but that he’d get it for me when we got home since he was driving. I said 'it’s okay I can reach it' and as I reached for it he slapped me and said yelled that I can wait until I got home."
"My father had never hit me before that, and never did again after. The most confusing part to me was the look of utter sadness and shock on his face after he hit me."
"My dad was an alcoholic and killed himself before my 18th birthday."
"It wasn’t until I was older that I understood he had bought a bottle of vodka and forgot to place it in its own bag…or that I hadn’t seen him drinking water all those times he disappeared to his truck and I snuck to the window to watch where he went."
– WhatATravisT
Domestic Violence
"my dad drowning my mom on her birthday. he grabbed her and went outside to the front yard and placed the hose in front of her face and turned the water on. he was laughing while my mom was screaming and crying. neighbors saw and didn’t do anything. after a few minutes he stopped."
"my mom went inside, changed and went to work. i could only imagine how my mom felt afterwards."
"till this day i think about that when it’s her birthday."
– itbelikewat10
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/
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.