Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
There are moments when you hear a story and think, there’s no way that actually happened. It sounds exaggerated, dramatic, or straight out of a movie. But then life has a funny way of proving you wrong. Sometimes, the most unbelievable stories turn out to be painfully real when they happen to you.
That’s exactly what sparked one online discussion, where a netizen asked people to share experiences they once believed were fake—until they lived through them themselves. The responses were surprising, eye-opening, and sometimes downright wild. Keep scrolling to read the stories that blurred the line between fiction and reality.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When you're young and full of energy and optimism that you take for granted and disregard all the older people telling you you'll lose a lot of that as you get older if you don't take care of yourself. You think, "It happened to those people, but it won't happen to me." Oh, it'll happen to you too...
Minor injuries you used to be able to spring back from in a day take months to heal. You wake up every day never feeling 100% rested, that tiredness compounding day by day. You fall asleep as soon as you're resting in a chair, just like your dad or grandpa always did. All the fun things you used to be able to eat and drink suddenly don't sit right in your stomach, or will make your entire body feel uncomfortable. And the worst of all, you still feel relatively young in your mind, but then you look in the mirror and see an aging person with wrinkles and grey hairs and realize that's how everyone else sees you and that you'll never get to be the young person you still feel you are in society.
2x4b523p 2 weeks ago
I slept funny about 2 weeks ago and had appointment with hairdresser a few days later. As I stumbled in I asked her to please be patient with me because I slept funny and can’t move my neck. The 20ish years old exclaimed oh no that’s gonna ruin your whole day! I didn’t even tell her it already ruined quite a few days. I’m still feeling it now although slowly getting full range of neck movement back.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
The comforting thing to me is that while this is true, I also wouldn't change anything about my path. My body is getting older and it's obviously changing (I'm currently in perimenopause), but I'm so much more confident and comfortable in my own skin. I wouldn't trade one second of the pain or change a single mistake I made because it's all of that that let me be this confident and comfortable.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago (edited)
I'm feeling injuries I thought were long healed. I'm feeling injuries I didn't even know I had gotten. I used to love sweet things, candy, all the icing off a cake (leave the cake, it wasn't sweet enough or had enough flavor). I, now, appreciate the cake and don't like as much icing. I'm not even craving candy anymore. Eating it makes me feel sick. Ever crave a kale smoothie? Still like some sweet stuff, but I can't live off of it like I once thought I could.
ROSESARERED 2 weeks ago
Look after your feet, proper supporting fitted shoe, and your knees, use a kneeling pad. I guarantee if you don't, when you are in your 40s, or sooner,your knees will keep you awake at night, and your feet will scream when the touch the floor in the morning. You only have one body, love and care for it like that is true.
Rinn 2 weeks ago
My dude if this is happening get your thyroid checked, FULL panels. Doctors are only trained in issues with the actual thyroid itself, however the T4 the thyroid produces is inactive and must be converted to active free T3 for the cells to use. As we age our ability to convert drops, so you're TSH and T4 can look great but you can be extremely hypo because your free T3 is low and your cells aren't getting the hormones they need. Literally everything associated with aging is caused by it, even things like insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes. It also causes high cholesterol and deficiencies in B12, D, calcium, iron, and protein which is real bad news. Getting it fixed won't stop you from aging obviously, but we've just sat and accepted that our bodies go to c**p decades earlier than they should, all because of an incredibly common but overlooked metabolic disorder that can be fixed with a single med
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
Every day I wake up feeling like death warmed up with some kind of ache or pain. My appetite isn't anything like it used to be and I find i can no longer stomach foods I used to enjoy and I have a memory like a sieve. In my mind I still feel young though.
Deta Rossiter 2 weeks ago
be young and gung-ho in your teens, your back reminds you in the 30's, and now you dread your 40's and dare not say the C word...
Peeka_Mimi 2 weeks ago
I have been falling a lot for some unknown reason. Three weeks ago I must have fractured my tailbone, it hasn't gotten better. Luckily I havr a ridiculously high pain threshold because the VA would jusy ignore me.
RELATED:
#2
Being so depressed you can’t get out of bed.
tl,dr I thought it was weakness of character until it happened to me
I struggled with mental health all through my teens, had a really hard time, but basically always fulfilled my commitments even if that was literally all I did and everything else (eating, hobbies, socializing) completely went out the window. It was wrong of me, but despite spending a lot of time basically being a robot held together by obligation and string, I thought people who claimed to be too depressed to function would be powering through like I did if they had any personal integrity.
Then senior year of college rolled around and I just. Stopped. Stopped going to class. Stopped showing up for my campus job. Ghosted my friends. Stopped turning in my coursework. I knew on some level that I was ruining my life and my behavior would have lasting consequences if I didn’t get my stuff together, but I just…couldn’t care. Couldn’t anything. Miss Reliable who got straight A’s while still making time to take care of everybody else couldn’t get out of bed.
It has nothing to do with integrity or lack thereof. Depression is an illness, and it’s debilitating. It took ending up in the emergency room twice for me to turn it around. I did manage to graduate, thankfully, and that was years ago and I’m doing well now, but it was definitely educational.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
The good news is it is possible to learn to manage it. Meds and therapy are the most obvious, but with a lot of time, patience, and a willingness to do so, it's possible to learn healthy coping skills to help mitigate it's control on you.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
I have major depressive disorder, and have since childhood. I've been through some really bad times. Medication and therapy help. It's not a weakness, it's an illness.
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
With me, it's more getting depressed because I have to get out of bed.
Sarah Suelzle 1 week ago
"...held together by obligation and string". The perfect analogy for my life.
ROSESARERED 2 weeks ago
Depression is like someone has tied you to the bed, or f you manage to escape those soft clouds, it will tie you to the couch. Been living with ot for years. It's better to do something than nothing. Have a shower, do some stretches outside, go for a walk, a bike ride, a drive. Sit in a Cafe with a book....do anything. Once you get moving, those ties start to untie
Rinn 2 weeks ago
It's also really important to make your doctor do *really* thorough blood work if something like this happens. There's so many biological reasons for depression but doctors immediately go straight to antidepressants and therapy. Sadly antidepressants and therapy aren't going to help much if you're depressed because you have nutrient deficiencies or hypothyroidism (the leading cause of treatment resistant depression, which is what I dealt with for decades). Always always always rule out biological causes first ❤️
#3
That cops arrest innocent people, fake evidence, force them to sign confessions, and put them in jail.
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
I thought the police could be trusted. When I reported my violent ex-husband for numerous things including r**e, a*****t and a***e, I was treated like I was the criminal. I went in feeling frightened and vulnerable but with a tiny bit of hope that they would fight my corner. I came out wishing I was dead. I will never trust the police again. Ever
Lotekguy 2 weeks ago
Too many stories like that that keep rapes and abuses from being reported. The experience is often worse for the victim than the perp.
Load More Replies...
You learn some things only with time, and some lessons about aging teach you whether you like it or not. Ever had an older cousin who refuses to stay out past midnight or complains about back pain after sitting too long? Maybe you laughed it off, thinking they were being dramatic. When you’re younger, it’s easy to joke about it or brush it aside. But fast forward a few years, and suddenly you’re the one yawning at 10 p.m. Turns out, age really does have a way of humbling everyone.
#4
The saying “the days are slow but the years are fast” - never believed it until I turned 40 and I wonder where has the time gone?!?!
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
I will soon have been retired for twelve years. It feels like two.
Load More Replies...
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
I often wonder has the last 30 years gone. It seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.
UnclePanda 2 weeks ago
It's like flipping through a thick book - the pages really start flying at the end.
keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
And then when you finally adjust to retirement the days go by so slow because you are bored out of your mind. The only retired people traveling the world are those who have no bad arthritis in their spine or knees and have money to burn. The rest of us are stuck at home dealing with boredom. Which I guess is better than having a major health issue to deal with.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
If you are bored that's on you. Read, craft, walk, learn something new. Watch tv, explore your local neighborhood. No one has to be bored. I'm in my 70s, dealing with mulitple health issues most of my life, but boredom is very rarely an issue.
Load More Replies... #5
You know those people who always seem to have some crazy thing happening in their life and it seems absolutely unbelievable? They take a Lyft and the driver gets road rage and stops in the middle of the freeway. Their HVAC breaks and as soon as they pay it off they have to replace all their pipes and as soon as they pay that off they have to replace their roof and as soon as they pay that off… During Covid they quarantined and meticulously cleaned and then got COVID the first time they left the house. They got a new job and their dog gave birth live while they were giving a presentation so they delivered puppies while presenting.
It all sounds like utter BS until you are that person and then it feels like a curse. No one believes you until they are in the audience of the presentation, in the Lyft when the driver wigs out, at your place when the house falls apart comically, etc.
It’s constantly one thing after another. You become nervous when things start to go well because it never seems to last long. The moment the knot in your stomach goes away is when everything falls apart. Everyone assumes you are making it up, you are the problem, or you are the unluckiest person alive, but in the end, no one really wants to be around walking chaos.
Cheeky chicken 2 weeks ago
My life sounds like a soap opera starting from my being in a plane crash at 5 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Load More Replies...
Nikki Sevven 2 weeks ago
I am that person. My 2025 recap: Diagnosed with sleep apnea. Had to get used to sleeping with an Alien facehugger on my nose. Got the flu for 6 weeks (with updated flu shot). Began postmenopausal bleeding. Pap smear abnormal. Colposcopy abnormal. Cone knife biopsy abnormal. Allergic reaction to clotting agent used in surgery, resulting in chemical burns. It's stage 2 cervical cancer, and I start radiation and chemo in a few weeks. In the middle of that, I got COVID (with updated COVID booster). Bilateral rotator cuff and bicep tendonitis. That was one year of my life gone, used up dealing with medical issues. I'm tired.
KatWitch57 2 weeks ago
You have my sympathies. For 2025 I've kept an actual written diary of all the medical stuff, so that I can summarise for all the different medical people, who treat the apparently separate bits of me. May 2026 be an improvement for you.
Load More Replies...
Auntie Mim 1 week ago
Ohhhhh my god this is so freaking true. I even had a person in a writing group I *was* in straight up tell me I was a liar. Why would I lie about this b******t? What do I gain from lying???? It was unbelievable, a group of people I trusted and considered friends.
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
I can relate to this. Back in 2019 absolutely nothing went right. It was bad one problem after another, bad luck on top of bad luck on top of bad luck, grief on top of grief on top of grief. At one point I was struggling to make ends meet with a part time job, my house was falling apart around me but I couldn't afford to do anything about it, I was looking after my elderly mother who had cancer, my pet dog had age related illnesses and also required round the clock care, I was raising my kids and trying my best to keep up with household chores. My brother in law was k****d in a freak accident and two days later I was made redundant. That was the final straw that broke the camel's back. I was in tears at my desk telling my manager that I was depressed and couldn't take any more. His response- "I don't understand what you've got to be depressed about?"
Geoffrey Scott 2 weeks ago
We threatened to never darken our daughter/SIL's door again. Visiting them in NC(from Mich) one year the lower AC/air handler went out..$8k bill. The next year, the upper units went out, another $8k. She was concerned we would pass away from heat exhaustion and urged us to sleep downstairs. We just smiled, as on the hottest most humid Michigan nights we just turn the celling fans on stun and open the windows. Good air flow on the 2nd floor anyway.
UnclePanda 2 weeks ago
I knew a family like this and always wondered if an ancestor had spit on the village witch. Very nice folks but they really did seem ill-favored.
#6
Predicting the weather based on aches and pains.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago
Pressure headaches, and, as of recent, feeling like I'm on a falling or rising elevator just before a big storm.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
I always thought it was a bit of an exaggeration (along the lines of "I walked to school barefoot uphill both ways in a blizzard!). Until I severely sprained my wrist. Now it aches every time the barometric pressure changes.
Lilly Pomar 2 weeks ago
I'm my friends' metheorology station. They literally call me to ask what the weather is going to be like. I never miss. Ouch my foot. It's going to be very low temperatures tomorrow but as my sinuses are fine it won't rain or snow for the next six hours.
Spittnimage 2 weeks ago (edited)
Broke my tailbone many years ago and years after it healed I'd get pain when it was gonna rain in the summer. Happened for years, doesn't hurt any longer. It never hurt any other time except summertime.
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
On the other hand, the weather matters less because I'm not going anywhere.
As we get older, our bodies quietly start changing behind the scenes. After 30, many people begin to lose lean tissue, which includes muscles and important organs. Your muscles may not bounce back as fast after workouts, and everyday tasks can feel a bit more tiring. This gradual muscle loss, known as atrophy, is completely normal. It’s one reason staying active becomes more important as the years go by. No wonder stretching suddenly feels like a necessity instead of a choice.
#7
How much your environment affects not only your mood, but physical and mental health.
Thought I was above that. But through years in grey and dark winter days in UK I genuinely couldn’t figure out why I felt so flat. Tried to live in a warmer country, with bigger windows, closer to water and suddenly everything was easier. We’re just plants with anxiety really lol.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago
Adding more colour and personality in your space helps. That, and taking vitamin D supplements. Or, if you can, drink Canadian milk. It's got extra vitamin D added to it now.
Rinn 2 weeks ago
Don't they put iodine in the milk there? Or maybe that's the UK...don't really recall 😅
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 2 weeks ago
Particularly tough on me in Michigan. As I write this, I've seen the sun twice in the last 2 weeks.
Starbug 2 weeks ago
I've lived in both kind of places and while I do miss longer, warmer days, the absolutely hellish heat of summer would just k**l me. It was hard enough to deal with it in my young days (when it very rarely got as hot and for as long these days), now it'd really be absolute hell. So cold and dark for most of the year it is
Daniel Lundberg 2 weeks ago
I live in Sweden, I'm fairly sure that 50% of the people that have mental health issues here are just cold.
Bartlet for world domination 2 weeks ago
I have an insanely bright lamp and a space heater. It really does help.
Deta Rossiter 2 weeks ago
one reason why I would never be able to live in England. I live in South Africa and i Am WAY too Addicticted to warm sunlight
#8
Burn out.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
Oh yes. My dad is a workaholic, and even though he knows he needs to take time off, it's difficult to get him to step away before it becomes critical.
Hassel Davidhoff 2 weeks ago
I have burned out, SO hard. On so many things. Often folks seem to think burnout only applies to work, but I feel like I'm basically done with humanity. If there were some other race, I'd likely go join it.
#9
Mental health showing up as physical pain like darn my emotions got beef with my back.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
This is why it's important that the medical community start acknowledging that physical, mental, vision, and dental health need to be considered together. All parts of our bodies and minds are connected, and when one part doesn't work right, it throws the whole thing out of whack.
Stephanie Did It 2 weeks ago
I look at it this way: I haven't been able to cry for many years, so my body does it for me. Chronic severe pain since 2001.
Ronja Oksanen 2 weeks ago
Yup, this year (I'm 39yo) I found out that my stress/anxiety flares pain in my facial nerves and it's so fudging excruciating that I want to tear my face off 😭
Rinn 2 weeks ago
THIS is why it's so important to have extremely thorough labs done to check for biological issues before jumping on the antidepressants and therapy train. If your depression shows up with physical pain it's not depression, it's a hormonal imbalance. Most commonly hypothyroidism/low free T3. The psych world is starting to catch on and having great success using liothyronine for treatment resistant depression, hopefully other doctors start opening their eyes to it soon
keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
Back in the 1950's Wilhelm Reich was a psychiatrist who came up with the theory that our muscle tissue and facia tissue that surround the muscle holds in emotional stress. It was called body armor. Then years later Ida Rolf created the first deep tissue massage bodywork system that releases all that stress. She proved that a ton of deep seated emotional junk is released when that tissue is put back into its natural relaxed and functional position.
Body fat also tends to creep up after 30, even if your habits haven’t changed much. Many people notice weight settling more around the middle, especially near internal organs. Compared to your younger years, you could end up carrying significantly more fat. It’s not always about eating more, your metabolism simply isn’t as speedy anymore. This is usually when people start saying things like, “I just look at food and gain weight.”
#10
How fast life can flip one phone call, one moment, and ur whole reality changes.
Norfolk and good 2 weeks ago (edited)
💯 I found out my dad have died via a phone call from the paramedic who'd just unsuccessfully tried to revive him. There'd been no hint that he was about to die until he collapsed.
Starbug 2 weeks ago
Very sorry for your loss, but I think it's comforting to know he didn't suffer.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
“As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.” - Fran Lebowitz
Paul C. 2 weeks ago
My dad was working in Luxembourg and had a heart attack. We were in the UK. I got a phone call from his work colleague who said they had visited him in hospital half an hour before and he was fine sitting up and was looking forward to coming home. Put the phone down and told my mum. It immediately rang again and a different colleague said, I'm so sorry to tell you but your dad has just passed. It felt like a punch to the gut.
#11
SIDS, losing my healthy baby boy for no explainable reason at 3 months. I miss my child so much. Life feels utterly meaningless without him.
#12
Grief long term grief.
LillieMean 2 weeks ago
When you lose a loved one or a pet, you don't just grieve for the loss, it also brings up past losses, and in a way, you grieve for them all over again. And you don't just grieve for the loss, you also grieve that your life will never be the same again. You also feel a deep, bottomless, silent emptiness and total loneliness, even though there are usually others around you who are also grieving. Grief is something that everyone has to face, to some extent, always alone. What keeps me going is the knowledge that one day you will remember something happy about the person who passed away and smile at the memory. Happiness finally seeps through the grief.
Hassel Davidhoff 2 weeks ago
Beautifully said and painfully accurate, thank you.
Load More Replies...
Rinn 2 weeks ago
And just how deep the grief is. You never stop grieving when you lose a child, I can't even bring myself to celebrate holidays anymore
ROSESARERED 2 weeks ago
Grief will take whatever time it needs. I find little memories trip in my brain, and I'm a puddle of tears that I can't easily explain...there is no formula, no right or wrong way, just time, whatever that time takes. Grief was explained to me that you grieve they weren't at the wedding, or birthday or some other significant event...and the memories, a song my dad would sing loudly, and really out of tune on the radio, mums favourite rose flowering..hugs to all that are grieving
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
People don't realize grief is different for everyone. It takes time, sometimes years. Pet or human. Relative or friend. It's different. People who tell you it's been too long, just get over it, may never have suffered a major loss, or their character allows them to deal with it more quickly. And sometimes, people who seem to get over grieving quickly are merely hiding it from themselves. Telling themselves it's wrong to show how much they missed their loved one. That will come back to bite them. It's better to take the time, and eventually, even though it seems hard to believe, things will get a little easier.
Another surprise aging brings is getting shorter—yes, really. Over time, changes in bones, muscles, and joints can affect posture and spine health. Conditions like osteoporosis can cause tiny fractures in the spine, making the vertebrae compress slightly. This happens to everyone, regardless of gender or background. It’s subtle at first, but one day you realize you’re not quite as tall as you used to be.
#13
Migraines. I knew they weren't fake, I guess, but I didnt think they were as debilitating as people claimed.
Yeah then I had my first one. My god.
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
I've suffered with migraines for decades. When i have one i can barely function and they can last for days. To all those who think I am faking it, exaggerating or it's "just a headache" I invite them to swap places with me for just an hour.
Ali 2 weeks ago
I don't suffer from migraines, but I have had a handful. First time I was very annoyed ladies at work said I had a migraine when I was sure they ought to be calling me an ambulance. One of them got me to take her migraine medication, and before long it dropped to an awful headache. Unbelievable that their are people actually suffering with that on a regular basis.
keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
And the visual auras that can occur that swell to blur your entire field of vision are scary as can be. The first time it happens you think you must be having a stroke.
Sven Horlemann 2 weeks ago
Once, twice a year I lie in a darkened room, awake, waiting for the day to pass. Which it does. Absolutely nothing to do about that. And yeah, I take care. It was much worse before I did.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
I don't get migraines very often, thank goodness. But when I do, it's massive. I have constant chronic pain anyway, and adding in a migraine is incapacitating.
Brian Droste 2 weeks ago
I might have had a couple of migraines before. But it was at night time so all I could do was take a couple of pain killer and sit in the dark with my head tilted back until they went away.
#14
You always see in movies and TV women screaming in agony during childbirth, and I figured it was exaggerated for dramatics. Obviously I knew it would be painful, but I didn't think it would be that bad that I'd be screaming in pain. I have a high pain tolerance in general.
Yeah, no. Contractions were the most intense pain I've ever felt. I had back labour, which I've heard is worse than regular contractions. It felt like my spine was being crushed. Screaming was involuntary.
Lilly Pomar 2 weeks ago
Yeah in movies they also deliver the baby in like two minutes... Thaat part is absolutely not true.
Laura Gillette 2 weeks ago
Yes. Felt like I was being ripped apart by claws made of fire. The screaming was involuntary. One of the nurses told me to stop being so dramatic. F you, lady.
Lucidus Astrum 2 weeks ago
I've given birth 4 times, 3 of those without any pain relief and I'd rather do that again than have tooth ache!
Char Panda 2 weeks ago
All of that. I have a very high tolerance for pain and I literally could not stop screaming. I said I would never have another baby after that and everyone said you will forget that pain. My son is 22 and an only child for a number of reasons but that birth took a lot out of me.
Bored Jellyfish 2 weeks ago (edited)
Yeah. I remember how labor felt like menstrual cramps from hell, but I was like, “I can deal with this.” Then the kiddo dropped down, triggering back labor and suddenly I was the biggest wimp ever. “Uh, nurse? About about this epidural thing…”
#15
Americans voting for fascism.
Did I say that out loud? 2 weeks ago
Oh,look around,mate. Americans aren't unique on this one.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
This should come as no surprise if you paid attention in history class. There were people who openly agreed with the N.a.z.is in the 30s.
Geoffrey Scott 2 weeks ago
I disagree...we didn't vote FOR fascism. We fell for the lie of a misguided return to 'better days'. Many of those who did vote for the current resident of 1600 Penn have buyers remorse, especially those in the lower economic tiers.
Most people lose about half an inch in height every decade after 40, and it speeds up after 70. Over a lifetime, that can add up to one to three inches. The good news is that a healthy diet, regular exercise, and caring for bone health can slow it down. Strength training and calcium suddenly sound a lot more appealing. Turns out posture really does matter.
#16
I always thought it was so unbelievable and overdramatic in movies when people got bad news and proceeded to lean against a wall, and slide down to sit on the floor (while crying). My dad called when I was at work to tell me that my nana passed. I was so overwhelmed that I leaned against the wall, started sobbing and just slid to the floor. Looking back, it was so surreal and kind of silly, but my brain just shut off for a minute.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
I had this happen when a friend called to tell me that another friend had taken his own life. It was just a day or two previously that I'd talked to him, and he seemed so excited about an upcoming event. It was so shocking.
Hassel Davidhoff 2 weeks ago
I've experienced that and it's so sad, so surreal and just devastating. I'm so sorry.
Load More Replies... ROSESARERED 2 weeks ago
Happened to me when I was told my sister had a brain tumour...thankfully alive and well 20 years later. But it felt like someone kicked my legs out from under me.
#17
Forgetting my exact age.
Nichole Harris 2 weeks ago
Yup! I've the ability to remember my husband's age and do the math to mine, or remember my age and do the math to his... Never both at the same time🤣
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago
Exactly? I am 75 years and 15 days old. The hours and minutes I will leave to my biographers.
Nicole Weymann 2 weeks ago
I've stopped counting and have been using "born in 1978" for years now 😆
Ace 2 weeks ago
I did once spend several months believing I was a year older than I was. Birthday in June, but at some point in the first half of the year I'd been asked how old I would be that year, so had my age at next birthday in my head. When the birthday actually came around I automatically added another year onto it, only realised several months later.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago (edited)
This happened to me in my 20s. I have to double check ever since.
#18
I remember sitting down with my father and his siblings when they were 80. I thought they all looked so old. Now it is me and my siblings. At least we are all still alive.
Feet also change with age, which explains why shoes you once loved suddenly feel uncomfortable. Over time, arches can flatten and feet may spread out. That’s why many adults find themselves buying bigger shoe sizes than they wore in their 20s. Comfort slowly starts winning over style. One day, you wake up and realize supportive footwear is non-negotiable.
#19
Racism. I grew up in the suburbs and never encountered unprovoked harassment until I was 18 back in 2008. I was driving in my new car (thanks mom and dad), listening to pop/edm/dance music on the radio, at a red light, with my windows down and sunroof open on a nice day. Not loud at all but I was definitely jamming and singing along. A police officer pulled up next to me at the red light in his squad car. He put down his window, yelled a couple racial slurs and curse words at me, and then peeled out and drove right through the red light. I was shocked. I sat at that light for about 3 cycles until I finally moved. This extreme has never happened to me since. But my eyes were opened that day to how fortunate I’ve been to have grow up surrounded by kind hearted people of different races my whole life.
keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
Sadly many mean people became police officers because they enjoy bullying people.
#20
Money buys peace, not happiness. The peace part is very real.
Kelly Scott 2 weeks ago
Money brings choice and having choices brings peace. I can make my own happiness, but I can't pay the d**n bills without money.
UnclePanda 2 weeks ago
You can't live in a state of happiness, it's a peak state. Contentment is your daily bread and butter form. Think of it as your base camp for happiness.
Hassel Davidhoff 2 weeks ago
Money can buy comfort and security. It cannot buy love or contentment. However, when one has enough money to be comfortable and feel secure, it can be easier to feel content.
Michael Largey 2 weeks ago (edited)
Money can't prevent unhappiness. But if you're managing your money properly, any unhappiness that comes your way will be free.
Daniel Lundberg 2 weeks ago
Up to a point it does buy happiness though, but after that point you have very sharply diminishing returns
#21
People's kids being "sick" all the time so they had to miss work. Its real.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago (edited)
Oh, yeah, especially when school is in session. Viruses in particular because they can't be treated with meds like bacteria, and they mutate so quickly, that as soon as one version has swept through the school, here comes the second wave 🤦♀️
Geoffrey Scott 2 weeks ago
I'm sure, when I was the school custodian, I was viewed as 'less than'. In my heart, I knew sanitizing every touch surface during flu season, especially during the advent of Covid added value. "Why do you wipe down the railings?" ..."so you don't get Ebola"..cue the puzzled look.
Load More Replies... Lilly Pomar 2 weeks ago
I'm a teacher, my immune system is way better than most other people (because I've been exposed to literally everything by people sending sick kids to school) and really, really want them not to. Not because of me. I'm probably immune to plague by now. It's just so sad to see so many kiddos getting sick because some parents didn't want to deal with a sick kid or couldn't miss work.
Jeff White 2 weeks ago
Ok. My wife is a Pediatrician. One year our oldest child started Kindergarten and the youngest started pre-school at the same. I attended work 8 days that year. I admit, I never believed it either.
driedgrapes 2 weeks ago
How often do kids wash their hands? Why are their hands always sticky? Kids bring sickness everywhere.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago
I was explained by someone it can be caused by too much antibiotics. My daughter got sick with, apparently, strep throat more and more every year. I decided to just skip the antibiotics. (It was always prescribed along with testing but before results.) She got better on her own. I put her on probiotics and she stopped complaining about her throat. We also stopped taking her to that doctor.
#22
Panic attacks. I knew they happened, i didnt think they happened Like That.
Sara Frazer 2 weeks ago
Oh god, the first time I had a true panic attack I thought I was dying. That was the first of many that summer, that saw me losing 25+ lbs in 2 months. I was 20 and my daughter's "dad" had just ditched us. Literally couldn't eat more than a couple bites of food without feeling sick. And the panic attacks themselves...hope I never feel one again lol 💀
Hassel Davidhoff 2 weeks ago
I've only had it happen once but I straight up thought I was dying, no doubt about it. Very happy that I was not.
Load More Replies... 
Barbara Wilcock 2 weeks ago
YES. Anxiety is a whole different feeling. Pure panic is excruciating. Vomit, diarrhea, sweating, shaking, blured vision. I could go on
Load More Replies...Health priorities tend to shift once you hit your 30s, often in ways that feel subtle at first and then suddenly very real. Avoiding serious illnesses like cancer becomes less of a distant concern and more of an active focus, which is why regular screenings and checkups start to matter a lot more. For women especially, things like breast exams, Pap smears, and paying attention to hormonal or cycle changes can be crucial for early detection. You also become more aware of family medical history and how it might affect your own risks. Small symptoms you might have brushed off in your 20s now get a second look.
#23
I had no idea a cervix could regenerate until I lost mine to cancer at 23. My cervix grew back & was perfect. Got pregnant & delivered babies. Now I know.
#24
"long covid". I thought covid was just a cold. It is not.....It disables millions and millions of people permanently. Just look it up. The "long covid" clinics throughout the country are swamped with patients.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
It is a cold in the sense that coronaviruses all produce more or less the same symptoms. And for some people (like me) it basically acts little more than a nasty cold. But it's like the RSV. Some people are more susceptible to the worst symptoms for various reasons. That's what makes it so important that people like me get the vaccine. My immune system is like, pfft, GTOFH, but if I transfer the virus onto someone who is elderly or has asthma or something, it can k.i.ll them. Me getting the vaccine helps to lower that risk.
Nikki Sevven 2 weeks ago
My philosophy on vaccines...If I'm eligible for it, I'm getting it. A couple weeks ago I got this year's flu shot, my COVID booster, a Tdap booster, and the RSV. Two in each arm.
Load More Replies... Sara Frazer 2 weeks ago (edited)
I have not been tested for it (honestly I don't even know how you would get tested) but since I first got covid in October 2020 (before the vaccines, etc) there's been a definite change in me, and I hate it. I just don't have a drive for life, I don't pursue my arts as much or at all. I about gave up on physical health, and I just don't have the drive to take care of myself as much. Didn't even realize the change in me until a couple years ago when "long covid" was being seriously discussed for the first time. Also the random fluttering feeling in my chest and shortness of breath that I still feel; when before covid I had never felt it....may be a sign.....dang why is the internet the place I now make revelations .-. .... EDIT: I just wanna add that I never doubted covid or the seriousness of it; my partner and I were so, so careful. Because I had a couple high-risk relatives, we both unanimously care for people anyway, and he has been working in healthcare with mostly very at-risk people for over a decade now. It was so scary; any time I went near anyone I thought about all the people who could be "unalived" just by my being too near to someone. I'd double, triple mask, hold my breath when I came near to people. Matter of fact I find i still involuntarily hold my breath near people.The healthcare facility he worked at got it. He had to move deceased people. The worst he had to deal with was a woman who coded just as they were taking her out to the ambulance (the paramedics refused to go into he building because of the covid infection; so staff members had to take patients out). He still cries about that one.
UnclePanda 2 weeks ago
Post-covid, I felt like I was operating about 97% of my former self and I'm not sure it ever came back.
#25
PTSD. It is debilitating.
Mike F 2 weeks ago
We grew up in a VERY volatile household. Just the sound of a voice could set him off and there was h3ll to pay. All three of us leap out of our skins and get unreasonably angry at sudden loud noises. Holidays where there are fireworks are absolute h3ll for us, all of us. There are other things, many other things, but that is the easiest to describe.
Load More Replies... Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
Yeah. And it doesn't have to be related to the military or s*x-ual a*****t. Mine isn't.
#26
Burnout.
I thought it was just being tired. Then one day motivation disappeared, focus dropped, and rest did not fix it. That is when I realized it was real.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
I currently work at my first job that actually offers PTO (I call it my first "grownup job," which my boss finds hilarious) and haven't been shy about using it. The first time, I felt guilty the first couple of days, but for the first time ever, I didn't dread returning to work after time off. Which is good because I really love what I do. The ability to take time OFF really changes my ability to hold onto a job instead of changing it every few months.
Rinn 2 weeks ago
As someone who just went through this, complete with skill regression to the point I couldn't work, have your thyroid levels checked. It's frequently the result of reduced thyroid hormone conversion leading to low free T3, which stress will cause. That's why so many folks with extended burnout end up gaining a bunch of weight and losing hair
Dorothy Smith 2 weeks ago
What's with you being on "thyroid " covering so much-needed help
Load More Replies...And it’s not just health, there are so many parts of life we brush off simply because we haven’t lived them yet. Advice sounds dramatic, warnings feel exaggerated, and certain “truths” seem like overreactions…until one day, they’re suddenly your reality. Experience has a funny way of turning disbelief into understanding. Just like these posts show, some things don’t fully make sense until you’ve been there yourself. Which one of these did you find most intriguing or maybe you were already aware of it?
#27
The green flash at sunset. I thought it was a made up thing from pirates of the carribbean, but then I was on the beach in Puerto Vallarta and joking about seeing it. I pulled out my phone to take a joke video of the last direct rays of sun dipping below the horizon, and a second before I hit record, I looked up, and it actually happened right then and there. Like a green laser, so fast, as if the sun had just been washed away with that green light. I'll never forget it. A couple people on the shoreline cheered.
#28
How bad hangovers are past the 20s. Phew. I don't drink anymore specifically cause I don't want the hangover.
Nichole Harris 2 weeks ago
I'm blessed to have never been hung over!!!! My hubby however will testify to this🤣
Peeka_Mimi 2 weeks ago
Take an ibuprofen with a greasy cheeseburger and a Bloody Mary.
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 2 weeks ago
When I was much younger and use to drink I had some doses hangovers myself. Those days are waaay long past for me.
#29
Actually winning something in a random draw. It always sounds fake until your name pops up and it’s real.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
Last year I started entering a lot of sweepstakes. It's free, and I have the time. When I started winning stuff, it was such a thrill. It still is.
Spittnimage 2 weeks ago
I entered my sister''s name in a drawing at a store for a sewing machine back in the 70s (I was too young to enter) and she won.
Peripheral Visionary 2 weeks ago
Back in the day when draws were a slip of paper you filled out and dropped in a box, I won a slew of things because 1. People don't,t take the time standing in a shop to fill it out and 2. Someone usually steals the pen and I always carry one. You make your luck sometimes
#30
Hitting a deer. I used to think how dumb you had to be to hit something so large then I did. It was like it was dropped from the sky.
Kelly Scott 2 weeks ago
Hitting ONE deer wouldn't be so bad, but there's always three crossing the road.
Mike F 2 weeks ago
And the sacrificial deer sent out as a scout. The poor ba$tard should be wearing a red shirt. IYKYK
Load More Replies... 
#31
What tv shows used to refer to “flashers”.
Then my high school band went to a different school for a football game. As we filed off the bus a man stepped out from behind part of the bleachers. Full trench coat. Then opened it wide. I burst out laughing, which started a couple of other girls in line laughing.
He quickly closed the coat and disappeared.
Serena Myers 2 weeks ago
"No thanks, I've just put one out". Back in the days when people still smoked in public places.
Roxy222uk 2 weeks ago
When I was growing up the myth was that ‘flashing’ was essentially harmless and not something to worry about or feel threatened by (I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that if it was straight men being flashed by gay men the story would have been very different). Of course now research shows that flashing is like a gateway d**g into contact séxual abüse, and finally men are getting the message that women often find being flashed demeaning, threatening, dehumanising, and it has a lasting effect.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
Years ago, a flasher was active along a jogging path. One woman burst into laughter when he opened his coat. True story.
Load More Replies... #32
Doctors being *that* wrong. like something could be soo bad in your body and doctors could just straight up fail you.
i thought people who didn't trust doctors were hypochondriacs because if it were that bad it must be unignorable, right? Then I finally got a diagnosis after 7 years in severe chronic pain. Turns out the whole time it could have been caught with a CT scan but all the doctors i'd seen prior didn't want to "over test".
K Barnes 2 weeks ago
I lost a loved one to an intestinal blockage that was misdiagnosed as "long Covid" for months, until it burst. Really tragic that it would have been curable had it been diagnosed properly. Doctors do have a hard job, though.
Rinn 2 weeks ago
It's actually not that the job is hard, it's that (at least in America) our healthcare system is broken. Doctors don't go to school and learn the best things to do for patients, they learn what diagnosis and treatments insurance will cover. I've been really big into medical sciences since becoming disabled in '12 and the gap between scientific studies and what doctors are taught is insane
Load More Replies... keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
I had chronic fatigue and depression for years. Main stream docs only offered me antidepressant meds. Alternative docs sold me thousands of dollars of their custom supplements and put me on restrictive diets. Finally one doc suggested I get tested for allergies. I found out I was extremely allergic to dust mites. Every house I ever lived in has wall to wall carpeting. I moved into a house with no carpets, learned to manage dust mites in my bedding, and all my fatigue and depression vanished. So simple yet so many doctors has no clue.
Lilly Pomar 2 weeks ago
A doctors' mistake unalived my father and I got told to lose weight when I had an autoimmune disease even though as a medical translator I know a little about medical stuff... and still wasn't believed. So yeah. It happens.
Rinn 2 weeks ago
I nearly lost my life at the start of this year because of this. I can't convert thyroid hormones so don't make enough of the active hormone my body needs, it's been in my labs since 2015 but all the doctors I've brought it up to brushed it off because TSH and T4 were fine. I landed in the hospital at the start of the year with my body shutting down from it going untreated so long, TSH finally came back high and they STILL told me I'm not hypo. Had enough and put myself on the meds, full recovery in weeks. I'd spent that time too sick to leave the house and had multiple strokes and episodes of heart failure. I'd developed long QT and pericardial effusion, absolutely would not be here today of I hadn't taken matters into my own hands
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
My grandmother, dad and father in law were all repeatedly fobbed off by their doctors and then by the time their cancers were finally diagnosed it was too late. I often wonder how many lives could be saved or prolonged if doctors actually took patients' cancer concerns seriously
#33
Running into someone you just thought about.
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
This happens to me frequently. I randomly think about someone I haven't seen for months, years or decades and then later that day or the next day I will run into them.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
It's so bizarre, isn't it? I'm not a believer in fate or destiny or anything like that, but it almost *feels* fated!
#34
Falling for someone u weren’t even attracted to at first personality really be cheating the system.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
This is why "puppy love" (the can't eat/can't sleep/heart-pounding feelings) isn't actually love. It's just a hormone dump intended to encourage us to procreate. Love-real, honest love-takes time and trust because that time means seeing past the initial attraction (or lack thereof) to the person under the skin.
UnclePanda 2 weeks ago
Could you please bottle and sell that hormone? I'll take it daily.
Load More Replies... Norfolk and good 2 weeks ago (edited)
Too many people mistake lust for love. Real love takes time to nurture. Simply being "in love" isn't enough to sustain a relationship either. A real relationship also requires communication, shared values, mutual respect, a willingness to grow together and much more. The idea that you'll instantly know that you've met the right person and the stars will align and everything will be wonderful is something that only happens in movies.
#35
Getting old quick.
keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
I like comedian Steven Wright's quip: My plan is to live forever. So far, so good!
#37
Super heating.
A few years ago I heated a cup of water in the microwave for a few minutes. I opened the door and instinctively started to reach in (with an oven mitt) when my brain said “hmmmm, that looks really still, and it seems like it should have splattered a little for as long as it was in there. I wonder…”
I grabbed a chopstick and poked the cup and it boiled. Instantaneously and extremely violently. I’d have been badly burned if I hadn’t thought about it.
Norfolk and good 2 weeks ago
That's why we don't boil water in microwave. Looking at you, Americans.
Peeka_Mimi 2 weeks ago
Most Americans including myself own electric kettles or stovetop kettles. I love my electric kettle.
Load More Replies...
Tim Callahan 2 weeks ago
I had water literally blow the microwave door open one time — it was a small amount of water and I put it in for too long. I guess the key was that it was reverse osmosis water which is more slippery than unpurified water that would have boiled before It exploded. Sounded like a b**b went off and scared the c**p out of me, but microwave still works fine after that.
Deta Rossiter 2 weeks ago
why we have this super and ground breaking invention called a Kettle.....
UnclePanda 2 weeks ago
I have an insulated microwave and dishwasher-safe travel mug that does this if I forget to pop the little silicone stopper. It actually holds pressure and burned me a bit the first time I popped it open.
#38
Blacking out while drunk. It’s terrifying.
#39
Happy tears. It was completely foreign to me, but when I met my late fiancee it happened to me and it was the most foreign feeling. I genuinely could not believe it actually happened to people.
Little Bit 2 weeks ago
Most people think that you only ever cry because you're sad. Crying is a way of expressing all kinds of emotions.
Ruth Kilpatrick 2 weeks ago
When the surgeon told us he got all but .5mm of my son's brain tumor.
#40
People who have been your friends (family even), for 15+ years, stealing from you like it's absolutely nothing.
Peripheral Visionary 2 weeks ago
My sister stole from our school and later from me when I had a job and nice things. Our mom turned a blind eye to it all. We have barely spoken in thirty five years.
#41
My one brain cell convincing me i could totally be a morning person if i just tried harder. the betrayal was real.
Mike K 2 weeks ago
I have to get up for work at 5AM every weekday. Regardless of how long I've been doing this, my body still isn't used to it
highwaycrossingfrog 2 weeks ago
Same. We picked the wrong job. Shame I love it!
Load More Replies... Deta Rossiter 2 weeks ago
i know i am not a morning person. no amount of coffee or persuasion can change my mind. i know this, and i tell you this if you try arrange ANYTHING early.
Peripheral Visionary 2 weeks ago
I work mornings half the year and I NEVER adjust to it and drag my a*s the whole time during those months.
#42
Sleep paralysis.
Nikki Sevven 2 weeks ago
The paralysis part is not a big deal...until the hypnagogic hallucinations show up.
Lilly Pomar 2 weeks ago
I literally learned lucid dreaming because of it. Now I know how to snap out of it (it's different techniques for different people) and I'm free.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
It can come with night terrors. Any for anyone who equates that with "just a bad nightmare," feel free to take my night terrors.
#43
Not me, but my friend: found out her husband and father of her children had another, secret, family across town. He worked for the airlines and would explain his absences to each family as “being out of town.” His kid in the other “marriage” was seven when she found out.
GalPalAl 2 weeks ago
My neighbor was like this when we were kids and nobody knew for a long time. Now I just assume that men cheat as often as the opportunity arises and people are gross
Λjvo 2 weeks ago
I always wonder why some men do this? I have single family and it’s (sometimes more than) enough family fun for me. Just the idea of having another family and just lie, lie and lie every day to both of the families, make up stories about working late, business trips and whatnot is insufferable to me. And that’s if I ignore the obvious immorality and everyday possibility to hurt everyone in the process. It’s just SO not worth it. And men who do this are disguisting.
#44
Actually slipping on a banana peel.
Lotekguy 2 weeks ago
I assume you recommend the witnessing, not the slipping.
Load More Replies... #45
Presbyopia.
I was 40/41 when on a totally random day I looked at my phone screen and couldn't read a thing.
Now I'm 43 and it's gotten so bad that I have to take off my glasses to check my phone (prescription glasses for myopia).
Isabella K 2 weeks ago (edited)
Yep. Happened to me. Same age, same problem. But hey, at least with myopia you we have a solution for some time... until it gets so bad the presbyopia outgrows the myopia...
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
I have progressive lenses, one section for the myopia I've had since I was 10 - well, that's when it got bad enough to need glasses - and another for the middle-age presbyopia.
#46
Not knowing you’re pregnant.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
If I'm not mistaken (and I very well could be, so please feel free to kindly correct me!), this is more common when you struggle with conditions like PCOS and endometriosis because of the symptoms of the conditions.
#47
Bedbugs...
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago
Any infestation happening in a clean home. You could deep clean, bleach, vacuum, take out the trash daily and still get a problem.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
When our home got infested, I looked up everything I could find on prevention. Apparently the place you're the least likely to pick them up is the laundromat because of the hot water in the washers and the dryer heat.
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 2 weeks ago
When I was growing up, there was a saying Don't let the bed bugs bite. I thought it was just a saying and that bedbugs were a fake bugs. It wasn't until I was an adult that I founfd out that there were actual bedbugs.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago
I used to think the same about bookworms. I didn't know they're an actual book pest.
Load More Replies... Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
God, those little f.u.c.k.ers can burn in the deepest, darkest pits of h.ell.
#48
A sober, functioning adult who doesn’t have the ability to love their own child as they love themselves.
#49
Complex regional pain syndrome. After shattering knee cap and repair surgery my brain still thinks there’s an injury so extreme pain , swelling, blood flows reduced to limb. I couldn’t understand it at first. Dr told me your sympathetic nervous system is like electrical system. You flip light switch to turn on, flip switch again to turn it off. When injured, your sympathetic nervous system flips switch signaling to brain to react to injured area. When injury is fixed, sends signal saying all good, brain stops it. They can’t get my sympathetic nervous system to shut off signal.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
I wonder if this is related to what I think is call ghost limb syndrome, when after an amputation, the person still "feels" the limb and experiences pain in it even though the limb isn't actually there.
Rinn 2 weeks ago
Yep, CRPS is the official name for phantom limb syndrome. It's the most painful condition there is, I've spent many many nights I'd have traded giving birth again for the pain in my leg
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 2 weeks ago
Similarly, fibromyalgia. The pain doesn't come from the peripheral nervous system; it comes from the brain misinterpreting sensory stimuli. Trust me when I say, the pain is not any less real even when you know it is literally all in your head. It's a neurological dysfunction.
Lady Eowyn 2 weeks ago
I have that on top of the actual damaged bits. My brain gets confused.
Load More Replies...
David Paterson 2 weeks ago
The involuntary memory of a pain can be almost as bad as the original pain.
#50
That you could just instantly die from a blood clot in your lungs - it’s all just hypothetical and not real until you’re told you have countless pulmonary embolisms in both of your lungs and were a sneeze away from instant death.
Nikki Sevven 2 weeks ago
I had an amniotic PE the size of my fist after the caesarean birth of my daughter. They said I was lucky it was so big. Any smaller and it would have kept going, lodging either in my heart or my brain.
Spittnimage 2 weeks ago
Someone I knew had an embolism in both lungs. He was in ICU and doctors kept coming in to see the "miracle patient" because apparently people don't usually survive an embolism in the lungs.
Child of the Stars 2 weeks ago
The scariest part to me is that it's just like an aneurysm. There are risk factors that increase your chances of it, but it's ultimately possible for it to happen to anyone at any time with little to no warning. And without a CT scan or an MRI, you don't know if one is developing or not.
#51
Seeing "the light" when brushed with death.
David Paterson 2 weeks ago
Or in my case nowhere near death, just deathly afraid. Go through the tunnel towards the light, and emerge into a zone of complete peace.
#52
Winning €1k on a single slot machine spin while on a seaside vacation and it was the very first time my friends and I had ever tried slots.
#53
Had a baby.
Then another.
Then another.
Surprise! It's triplets!
Brian Droste 2 weeks ago
Didn't you have a ultrasound done? That should have showed up OP having triplets.
StrangeOne 2 weeks ago
Not all pregnancies are the same and sometimes ultrasounds don't pick up everything in the womb.
Load More Replies... You May Like "I've Had Exorcisms Performed On Me": 43 Implausible Things That Still Happened To These People 44 Funny, Clever And Sassy Things People Managed To Say In The Heat Of The Moment Here Are 25 Shocking Truths Behind The Biggest Misconceptions About Life In Prison
Gabija Palšytė
Indrė Lukošiūtė
Denis Krotovas
Related on Bored Panda
