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People Break Down What Happened When Their Quiet Friend Snapped

People Break Down What Happened When Their Quiet Friend Snapped
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It's been said that it's the "quiet ones" you really need to watch out for - but have you ever wondered why?

The media tells us that the quiet ones are the ones most likely to go full-on atomic when they are finally pushed too far. We see it in movies, we hear about it in songs like Jeremy, I Don't Like Mondays and Pumped Up Kicks.

Obviously quiet people are pushed too far on a daily basis, but we don't hear about these atomic meltdowns ... so there can't be that much truth to the myth ... right?


Reddit user Crudop_uwu asked:

What happened when the kind/quiet person snapped?

Turns out, reality might be just as strange - and intense - as fiction. Check out these real-life stories about what happens when the quiet ones get pushed too far and finally snap.

Chorus Lessons

"My choir teacher was a really kind jolly person that younger kids loved to piss off for no reason. Like, he was incredibly patient, supported you even if your voice was god awful and really worked to make people comfortable and achieve a certain goal each individual had."

"And every year the new students of middle school would joke around antagonize the poor man all class long."

"What these foolish 7th graders didn't know was that when this man was not nice... he really was not nice. It took a long time to blow his fuse, but once it blew, there was no going back."

Giphy

"This quiet middle aged man, almost always pale, suddenly became raging loud with his face exploding red. You could see veins popping out on his forehead as he scream/scolded the younger students to behave. And he didn't stop, he got up in everyone's faces, yanked their phones from them and scared the absolute shite out of them."

"I hadn't done anything, and neither did the seniors of choir because we knew the consequences of being an ahole to this teacher. So he skipped over us and we got a full view of the younger kids crying, more out of stock than anything."

"And just as fast as it came, the teacher had calm down. His face going back to it's original color and the phones he grabbed safely locked away in his office. He was quiet once again and with a smile on his face, he'd say. "Now, let's try this chorus again..."

- strqwberryoreos

Crying To Mommy

"One of my best friends is the quiet kid at our school. One day a couple other girls were talking and one of them said "What's she gonna do? Cry to her mommy?"

"And another said "Sorry honey the baby needs my attention right now." Her mother and brother were killed in a car accident last year."

"My friend overheard the girls and went over and punched one in the face and proclaimed "At least my mother loved me b***h!"

"She then took the second girls tray and dumped it all over her. One of the teachers saw everything and heard what the girls said."

"My friend got off with just a detention."

- That1TheaterKid

An Icy Lesson

"My cousin, who I call my brother, he's my BFF, my total bromance guy, has always been an extremely calm and chilled out guy. Completely easy going guy."

"When we were little kids I was a completely insane, hyperactive, impulsive kid. We were sitting together eating ice cream out of cones and, for unknown reasons, I reached over and pushed his ice cream off the cone and then laughed like a maniac. He looked at me and then he just launched himself at me, he flew out of his chair, knocked me off mine, my ice cream flew away and we started rolling around on the floor punching each other."

"That's the only time we've ever had a fight. And it was while my uncle had a whole lot of important people and their families over at the house. He was thrilled."

- throwawaysmetoo

Words Hurt

"In middle school in my 7th grade math class this one girl was picking on me (the quiet kid) because I lived in a apartment complex and not a house. Normally I just ignored her or anyone who messed with me. I was bullied a lot and to the point anything I said was used against me so usually I was mute 98% of the time."

"Except I guess I was having a really bad day because I spoke up and 1) told her to shut up and 2) I didn't need to take this from someone who couldn't compete with a pancake for bust size (or something worded similar)."

"I knew she was self conscious about it because I'd walked out of the bathroom stall to see her jamming toilet paper down her bra. She stopped picking on me after that."

- BurgerKat

The Silent Giant

"I was working in a kitchen when the silent giant on the grill next to me started getting a wave of steaks and burgers."

"The expediter was asking him to rush some things and he froze in overwhelmed anger for a moment, grabbed a mostly raw burger off the hot grill with his bare hand and threw it at the stainless steel wall. It stuck for a moment and flopped onto the floor."

"He then took a deep breath and started selling food faster than I've ever seen."

- trellala

Seeing Red

"I lifted a girl off the ground by her hair and told her never to mess with me again."

"I was 5'8" and 13 years old. The girl had been bullying me for years at that point. I was the quiet kid who just read a lot, liked gaming, and had severe social anxiety. She purposefully bumped into me on the way out of a classroom. By that point, she had pushed me out of my friend group and replaced me, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I snapped, and literally saw red. Like, literally. It was like a red film fell over my vision and I had no control over my actions. She was a few inches shorter than me, but had curly, poofy hair. So, I picked her up by it and told her, "Don't come near me ever again!" And then dropped her like the piece of trash she was."

Giphy


"I proceeded to walk to my next class and have a total breakdown, crying. I didn't get in trouble because the teachers much preferred me over her and knew I would never do something like that unless pushed to the breaking point. Plus, when you're bawling about how you didn't mean to do that and you were just so desperate to make her go away, you get a lot of sympathy."

"I don't regret it, and she never messed with me again."

- ChanseyChessy

"Dishonorable" Discharge

"Kicked the shite out of half our barracks. Was then tased by MPs and arrested."

"This guy was constantly bullied and picked on by the mouthy guy in our platoon. One day he finally snapped and was belting the life out of this guy. Like 7 or 8 of us tried to stop him, he tried gouging out the eye of our PL."

"This went on for about 10 minutes of just absolute mental swinging and screaming, no one could restrain or stop him. MPs (our version of police) came barreling in, tased him and took him away."


"Long story short he killed his career; dishonourably discharged etc. The "mouth" spent at least 3 months in hospital getting reconstruction surgery."

"Our PL also had a stint in hospital as the scratch marks on his eye got infected and nearly lost sight in it."

"The guy that copped the beating deserved it, and ultimately left. One of the boys that was friends with attacker pointed out he was already suffering with PTSD and a bad breakup."

"I feel bad for him as think a long steep descent into alcohol came after and he was a top bloke."

- SpruceBruce89

Broad Side Of A Sledgehammer

"I took a LOT in school; more than I should have. Looking back, I rarely fought if it was my safety on the line. Because I know I can take a few punches, and self-loathing makes self defense pretty damned difficult."

"So, I'm in Junior High. 8th grade. I've been dealing with bullshit and I cope by silently fuming, like always. Cue a small kid I'll call Chen. Very nice Chinese kid, always friendly with people. One of the school bullies, who wasn't a small guy by any means, just shoulder checks Chen into a locker. HARD."


"I completely lost it. Yelled his name, walked up, and when he did that stupid bully "What're you gonna do?" line, I headbutted the ever-living fu*k out of his face. I have a flat, kinda broad forehead. Like the broad side of a sledgehammer."

"He yells "Fu*k!" and stumbles back. I grab his shirt and ring his bell with a few rights. Fu*ked my hand up pretty bad. Also had a knot on my forehead because his nose was sturdier than expected."

"Plus side? Everyone left Chen alone after that."

- TimedRevolver

No Happy Ending Here

"A former friend of mine - musician, actor, barista - broke up with his girlfriend. She then asked him to leave her house and return to his own, less than two miles away. He had his car there, nothing of his was in her house. Does an amiable separation ensue, especially considering he initiated the breakup? No."

"He responded to her request that he leave by knocking her phone out of her hands, hitting her multiple times, throwing her through a glass cabinet, and beating her unconscious while she lay in broken glass screaming for him to stop. He then drove to the police station and turned himself in, saying he thought he killed her."


"Afterwards, his only punishment was one year of probation, which he violated multiple times without consequence, assaulting her and choking her. Her only protection was a restraining order, which he broke multiple times without consequence."

"He even had the gall to complain on social media the day after his arrest about being treated like a criminal by the police, after he walked into the police station with her blood drying on his hands. He spent one night in jail."

- TrimTabCatalyst

Protecting The Cat

"The quiet one in our college was a tiny sweet and harmless always smiling girl. She was kind to everyone and stupid people mistook her for weak, because she just walked away when being picked on. One day the local bullies were chasing after the campus cat with hockey sticks. As they ran by her table she let out an audible sound of anger, stood up and smacked her flat tray right into the first ones face...with force."

"He smashed backwards into the ground and the other ones crashed right into him. She calmly sat back down with a smile and watched the cat run away."

"They were too startled to react for a while and when one of them finally started to yell at her she just stared him down with the most murderous look in her eyes. They left and she never got bothered by them again."

- teal_ish

​Thought Out Slap

"I didn't snap. I thought about what I was going to do long and hard, and came to the decision that the girl deserved to get bitch slapped across the face."

"She said my brother had a sister complex."

"I was six when my brother died of a drug overdose(he was 19, away at college)."

"So, the next day at high school, right when she walked up to me to say good morning, I slapped her across the face and walked away. I had warned my other friends about what she had said, and that I was about to do something, but I am a natural peacekeeper, so they never thought I could do something like that."

"I ended up in the office, sobbing about what she had said to me. Apparently it seemed like I had just snapped out of nowhere."

"Needless to say, you don't punish the girl who slapped the person that said the girls dead brother had a sister complex."

- ChanseyChessy

Bitch Slap Slapping GIF by absurdnoiseGiphy

​Sibling Revelry 

"I was that person- my sister yelled at me and called me an idiot because she was forgetful and was trying to get me to run ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS to unplug a straightening iron even though I had to leave for the bus (i do everything in the morning, and all she does is get dressed and leave)."

"At dinner time I brought this up and showed the aggressive texts to my mom, and when she was made to apologize to me she gave the most pathetic apology, and that was when I snapped and slammed my hand on the table and began to scream at her about how she was so rude and such and such. After that I didn't speak to her for days, I was livid. I do regret showing my anger like that, it was pretty emberressing..."

"But she hasn't made me that mad after that, so I guess she did realise what she did?"

"Even though I am shy and reserved I do have my moments.. And I hate having them because it makes people scared. I do wish to work on it, I guess on the bright side is that I'm not physical with others, but words can still hurt.. "

"That's why I felt so hurt when my sister was yelling at me in text and saying nasty things to me."

- Dreamy_Spooks

One Fight To Ruin It All

"In high school my former good friend (we grew distant after school ended) was in the lunchroom talking to his group of friends, I was nearby with my group of friends."

"One of the dudes in his group of friends decided to crack a joke about my friend's mom in front of him, which got my friend really quiet. What most might not have known is that his mom was a recovering drug addict and a single mother of 2 boys, the husband decided to skip out of child support and moved back to his home country in Brazil."

"She did a lot of work to get clean and raise her kids to be better than she or their dad was, and both her sons and I respected her for it. Suffice to say, my friend didn't like wise cracks against his mom, joking or otherwise."

"I don't even remember what the comment specifically was, just that I had never seen my friend's face get so red so fast. I looked over at him in time to see him dive across the table and absolutely destroy the dude, there wasn't even a 'fight', it was just a one sided massacre with my friend swing repeatedly from above. Took 3 teacher to break it up, and a few more to get him out of the room."

"He got suspended for 3 days, and it tanked his reputation with all his teachers, which used to be pretty high before then."

"I still feel bad about it years later too, nicest guy you'd ever meet but that moment led him into fighting with a lot of students on other occasions. He ended up being held back a year from failing his classes too, so that one fight essentially ruined his future single handedly."

- spydmike

From Cheerful To Frightening

​"My high school sweetheart was this really sweet, fun loving guy. He wasn't quiet, the exact opposite actually; loud, rambunctious and always finds the best in things."

"We were in band together and for the first three years of high school I never once saw him get mad. The few times things got to a point where most people would get angry he managed to calm everyone down."

"Then one day our senior year this freshman was being an obnoxious brat. Everyone hated him, he was rude, mean and just awful. We were walking in from band practice and he was behind us, apparently just shitting all over one of our friends. Saying just awful and cruel things to a guy who really didn't deserve it."

"I could see my bf getting frustrated. We'd been dealing with the shit all day and at this point I was the one soothing him, trying to calm him down."


"Then suddenly the kid said something. I didn't hear it but I saw my bf's face turn as red as a tomato. He whipped around and started screaming at the kid."

"I got between him and the kid as fast as I could, but our friends were stunned. I was legitimately afraid he was going to attack him and the stupid fucking kid just kept laying it on thick. All "oh you pussy, letting your b control you, I could beat you any time of the day".

My bf was twice his size, I have no idea where the kid got the confidence but thankfully my friends managed to drag the kid away before things got worse. It took forever to calm my bf down."

"I'll never forget how terrified I was in that moment. He was so cheerful and happy all the time, the sudden change was frightening."

- annasfanfic

The quiet ones are always the ones to watch!

Do you have similar stories to share? Let us know in the comments below.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

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

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

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

– Practical_Eye_3600

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

– bikergirlr7

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

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

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

– KingBooRadley

Remember

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

– AquamarineCheetah

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

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

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

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

– OhhGoood

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

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

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

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

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

– RandomSharinganUser

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

– Kolkeia

If Only

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

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

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

– drummerskillit

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

– Isitjustmedownhere

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

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

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

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

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

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

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

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

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

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

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

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

– We-R-Doomed

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

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

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

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

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

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

– LesPaltaX

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

– MoonlightKayla

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

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

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.