“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers)

Our brains have this wonderful way of making everything seem so much easier when we aren’t staring it right in the face. After all, it’s pretty easy to think about just how productive you’ll be tomorrow while laying in bed. But as time has shown, a lot of life is more complicated than it looks.
Someone asked “What do most people think that is simple to deal with but is actually not?” and people from across the internet shared their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own ideas in the comments section below.

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Leaving abusive people. Its not just getting out a door. Its far more than that.

mizukata , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

125points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) People who manage their weight easily have no conception how difficult it is for those who can't.

Zomburai , Andres Ayrton / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

124points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) The death of a pet. They're not like toys, they're family and their loss is felt accordingly.

Yereli , sarandy westfall / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

118points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Managing mental health, a lot of people think it's just about being positive, but it's way more complex and requires real effort and support.

driftwinkel47 , https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-on-gray-rock-near-body-of-water-185801/ / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

100points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Poverty.

There is this mentality "well, if you just pulled yourself up by your bootstraps" or "look! XYZ person is no longer poor, you can do it!"

What they fail to recognize is that poverty can be an inherited condition causing subsequent generations to not be able to escape it. Caused by, amongst other factors, self-reinforcing mechanisms that once it exists, persists unless there is outside intervention.

And yes, those people who have "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps" nine times out of ten had some form of assistance, regardless of what narrative is spun.

QuantumSasuage , Timur Weber / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

89points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Dealing with an aging parent especially when dementia or cognitive decline is involved. It doesn’t happen all at once so that all of a sudden everyone just agrees “yep they are legally incompetent.” It’s more like years of worry on behalf of the kids, hurt feelings and denial on behalf of the parent, trying to strategize how to get help from doctors and lawyers when the parent is resistant to help, trying to figure out what is the “last straw,” who can help the parent in what ways, ugh. It’s tough with no clear game plan on what to do.

917caitlin , JIUN-JE LIN / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

89points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Anxiety. People who don't suffer from it think you're overreacting about most things and controlling your thoughts and responses is a walk in the park. Don't you think if I could mute the panic button, I would? I mean...

HiVi48 , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

86points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Toxic parents. People think it's easy to just cut off bad parents and never speak to them again, but it's so difficult.

They're bad to you, but then you think about the times they weren't so bad. And they're still not so bad sometimes, so you think maybe you can have the relationship with them you want. But then they're awful to you again, and you wonder why you bother. But then...

My therapist, my tattoo artist, and I are all working on it together. Lol!

EducatedOwlAthena , Kindel Media / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

83points

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“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Pain. So many people think or even say “Just power through it” because they can power through a mild headache or something. Yeah, I’ll just POWER THROUGH my TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA, one of the top two most painful conditions in the world, also called a “s***ide” condition because it can cause people to shuffle off this mortal coil from pain. (I’m ok now, folks! I found a med that helps but for DECADES I just… dealt with it, curled up in a crying ball on my couch.).

GelflingMama , Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

80points

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#10

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Low level depression. Just because someone isn't crying all the time and appears to be functional such as getting dressed, eating and working, doesn't mean it's easy and one is close to "snapping out of it".

It can take a huge amount of effort and internal monologue to simply get oneself out of bed every morning to "do it again".

VentingID10t , Arif Riyanto / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

80points

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#11

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Teaching. Every Tom, D**k, and Harry thinks that because they were once students they know how it should be done.

For non-educators, think about the last time you had to give a presentation. Think about how much time and preparation it took. Think about how nervous you were.

Now imagine you have to do 6 of those. Every day.

Now, add to that a requirement that you have to get every audience member to participate in very specific and structured ways and develop skills while retaining new knowledge.

And a solid half of them don’t want to do that or even be there.

And you have to plan all of that, every day, with 1/5 of the time required to plan for it.

And you have to evaluate each audience member’s growth. And you have anywhere from 20 to 200 audience members.

And an external authority is going to give your audience members a test to see how well you did.

And you might get shot.

And Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson think you’re trying to turn kids into gay, America-hating communists who hate white people.

HookItLeft , LexScope / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

74points

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#12

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Keeping plants alive: Water, sunlight, sounds easy, but somehow I ended up with a graveyard of botanic victims.

ShyByteSample , Cassidy Phillips / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

73points

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#13

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Honestly just working 40 hours a week and trying to be fully present for your family. I'm married, and I have no idea how single parents are doing hanging in there. Big props to single parents!

Bipdisqs , https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-browsing-on-the-internet-g9KFpAfQ5bc / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

72points

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#14

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) All the s**t you have to do after someone dies.

ResponsibleSurfing , Pavel Danilyuk / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

68points

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#15

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Man, quitting smoking was a real eye-opener for me. I always thought it'd be a piece of cake, you know? Just toss the cigs and boom, done. Ha! What a joke. When I tried to quit last year, it hit me like a truck. The cravings were insane, but the worst part? My head was all over the place. I'd snap at my buddies for no reason, couldn't focus on jack at work. Everyone's like, "Dude, just stop buying them." If only it was that simple! Took me ages, a ton of patches, and some group therapy sessions to finally kick it. Now I get why people struggle so much with this stuff.

Real_Hat_7932 , Markus Spiske / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

67points

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#16

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Looking after your Grandchild for a full day. You love them death, but you're a good 25-30 years removed from watching after another human being and it can wipe you out. Seems easy - just watch a movie or two and take a nap. Nope. It can be like hanging out with a speed freak with no off button.

The68Guns , Johnny Cohen / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

66points

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#17

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Hearing loss. Hearing aids help . You will always deal with auditory processing issues especially in a situation where multiple people are talking. I wish personal subtitles or conversation bubbles were a real thing.

karknc , Mark Paton / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

65points

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#18

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) People think to stop crime you just put more police officers out on the street, when the true method of stopping crime is making sure the public's material conditions are met. That means higher wages for the working class so they can afford goods and services. Child care availability for their children and community centers where young kids and teens can participate in positive activities. All these social safety programs hinder profits, so cities and states would rather just put more cops out there to harass innocent people for minor offenses.

futanari_kaisa , ev / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

57points

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#19

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Periods. Everyone is different, but for some, periods are debilitating. Awful pain, messes with your stomach, creates soreness, slowness, fatigue for days. And more than just being irritable, some of us have full-on temper issues and then gloomy melancholia for the week/s leading up to it. But then some men want to make the joke that "she's probably on her period." Yeah. My body is shedding itself. It sucks.

staycandid , Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

56points

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#20

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Having a chronic illness. Like obviously yoga and meditation will fix me! /s.

k28c9 , Anna Shvets / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

56points

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#21

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Getting a good night's sleep seems straightforward, but balancing stress, screen time, and a busy schedule makes it much more complex than people realize.

barelylegalt33n , Gregory Pappas / unspalsh (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

53points

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#22

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Breastfeeding. It’s supposed to be natural right? Like, every woman who gives birth can obviously breast feed. Not so much….

New-Illustrator5114 , Hanna Balan / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

52points

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#23

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Menopause! 😓😫🥱😤😡🤬.

CatSlag , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

52points

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#24

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Getting out of bed.

BilliePannkaka , Ivan Oboleninov / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

48points

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#25

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) People often think sticking to a diet is simple, but it's actually really tough.

Altruistic-Court4804 , Cats Coming / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

45points

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#26

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) If you have social anxiety introducing yourself to somebody.

Deaf_Cam , Liza Summer / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

44points

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#27

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Communicating effectively appears easy, but truly understanding others, expressing oneself clearly, and avoiding misunderstandings requires a lot of practice and patience.

MishaShantay , Eliott Reyna / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

44points

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#28

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Managing mental health. It seems so simple, til suddenly you get anxious or depressed or stressed out. Or you don't even realize how bad it's gotten until you hear yourself saying something that you ordinarily don't say.

My_Space_page , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

42points

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#29

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Sticking to a budget. A simple concept in theory, and yes, poor planning and poor money management definitely exists for a lot of people. But “live within your means” used to mean “do without multiple vacations a year and cut down on frivolous spending.” Now, there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem. People nowadays are not going broke trying to buy brand new nice shiny cars, or winter in the Bahamas; they’re just trying to scrape by in an economy where wages have not caught up to the cost of living. And in the US, a chronic medical condition or one unexpected hospital stay can ruin you financially for years. So, budgeting and financial planning, both relatively simple concepts on paper, become much more complex in practice when your very basic necessities exceed your income, and you keep hearing “well, just spend less.”.

Square-Raspberry560 , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

42points

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#30

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers) Managing personal finances often seems simple but can be surprisingly complex.

FrostyFox_98 , Mohamed hamdi / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

33points

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Note: this post originally had 55 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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What do most people think that is simple to deal with but is actually not?

StrangeOne 2 months ago

Apartment hunting. You fill out an application and then the agency wants a deposit while they deliberate if they'll accept you. While you're waiting, you'll want to look at and apply for other apartments, not knowing if you'll get accepted, and you won't know until you send in the application with deposit. But wait... You only have so much money, bills need to get paid, you need to eat and get yourself to work and you have hundreds on hold and may take a month before it's given back to you. And the clock is ticking towards the deadline. You may need a cosigner. Great, now who's willing to do that for you?

9points

Sophia Athene 2 months ago (edited)

And you have to pay a background check fee and an application fee (not a deposit but fees even if you don't rent from them or they turn you down). At the time of signing, if you're lucky to get the apartment, you owe 1st and last months' rent along with a non-refundable cleaning and repairs deposit of several hundreds of $$$ and another non-refundable pet deposit of hundreds of $$$ if you have a pet small enough to meet their requirements.

1point

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Liz The Biz 2 months ago

Coping with an elderly incontinent pet dog. People say, "Oh it's just a bit of pee." No it's not. In reality it is a 24/7 job. It is endless washing and drying of bedding, shampooing carpets, bathing and cleaning up the dog, and the smell that permeates everything and does not go away no matter how many air freshners or scented candles you use. There's no day off and you can't go away on holiday because nobody wants to look after an incontinent dog.

5points

Elvira394 2 months ago

First list I've read that every single one was spot on. Probably could go to 100 answers and still be.

“What Do Most People Think Is Simple To Deal With But Is Actually Not?” (30 Answers)

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