30 Random Things Folks Thought Were Normal But Later Realized Weren’t, As Shared Online
We all have some things about ourselves that might seem weird to others. Maybe we have peculiar eating habits, and we see or do some things differently. And these things might seem like a norm to us. But what if one day you realize that what you thought to be a regular thing is actually a pretty rare occurrence for others? Reddit user @u/ComfortableMess3145 was curious to know what were some things that people thought to be normal until they realized that they aren't.
The question that received 1.3K answers got some interesting responses. A lot of people shared that for the longest time, they didn’t know they had a certain condition such as astigmatism, ADHD, or some kind of allergy. Other users revealed that their “not normal thing” usually came from their household. The examples included being expected to always ask for every little thing instead of just taking or doing it, or being used to big family fights.
Do you have something to add to this list? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
More Info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
Subconsciously adapting my speech patterns to whoever is around me. I'll start picking up their accent, words they use frequently, etc. Turns out, this is a common thing neurodiverse people, and it's more seen in women if I'm not mistaken. It could cause me issues, however. Thing is, I'm much more self conscious about this when I talk to black people, bc I'm white... And I swear I'm not trying to do a "blaccent" on purpose. It just... Kind of happens.
I have astigmatism so I see light in streaks. For the longest time I thought that was how everyone saw it.
Not everyone struggles to concentrate on a task or have the mental energy to take care of things. Apparently I have ADD. I found out two years ago life didn’t have to be a daily struggle when I started taking a medication for a sleep problem and one of its off label uses is to treat ADD.
I was actually told repeatedly as a kid I had ADHD but they always told me it was my fault and treated it as if the issue was voluntary. So I grew up believing I was just a lazy day dreamer who gets overly stressed by having too many tasks. I’ve lived my life thinking everyone else was better than me because they can get things done. Nope, I’ve just need meds my entire life. Now I wonder how different my childhood would have been if I had been treated back then.
I need to get tested for this once and for all. My school failed me hard for this. They said that I'm "too smart to have a learning disability." How messed up is that? Not only are they implying that people with learning disabilities are dumb, but it's also like they wanted me to just tell them that I'm lazy even though I worked my a*s off and told them as much. Twenty years later and it still makes my blood boil.
having a good relationship with your own parents. wasn’t until i made good friends that i realised how lucky my relationship is with my parents bc so many of my friends did not like family life.
Having to hide when you’re parents are fighting, I only found out this was not normal when I went to a friends house and their parents had a argument that I expected to turn into a screaming fit just like it does with my parents. I got up expecting to have to hide with my friend before they started full on fighting. I was then informed by his concerned parents that it’s not normal to have to do that.
I lived my life like that also. I had a friend who told his parents to stop yelling. I thought, omg heads are going to roll, but they didn't. His parents stopped and apologized to him. I was floored.
Hearing music play even when you aren’t listening to anything. And no I’m not talking about when you have a song stuck in your head and it’s just your thoughts singing the lyrics, I mean actually hearing music when nothing is there.
I use to think my house was haunted by a ghost that loved to play music. Later on as I got older I thought it just happens to everyone. Until I read about “Musical Hallucinations” online and found out how rare it actually is.
And no it’s not fun.
wait that isn’t normal? i thought everyone had that. another thing to add to the list of “things i might have to get tested for”
The ability to make a roaring noise in my ears by tensing a muscle.
I can do this, and I can also do a really high pitched beep. (EDIT: I forgot, I can also click.) (Edit 2: I do the beep by... tensing up my jaw/chin? I don't know how it works.)
Picturing things in your head. I have a friend with aphantasia and she was flabbergasted when she realized people could visualize things in their brain.
I always thought when you try to talk to someone about something they do that bugs you or is just something that you feel the need to bring up because it effects you, that its normal for the person to get upset when you bring it up, and for them to disagree with you, resulting in yelling and fighting. I always thought this until I was talking with my friend about something they do that really pisses me off, and they just sat there, and thanked me for bringing it to there attention, and was completely chill about it, no yelling or argumenting. It was a weird feeling because I just kept waiting for the disagreeing and yelling to happen, and when it didn't I felt like something was missing? lol.
I always thought the after effect for eating fresh cherries was a scratchy throat, with this weird tight feeling. Mild though but it would last about 30 minutes.
After eating 2 cherries earlier this year I ended up having a severe allergic reaction and discovered that cherries aren't meant to do that and I've just been allergic to them this whole time. 😅
Pineapple, kiwi, cantaloupe, walnuts, pecans, bananas-they all do that to me but cherries are OK luckily,
I was joking around with my friends in 8th grade History and we were trying to see how many pencils we could stick into my friend's afro (with his consent) and right as I was trying to lift my arm and put the pencil in his hair one of them cracked a joke that sent us into a fit of laughter. My arms went limp and when my friends started coaxing me to put it in I told them I couldn't.
They were noticably confused, so when I regained my composure I explained that everytime I laugh, my muscles go limp and I am not be able to move them. It ranges from droopy head and weak knees, to full body collapse.
Because of the term "roll over laughing" and portrayals of people in media falling over in laughter I thought this happened to everyone, and they were just better at controlling it. My friends all agreed that it in fact did not happen to them, and that I should get it checked with a doctor.
1 year later I was diagnosed Type 1 Narcolepsy: a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, and Cataplexy. Cataplexy happens when a trigger, such as strong emotions like laughter or fear, trigger a sudden loss of muscle tone, making it difficult to move, stand, or even breathe.
I was lucky to be diagnosed as early and quick as I was, since the condition is widely unknown outside of the context of Narcolepsy patients and specialists. The symptoms of Narcolepsy are so common, in both puberty where it starts to present more heavily, and other diagnoses such and depression and anxiety. Its estimated that around 1 in 2,000 people have this disorder, and the lucky few that actually get diagnosed usually only do so later in life after 5-10+ years of multiple tests and misdiagnoses.
The takeaway from this is that if you think that other people "deal with it better" or "suck it up" or "control it better" chances are that's not normal, and you should speak up about it.
Having to deliberately learn all your social skills. I assumed other people just got more practice, because I didn't have many friends growing up. Years of work did help me a lot, but I only recently realized most people learn these things without thinking much about it.
I'ts like the difference between glancing at a sentence and immediately getting its meaning, vs. figuring out each word letter by letter.
I have similar struggles and am not on the spectrum. Just wasn't socialized much as a child. People have thought I was on the spectrum though and it is disheartening. Just had a different childhood. Edit: it's disheartening to me because people just assume I have condition and not just because I am different or have a different experience, not that there is anything wrong with any conditions or being on the spectrum.
Load More Replies...
I more or less had to do this too. At the age of six I became aware that there were these rules that others seemed to know and I didn't, so I set out to learn them. Turns out, it's not really possible, because the rules are not really rules, more like flexible guidelines that change with the situation they are applied in. Socializing is exhausting, I need to pay constant attention to what is going on, and when I notice I got something wrong, it's already too late.
This! I'm also on the spectrum, and your post really hit home.
Load More Replies...
My school tried to cure my lack of skills by forcing me to work in groups all the time as this would automatically improve things. Don't actually TEACH me anything, just make me do it? Yeah, let's try piano lessons by just wheeling in a piano and demanding results.
I'm autistic, and have had people tell me in all seriousness "but you write characters way too well! I think you were misdiagnosed!" I write characters as well as I do because I had to spend years carefully studying people in order to figure out how you're supposed to interact with them! It must have worked because I also have people telling me "really? You seem completely normal to me". Some autistic people find that offensive, but I don't because it means I'm successfully fitting in.
Really? I thought everyone had to learn how to do this. I’m still learning new things all the time and I’m 40.
Same but 30, I see no problem with learning and revising social skills. But I need at least a day or 2 being alone
Load More Replies...
The main difference for me is that some people can copy and adapt behaviour without realizing others have to make a concious decision and effort to do so.
This resonates. My sense is that for most people, they intuitively mimic social interaction. My early attempts were like a robot or alien clumsily replicating behavior without any understanding of it.
Load More Replies... I....still have a lot of social skills to learn. It does not come natural to me and the result has always been embarrassing myself and/or the people around me. I ask people to teach me and I just get treated like a weirdo. So, it's normal for people to just know social etiquette and strange to not? Like, this isn't something that people are deliberately taught?
I felt that so hard. I'm always so afraid of embarrassing myself or others because I'm still learning. I grew up very isolated and it's taken years to even be able to hang around with others without staying stupid stuff.
Load More Replies...
Yup, same here: I've been diagnosed with autism and 20 years later was specifically un-diagnosed because I'm "too social and good at non-verbal communication". Thats some hard work!:D
I've had people tell me I can't be autistic because I figured out how to fit in too well. It's good to know all my hard work paid off. :p
Load More Replies...
It was in the 2nd grade that I wondered if I had been absent from school on the day that my peers were taught how to talk to each other. I imagined that there might have been a little guidebook or manual they'd gotten that told them how to just interact with each other. This was in the 1970s. If we could send little me a psychotherapist via time travel I'd appreciate it.
Really? I thought this was normal. I just assumed I was stupid when it came to social ques. Like you should say good bye to everyone when you leave a party, or if you get up to get a drink, offer them something, ask them questions about what they like. I only learned this from watching my boyfriend’s action.
ADD, ADHD & Autistic people can all have trouble with this. They don't pick up social cues like others. They can learn over time. Early behavioral therapy makes a big difference for them
This also took me WAY too long to figure out that I wasn't learning/understanding social situations like my peers. Looking back it was so obvious, but I'm middle aged now and still struggle so much. I always feel like I'm years behind, a day late and a dollar short, all the time.
I have Asperger's, I had to take social skills classes when I was diagnosed.
I’m 54 and I used to be very gregarious until Covid came along. Now I struggle to speak with friends and even extended family.
I'm still learning my social skills. Having a Narcissist Dad and Narcs as people around you(not really friends) throughout your life means your social skills at best are warped and at worse, don't exist.
Oof, this hits home... Two years ago I was diagnosed with autism, and that explains A LOT. I had a hard time fitting in when I was a kid. Eventually I learned most of my social skills by watching and imitating others. I can behave socially in an acceptable way, although sometimes I miss subtle social cues, and in that case people need to be explicit about it for me to understand. I do have friends now and I have a spouse and child, but socializing still takes a lot of my energy. And for people who will look well it might still be a bit "off" sometimes, I think. How great it must be when all of this is just going smooth and intuitive...!
Some of us struggle with this because we just weren't parented well. If no one ever shows you how to introduce yourself, for example, then you simply don't know how to do it. Same with many many other things.
Yes. I'm autistic and have learned to socialise by copying. The problem was is that I would watch characters on TV etc and think that it was a real representation so sometimes ran into issues because tv drama is called drama for a reason! It's also why I love reality shows (much more so in the early ones as now participants are often deliberately fake) and psychology
I never knew I was neurodiverse growing up and tried to so hard to learn the things that seemed to come naturally for others. I had to study people a lot to figure out social cues and sometimes still get very confused if people mix them like laughing/ crying at the same time.
I sincerely believe I lost crucial development in Jr. High while I was being bullied.
I'm not autistic but I am WAY awkward and clumsy with social interactions.
I am still unable to imagine how other people will react to something
My daughter is on the spectrum and has this sort of issue. Has a lot of trouble making friends with kids her age, but older kids and teenagers seem to get her, and treat her so kindly!!
This could be in rare cases a severe social disorder (sociopathy), difficulty caused by being on the spectrum for autism, or a learning disorder. Or it could be that no one simply bothered being a good example of social behavioral norms for you. Good news is even if you have to consciously learn it, you can. At the end of the day that is all that matters. With autism, though, you may learn what you do but not fully understand why certain behaviors are acceptable of unacceptable. Also okay. It is always okay to ask. I am saying this as someone who was worked in mental health, been the one seated on the couch, and someone who knows people with aspergers, learning disabilities, syndromes, etc. Don't feel bad that it "isn't normal." Everyone's normal is different. This article is proof.
Apparently most people can't reach their entire back with their hands. I never knew backscratchers had an actual purpose.
I can do this too. Apparently I'm a bit more flexible than most other folks. I can turn my feet around almost all the way backwards,put my feet behind my head and contort in a few odd ways. I thought everyone could do this.
Not being able to watch Movies/Shows without Close Captions or subtitles. Also never understanding what they are sayin on the radio. Turns out, I have an Auditory Processing Disorder. If I don't see peoples lips moving my brain doesn't recognize they are words more than half the time
Sensory Processing Disorder (avoider) here. If two people talk to me at the same time (classical scenario: I'm on the phone but my toddler demands my attention) the voices overlap and become nonsensical noise. Drives. Me. Crazy.
That most people aren't constantly aware of their heart beating, and dont get numb legs just from walking a few metres uphill, and don't lie in bed at night wondering whether they'll die in their sleep because their heart does funky things when they lay down.
Turns out I have a heart condition lol. I feel so at peace now that I'm on medication for it
I thought it was normal for every friend group to have one person that everyone picked on for no reason. I don't mean light roasting, I mean legitimately bullying them and putting them down. My brother's friend group had one, with my brother being a primary instigator. I was the punching bag in my middle school friend group. It took until the end of high school/the beginning of college for me to actually be treated like a person and realize that friends aren't supposed to make you feel like s**t about yourself.
I feel this. I was constantly shunned and yelled at growing up untill recently when I made actual friends who treated me nicely
I’ve played violin since I was 3 years old. So, I learned the letter names of each string and the finger numbers. And, whenever I heard a song, I always thought of a letter or number with each note. To me, it was plainly obvious what each letter and number was, and my brain even expanded the letter/number system to work with cello and the entire piano range.
Turns out, not every violinist has this, let alone absolute pitch (frequency in Western countries: 1 in 10 000). When I was 20, I discovered it was synesthesia, a harmless linking of senses/concepts in the brain.
That seemed to check out since people’s faces often have smells/tastes associated with them. Mine tastes like white sugar out of the packet. My brother’s is hard boiled egg. And whenever someone mentions a particular date on a particular year, I envision a giant number line.
Also, letters have emotions. E is happy, but lowercase e is even happier. Capital N is happy but lower case n is sad. And the months of the year go in a giant counter-clockwise circle, with my birthday in October being at the bottom. 2 is sad. 3 is happy.
Having a whole complex of rooms in your head and about 16 people in there chilling and having convos with them
It’s all positive, they’re kinda my way of getting things out and processing thoughts and emotions
I do all sorts in my subconscious mind palace and it’s very entertaining but everyone else finds it kinda wierd.
I hate to reveal this secret but when I am under stress, to relax myself I make up all sorts of cringe stories in my mind but I dont write them down. But ik I will never get the most number of upvotes so my comment will be the last one in order so no one will know my secret hehe 😁
When I’m on my period, I can numb my lower half of my body so I can’t feel cramps. After talking to my friend I realized she couldn’t do it and I was just confused as I have been doing it for years.
Not everyone hears their own thoughts audibly. I only learned that last year after describing to my husband that when I’m thinking I literally hear my thoughts as if they’re being spoken outside of my body.
I routinely talk to myself. When you're alone for 54 years with not one at all in life talking to yourself is almost inevitable. No family, friends, work associates, no social media contacts... no one. well I've been talking to myself ever since I could talk. And yes, I answer myself as well. Its fun.
Being able to give myself goosebumps on command.
I only realised last year (I’m in my 30s) when watching Taskmaster and one of the tasks was “Give yourself goosebumps, fastest wins”, and I wondered why they didn’t all just induce them like I do.
Turns out it’s a rare ability that only 1 in 1500 people have.
That's easy, listen to a song from Eluveitie, that works everytime lol ( for those of you not in to folk metal, try " 2SFH " ( 2 steps from hell ) its Impossible to hear their músic and not getting goosebumps )
"Man, I am having so much trouble finding out which colors to use for these letters!"
"Just... use the colors from your head."
"The what?"
"That's what I did! The head colors? Y'know?"
"N..o."
Anyways I have color-grapheme synesthesia and somehow, no one thought much of me saying that the days and months and letters and numbers all had colors.
Normal is just the running average of weird.
I like this. We’re all weird, “normal” is just whatever weird thing most of us are doing.
Ringing in the ears. I dont have a conscious memory of not having it. When i was about 5 years old I asked my grandma " what song does your head play?"
I've had tinnitus my entire life. Most of the time I just wilfully ignore it.
I have a few medications I need to take for my mental health, some I need to take at night some in the morning. I've gotten into the habit of rather than reading the label for which ones I need, I will shake the bottle and know which ones to take based off of the sounds the pills make when they rattle.
Let me say I was shocked when I was informed this is not normal.
Thats definitely what t I do, I can just hear my pharmaceutical savior, xanax, as a beautiful music in the mornings. Panic attacks SUCK for 30 minutes and without a benzodiazapine I get attacks a couple of times a day. They're particularly insidious because you have to stop what you're doing and give your entire life (existence) to the attack. Work or home. You don't have a choice. I call anxiety and panic "cancer of the mind". Panic attacks are horrendous and completely debilitating. Not fun. Hearing that rattle in the morning is like all of the beautiful music or nature thrown into a couple of seconds of shaking.
Visual snow. My whole life, my field of vision has always been covered by shifting multicolored dots of light. Similar to light snow on an old TV transmission, hence the name. I see it all of the time, I never don't see it, though it is worse in the dark, or if staring at the sky. In the dark or when I close my eyes, it is all I see. I thought everyone had this until my early 20s.
for YEARS i thought everyone got sick at the feeling of certain textures, kinda like seeing big bugs and stuff, like the same feeling that gives you, later learned i have a psychiatrist and therapist trying to figure out if i have adhd, or if im on the autism spectrum
Two OREO limit. That was always the serving size in our house growing up. My first binge in college was a whole sleeve of OREOs.
I wish I could do that. Although I often say it as a joke, for me, it's pretty much true that whatever is in the wrapper is one serving.
Lice. Growing up I had lice almost every summer, I thought everyone got lice growing up. I thought lice was just a summer bug that we kids got! When I got with my ex and talked to him about my childhood and how we always got lice, he was SHOOK. It was apparently not normal for children to get lice on a regular basis.
Asking for permission.
I was raised to always ask permission to have water, a snack, turn on the TV, or go to the bathroom any time I am in someone else's home. My best friend's mom thought it was weird that I would ask permission for small things. Like "May I grab a knife and fork for my pizza?" instead of "Where can I find a knife and fork?" was super weird to her.
Abdominal pain. Turns out I have a gastrointestinal issue. But when everyone tells you as a kid to "suck it up", "be tough", "it's just a tummy ache", you get the idea that everyone deals with it and you're just being a whiny kid. Now when I get really bad flare ups, I end up in the ER on morphine.
I'm from Pennsylvania. Growing up, when we went to a restaurant and I ordered my favorite eggs, I would say, "2 dippy eggs, please". It wasn't until I got married and moved out to the western part of the country that I realized most people don't call them that.
I can still see the look on the waitress's face when I asked for dippy eggs. Apparently, most people call them "sunny side up".
In the UK Dippy eggs are soft hard boiled eggs that we cut the top off and use to dip soldiers into the yolk. The soldiers being buttered toast.
Having OCD. The thoughts that come with it I thought were normal for YEARSSS
same. apparently having intense paranoia and having to do specific things to “protect” yourself so the people won’t get you isn’t normal
My parents are African and rice was a huge staple growing up. So when I went grocery shopping with my American college roommates for the first time they were surprised that I went to grab a 20 lb bag of rice.
They were white and were weirded out when they saw my lotion. They assumed it was for other reason besides moisturizing my skin and not being ashy.
My dad used to leave us in the car while he went in the bar to "see a man about a dog". We always thought he was in talks about getting us a puppy. I was an adult when it dawned on me he was in there drinking and see a man about dog was just an expression.
I spent a good majority of my young life in bars (because my dad dragged me there) rubbing my eyes from all of the smoke - because in those days, you could pollute someone else's air and somehow that was legal, let alone moral. And I have asthma. I don't need to express how bad all of that intrusive smoke messed me up that way. You know, BEING ABLE TO BREATHE. One day I told my dad where to jump, he was pissed, but I spent the next 5+ hours sitting in the car wondering if I was going to be able to do my homework. I'm so glad my joke of a "father" is dead. Good riddance.
That I thought the human race existed only in my country (Denmark) when I was 9
allergies that cause anxiety.
basically a while back i got tested for a bunch of allergies, strawberries came up pretty high but i love strawberries and have never had a rash or anything from them so the doctor person said it probably just gave me extra anxiety
accepted it as normal and moved on.
the subject came up with my old biology teacher relatively recently and he was surprised and said that's very rare
i still eat strawberries. what's a little extra anxiety anyway?
Only ever eating frozen food. I thought actually cooking was for professionals only. My first 20 years were only frozen food except for special occasions
The ability to make dolphin sort of clicks with my mouth (I don’t know how you’d call it)
I can blow snot off of my eye, when I was younger it just started happening. So whenever I blow my nose, I covered my left eye (one that snot comes out of) so snot wouldn’t shoot out. Found out not everyone does this a few years back!
Edit: to be more specific, it comes out the little tube in your eye that connects to your nose (to drain tears)
Brushing my teeth before eating
BEFORE? oh honey, what about the flavors? Did you just not know that things actually tasted good?? I NEED ANSWERS! 😭😭
This reminds me of the person who said the hated getting into the shower straight away because it was cold
I have a CONSTANT inner monologue. It means I can't stop thinking. Yes, I've tried listening to ~calming music~ but it doesn't help. No, it doesn't mean I describe things in third-person. I just CAN'T. STOP. THINKING. Help?
This happens to me too. I didn't know that people could stop thinking!! What?!?
Load More Replies...
I dream full length mostly movies with complete dialogue, scenes, and other characters. Sometimes they start right before I fall asleep so I consciously know they are beginning. Seconds before. If you wake me up in the middle of the night I can tell you everything going on and who said what. In the morning I only remember bits and pieces. They are shows I have never seen before anywhere. Sometimes they repeat themselves. There was one inside a dark mansion with lots of hallways upstairs that repeated for months. I walked quickly trying to get out but never finding a way. Another that repeated was a soldier standing at the foot of my bed as if he was guarding me. He wore a WWll uniform. So strange.
Had that occur Wirth some dream about an dystopian anime with an antro-wolf, basically escaping a slave trade, one scene Involved a high class train (fully furnished with velvet seat cushions, wood tables, upholstery the works) one scene involved the wolf being forced to serve nude, leading the wolf stabbing one pug guard in the eye with a shrimp fork. The intro to that "series" was all bright and cheerful. Had its own theme song, the wolf character lounge across title. It was seriously messed up, and bloody as hell. But definitely went a full 360, going from suspense to action in 3 seconds
Load More Replies...
I’ve never known how complete strangers can start clapping in synch with each other when music comes on. A television ad came on one day for a Bruno Mars album. There were people in monkey suits moving in time to each other, I commented how much practice it must have taken to synch up their movements so perfectly. My wife said “they are in time to the music”. I had no idea. To me there is no connection between dancing and music. Sometimes called Beat Deafness, I found out I have Amusia, which is sort of like a musical equivalent of dyslexia
Sneezing at the sun! It was only a few years ago (I’m 51) that I found most people don’t sneeze at the sun
Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) Syndrome
Load More Replies...
I can relate to about 40 of these things. I thought these were normal things.
It's good you found out, isn't it? Some of these problems can be fixed with meds.
Load More Replies...
When I was a child, I thought all people could use their toes like fingers because my sister and I could do that. Then I found out that the neighbor kids could not do this. Actually, I still have this ability.
Yeah, that comes in real "handy" when you're pregnant and can't bend down. I can pick up a button or sth. with my toes and "hand" it to my hand.
Load More Replies...
I have a serious question to ask. I brought it up to my brother and he completely dismissed it. I get triggered by noises. Chewing, teeth grinding, tapping, snaps, and pen clicks. It’s gotten really bad lately. I have no idea what it is or how to bring it up to my parents.
It could be misophonia. Your triggers sound like pretty common ones: https://misophoniainstitute.org/misophonia-triggers/
Load More Replies...
For the longest time, I just assumed that people got headaches all the time. It wasn't until I started getting constant vertigo and a visual aura that I was diagnosed with chronic migraine. Luckily the meds they prescribed work 95% of the time, but I wish my parents would have taken me to the doctor about it when I was little, instead of telling me that I "was reading to much" or playing too many video games.
You are lucky meds work. I've been a migraine sufferer since I was 13 years old, (that's 30 years of pain now) I get the so called "suicide" migraines and they are triggered by hormones, being a woman that's impossible to avoid, birth control and hormone therapy makes them worse. Nothing stops it once it has started. They have gotten worse these past few years. Can't wait for menopause to see if they improve because the only time I got zero migraines was during my pregnancy (I have a 16 month old)
Load More Replies...
I recently found out that many of the foods I thought I didn't like were in fact because my mum has no truc with expiry dates, food storage or cooking instructions. I've always thought I hated butter, it just isn't that nice when it's gone off. Sausages should not have a thick coating of burned while frozen inside. Making Indian food shouldn't start with burning some spices until the acrid smoke burns your lungs. Thankfully she usually gave us sandwiches and cooked only for my dad (also seems weird now) but no idea how the man hasn't died of food poisoning.
i have double jointed shoulders, thought that was completely normal until about 11 when we had to stretch before my practice. Also i can absolutely not stand the sound of corduroy getting scratched, not a mild dislike, it makes me feel physically uncomfy
I can actually feel strong emotions in colors... like anger, joy, feeling overwhelmed it crowded... But the most fantastic colors I see when I have a really great orga*m, that's like fireworks ;)
I found out while I was in the Navy I could hear better than almost anyone. At 1500 yards, I can hear and understand two people having a conversation. As well, I learned I was an absolute GOD when it came to analyzing other ships courses and speed when ownship was coming into or exiting port. I had only to look at a ship for tens of seconds and could relay its course, speed and closest point of approach, although I had trouble with time. I also do not need a clock or watch. I can go days without seeing a timepiece and know the time to within 15 minutes. But the real kicker: I dream everyday stuff in real time. I have dreams that seem to be taken out of other people’s lives. I have dreamt I was a businessman, an attorney in a rather mundane property dispute, or even a used car salesman. I have never had these kinds of jobs. Also, the locale affects me. If the weather is cold in the dream, I wake up cold. Likewise if I am in the desert at high noon in the dream, I wake sweating. Crazy!!
When I read a book, I don't see words. I see a movie - a virtual reality where I go around, looking over the persons shoulders. It was a big surprise when I realised not everyone experience reading like that.
Me, too. Sometimes I read a book and I swear I'd just seen a movie. What's weird is that I can't picture things in my head. If someone tells me to picture an ice cream cone in my head I don't see it. I describe it with words but never actually see it.
Load More Replies...
I used to think everyone had these little movies they made up in their head and spent hours in. Some stories I’ve spent years on. Turns out that isn’t normal
Not abnormal, either. I do, too. It helped à lot when I was an insomniac kid with anxiety. There are
Load More Replies...
i always thought i just got startled way way to easy. and i thought when you got startled you threw things from it and stuff like that. nope, i have an incredibly rare disorder called the jumping frenchman of maine. it’s stupid.
I need to know if someone else has this. When I sit on the toilet for too long I stop feeling my legs then they start "tingling" when I try to walk. But then I don't want to move because it's like a "being stabbed by millions knives but with no pain" sensation all over my legs
Growing up, I thought I had a pretty standard non-regional US accent. I heard no significant difference between how I spoke and how national newscasters spoke. I moved just one state over for college and was shocked to discover that I have a very thick regional accent, to the point that others comment on it and occasionally cannot understand some things I say. My mom, who has always lived in the same place, still has trouble believing this is true.
My only special ability is that I fall asleep usually under a minute. I tried to do meditation where you have to count back from 60. I changed it after many failed attempts to 20. I never reached 0...
My dad can do this. Literally just lie down and fall asleep on command. the rest of my family and myself are the exact opposite
Load More Replies...
After multiple concussions as a kid, one of my eyes sees color more intensely than the other. Same colors for both but one eye sees normal and the other is in Technicolor.
Not sure if this is weird, but when I dream I can’t hear anything, but I still know what is being said.
I was born without a stomach valve. Thought it was just a neat trick that I could regurgitate whole food, on command. Had a Nissan fundoplication at 13. I haven't been able to vomit, since. Food poisoning is the worst, and I constantly have the hiccups. Cool scars, though :)
Up until sometime in my teens, I thought everybody's back would hurt if they ate something too hot. I get this weird sensation that travels all the way down my back like lava after I swallow... well one time I ate something that burned my mouth/throat at school and I did this thing where I kind of throw my shoulders back, almost like how you see somebody get hit in the back in movies or something, and my friends were like "....what's going on right now?!" and then I realized that not everybody has lava back burn lol And whenever I clean my ears with a cotton swab, (not all the way in, just near the opening like after a shower to get the water out and any earwax that's building up) it makes my throat tingle and itch.
If I’m walking on a pavement with a close friend and there is a lamppost ahead, I must pass the lamppost the same side as my friend, or I feel anxious like FOMO 😳
ASMR, I spent decades thinking I was a freak because all sorts of stimuli made me numb and tingly and at times stir my gonads. It's a bit confusing when the sound of tearing paper makes you erect
ASMR usually makes me nauseous. Really creeps me out.
Load More Replies...
I have this weird thing were my pinky fingers can bend all the way back and touch the back of my hand. I was stretching my hand back and my pinky did “the thing” and my friend asked me if that happened to me normally. I thought it was normal so I was puzzled when she said it wasnt
Honestly, every time i touch a rough surface i stab my nails into my palms at least 2 times.. what is it??
I just learned some people don't... Hear colors? I can't rly describe it, but when you listen to music do you think, crimson, flame orange, beige, ect. I also don't hear blue, I hear cerulean ect.
I have really complicated dreams. Sounds, colors, details such as names of people and prices on items in a store. And they're long, a lot happens in them. I dream whole houses, hotels, malls, or supermarkets into existence, there's a layout and I can walk around and even go back to places I was before.
I thought it was normal to only breathe either through your mouth or your nose. I thought it was impossible and thought anyone saying otherwise was just joking around. Well, after a septoplasty, I realized I haven't been able to breathe normally my entire life. It was a fantastic and eye opening moment to experience smells and taste at the same time.
Wait... People can breath through their nose and mouth at the same time? How exactly does one do that?
Load More Replies...
With me it was a fast heart rate and going over every bad thing that could happen. I was shocked when I realized that's not normal and I'm now diagnosed with panic disorder and severe anxiety.
I'm allergic to stress. No joke. Stress makes me break out in hives from top to toe. I take antihistamine daily to be able to do normal everyday tasks.
I have note to color synesthesia… c is green or bluish, d is orange, e is yellow, f is green, g is orange, a is red, b is red orange… the accidentals are all yellow green but I can tell them apart… I don’t exactly see the colors but I end up kind of ascribing perceptions of the colors to do perceptions of the music, like songs I’m f are bright and usually happy, songs in a are really intense, songs in b and e are sharp…
Once every couple of weeks I get an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Heart pounding, nauseated, hot, dizzy, etc but the strongest sensation is deja vu. I have to stop everything I’m doing and get some fresh air. No obvious trigger for it and It passes in just a few minutes but it’s really overwhelming.
I don’t have an inner monologue. For years I thought everyone just saw pictures in their head like a movie reel. I honestly never knew people have a voice in their head and that sometimes that voice is what contributes to anxiety and poor self esteem. Sounds great to not have that except I do have a lot of trauma and that trauma often plays in vivid detail and I have to make a conscious effort to turn off the images. It also makes talking hard bc I don’t think before I say, when I talk the words are coming out the moment they come to me. Also reading is hard bc I am visualizing each word to understand them
I have hyperphantasia. That's why I read very little literature because I've scarred and traumatized myself forever. Fortunately, I prefer non-fiction like zoology and psychology. I also hear music as colors and different styles of music create beautiful patterns.
Here's a weird one I doubt many can relate to: being able to urinate without the slightest bit of trouble with an erection. The only delay is from the time it takes for the urine to get out of the bladder, and it's a perfectly normal stream (in fact, it's usually much more powerful than when not erect!). This is but one of the fun side-effects of being born without a prostatic utricle.
Not what I expected... I should have seen it coming. Basically a lot people needing some attention rather than people with super powers or interesting disorders.
I have a CONSTANT inner monologue. It means I can't stop thinking. Yes, I've tried listening to ~calming music~ but it doesn't help. No, it doesn't mean I describe things in third-person. I just CAN'T. STOP. THINKING. Help?
This happens to me too. I didn't know that people could stop thinking!! What?!?
Load More Replies... I dream full length mostly movies with complete dialogue, scenes, and other characters. Sometimes they start right before I fall asleep so I consciously know they are beginning. Seconds before. If you wake me up in the middle of the night I can tell you everything going on and who said what. In the morning I only remember bits and pieces. They are shows I have never seen before anywhere. Sometimes they repeat themselves. There was one inside a dark mansion with lots of hallways upstairs that repeated for months. I walked quickly trying to get out but never finding a way. Another that repeated was a soldier standing at the foot of my bed as if he was guarding me. He wore a WWll uniform. So strange.
Had that occur Wirth some dream about an dystopian anime with an antro-wolf, basically escaping a slave trade, one scene Involved a high class train (fully furnished with velvet seat cushions, wood tables, upholstery the works) one scene involved the wolf being forced to serve nude, leading the wolf stabbing one pug guard in the eye with a shrimp fork. The intro to that "series" was all bright and cheerful. Had its own theme song, the wolf character lounge across title. It was seriously messed up, and bloody as hell. But definitely went a full 360, going from suspense to action in 3 seconds
Load More Replies... I’ve never known how complete strangers can start clapping in synch with each other when music comes on. A television ad came on one day for a Bruno Mars album. There were people in monkey suits moving in time to each other, I commented how much practice it must have taken to synch up their movements so perfectly. My wife said “they are in time to the music”. I had no idea. To me there is no connection between dancing and music. Sometimes called Beat Deafness, I found out I have Amusia, which is sort of like a musical equivalent of dyslexia
Sneezing at the sun! It was only a few years ago (I’m 51) that I found most people don’t sneeze at the sun
Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioopthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) Syndrome
Load More Replies... I can relate to about 40 of these things. I thought these were normal things.
It's good you found out, isn't it? Some of these problems can be fixed with meds.
Load More Replies... When I was a child, I thought all people could use their toes like fingers because my sister and I could do that. Then I found out that the neighbor kids could not do this. Actually, I still have this ability.
Yeah, that comes in real "handy" when you're pregnant and can't bend down. I can pick up a button or sth. with my toes and "hand" it to my hand.
Load More Replies... I have a serious question to ask. I brought it up to my brother and he completely dismissed it. I get triggered by noises. Chewing, teeth grinding, tapping, snaps, and pen clicks. It’s gotten really bad lately. I have no idea what it is or how to bring it up to my parents.
It could be misophonia. Your triggers sound like pretty common ones: https://misophoniainstitute.org/misophonia-triggers/
Load More Replies... For the longest time, I just assumed that people got headaches all the time. It wasn't until I started getting constant vertigo and a visual aura that I was diagnosed with chronic migraine. Luckily the meds they prescribed work 95% of the time, but I wish my parents would have taken me to the doctor about it when I was little, instead of telling me that I "was reading to much" or playing too many video games.
You are lucky meds work. I've been a migraine sufferer since I was 13 years old, (that's 30 years of pain now) I get the so called "suicide" migraines and they are triggered by hormones, being a woman that's impossible to avoid, birth control and hormone therapy makes them worse. Nothing stops it once it has started. They have gotten worse these past few years. Can't wait for menopause to see if they improve because the only time I got zero migraines was during my pregnancy (I have a 16 month old)
Load More Replies... I recently found out that many of the foods I thought I didn't like were in fact because my mum has no truc with expiry dates, food storage or cooking instructions. I've always thought I hated butter, it just isn't that nice when it's gone off. Sausages should not have a thick coating of burned while frozen inside. Making Indian food shouldn't start with burning some spices until the acrid smoke burns your lungs. Thankfully she usually gave us sandwiches and cooked only for my dad (also seems weird now) but no idea how the man hasn't died of food poisoning.
i have double jointed shoulders, thought that was completely normal until about 11 when we had to stretch before my practice. Also i can absolutely not stand the sound of corduroy getting scratched, not a mild dislike, it makes me feel physically uncomfy
I can actually feel strong emotions in colors... like anger, joy, feeling overwhelmed it crowded... But the most fantastic colors I see when I have a really great orga*m, that's like fireworks ;)
I found out while I was in the Navy I could hear better than almost anyone. At 1500 yards, I can hear and understand two people having a conversation. As well, I learned I was an absolute GOD when it came to analyzing other ships courses and speed when ownship was coming into or exiting port. I had only to look at a ship for tens of seconds and could relay its course, speed and closest point of approach, although I had trouble with time. I also do not need a clock or watch. I can go days without seeing a timepiece and know the time to within 15 minutes. But the real kicker: I dream everyday stuff in real time. I have dreams that seem to be taken out of other people’s lives. I have dreamt I was a businessman, an attorney in a rather mundane property dispute, or even a used car salesman. I have never had these kinds of jobs. Also, the locale affects me. If the weather is cold in the dream, I wake up cold. Likewise if I am in the desert at high noon in the dream, I wake sweating. Crazy!!
When I read a book, I don't see words. I see a movie - a virtual reality where I go around, looking over the persons shoulders. It was a big surprise when I realised not everyone experience reading like that.
Me, too. Sometimes I read a book and I swear I'd just seen a movie. What's weird is that I can't picture things in my head. If someone tells me to picture an ice cream cone in my head I don't see it. I describe it with words but never actually see it.
Load More Replies... I used to think everyone had these little movies they made up in their head and spent hours in. Some stories I’ve spent years on. Turns out that isn’t normal
Not abnormal, either. I do, too. It helped à lot when I was an insomniac kid with anxiety. There are
Load More Replies... i always thought i just got startled way way to easy. and i thought when you got startled you threw things from it and stuff like that. nope, i have an incredibly rare disorder called the jumping frenchman of maine. it’s stupid.
I need to know if someone else has this. When I sit on the toilet for too long I stop feeling my legs then they start "tingling" when I try to walk. But then I don't want to move because it's like a "being stabbed by millions knives but with no pain" sensation all over my legs
Growing up, I thought I had a pretty standard non-regional US accent. I heard no significant difference between how I spoke and how national newscasters spoke. I moved just one state over for college and was shocked to discover that I have a very thick regional accent, to the point that others comment on it and occasionally cannot understand some things I say. My mom, who has always lived in the same place, still has trouble believing this is true.
My only special ability is that I fall asleep usually under a minute. I tried to do meditation where you have to count back from 60. I changed it after many failed attempts to 20. I never reached 0...
My dad can do this. Literally just lie down and fall asleep on command. the rest of my family and myself are the exact opposite
Load More Replies... After multiple concussions as a kid, one of my eyes sees color more intensely than the other. Same colors for both but one eye sees normal and the other is in Technicolor.
Not sure if this is weird, but when I dream I can’t hear anything, but I still know what is being said.
I was born without a stomach valve. Thought it was just a neat trick that I could regurgitate whole food, on command. Had a Nissan fundoplication at 13. I haven't been able to vomit, since. Food poisoning is the worst, and I constantly have the hiccups. Cool scars, though :)
Up until sometime in my teens, I thought everybody's back would hurt if they ate something too hot. I get this weird sensation that travels all the way down my back like lava after I swallow... well one time I ate something that burned my mouth/throat at school and I did this thing where I kind of throw my shoulders back, almost like how you see somebody get hit in the back in movies or something, and my friends were like "....what's going on right now?!" and then I realized that not everybody has lava back burn lol And whenever I clean my ears with a cotton swab, (not all the way in, just near the opening like after a shower to get the water out and any earwax that's building up) it makes my throat tingle and itch.
If I’m walking on a pavement with a close friend and there is a lamppost ahead, I must pass the lamppost the same side as my friend, or I feel anxious like FOMO 😳
ASMR, I spent decades thinking I was a freak because all sorts of stimuli made me numb and tingly and at times stir my gonads. It's a bit confusing when the sound of tearing paper makes you erect
ASMR usually makes me nauseous. Really creeps me out.
Load More Replies... I have this weird thing were my pinky fingers can bend all the way back and touch the back of my hand. I was stretching my hand back and my pinky did “the thing” and my friend asked me if that happened to me normally. I thought it was normal so I was puzzled when she said it wasnt
Honestly, every time i touch a rough surface i stab my nails into my palms at least 2 times.. what is it??
I just learned some people don't... Hear colors? I can't rly describe it, but when you listen to music do you think, crimson, flame orange, beige, ect. I also don't hear blue, I hear cerulean ect.
I have really complicated dreams. Sounds, colors, details such as names of people and prices on items in a store. And they're long, a lot happens in them. I dream whole houses, hotels, malls, or supermarkets into existence, there's a layout and I can walk around and even go back to places I was before.
I thought it was normal to only breathe either through your mouth or your nose. I thought it was impossible and thought anyone saying otherwise was just joking around. Well, after a septoplasty, I realized I haven't been able to breathe normally my entire life. It was a fantastic and eye opening moment to experience smells and taste at the same time.
Wait... People can breath through their nose and mouth at the same time? How exactly does one do that?
Load More Replies... With me it was a fast heart rate and going over every bad thing that could happen. I was shocked when I realized that's not normal and I'm now diagnosed with panic disorder and severe anxiety.
I'm allergic to stress. No joke. Stress makes me break out in hives from top to toe. I take antihistamine daily to be able to do normal everyday tasks.
I have note to color synesthesia… c is green or bluish, d is orange, e is yellow, f is green, g is orange, a is red, b is red orange… the accidentals are all yellow green but I can tell them apart… I don’t exactly see the colors but I end up kind of ascribing perceptions of the colors to do perceptions of the music, like songs I’m f are bright and usually happy, songs in a are really intense, songs in b and e are sharp…
Once every couple of weeks I get an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Heart pounding, nauseated, hot, dizzy, etc but the strongest sensation is deja vu. I have to stop everything I’m doing and get some fresh air. No obvious trigger for it and It passes in just a few minutes but it’s really overwhelming.
I don’t have an inner monologue. For years I thought everyone just saw pictures in their head like a movie reel. I honestly never knew people have a voice in their head and that sometimes that voice is what contributes to anxiety and poor self esteem. Sounds great to not have that except I do have a lot of trauma and that trauma often plays in vivid detail and I have to make a conscious effort to turn off the images. It also makes talking hard bc I don’t think before I say, when I talk the words are coming out the moment they come to me. Also reading is hard bc I am visualizing each word to understand them
I have hyperphantasia. That's why I read very little literature because I've scarred and traumatized myself forever. Fortunately, I prefer non-fiction like zoology and psychology. I also hear music as colors and different styles of music create beautiful patterns.
Here's a weird one I doubt many can relate to: being able to urinate without the slightest bit of trouble with an erection. The only delay is from the time it takes for the urine to get out of the bladder, and it's a perfectly normal stream (in fact, it's usually much more powerful than when not erect!). This is but one of the fun side-effects of being born without a prostatic utricle.
Not what I expected... I should have seen it coming. Basically a lot people needing some attention rather than people with super powers or interesting disorders.
