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30 Skeletons In People’s Closets That Could Drastically Change Others’ Feelings Towards Them, As Shared In This Online Group
There are some things that you just can’t tell anybody. These facts, thoughts or opinions can be so controversial that maybe you think that people will judge you, they won’t agree with you or be scared of you once they learn them.
But sometimes it’s nice to release it to the world and the internet with the safety of anonymity that the platform often provides. Which is why people were open to discuss it when they were asked “What’s a secret that would change how the people around you look at you if they knew?”
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
What I’ve been through in the past, and what I continue to go through (because of my “broken brain” due to all that). I make a deliberate choice each day to choose love and connection, as cheesy as that sounds. I don’t want anyone to ever feel as alone and unwanted as I do. I’ve gotten a reputation as “the sweet innocent one” and I come off as a bit naïve, it really shocks people if they learn about my past. It’s like no, my kindness is a choice. I can’t change what happened but I can change what happens now, and what happens to others. Break the cycle, everyone!
#2
I’m a janitor. But I’m worth over a million dollars because I own real estate.
#3
I have a very hard time liking/growing fond of people, even after knowing them for years. I could just drop all contact with them and not miss them at all. Was like this even as a child, all the way to now…
#4
People think that I’m a good listener, and that just makes them say things to me that they really shouldn’t. I’m only listening because I don’t want to be rude, not because I care. Don’t tell me your family secrets, please.
Heather Resatz 1 year ago
I feel this one. People tell me all kinds of things, and because I'm 'listening' aka not being rude, they keep talking, divulging all kinds of personal nitty gritty details .. wow People like to talk!!
#5
All of my friends and family are Jehovahs witnesses, they think I am but I plan to leave. 85% of them will shun me when I leave.
#6
Our house was the first one on our street to be built. My husband and I [made love] in every single house on our street while they were under construction. I imagine our neighbors would look at us differently if they know we’d f****d in their house before they even had a chance to.
#7
I'm a Christian (thus isn't the secret. I hope.) and am disgusted by a lot of things that fellow Christians do in the name of Christ. My spouse and I have a hard time going to church. Trump supporting, covid deniers, anti masking.
Yet hosting a vaccine clinic in the early days of mass vaccination roll outs as a service to the community and I'm sure to show Christ's love.
Feathered Dinosaur 1 year ago
Thank no one I don't get into such moral dilemmas. Atheism rocks, folks
#8
How much of an emotionally exhausted and fragile wreck of a person I am right now.
Weasel Wise 1 year ago
Again, not a skeleton in a closet, just a state of being that might require a doctor. Have we digressed again in our thinking of people with mental health struggles?
#9
A few years ago, I went to the zoo during their Halloween celebration month where costumes were allowed. I dressed up as a zoo keeper. I told people that the penguins were animatronic. That when the giraffes get sick we feed them to the lions. I told a group of children that scientifically speaking, snakes and apples are cousins.
#10
My sense of smell is off the charts. I can usually tell if someone showers in the morning or at night by the way their hair smells. If someone ate a yogurt in an auditorium hours prior but threw out the container in the trash and I walk in on the other side of the room I can smell the yogurt. My memory is also sense-driven. I remember people by their voices or scent, not their faces, or if there is something different about them (odd gait, odd body proportions, etc). My touch memory is also weird. Did I lock the front door? I focus on my hand and go through what my hand has felt in the past 20 minutes and if the feeling of locking the door is there I’m good. I’m literally a freak and if people knew how much of their behavior/body-oddities/scent I actually have no choice but to remember, everyone would look at me like I’m a monster.
#11
My intrusive thoughts. Holy s**t sometimes i surprise myself on how gnarly i think in just a second.
Lisa H 1 year ago
I feel this one to my core. Add the fact that I am a chronic over thinker. It never fúcking ends. The best I can do is try to distract myself, which helps, but it always comes back like a toxic ex-lover.
SCP 4666 1 year ago (edited)
Could be a symptom of OCD Like a song you can't get out of your head. Or annoying flies buzzing around your head. You're not alone with this
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Max M 1 year ago
I always had hatefull thinking scenarios about people who wronged me. Over time it developed into i that i could feel their blood on my hands. In an attempt to avoid me going to jail, my brain put up other scenarios where ii had to "hurt" those i love, before i could hurt those i hate. That battle exhausted me so much that i had to admit those thought to the fullest, to my loved one. I couldnt handle it anymore and said i need help now or i will do something bad.
Tree P 1 year ago
I hope you get/got the help you need. At least you realise you have a problem. Sending you hugs and healing thoughts.
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Ruby 1 year ago
Even more fun when you have to load/unload the dishwasher daily. So many things could go so so wrong with one flick of the wrist.
Feathered Dinosaur 1 year ago (edited)
No one: ... Brain: Hey, why don't we just jump from the 12th floor?
NonFiltered GoldFish 8 months ago
I don’t remember writing on this post… oh well this is it I guess lol.
tamèreestchaude 1 year ago
This was a huge sign of my OCD that I ignored. For example, I was holding my (newborn) niece and had an urge to just drop her, and the only way I could get these under control was if I snapped my fingers twice.
Dizavid 1 year ago
This is a big one for me. I HATE seeing someone who was just happy be brought down to sad, angry, any negative emotion really. So when I see friends or loved ones having a good time, my brain will sometimes just spit out horrid, "What if this happened and absolutely ruined everything for them in this moment?" Could be something as mild as an argument breaks out to "omg, what if one of them has a stroke RIGHT NOW. Then I begin, following that same example, over worrying about if any of us know enough of the signs of stroke, do we know what to do for them. Intrusive thoughts, for me, were the final convincing I needed that the brain and the personality are two entirely separate creatures.
3 Trash Pandas in a Trenchcoat 1 year ago
Yup yup yup. Intrusive AND Impulsive thoughts for me lol
Audra Sisler 1 year ago
Definitely not alone on this one. Speaking for a friend...yep all I meant 😳😳😆😆
#12
I am married, I own my house (half-half with my wife) have 3 kids and I have a steady job. I have no clue how i got there, and i have no clue what I am supposed to do 90% of the time
Two_rolling_black_eyes 1 year ago
This is most of us. Making it up as we go with no real clue why certain things worked and others didn't. Why was I the only one not arrested at that party? What was the real reason I was laid off?
#13
I don't give a damn about anything or anyone at this point. Life feels like a game, and I'm just a spectator until this body fails. Any connections I form, I have no intention of nurturing. The human experience is so shallow compared to the universe at large that I can't shake the perspective that none of the tears, suffering, or smiles matter at all. They're a flourishing of energy that'll at some point be done flourishing.
I don't understand how people get so *invested* in life like any of this show is of any importance at all.
I enjoy a pretty sunset, or a laugh with ithers, but I'm not convinced any of it makes the game worth the candle.
#14
I get more of a rush out of training my dog than any experience I've shared with humans. Dogs just feel more intense and genuine. when you look at them you know they are there, present, with you. There's only a handful of people I can say have ever even come close to that level of understanding and none of them managed to achieve it without words the way the dogs I've worked with can.
#15
I have so much unresolved trauma and I'm just trying to have a good time
9 animals and counting 1 year ago
See if you can find a therapist that does brain spotting. It's kind of a game changer.
#16
My mental health is circling the drain, I'm horribly depressed, but I am trying *so hard* to get better.
Feathered Dinosaur 1 year ago
Take it from an MD and former psychiatrist: Get professional help, it's the surest way to effectively treat mental diseases. When your brain hurts you go see a brain doctor, you see🧠
#17
I didn’t graduate high school. I was getting out of an abusive relationship my senior year, getting stalked, and was super depressed and ended up dropping out.
I got my GED at 20, and am now an engineering major at my university. But I’ve never told my friends or boyfriend that i didn’t graduate, and i even lie on job applications.
Well-Dressed Wolf 1 year ago
Getting your GED is the equivalent of graduating. You’ve completed high school education. Who cares if you didn’t “literally” graduate? I didn’t either. I was homeschooled and got my GED as well. No “graduation”. It’s sad that this person’s friends and significant other might treat them differently just because they didn’t “graduate”.
#18
I cry almost every night but don‘t want to tell anybody since I‘d feel like a burden
#19
I was an abusive boyfriend, I still can't forgive myself for it
Feathered Dinosaur 1 year ago
The only way to forgiveness is to make amends and even more importantly never be that person again
#20
How incredibly terrified I am nearly all of the time. I'm not confident, I don't think I'm in control any more, I don't think I can do this. And still, here I go
#21
I am under the constant and irrational assumption that everyone knows something that I don't. I fully understand that it is unwarranted and I'm being paranoid, but the mental blockade it has created means that it's really hard for me to trust people.
Think of it as constantly worrying that everyone has a snake in their pocket, and it's only until you know for sure they do/don't that you'll be fine.
#22
The actual things ive been paid ludicrous amounts of money to do as a highclass escort in Dubai.
#24
I have schizophrenia.
Feathered Dinosaur 1 year ago
I'm sorry. I hope they sought help and take their medication. With schizophrenia there's really no other choice than to take medication, even when you take the side effects into consideration
#25
..My parents had me chemically castrated as a pre-pubescent kid?
..not really a secret though, turns out pretty much everyone around me knew way before I did...
Feathered Dinosaur 1 year ago
The person in question was probably intersex and the parents tried to suppress hormones of the other (not chosen by them) gender
#26
That I have serious gender identity issues and would transition in a heartbeat if I could, except I know that none of my family would ever accept me.
#28
I like both men and women
It sounds trivial but my family is morman and I wound be able to handle it if they find out
#29
I am an absolute horny mess right now…perimenopause is turning me into someone even I don’t recognize 😂
Julie Schulz 1 year ago (edited)
I'm having the exact opposite problem. My mind says yes but my body says meh. And forget about having an o*gasm, ain't gonna happen. :(
#30
Sometimes I crave attention from other people , like an attention hoe level
What do you think ?
Weasel Wise 1 year ago (edited)
To all my fellow peoples suffering with mental health, I have found Headspace (it's an app as well as a website) to be incredibly helpful. I'm currently listening to the guided meditation courses on Happiness and Compassionate Communication; and found Calming the Inner Critic both insightful and tear jerking. I highly recommend at least trying it, there's a free two week trial period too. There is also a mini version on Netflix you can try as well (I recommend it even if you don't suffer from mental illness). If you like the mini version on Netflix, you'll really love the full version. Hope this helps some of you. Love to all my fellow broken-brains out there!
CrazyCatLady 1 year ago
I like Finch. I tried Headspace but it wanted me to pay for everything. Finch is cute and doesn’t make you pay
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StrangeOne 1 year ago
I used to be very naive and still am in some ways. I'm overly trusting when I warm up to people, but I am very wary of everyone. From past experiences going to 8 different schools within 4 cities, and being instantly taunted, teased, mocked, bullied for stupid reasons, and being told I'm ugly (lips too big, gapped teeth, gangly) by nearly everyone (still happens to this day) other than family (most), I'll be too willing to accept niceties in hopes of gaining friends, or give things, at the same time thinking they're just using me. It's a terrible mindfuck cycle that I'm all too comfortable with. Because it's in my mind and that's the most private place I have. More private than my own home.
Powerful Katrinka 1 year ago
I'm a 64 year old, well-spoken, highly educated, upper middle-class white woman. 10 years ago I was a heroin addict who did some very dicey things to support my habit. People are absolutely astonished when I tell them.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago (edited)
People think I am quite conservative in my country, and have no idea who I am or what I am really about as a person - only those close get to see part / most. I think that we all conceal parts of ourselves to be socially acceptable. As an ASD we call this "masking". But I don't like to think of it that way. I prefer to say "selective revealing". And I think that's ok, not everyone wants you to bring TMI to work.
ThisIsMe 1 year ago
Hardly anyone knows that I'm in therapy and have been this time for a couple of years. My emotional instability and crazy though processes drove my marriage to the brink of divorce. But amongst family and friends I have always been "mature for my age" and "the unflappable one". Most of them have no idea who I've really been. Finally found the best therapist for me, took it slow, and am proud of the person that I'm becoming again.
Exotic Butters 1 year ago
Please don't put things that you don't want the world to know online.
Weasel Wise 1 year ago (edited)
To all my fellow peoples suffering with mental health, I have found Headspace (it's an app as well as a website) to be incredibly helpful. I'm currently listening to the guided meditation courses on Happiness and Compassionate Communication; and found Calming the Inner Critic both insightful and tear jerking. I highly recommend at least trying it, there's a free two week trial period too. There is also a mini version on Netflix you can try as well (I recommend it even if you don't suffer from mental illness). If you like the mini version on Netflix, you'll really love the full version. Hope this helps some of you. Love to all my fellow broken-brains out there!
CrazyCatLady 1 year ago
I like Finch. I tried Headspace but it wanted me to pay for everything. Finch is cute and doesn’t make you pay
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 1 year ago
I used to be very naive and still am in some ways. I'm overly trusting when I warm up to people, but I am very wary of everyone. From past experiences going to 8 different schools within 4 cities, and being instantly taunted, teased, mocked, bullied for stupid reasons, and being told I'm ugly (lips too big, gapped teeth, gangly) by nearly everyone (still happens to this day) other than family (most), I'll be too willing to accept niceties in hopes of gaining friends, or give things, at the same time thinking they're just using me. It's a terrible mindfuck cycle that I'm all too comfortable with. Because it's in my mind and that's the most private place I have. More private than my own home.
Powerful Katrinka 1 year ago
I'm a 64 year old, well-spoken, highly educated, upper middle-class white woman. 10 years ago I was a heroin addict who did some very dicey things to support my habit. People are absolutely astonished when I tell them.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago (edited)
People think I am quite conservative in my country, and have no idea who I am or what I am really about as a person - only those close get to see part / most. I think that we all conceal parts of ourselves to be socially acceptable. As an ASD we call this "masking". But I don't like to think of it that way. I prefer to say "selective revealing". And I think that's ok, not everyone wants you to bring TMI to work.
ThisIsMe 1 year ago
Hardly anyone knows that I'm in therapy and have been this time for a couple of years. My emotional instability and crazy though processes drove my marriage to the brink of divorce. But amongst family and friends I have always been "mature for my age" and "the unflappable one". Most of them have no idea who I've really been. Finally found the best therapist for me, took it slow, and am proud of the person that I'm becoming again.
Exotic Butters 1 year ago
Please don't put things that you don't want the world to know online.
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