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Whether it's accidentally crashing someone's wedding or mistaking a random car for a taxi, we've all made a complete fool out of ourselves at some point in our lives. And that's why you should stop beating yourself about yours. Even if that moment was so awkward, you wanted the Earth to swallow you. The witnesses of your stupid actions probably forgot all about them since they're too busy obsessing about their own past mistakes.

When Twitter user Andy Ryan posted his most embarrassing story, people immediately started responding to it with their own cringeworthy memories. And I mean responding. Andy's tweet has already received over 80K comments and 559K likes, and the numbers keep growing!

Image credits: itsandyryan

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JohnnyKeats1 Report

One study says there's a (somewhat) quick way to move past life's most terrible moments. The answer: focusing on everything about the memory except the way it made you feel. "Sometimes we dwell on how sad, embarrassed, or hurt we felt during an event, and that makes us feel worse and worse. This is what happens in clinical depression—ruminating on the negative aspects of a memory," lead researcher Florin Dolcos wrote.

#2

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janeymaine Report

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Debster
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cringy but sweet. I would have left her money or a thank you card or gift.

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But we found that instead of thinking about your emotions during a negative memory, looking away from the worst emotions and thinking about the context, like a friend who was there, what the weather was like, or anything else non-emotional that was part of the memory, will rather effortlessly take your mind away from the unwanted emotions associated with that memory. Once you immerse yourself in other details, your mind will wander to something else entirely, and you won’t be focused on the negative emotions as much." In other terms, you take control of the memory. You shape the way it floats through your thoughts. You diminish it.

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It's quite different than suppressing the bad memory, which is usually effective only in short term and increases chances of anxiety and depression in the long run. For a lot of people it might also be simpler than other emotion regulation strategies, such as trying to recast the negative situation into a positive one.

"Looking at the situation differently to see the glass half full can be cognitively demanding," Sanda Dolcos, a co-author on the study said. "The strategy of focusing on non-emotional contextual details of a memory, on the other hand, is as simple as shifting the focus in the mental movie of your memories and then letting your mind wander."

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#7

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Mark
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5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just goes to prove that pretty much any grandma is a nice person to talk to even if you aren't related.

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#8

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Hans
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg! But seriously: if you change a full diaper and continue eating (be it merely licking something off the arm), you have some issues!

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sophiearumble Report

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Debster
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hmmm did they think you were car jacking them like the story above?

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#15

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UnkieGrumpy Report

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glowworm2
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never ever ask that question, even in jest. Chances are that someone actually died.

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#17

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Clive_Stringer Report

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Demi Zwaan
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Person of restricted growth"? Why would you call them that? They're just short people or dwarves.

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#20

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frederic eeckman
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sorry but sometimes I'm really wondering what's happening with people. Of course it can happen, and I'm not judging that, but you stayed a while, you ate, and you were leaving ? And you did not a single time talk about the camp your child was supposed to go to ?

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kae_mah Report

#27

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wind_is_real Report

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Max L.
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, at least it wasn't the nineties in french... know how they say 90 ? "four times twenty ten". ("quatre-vingt dix", pronounced "Quatr'e'vent dis") but not in french switzerland where they invented a new word from scratch.

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#28

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GoldCell2007 Report

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Bored Moogle
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You didn't notice all the other kids were smaller than you? You must have been wondering why there are so many little kids in 5th & 6th grades.

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Note: this post originally had 77 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.