Life is too complex for smooth sailing. We all struggle with something. But turning a blind eye to our problems won't solve them.
Of course, that's easier said than done. So in an attempt to find out what issues people are running away from the most, Redditor u/Letmediebro made a post on the platform, asking other users: "What is a hard pill to swallow for most people?" And many replied!
From romantic relationships and parenting to mental health and self-image, the answers touched upon plenty of different topics. Here are the ones that got the most upvotes.
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LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK! (probably dealing with a bratty kid)
Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Mary Lamia, Ph.D., thinks that the notion that one is “in denial” seems to have taken on a life of its own as an agent of many ills and as a catchphrase for people who dismiss the implications of their behavior.
"Although denial is considered to be a defense often used by people with addictive tendencies, its attributions reach beyond those struggling with substances," Lamia pointed out. "Denial is also attributed to people who do not want to acknowledge that bad stuff is occurring in their lives, such as those who are attempting to cope with a tumultuous relationship, a life-threatening illness, obesity, a loss, or anything else that one may attempt to disavow."
Sure, we can deny a fact, deny responsibility, deny the impact of our actions, or even deny what is really going on by hiding from our feelings. But according to Lamia, when we use denial to defend ourselves or cope with what we feel, we contradict the reality of a situation or attempt to adjust to a circumstance by neglecting its impact. However, the extent of someone’s denial may not really be the issue at hand.
"What’s important is not that people recognize their denial, but that they are able to accept what they are feeling that leads to the denial in the first place," Lamia explained. "If someone excessively and habitually uses alcohol to medicate their anxiety, for example, we might emphasize their attempts to dismiss the harm that their use of alcohol will cause, rather than focus on the emotions they feel that motivate their denial. If that person stops drinking, one would hope the emotions that were formerly hidden by denial, which often have to do with shame, would be exposed and accepted by the individual."
Please read this then read it again and then read it AGAIN if it still doesn't sink in.
We not only use denial to hide from any negative emotion, including shame, fear, guilt, or distress but to mute positive emotions as well. "Sometimes feeling positively may be just as threatening as negative feelings. We may want to deny the reality of our emotions, because accepting a reality that is uncomfortable, painful, or incongruous to what we expect means we must also alter our perception of ourselves. Thus, if you are in denial, perhaps you are simply trying to ignore the truth about what you actually feel, rather than about what you are doing or thinking."
But if you want to move forward, you have to swallow the truth.
Say it louder! And bisexual women do NOT want to have a threesome with their girlfriend and you!!! 🤬🤬🤬
Yes! This should be higher. Religions are an organized set of rules supposedly written by a otherworldly, incorporeal divinity. Stop and think about that for a second. Completely bonkers. It's a club, you go, you follow the rules, you pay the monthly fee, you mingle. If you break the rules you're either shunned away or you can pay an extra and all your sins are forgiven. Really. Bonkers.
Karma is a sh!tty concept. It leads to thinking if something bad happens to person, they somehow deserved it.
This is so important. Family members are often bullies you're conditioned to love and respect. If someone makes you feel bad they aren't doing so out of love, so why keep them around? Blood may be thicker than water and so much harder to clean up, but it isn't impossible and, I say it from experience, once you get some distance, they'll go on full surprised Pikachu mode and be twice as vicious about you. Maybe just my relatives.
Thinking your child is genius might be severely hurtful to the kid, too. My husband's best friend was brought up as a Wunderkind (on some sort of musical instrument). He failed in the end and couldn't perform as was drilled into him since he was a two-year-old. It completely destroyed his self-confidence, his ability to have loving relationships, his ability to work. He is 40 now and still needs to be seen as the Wunderkind, which makes him both tragic and (whenever he dumps one of his perfectly lovely girlfriends for another one) totally insufferable. Don't bring your kids up as little geniuses, it's damaging!
It sounds like narcissistic personality disorder or narcissistic tendency due to trauma (maybe too much criticism from others, maybe self image). But this can be treated if he works on it. First he needs to know about it, and if he doesn't like his current life, he can learn about NPD and do therapy. Even reading therapy books can teach him the emotional skills he needs to overcome it. Any intervention is better than nothing.
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I respectfully disagree. Every child, every person is special. Every single one has something that is uniquely them. However, the lesson should be that it doesn't make them BETTER than anyone else. Special, yes. Not better.
Yes, that's called DNA. Other than that, we're all just fleshbags destined to die
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Few parents get this. Probably because enduring all the stress of parenting for a genius feels better?
I was a "genius" kid.... I had burn out 1st year of college (med major), dropped out and went into farming. Don't push your high IQ kiddos so hard they break. They need to be kids too.
Some kids are, but the best way to handle it is not to compare them to other kids and just let them follow their interests. Point out the talents of other kids and don't label. All kids are special, but you have to know what to see.
They are to me and deserve to know that. Just like all children deserve to feel special to their parents.
Special should not mean more or less than others. Web should teach people, kids, included, to see the characteristics that make other people positively special whether it be sense of humor, ability to empathize or to do mental math at age 5...163X42.
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Another tough pill to swallow: Are you ready for your own mom and dad to tell you, "Meh, you're average"?
No one is average and if everyone drank from the genius fountain and became geniuses, then they all would be average. Average means nothing. Neither does NORMAL.
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Some are but we need to stop defining intelligence and talented in such narrow ways using numbers that are not realty indicative of quality. All numbers are about comparing children to each other and leaving out the most important factors thinking a number we get from a formula matters.
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My oldest went to a public arts high school where you have to go through auditions and get a spot. The environment was extremely toxic, not just kids that thought they were the most gifted, but their parents were way worst. The teachers were just as bad. I'm glad her group that got accepted had some really down to earth kids and family. When I would be carrying items for bake sales from my car, these same kids are the ones who see me and run to help. The remainder would just stare because they were too good for it. She's still friends with them 7 years later after graduating.
Actually it depends; logically it can't be true that nobody has a child, say, in the top 1% of IQ, rather that necessarily has to be true for 1% of kids. But, if you're a parent, think about those odds? Ugh. Also, a hard truth: you are, essentially, born w/ the IQ potential you have, inherited from the genomic profile your parents passed down to you, and there's nothing you can do; no 'brain exercises' of any kind have ever been shown to help people climb the ranks of IQ percentiles. (And if you read about it, you'll see that many things have been tried by researchers.) Also, IQ correlates overwhelmingly strongly w/ income metrics, educational attainment metrics and is the most reliable predictor of whether someone becomes successful when they're starting a major new job.
But some people are geniuses. Some kids are special. That's a fact. Odds are it's not you/your kid, but they do exist.
It was so funny. Once in a conference a guy asked: Whose grandkids are highly intelligent? All the hands up in the air.
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This needs to be higher! So many people think that they can control others or that others can control them. How many times have we said things like "that person made me feel..."? No one can make someone else feel or think anything. We need to learn to take responsibility for our own reactions and responses to others, and to realize that although we may influence others, we can't control them either.
Sadly. Since my fiance of 14 years died in November 18, I feel like I'm standing still and the world is spinning too fast. Only our close friends and family cares, but it seems to you like the world should stand still for your immense, unbearable pain. And it is unbearable
Unless the situation just maimed you, in which case you working harder won't fix it.
And moving on doesn't always mean "forgetting about". Sometimes it just means accepting that it happened and refusing to let it guide your choices.
Note: this post originally had 80 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
Just to clarify what’s happening here. We are all taking the obvious platitudes made into memes by a reddit user called “Let Me Die Bro” and freebooted by BP here as genuine insight into the human condition and profound universal truths? I personally believe that is just gross.
Thanks. I was getting irritated as l scrolled down the list.
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Dear Editors: I couldn't force myself past #3 because of the repetitive graphic. On. Every. Single. Entry. If you need eye-catching infographics, call me. Seriously: You could have done this entire piece without graphics -- and without the accompanying bandwidth suckage for your users.
Update: I did scroll up through the last three to see if perhaps I'd been a bit harsh in my judgment. No... It actually gets worse. Whoever made these graphics can't spell or punctuate, either. Add to that the boring, obvious observations, and this is probably the worst BP piece I've ever seen.
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When men are asked "what are you doing/thinking" and the answer is "nothing", we really are doing/thinking nothing. It's part and parcel of men's brains. We can do just nothing. Thinking nothing. Watch fishing.
It's not just a "man" thing. Women have the same feelings/ doings of "nothing" and that's fine too
Load More Replies... Xenophobia is still xenophobia, even if nation is "fancy to hate". Jokes about "drunk Russians" and KGB are no better then about "cunning Jews". Also, episode about Roma people with their tradition of killing parents to steal their daughter as a fiancee for their son was disgusting and racist, Criminal Minds!
Just to clarify what’s happening here. We are all taking the obvious platitudes made into memes by a reddit user called “Let Me Die Bro” and freebooted by BP here as genuine insight into the human condition and profound universal truths? I personally believe that is just gross.
Thanks. I was getting irritated as l scrolled down the list.
Load More Replies... Dear Editors: I couldn't force myself past #3 because of the repetitive graphic. On. Every. Single. Entry. If you need eye-catching infographics, call me. Seriously: You could have done this entire piece without graphics -- and without the accompanying bandwidth suckage for your users.
Update: I did scroll up through the last three to see if perhaps I'd been a bit harsh in my judgment. No... It actually gets worse. Whoever made these graphics can't spell or punctuate, either. Add to that the boring, obvious observations, and this is probably the worst BP piece I've ever seen.
Load More Replies... When men are asked "what are you doing/thinking" and the answer is "nothing", we really are doing/thinking nothing. It's part and parcel of men's brains. We can do just nothing. Thinking nothing. Watch fishing.
It's not just a "man" thing. Women have the same feelings/ doings of "nothing" and that's fine too
Load More Replies... Xenophobia is still xenophobia, even if nation is "fancy to hate". Jokes about "drunk Russians" and KGB are no better then about "cunning Jews". Also, episode about Roma people with their tradition of killing parents to steal their daughter as a fiancee for their son was disgusting and racist, Criminal Minds!
