From time to time, we all think of how unfair the world is and how much we’d like to remove all the suffering there is. The truth is, we cannot do that and we have to find ways to live in these difficult times, with all the ups and downs.
Or we can do the opposite and embrace the sadness and despair. We can look into the eyes of whatever it is that causes us pain and stand strong. In fact, there’s this whole corner of Reddit titled “Make Me Suffer” that does exactly that.
The group which is home to a whopping 1.1M members is dedicated to sharing pictures that capture anything from wholesome suffering to sad moments of reality. Scroll down through this new batch of “Make Me Suffer” examples below and be sure to check out Bored Panda’s previous feature with more pictures from the community.
Meanwhile, to find out more about our inner fascination with dark material such as serial killers to violence to disasters, we reached out to Helen Marlo, a licensed clinical psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst who provides psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and consultation. Helen is also a Professor of Clinical Psychology and the Department Chair at Notre Dame de Namur University. She was happy to share some very interesting insights into this compelling topic.
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“First, most of us are painfully aware that darkness, what some call evil, exists. We may satisfy some human, psychological needs when we engage with it through the news, movies, or documentaries,” Marlo said.
Marlo argues that “when watching another story, and in particular, these dark and traumatic stories, we witness another person’s narrative. Narrating one’s own story, especially if we have a story that includes trauma, is emotional and hard.”
Meanwhile, “watching another’s story can give us a sense of gaining understanding or relief for ‘free,’ because we are hearing about another’s story but not doing any of the hard, psychological work to create our own story.”
Oh Hell No
Marlo explained that “it is a little like someone who reads a self-help book and imagines they will get better by reading about another person’s process. This is especially true if the story that we are fixated on has personal or traumatic meaning for us.”
Moreover, becoming immersed in another’s dark story can be a vicarious version of what psychologists call, ‘identification with the aggressor.’ “Rather than being the victim, one identifies with the aggressor and their story, and can displace unthinkable, dark impulses onto the person they are viewing, who may be doing things they may not be able to think about but wish to do.”
Marlo explained that “they may also feel more powerful, safer, strong, dominant, and in control by viewing another doing unthinkable things but they are watching and don’t have to act it out in their real life where it would have negative consequences internally and externally.”
Imagine All The Poop Particles On The Food They Serve
Or shits themselves while vomiting in the toilet... this is so wrong..
Load More Replies...hey I am the food inspection. In Europe, indeed this is not legal.
Load More Replies...They would be shut down the moment the food hygiene inspector see's this where I'm from.
I think that just violated exactly 38 health codes… the 38th being WHY IS THERE NO TOILET PAPER AT LEAST
I'd call the local board of health immediately (unless this is some place without such things)
The toilet paper dispenser reminds me of a public restroom. That is the only disturbing thing to look at in this image.
The toilet paper dispenser reminds me of a public restroom. That is the only painful thing to look at in here.
I stopped going to Checkers because my husband who drives a big truck, had a delivery of buns for one store and he said they actually stored the bread on shelves in the bathroom...
How though? Is there no department of health!?? Eeeeeeeeew I couldn't work live visit or eat here for any reason shiiiid I'd probably be scared to do anything there lol Trust nothing trust no one😂😂😂😂
And the health department hasn't shut them down or made them move things.?
Mmmm ..I hope that was a piece of chocolate I just ate off of my plate....barf
I saw this type of setup in a tiny Hong Kong apartment. The person lived there to provide money to send his child to the US for a better life.
Whoever comes up with that idea is stupid, the ones that don't say anything about it... next level gross.
Call the Health Department ASAP and get this nightmare closed immediately
I can't imagine this is a restaurant because the health inspector would not be cool with this. But what home needs that many dishes?
That has to be in a country without a functional heath code department.
There's no way this is in an actual restaurant! The first health inspection would shut them down. I'm calling BS.
Lots of people leave the toilet lid up when they flush and that stuff shoots 6 feet everywhere. Which is why you should always close the lid.
Yuck! I can’t tell you how often I have gone to other people’s homes and things are stored around the toilet in the open- like rolled/stacked towels, tooth brushes, make up brushes etc. Without using the lid- it DOES have a purpose- a urine particulate or fecal particulate radius of eight feet is the distance of the area that is contaminated!!! This looks like a restaurant bathroom, maybe for staff?
And after the poo you can spray the bacteria further into the room with the toilet spray that's in the picture too. Mmmm the taste of Ocean Fresh with hidden bacteria on your plate.
I once saw a bunch of baby chairs stored in a restaurant restroom. Left and never went back there
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The Jungian psychoanalyst argues that “by watching about another’s story, we may gain a sense of control, understanding, or vicarious mastery over our own aggressive fantasies and anxieties about evil, whether we imagine ourselves in the role of the perpetrator and/or victim.”
This could explain Netflix’s hugely popular docuseries “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (2022). Arlo argues that the Jeffrey Dahmer story, for example, gives us at least one version of a real-life story of a serial killer.
“We may feel as if we have a better understanding of senseless violence and the irrationalities of evil by becoming immersed in learning about one person’s story. His story is a mixture of elements—some common and some uncommon—which enables us to compare and contrast this story with our own life story and our own fears, wishes, and/or fantasies.”
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But how can we explain our fascination with this kind of raw, violent, and unpleasant material? Well, Marlo says we can look for answers in the psychological mechanism of displacement.
“We all can feel some sense of vulnerability in knowing we could be the target of random violence or evil. We may feel a fascination and some voyeuristic pleasure in seeing another’s story and hearing how it happened to someone else. I am not suggesting that many of us wish harm on another person or even get sadistic pleasure in others’ suffering, although some people do.”
The Jungian psychoanalyst continued: “Rather, knowing that humans can hurt and inflict suffering on one another, and that irrational and uncontrollable things happen, becoming engrossed in another’s dark misfortune can help us feel less vulnerable and find some relief.”
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Surprisingly, watching such stories may, actually, increase our empathy for others’ suffering. “In the story, we might imagine this misfortune came from natural consequences, poor choices, genetics, karma, bad luck, or the fickle finger of fate. And becoming fascinated by another’s story may help us feel, irrationally, that we can protect ourselves from it; or are inoculated from it and/or that we can learn from it and escape this misfortune.” So in the end, it likely has a completely opposite effect than the material itself.
Another explanation for our fascination with the dark side of life can be found in a basic law of psychic behavior known as “compensation,” Marlo told us. “This is especially true when we are surprised by someone that we may not think would be utterly fascinated by stories of dark news. The law of compensation posits that when one attitude and approach to life is overdeveloped in consciousness, then a corresponding compensation emerges from the unconscious to help bring the psyche back into balance.”
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Marlo argues that “this other side compensates for thoughts, perceptions, and emotions which fail to reach consciousness because we may dissociate, repress, or defend against them in a variety of ways.”
She gave an example: “a pacifist may have flashes of violent imagery, thoughts, and dreams that they banish from awareness. These flashes can be their psyche’s way of raising their awareness about this other side of life, to gain more balance, and become more whole. The pacifist may become fascinated by these dark stories as a way of bringing some of the dark, aggressive, combative energy into their otherwise peaceful life as a pacifist.”
Marlo recounted how she had a patient who loved watching true crime. “In her professional work, she had to be very responsible, personable, kind, and empathic to many underserved people. Watching true crime helped her have an outlet from her otherwise kind and generous life spent serving other people.”
The Big Mackkake
Dad Almost Drank Him But They Def Touched Lips
The Brown??
And if you ever wondered if something’s wrong with you because you’re drawn to dark material, you’re not the only one and it can also be perfectly explained. Marlo argues that being human also means having dark impulses or undeveloped, “hurt part of ourselves that Jung called our Shadow.”
Marlo explained Jung’s theory of Shadow further: “We all have a shadow that expresses itself in moments of pain, stress, and unconsciousness. Typically, objects of fascination on crime shows or social media are people whose shadows are big; out there; exposed for our viewing.”
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Think of it as a public display of impulses that most of us usually keep inside and underground, Marlo argues. “It can be fascinating for us to see others’ shadows out there whether their shadow is familiar or foreign to our self. In addition, we stay fascinated with their story because it gives us an opportunity to see what happens when one lives out this dark side—something that some individuals could not even imagine let alone dream of doing.”
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Brushing Your Teeth And You Realise There Were More Bristles Today
Mosquito Feeder
This Guy Trying To Fix This Mess
Bed Bugs
Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis "Treeman Syndrome"
Poor guy. Apparently he had it all surgically removed, but it started to grow back.
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Please..... Stop Mentioning How Hot It Is
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Human Eyes Threepio
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MmmMmmM scrumdiliumcious.... and all that extra flavor. Dont be shy yall dig in!
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Note: this post originally had 117 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
My wife had to ask me if I was okay as I couldn't breath after reading this. I may have broken a rib laughing.
Load More Replies...You know that feeling when you want to hit the page back button, but can't and just keep scrolling ... I just had that feeling over and over for the past few minutes.
Same, I know I should not have read this post but I couldn't help it.
Load More Replies...Regarding the comments, I'm obviously not the only one feeling uncomfortable right now, so I‘d really like to know: What is your default sensation while looking at posts like this? For me it's always a tingling in my feet.
Idk, came straight to the comments to confirm I should NOT look at this list! 😅 (Tingling in feet is a flight response though, I think? Like you want to run away...)
Load More Replies...Who hurt you BoredPanda, who hurt you? This has to be one of the more disturbing things that has been posted on this site.
This post was a train wreck, on top of a car wreck on top of plane crash, you just couldn't look away. 🤦
I should not have read that. I'm still shuddering and trying not to puke.
Go ahead. I've already vomited so you won't be alone (it was the mold behind the fridge that did it for me).
Load More Replies...Nothing. Don't worry about it. Eat these chips, you don't need more trauma.
Load More Replies...Then throw it all outside and stomp on it, right? That's the next line, right??
Load More Replies...BP tricked us with showing the tamest pics on the main page & then showing us these horrors!
I made it to the end! It's time to go to bed now and my retinas have been burned and my brain is fried. I'm calling work, maybe it's not too late to take that overtime since sleep isn't happening.
My wife had to ask me if I was okay as I couldn't breath after reading this. I may have broken a rib laughing.
Load More Replies...You know that feeling when you want to hit the page back button, but can't and just keep scrolling ... I just had that feeling over and over for the past few minutes.
Same, I know I should not have read this post but I couldn't help it.
Load More Replies...Regarding the comments, I'm obviously not the only one feeling uncomfortable right now, so I‘d really like to know: What is your default sensation while looking at posts like this? For me it's always a tingling in my feet.
Idk, came straight to the comments to confirm I should NOT look at this list! 😅 (Tingling in feet is a flight response though, I think? Like you want to run away...)
Load More Replies...Who hurt you BoredPanda, who hurt you? This has to be one of the more disturbing things that has been posted on this site.
This post was a train wreck, on top of a car wreck on top of plane crash, you just couldn't look away. 🤦
I should not have read that. I'm still shuddering and trying not to puke.
Go ahead. I've already vomited so you won't be alone (it was the mold behind the fridge that did it for me).
Load More Replies...Nothing. Don't worry about it. Eat these chips, you don't need more trauma.
Load More Replies...Then throw it all outside and stomp on it, right? That's the next line, right??
Load More Replies...BP tricked us with showing the tamest pics on the main page & then showing us these horrors!
I made it to the end! It's time to go to bed now and my retinas have been burned and my brain is fried. I'm calling work, maybe it's not too late to take that overtime since sleep isn't happening.