Woman Gets Caught In BF’s Family’s Traumatizing Christmas Tradition, It Triggers Childhood Trauma

Fire is a very interesting phenomenon if you think about it. On one hand, due to it, humanity was able to make huge progress in a variety of areas of life and even invent new ones. At the same time, fire can also destroy everything in its path within seconds. 

That’s exactly what happened to the family from today’s story – a fire destroyed everything they had. And while that was decades ago, they’re still traumatized by it and even managed to traumatize a woman one of them brought as his significant other.

More info: Reddit

Since we’re little, we’re taught that fire is dangerous, and those who’ve suffered from it can attest to that

Flames burning in a dark setting symbolizing trauma and emotionally intense Christmas family traditions.

Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Like this family, who lost their home in a fire two decades ago

Text message on phone screen about a woman caught in a boyfriend’s family traumatizing Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma.

Text describing a woman caught in her boyfriend’s family’s traumatizing Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma involving house fire anxiety.

Text excerpt describing a woman triggered by her boyfriend’s family’s traumatizing Christmas tradition, causing distress.

Text excerpt showing a woman hearing her boyfriend’s sister shouting fire, triggering childhood trauma during Christmas tradition.

Woman sitting in bed holding her head, experiencing trauma triggered by boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition.

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This traumatized them so much that even now, years later, they are still reeling from it

Woman experiencing triggered childhood trauma during boyfriend’s family’s traumatizing Christmas tradition.

Alt text: Woman caught in boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma, showing emotional and tense moment.

Woman coping with boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma, shown in an emotional outdoor moment.

Text on a white background describing a woman’s emotional panic triggered by her boyfriend’s family’s traumatizing Christmas tradition.

Woman holding child wearing reindeer hat outdoors, reflecting Christmas tradition and childhood trauma themes.

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One day, one of them brought his girlfriend over, who was woken up in the night by total panic in the house

Text on white background showing a distressed woman recalling trauma triggered by boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition.

A woman reacting emotionally while caught in her boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma.

Alt text: Woman caught in boyfriend’s family traumatizing Christmas tradition triggers childhood trauma and emotional distress.

Woman dealing with boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering her childhood trauma and emotional distress.

Woman reacts emotionally to boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma from a past house fire experience.

Four young adults smiling together outdoors at sunset, capturing a moment linked to childhood trauma and family tradition.

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She rushed outside, but faced a few injuries and embarrassing moments along the way

Woman caught in boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma, feeling heavy and isolated.

Woman sitting in a car, reflecting on traumatizing Christmas tradition that triggers childhood trauma with boyfriend’s family.

Image credits: throwrafiredrill

Then, when she made it out, she learned it was only their annual fire drill, which she had no clue about

22 years ago, the OP’s boyfriend’s family home burned down. This incident caused a big trauma for the whole family to the point where they keep bringing it up more often than you would expect. The post’s author herself is a victim of a house fire, so she gets her partner’s panic. 

So, this Christmas period, she was staying over at her boyfriend’s house. One night, she was woken up around 2 a.m. by alarms, dogs barking, and someone yelling “FIRE, FIRE!” She jumped out of bed, took her phone, and ran out crying. On her way, she picked up her BF’s little sister and went outside, where the boyfriend, his parents, and other family members were already standing. 

But I don’t think her escape was so smooth. While getting into her slippers out of bed, she accidentally knocked her head on a dresser. She also wet herself in panic while running. So, it was rather embarrassing for her. And it was only going to get worse from here. 

She noticed that the family outside, instead of being understandably panicked, was cheering and high-fiving. You get it – they were way too happy about a fire in their home. Turns out, it was not a real fire – it was just a drill. One they have each year, and they time it. This year, it only took a little over 2 minutes. 

Admittedly, such a time for a fire drill is quite impressive. Everyone knows that fire is fast, but the thing is that some don’t realize how fast it can be. You see, a small flame can turn into a major fire within 30 seconds. So, being quick in such a case is the most important thing. 

Woman sitting tired and stressed in front of an open fridge, triggered by childhood trauma during Christmas tradition.

Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

And it’s not like house fires are a rare occurrence – they might be more common than you think. Here, out of all the fires that happened in the United States in 2023, about 25% of them were house fires, accounting for around 344,600 of them. That’s a huge number! 

So, fire drills can be useful when it comes to knowing what to do if, God forbid, something like that happens. How a family decides to implement it depends on them, but the general idea of making an escape plan, having an assembly point, taking headcount, and stuff like that stands. 

It’s also best if the people involved in a drill know about it, unlike the OP. After all, it’s a stressful situation, and to put someone in it without consent is straight-up jerk-ish behavior at least. So, it’s not surprising that after what the story’s protagonist had to live through, she didn’t hesitate to call her friend to get her out of there. 

As netizens said, soon he’d better not be her boyfriend but rather an ex. Do you agree with the netizens’ stance? Or would you forgive the boyfriend? Please share all your thoughts with us!

So, the original poster left, since she couldn’t spend time with the boyfriend’s family, and netizens argued that she should leave her boyfriend for good

Reddit conversation about head injury advice after woman gets caught in boyfriend’s family Christmas tradition triggering childhood trauma.

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