There are things you can choose to do that you might never be able to take back. The damage is done, whether you like it or not.
It's sad, isn't it? The unbearable finality of it.
After Redditor DwightAndAngela4Ever asked the online community, "What is the worst thing you've ever done to somebody?" people came forward with their stories.
They must not have been easy to reveal.
Warning: Sensitive material head.
"My wife and I..."
My best friend's wedding day. My wife and I had been fighting that morning, but decided to attend my friend's ceremony anyway. We drove separate and after the ceremony was over, I left to go home. After the approximately 30 minute drive home, my wife called me and asked where I was. When I told her, she said, "'Jake' is standing out here in the freezing cold wind wondering where his best friend is because he wants to take some pictures with him on his wedding day."
I felt like absolute garbage. My wife had been mature enough to put our petty disagreement on hold so that we could support my friend, but I let it get the best of me, and abandoned him. I will never forgive myself for that one.
"The one bright spot..."
When I was in 5th grade, I had serious issues. Was bullied, didn't have any friends, was overweight, parents were constantly fighting, etc. Basically life just sucked.
The one bright spot in my life was my grandma. If I'd asked her to do anything she would have done it. I was her special love and she treated me amazingly.
Being an older person, she didn't have a job. She didn't have a bank account, so she kept all her money in her purse. I saw that one day, and a plan was hatched. At school, they were doing those stupid sales things to raise money. The class that raises the most money would get a pizza party. I thought, "hey, if I help our class win a pizza party, maybe they'll like me." So, I stole over $1000 from my grandma I loved to impress a bunch of 5th graders who hated me.
Somehow the school didn't question a 5th grader spending over $1000 in cash. So we won the pizza party. And it didn't make a damn bit of difference. Still bullied.
My grandma worried herself to death, though. She thought she lost it somewhere. Thankfully my parents helped her out. But my cover story for my parents, "I found a rich person who wanted to buy pocket calendars" fell thru pretty quickly.
They never told her, but it's eaten me up ever since. When I say she worried herself to death, I'm afraid she did. Within 3 years, she had passed away from complications from a surgery due to acid reflux that essentially dissolved her esophagus. I don't know if worry caused it, but it certainly didn't help.
Even thinking about it 30 years later just rips me up inside.
I was in a bad drug addiction, with my best friend using and living with me. I spent a few days in jail over missing a court date or something (arrests were so common idk how many there were or even what most of them were for nowadays), and when I came home, he was gone, and so was a watch of mine. I called him up and screamed at him, said a bunch of terrible stuff that I realize today I didn't mean, and hung up on him. I ended up getting arrested again a few weeks later, and hadn't spoken to him since then. A couple of months later, while I was still incarcerated, he won $2,000 on a scratch off, bought a bunch of drugs and booze, and intentionally killed himself with all of it. We were all we really had at the time, and I can't help but think that our relationship being in the state it was at the time contributed to his decision. I love that man like a brother, and regret it so much. It was an ugly watch that I myself had stolen in the first place...
I haven't used since that last arrest. I did 22 months in prison, and basically everyone else I knew died during that time, too. I have six years clean as of March 4. Great job, amazing fiancée, full custody of my 7 year old son, two cats, the American dream... I hope there's something else after this life just so that John can see where I'm at today.
"When I divorced my husband..."
When I divorced my husband, I didn't take the house, or his car, or more than 1/3 of our cash, or break anything of his, or damage anything. But I gave him the time share. Single meanest thing I've ever done.
"So I'm out with my friends..."
I remember I was 17/18 and I was broke, between jobs and really down. I was too proud to ask my parents for financial help and too proud to tell my friends or give them any incline.
Now, this is a bit deep but I had always believed that we have angels that look over us that help us when we are in need whether that be big or small. So I was convinced my luck was going to change.
So I'm out with my friends and we're going for dinner. I had no money but didn't want my friends to know that. I asked to be driven to an ATM and made out that I was getting money but would make up a story about not getting paid, hoping one of my friends would pay for me that evening.
So I queue at the ATM behind a guy with two young children, really struggling to control them. He wasn't much older than me and I could tell he didn't have much cash looking at the state of his clothes.
He finishes and I step up to the ATM and the guy has took his card but left his cash in the machine, £50. Without hesitation I stuffed it into my wallet and jumped back in my friends car and look back to see the guy walk round the corner and into the supermarket with his kids.
My dickhead 17 year old self thought 'yep, that's angel looking after me that, helping me steal £50 to go and spunk it on beer and food.'
Now I look back with a child of my own with all the financial uncertainty going on at the moment and I'm ashamed of myself for what I did. It was undoubtedly the worst thing I have ever done to another man and I often think of the guy getting to the till in the shop and realising he had no money to pay with.
"He took it extremely well..."
I broke up with my boyfriend of five years out of the blue, because I was in love but afraid of long term commitment. I had been a habitual cheater that always got bored with relationships eventually, and I think I panicked when I realized I was still happy and this was the real deal.
He took it extremely well, didn't cry or beg me to change my mind, just said, "if that is what you want, I understand. I just want you to be happy." He didn't harass me afterwards like all the other men I had dated. Complete radio silence.
After about 72 hours I realized something. I realized that this man truly loved me. He put my happiness before his own, even though I honestly didn't deserve it. I ended up going to his house in the middle of the night and sneaking in like a crazy person. The rest is history and we have been married for 5 years.
I didn't find out until a few years later that the day I broke up with him was the day my engagement ring arrived in the mail.
I know it's not THAT bad but I still look at my husband sometime and can't believe I did that to him. It was an important turning point in my life.
"I was on an 8 hour road trip..."
I was on an 8 hour road trip driving up with my then girlfriend to see her family all the way from SoCal to a small town in NorCal. We were on Northbound Highway 5, which becomes notoriously boring at one point. I had been driving almost non-stop for a few hours until I got stuck behind slow cars on a 2 lane highway. Now, there's not much you can do at this point except accept your fate and stay behind slow cars until they take their exits.
For some reason, that didn't cut it for me. I decided to jump over the solid yellow line to the other side of the highway and I started gunning it to get past the slow cars. There was a handful of them in front, so I figured it would take a couple minutes. As I started the takeover on the oncoming lane, I saw the cars heading towards me on the oncoming lane. There was no room for me to merge back into my lane as I was still mid-takeover, I decided to literally play chicken and just kept going.
Thankfully, the first car moved out of my way into the shoulder of the oncoming lane. At this point, girlfriend starts screaming to please stop, but I had somehow locked myself into this bizarre conviction that I could make it. The second car on the oncoming lane does the same thing, and at this point, girlfriend is bawling her eyes out and freaking out, which was understandable, but nothing was going through my brain except I knew all these cars would give way to me. The third car does the same thing, as did the fourth and the fifth, until I finally swerved back into my original lane after I got past the slow car that was holding up the traffic.
I didn't stop and kept going while I was apologizing to girlfriend that what I did was probably traumatizing to her. Even after all these years, I still feel bad that I played chicken with 5 cars in a row while she was strapped on and had absolutely no choice in it. To this day, I can't figure out why I did it or why I was so convicted and confident that I could make it. I was bone sober, and I very much had no intention of killing myself nor her.
"I fired someone..."
I fired someone that had been with the company for over 25 years, because my boss wanted the cost save. He didn't deserve it. I left the company a month later.
25 years at the same company, and he couldn't use us on his resume.
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk him about it.
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.
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.