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“It Still Hurts”: 50 Experiences That Broke People’s Hearts Into A Million Pieces
Interview
There are moments so painful that you wonder if that’s all there is to life—suffering, disappointment, betrayal, and sadness. Though life is much more than just these negative experiences, these events can leave such a deep mark on your mental health that they shape your future for years if not decades to come.
Recently, some incredibly brave AskReddit community members opened up about the most heartbreaking things that have happened to them. We’ve collected the most powerful stories they shared in a very vulnerable online thread. Bored Panda reached out to u/vigilantee001, who sparked the intense and emotional discussion online, and they were kind enough to answer our questions.
Warning, many of these posts deal with deeply traumatic experiences. Some of these stories might make you feel very uncomfortable if you’ve been through something similar. Keep this in mind as you read on.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Trump winning a second term and my realization that I don’t belong in the country I was born in, grew up in and fought for.
Libstak 1 month ago
I'm just numb, there nothing to say. Every word he spoke was obvious hyperbole and crazy level lies and every choice he is making is corrupt and despicable and so much worse than anything Harris or Biden could ever be accused of, yet here we are. What is there to say anymore? Nothing matters except hate, it leaves you feeling dead inside and everything is just "oh well, this is what the people want".
RELATED:
#2
My cat died when I was twelve. Found her in the morning in a bath of urine, completely limp on her favourite pillow.
She was 20 years old, struggled to walk, stand or even sit straight. The evening before I found her she was dragging herself around the house as if searching for me.
She laid on my lap for hours and when I had to go to bed she wouldn't let go. She knew what was coming and wanted to stay with me.
I know this is not as bad as some other stories I read, she was just a cat after all, but I never really recovered.
Her name was Indy, by the way.
#3
When I was a child and my dad started hitting me, I realized none of the adults in my life were going to protect me.
I told my mom and she wouldn’t believe me. The next day, I told my teacher, because we had just talked about inappropriate touch the week before. She looked me in the eye and called me a lair. I stopped trusting adults completely. I was 9 years old.
The author of the viral thread was very vulnerable with us when we got in touch with them. They opened up about the scarring experience they had that motivated them to look for other people with similar experiences.
"I had a harrowing experience when a baby died at the hospital, waiting in line, in my arms," u/vigilantee001 opened up to Bored Panda.
They said that this tragedy happened due to pneumonia. "Telling that part exacerbated my whole body. A part of me died that day. My heart was completely devastated."
#4
One of my kindergarteners died in my arms. He had an undiagnosed heart defect.
#5
My Grandmother raised me. My dad died of a sudden heart attack when I was 8. My mom never got over it, started drinking, so my grandmother, who was 74 at the time, took over for caring for me and my little brother.
She broke her hip when she was in her late nineties, and she had to be put in a nursing home. I would go visit her, by then she had started living in the past. She knew me, but she thought I was still in school and would ask why my brother wasn't home, what we wanted for supper, things like that.
One day I went to see her, and didn't recognize me or know who I was, and didn't speak. That was the most heartbreaking, gut wrenching day of my life. That broke me. Completely. I went to my car and cried like a baby for a long time.
She died at the age of 103, but that was the day I lost her. I didn't cry at her funeral.
hardrad2009 1 month ago
When my grandpa died I was kind of relieved. The man who was a second (and at some periods first) father to me was gone because of dementia several years prior. It was extremely hard to see him fading away month after month for several years.
#6
Losing my dog unexpectedly hit me hard. It felt like a piece of my heart was gone. The house felt emptier, and I missed our little routines. Pets become family, and their absence leaves a big void that's tough to fill.
Tobias Reaper 1 month ago
my kitty Elsa died over a year ago it was so sudden she seemed fine then one day she had trouble breathing. My mum took her to the vet who diagnosed her with heart failure gave us some medication for her. She deteriorated fast that same day and was suffering her looking up at me and meowing asking for help broke me. Mum took her to the vet to put her to sleep and end her suffering. The thing that broke me even more we have another cat her brother Oscar and when we brought her home after my sister laid her on the floor and Oscar saw her stopped went over and sniffed her. I miss her everyday she was my companion
According to the OP, "you don't come to terms" with events like this. "That was a child that never got a chance at life, like a poorly lit match stick never having a chance to glow," they said.
"You have to find a way to get past that. Intensive therapy can only prevent you from being a nihilist. I have constant therapy to keep me going for now."
#7
In 2017 my oldest son was waiting for a heart transplant. Around us were 5 other families with their children all waiting for the same. We became a family, taking care of each other, supporting one another. Of the six kids my son is the only one left alive. 5 of those children passed while waiting. I will never be able to shake the sound of those parents when their children passed. The pure anguish and pain in those cries….
Earonn - 1 month ago
But I don't see "pro life" people demanding obligatory organ donation.... (as far as I am concerned, everyone who protests against abortion should also be forced to live donation, where possible, eg. a kidney. Hey, it's just a small operation and a few changes to your life afterwards, according to them that's not biggie)
#8
My mom died when I was 15 after a 10 year battle with recurring oral cancer (she never smoked a day in her life either, just got unlucky). Her death was incredibly painful, however there was something that happened a couple of years prior that I think broke my heart first.
Bit of backstory: My mom was a children’s librarian (she also worked at a children’s bookstore for a while) and one of her favorite parts of her job was getting to do “story times,” for the kids where she’d read to them and they’d do activities she prepared etc. For as long as I knew her she’d read to me and my sister, sung us lullabies, and was always there for advice or encouragement or any other reason we had for talking with her. Words are a very important part of my life and were always central in my perception of her and the way she showed love.
Then they had to remove her tongue.
When she first told us and once it had registered that I would likely never hear her voice again I completely broke down.
That said, she did still manage to speak some - I strongly believe there was nothing that could have stopped her from that - but it was nowhere close to how she could before. She actually made some audio recordings for us the night before her surgery. Personal messages, my favorite lullaby that she used to sing to me, and a couple of my and my sister’s favorite picture books that she used to read for us. I still have them to this day and I am forever grateful they exist.
#9
Watching my grandad lose to dementia.
David 1 month ago
Towards the end of her life my grandmother no longer remembered who I was. She had been an awesome grandmother for half a century and I loved her a lot. Double whammy was my mom died a few months before so I was dealing with my mother's estate and became the main visitor for my grandmother because there was nobody else. I would visit my grandmother and let her think I was whoever, then sit in my car afterwards and cry for a while until I was able to drive away.
Healing from trauma might sound impossible at first. However, with the guidance of a mental health professional, you can begin this healing process. You don't necessarily 'move on,' but you can learn to live with the loss and pain you've experienced. The goal is to get to the point where you can make the most of your life despite the setbacks you've faced.
Furthermore, the continuous support of your loved ones is invaluable. When you know for a fact that somebody has your back no matter what, you feel safer. It's also important that you try to reach out to people who have overcome similar traumas. They can support you, as well as give you practical advice on how to live your life, day by day, now that everything has fundamentally changed.
#10
There was a story in the news earlier this year about a middle aged single dad that had a heart attack and died in his home. They found him a couple weeks later with his toddler son who starved to death lying next to him. Even typing this out is making me tear up.
#11
When my daughter died. I’ve never recovered.
Huddo's sister 1 month ago
I got caught up in emotion today, thinking about my little brother who died 14 years ago. Most of the time I just think about how happy he was and how much he got out of his short life but today I just kept thinking about how much I miss doing things with him.
#12
When my husband and I got pregnant for the first time. We were beyond excited, planning the future... Then went to our 10 week appointment/first ultrasound to be told there wasn't a heartbeat. Repeat ultrasound two weeks later showed it had never developed a neural pole (what turns into the brain/spinal column) or cardiac activity of any sort, that it had basically just stopped developing for no reason they could tell, that a miscarriage was inevitable. My husband is a very stoic man, usually doesn't show a ton of emotion. Him crying with me about broke my heart.
To end the comment on a better note, though: that was late October/early November last year. We got pregnant again fairly quickly and we're 33 weeks with a healthy pregnancy so far.
Nadine Debard 1 month ago (edited)
Happened to me 3 times in a raw, the first was discovered at 12 weeks with the first ultrasound like OP, my belly became to get round, I had nausea each day. My body kept growing an empty sack with a dead embryo. The fourth pregnancy was the happy one.
At some point, you will have to deal with something so traumatic that it’ll make you question everything you know about life. It might be a serious illness, the loss of a loved one, relationships falling apart, or the realization that the people you’ve trusted might not always have your best interests at heart.
However, life isn’t all about pain and loss, even if it seems that way at times. There are lots of positive experiences, both in your past and your future. And the harsh reality is that life goes on, no matter what happens. The way that we react to and frame traumatic experiences can leave us either more resilient or devastated.
Human beings tend to focus on the negatives more than the positives because it’s useful for survival, from an evolutionary perspective. It’s our brain’s way to keep us safe.
#13
Got cancer at 27, one year in I discovered my husband I met when I was 14, and had 2 sons with, had a full-blown relationship with one of my best girlfriends, and that had been going on for a year. While she pretended to be my close friend during the worst time of my life, so she could attend my children's birthdays, getting closer to my husband and so on.
Still recovering 9 years later.
#14
Finding my childhood diary and reading about how confident and fearless I used to be. Somewhere along the way life just... dimmed that light.
Susie Elle 1 month ago
Same. Somewhere I went from a bold, daring and active child to an insecure and troubled teenager and it never quite reverted to the way it was.
#15
Losing my dog. He was my best friend for 14 years, he died almost 2 1/2 years ago and I still regularly break down into tears just thinking about him.
whodunnitfan2013 1 month ago
I went through this again last December, and dread when it happens again.
“Our tendency to pay more attention to bad things and overlook good things is likely a result of evolution. Earlier in human history, paying attention to bad, dangerous, and negative threats in the world was literally a matter of life and death,” Verywell Mind explains.
In short, people who paid more attention to the bad things happening in their environments were more attuned to danger and, therefore, more likely to survive and spread their genes.
Research conducted by Nobel Prize-winning scientists Kahneman and Tversky found that people tend to place greater weight on negative rather than positive aspects of an event, whenever they make decisions. This means that individuals can sometimes want to avoid loss more than they want to gain something.
#16
My older brother went missing for 10 days. He was then found deceased in a reservoir. Just unimaginable grief and shock. I will never be the same.
#17
Figuring out you are not as important to someone you love as you thought you would be :) i learnt it the hard way that I am very much replaceable.
David 1 month ago
Been there / done that. 35 years later she is on husband number five and I'm told that has soured. But she is getting too old to keep batting her eyelashes and finding a new knight on a white horse to rescue her so she is sort of stuck with this one since she does not have the money / skills to just go live on her own.
#18
A friend's little brother died while in high-school.
Hearing their mom at the funeral, I finally understood what crying like a wounded animal sounded like. It was painful.
Huddo's sister 1 month ago
I've been to quite a few funerals for children and you can always feel the anguish emanating from the parents, regardless of the style of service. I am thankful most funerals these days are celebrations of people's life rather than a solemn service. You can see what the person truly was like in life, from the songs they liked and the memories shared, to the photos chosen for slideshows. At my little brother's funeral we gave everyone a blue paper butterfly to take home in remembrance, because that was his 'symbol'.
Furthermore, human beings tend to focus on negative information. However, all of this focus on negativity can harm your mental health. You might find yourself dwelling on dark thoughts, hurting your relationships, and generally having a pessimistic perspective on life.
It’s important to be realistic but not pessimistic. If you find yourself trapped in a loop of negativity bias, you can fight back against it by changing how you think. For example, you can reduce negative self-talk. “Instead of fixating on past mistakes that cannot be changed, consider what you have learned and how you might apply that in the future,” Verywell Mind suggests.
#19
Realizing I'll truly never be loved the way I really want, or really need. Trauma is a monster.
#20
My father died when I was 21 and the same month we found out my mum had cancer. She died when I was 24. She left the house whilst I was out, and I never saw her again. I suppose it was too painful for her to say goodbye. She died a week later in a hospice.
At that point, I was living in a house with my mentally ill half-brother. The same month my mum died, I was r*ped. I moved into a flat alone, and at that point, everything from the previous few years hit me like a truck. I was working full-time but trying to function normally, but grief always catches you up.
katiekat0214 1 month ago
Please tell me you got therapy, and that your brother got help too. And that you have other family, friends, community that helped you and that you can rely on.
#21
My mom died when I was a senior in high school. It all seemed very surreal, and like she had never actually left, since everything of hers was still in the house, where she had left it.
At her funeral, after hearing my brother and sister speak, make morbid jokes (as our family tends to do) and just generally do the normal funeral stuff, it finally hit me. It had been several days since she had passed, but it just hit me all at once like a bag of bricks that I would never hear her voice again. She would never be there to nag me when I needed to take out the trash, clean my room, do my homework, or the million other things that she had to constantly remind me to do.
That was the moment that I broke down and started sobbing. I hadn't shed a tear up until that point--maybe it was shock, I don't know. In that moment I realized that I now lived in a different world, one where I would have to finish growing up without the aid of my mother.
Nadine Debard 1 month ago
That hits home so hard. I dreamt my mother was still alive and just recovering somewhere, my brain convinced myself that she wasn't dead (in my dreams I met her and hugged her). The awakening was terrible, as I lost her again and again. And I had to fight my own brain, to convince myself that she was dead, to remember her dead body. Finally I won and my brain stopped hurting me each night with deny. How hard it was. It was 9 years ago. Now I'm fine.
Moreover, you can try reframing your past (traumatic) experiences in a way that’s more positive and empowering. Depending on the events in your past, you may need a mental health professional’s guidance.
Even changing your day-to-day routines can have a big effect on your mood and thoughts. Spend some time in nature, move more, do the things you love, eat a delicious meal, and be with the people you care about. There’s a lot of good out there in the world. And we’re all tougher than we first think. We just need to remind ourselves of this from time to time, especially in the face of devastation.
#22
Made a deal with several friends to meet up on a certain future date/time/place and one of the keys was that we couldn’t talk about it again, just had to trust that no matter what happened in the intervening years we’d be there.
I made up special personalized gifts for each person and waited in the foggy park for two hours later than the agreed time. Finally broke down and called one of the couples and not only were they not coming they had told the other people they wouldn’t be able to make it so the other couples decided not to come either.
And nobody told me.
F**k those guys.
#23
My mother telling me she preferred her girlfriend over me because, and I quote, “she was not a pain in her a*s.”
This was at 1 am, when I came home after a day in college and working 2 shifts to help her pay the mortgage. I left the next day. I was 18.
#24
My 8 year old cat died of a heart attack last Saturday. He was completely fine one minute and then just collapsed. I didn’t think I would ever stop crying.
David 1 month ago
That happened to me about 10 years ago. Me and cat alone in living room. Cat made a sort of surprised grunt noise and just fell over dead. Not sure if heart attack or brain aneurysm but it was something sudden and fatal. There were no signs or sickness in the days leading up to it.
#25
My husband suffered a severe traumatic brain injury over ten years ago. He was not at fault in any way. Our children were eight and ten years old at the time and I was in my early thirties. After around seven months in hospitals, I brought my husband home as a diagnosed minimally conscious state patient who requires around the clock care. While I do have nursing, it is not consistent so I fill in several twelve hour shifts a week and have done so for ten years. Our children are grown now. They are healthy and well-rounded adults, for which I am abundantly grateful.
Losing my husband was the greatest heartache of my life, so far. He is here, but not. He loved me deeply and fully and we were best friends. I fully appreciated him in every way. He was in all ways my person and I was his. Not one thing in my life has brought me so much happiness and joy as meeting him and falling in love. We would have been married for thirteen years by the time he was injured, and while we are still technically married, it is hard to feel that way. Our relationship now is one of caregiver and patient. Our kids have moved out for work and college and to live their own lives, which I encouraged because I have not wanted to drag their lives down with our tragedy. They need to build their own futures and that has been my driving force from the moment the fog of initial shock lifted after my husband's injury.
But goddamn if I am not unhappy. And sad. I am perpetually a small trigger from crying at any moment, and I was not a crier before this all happened. The unhappiness is now an integral part of me. Sadness is twisted into my core like bind weed around a willow. My thirties are long gone. He is fairly stable because he is cared for so well in his own home, so he will likely live another ten years or longer, and that means my forties will also be devoted to his care. I can not put him into an institution because to do so would wreck me completely. The internal conflict of seeing my life go away day by day spent caring for his body, the years falling away to never be regained while also wanting to give him the best care possible is something I can not allow myself to think about. It is too painful. I still love this man so much. I miss, I miss, I miss. I feel guilt for even mourning my thirties. I feel guilt for being surprised by how much my face has aged; I am stuck in 2014 when the injury happened. I could write so much more, but this is already too long.
Debby Keir 1 month ago
This is why a 'living will' is so important. I have a legal paper that says should this happen to me, I don't want any treatment, no antibiotics for infections, no help to breathe etc, because I don't want to be the burden that breaks my family. They'll be sad I've gone probably, but 10 or 20 years of needing such intensive care will wreck their lives far more than just letting me go. My husband has the same.
#26
Watching my dad one afternoon around sunset, sitting on a bench in our backyard with our new fishing rods, practising his casting for an upcoming fishing trip my brother that I knew he wouldn't make it to.
F**k cancer.
David 1 month ago (edited)
I have had the same, super close best friend for 50 years. She is currently dying and it is mentally destroying me. It has been about 7 years since she "beat" stage 4 breast cancer. But that is longer than the cancer remission pills are supposed to work. She's been dealing with slowly progressing alzheimer's the past year plus but now the cancer is back and in her bones several places. Just today I found out a recent MRI shows the cancer is also in her brain. Rationally I know I will soon have to adjust to her being gone. But for now it is just massive depression and never leaving my house unless groceries or a doctor appointment demands it.
#27
I cared for my brother for three years who had end stage renal failure. He was a non compliant patient and I often had to be on him to eat right , take his meds, bathe. After a while, I had to clean him up when he soiled himself, take him to the hospital several times a week, and transport him to dialysis. In the end, I had to lift him from the floor when he fell, which was often.
One day while lifting him I heard a pop and immediately felt excruciating pain. I had developed a micro fracture in my hip from over exertion. The next time he fell, I implored EMS to help him. I had no choice.
When I visited, he begged me to bring him home, but I couldn’t. It broke my heart to hear him beg to leave. He passed away 8 months after he arrived. I couldn’t even speak for a week.
Yayheterogeneity 1 month ago
You my friend, gave your best and are an absolute hero in my eyes.
#28
I only found out I had a son 19 years after the break-up when he died in a car crash as a passenger.
#29
Losing a family member for the first time. Then coming to terms with the fact that it will keep happening non stop, until my turn comes.
#30
Losing my childhood pet hit me hard. She was my constant companion through so many ups and downs, and when she passed, it felt like a piece of my heart went with her. It's tough to fill that void, but I cherish the memories we made together.
#31
When my husband and best friend since we were 12 died suddenly when our baby was 8 months old.
Broke again when that baby became a teenage boy the spitting image of his father and sobbed on my shoulder as it hit him just what he’d missed out on in life.
#32
When I found out my husband tried to get two other women pregnant a few days after my miscarriage.
#33
Losing my younger brother who I had been fighting with for months. It still hurts, it never will stop hurting. Tell your loved ones you love them every day, you never know what’s around the corner.
FoxEcoLimaIndiaCharlieIndiAlfa 4 weeks ago
I try to follow telling my loved ones that I love them, but I can't reach out to all of them everyday, but I do let them know every time we talk or whatever.
#34
" I'm so sorry, there's no heartbeat"
35 weeks pregnant with our first baby.
I kept thinking it was a nightmare then realized it wasn't so it just hit me over and over and over.
Then, the deafening silence when he was born and the 100% knowledge that my baby had actually died.
Even though on a logical level I knew, there was a teeny tiny part of me that thought maybe, just maybe they were wrong.
#35
When my grandmother was dying, she was in hospice care. On my birthday, she woke up just enought to wish me a happy birthday. She then slipped back into her sleep and didn't wake back up. Listening to what the nurse told me was "the death rattle" still haunts me to this day.
A few days after her death, I was crying to my then (now ex!) boyfriend, who promptly told me I was over reacting to her death. I lost my grandmother, and I lost a big part of that relationship too. I still struggle with crying about loss to my now husband.
Edited: to make it clear I didn't marry that loser.
HarriMissesScotland 1 month ago
My grandmother died the day before my birthday. My husband was not supportive even though I cared for his mother after a stroke. I miss her everyday.
#36
My late wife telling me it was ok to divorce her when she got cancer.
David 1 month ago
I'm guessing USA. For those not in the USA, many states have community property laws. Meaning stuff from the marriage belongs to both spouses. Unfortunately that also means bills. The wife dies from cancer, whatever portion of the huge medical bills the insurance doesn't pay, goes to the husband. So -- dead wife plus crippling debt.
#37
Confronting my ex about the rumors I had heard that she had cheated on me. When I asked her the question and she took a second to respond I felt like my entire chest collapsed realizing that everything we'd built up until that point was a lie and that I could never trust her again.
David 1 month ago
Been there / done this one as well. Except my then wife was in total denial until it couldn't be denied. I guess technically I confronted her twice but the second time it wasn't about us. I was husband number one. But it was the same deal with husbands four and five. I confronted her privately that it was obvious to me she and 5 were an item. (I didn't care, was just observing body language). She denied it totally until she officially dumped number four for number five. Our kids could see it, which is part of the reason we had the conversation. I digress. The first time was the one that hurt.
#38
Losing my mum when I was 14. I'm 27 now, and it still hurts. I'd do anything just to give her one more hug.
katiekat0214 1 month ago
Lost my mom at 12 when she was only 48 to a heart aneurysm. I'm 56 now, and I was lucky to have family, friends, community. I lost my dad (age 91, good long life) in 2021. This time around, I really knew what I was losing. Grateful as a kid that I had such a strong safety net.
#39
35 years of taking 911 calls.
David 1 month ago
That would be hard. The jobs that deal with "ugly" on a routine basis take their toll. Soldiers in war, police and dispatchers, child protection workers, the folks that screen social sites for child porn. Probably even being an animal vet given how often they have to tell people their beloved Fluffy can't be saved.
#40
Realising my dad actually is the father and more, that I grew up begging to have.. I just wasn’t worth the time and effort but his girlfriend’s kids and grandkids are. They’ve gotten a lifetime of someone that unconditionally loves them, helps them, travels to see them, calls them regularly, has in-jokes with them, makes them laugh, buys them gifts that they’ve wanted because he knows who they are and the things they like, tells them stories and lets them in and learn about who he is.
Meanwhile I’ve begged for him to let me be a part of his life since I was 4. Only just clicked this year he’s got everything and everyone he needs without me, I’m just an obligation and the only one that’s fighting to have a relationship.
Charity Wilkinson-Horn 4 weeks ago
I could have written this word for word. I am so sorry that another soul feels this pain too.
#41
When my therapist asked me what I wanted most from my neglectful parents. I told him all I wanted was for them to hug me close and say they're sorry. To tell me that they tried and even though they messed up they can acknowledge that they're human too.
My therapist leaned forward, looked me right in my eyes and said "I'm so sorry (my name) that will never happen."
Stayed with me for awhile because it was the sudden realization that my parents will never change unless they wanted to themselves. Something I subconsciously knew my whole life but I didn't want it to be true, growing up thinking that 'today will be different' even though it was always the same.
Even though it tore me it was eventually helped me accept them for who they are and made going NC so much easier. Because I don't see them as Mom and Dad anymore and I haven't since that day.
#42
Two things.
Losing my dad suddenly to a heart attack less than a month before my 21st birthday. I completely missed the chance to bond and develop an adult relationship with my Dad.
After that I made sure that I really treasured and built a strong relationship with my mother. We were already best friends but I didn't take her for granted anymore. I'd go over for lunch or dinner 1-2 times a week and we'd have endless laughs and I'd always tell her how much I loved and appreciated her.
Two months out from my 29th birthday my mum suddenly died (a stroke). This hit me hard. To lose my main pillar of strength in my life was an emotional blow I still haven't recovered from.
Since then I've inherited and managed to buy my own place. A wonderful advantage at 31. But inside I have never felt more hollow.
If it weren't for my wonderful fiance I would honestly question the point in going on. She is the kindest person I know and is a big part of my motivation for continuing and excelling in life.
I used to be such a completely joyful and unbridled personality, completely insulated from the harm that life can bring upon you. I miss that version of me. I'm still a good person, I still extract joy from a lot of what I do in life, but I still feel like parts of me died along with my parents.
Thanks for asking this question and allowing me to put into words what I've been through.
FoxEcoLimaIndiaCharlieIndiAlfa 4 weeks ago
Maybe some counseling or therapy can help you to figure out how to live for yourself and love and motivate yourself. In the end we only have ourselves.
#43
I married my college sweetheart after dating for 5 years through college. Then, 6 months later she had an affair on me. The affair lasted 8 months before I discovered it was happening. My life fell to pieces.
Then I decided to change things. I left the US and moved abroad. After living in a foreign country for two years I met a woman. We fell in love and she was the thread that kept me sane and connected to society. After her and I were married I discovered my mother was going through cancer at back in the states. It was also during COVID, which meant traveling was near impossible. Not to mention that I was unable to afford being able to travel. I could not afford to leave my wife behind and quit my job.
Then, the next summer, I discovered my wife was having an affair with a business man in Singapore.
This crushed me to a point where I don’t like to be around people.
Currently, my life is good. I spent some very difficult alone time hiking 3500 km through mountains along the east coast of the US.
In that alone time I learned more about myself than I’ve ever known. I also dealt with my demons.
I’m still very much an introvert and prefer being alone, but I have a good wife now. She’s incredibly talented. She deserves to have a man who is not broken and loves her unconditionally. I’m not that man yet, but I’m doing everything I can to become that man.
The biggest lesson I learned is the things that make life difficult are stepping stones that lead to other opportunities. I’ve also picked up a mantra that I say to myself during good times and bad times.
“Everything is as it should be”.
#44
When I came to realization that my original hearing would never be restored and I would hear ringing for the rest of my life.
#45
Burnout. It made me insensible and I wasn't able to care enough about others. My girlfriend left me for that reason and when I started to get better I understood exactly what errors I've done. Now i'm healing well but I find still hard to find the desire to search another partner having the fear of repeating the story.
Huddo's sister 1 month ago
One of the reasons I'm not fussed about dating is because I just don't have the mental energy to put someone else first. I have so many periods where I don't talk to anyone, or only do so sporadically, because my anxiety gets bad or my fibromyalgia symptoms flare up. I wouldn't want to put someone through that.
#46
Losing my dad. I’m not super emotional on the topic for the most part. I saw the cancer consume him from the inside, going from a hearty 300lbs to under 100lbs in 10months…But he never complained until the last days…. But I always had someone to call about the dumbest things, laugh about my moms antics, just wholesome moments.. I have had a s****y life in recent years and he is someone who would not have only helped me, talked to me, but also would have helped find a solution.
#47
Losing my husband that was a family man to another woman. He stopped caring about me and our children and acted like a completely different person. My heart breaks for our children.
Earonn - 1 month ago
How are parents capable of just 'forgetting' their children? It's as if they never loved them in the first place. And how can they live with themselves acting like that? The only explanation, from seeing my ex just 'forgetting' about the cat HE wanted so much, after he moved out, is "out of sight, out of mind". But we have old childhood friends we haven't seen for years and they still mean something to us, so how can these people act like this? I just don't get it, but I do know that these parents should be called, and see themselves as, useless c***s.
#49
Ending an 8 year friendship with my best friend.
David 1 month ago
I had a good friend ghost me long before the term ghosting was a thing. I never understood why. I was sad but finally stopped trying to contact since after a while it became obvious it was intentional. Fast forward about 25 years and a year or two ago I found out from his ex wife why he is mad at me. He is mad about something THAT NEVER HAPPENED. Had he talked to me about it instead of ghosting me we probably could have worked out the misunderstanding. Instead he chose not to hear my side of the story. The whole thing seems worse to me because one of the things I respect about him is he is a very smart, very logical thinker. (sigh)
#50
Knowing without a doubt the person I’m supposed to trust is shady. That bell cannot be unrung.
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Beak Hookage 4 weeks ago
The sudden death of a childhood friend. I developed PTSD from the shock and now, years later, have finally accepted that I will never be the same person again.
Stannous Flouride 4 weeks ago
My mother died on Mother's Day when I was 25. I celebrate it with my ex- who gave me a wonderful daughter but other than that I hate that holiday. You never get over the pain, you just adjust to living with it.
Liz The Biz 4 weeks ago
My dear dad passed away early on Christmas morning in 2013. Trying to hold it together and keep a smile on my face for my two daughters who were excited about Christmas and young to understand was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. Even now more than ten years later I still get emotional and I find Christmas a difficult time of the year.
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Kenny Kulbiski 4 weeks ago
I lost my one of my adult sons, my wife of46 years, and my cat of 20 years all within a year and a half. Which brings me to this. People I've known for years greet me with " how are you? I feel like saying " how the f**k do you think I am?" Got a few hours? I don't though. My point is that phrase needs to be dropped as a casual greeting.
Beak Hookage 4 weeks ago
The sudden death of a childhood friend. I developed PTSD from the shock and now, years later, have finally accepted that I will never be the same person again.
Stannous Flouride 4 weeks ago
My mother died on Mother's Day when I was 25. I celebrate it with my ex- who gave me a wonderful daughter but other than that I hate that holiday. You never get over the pain, you just adjust to living with it.
Liz The Biz 4 weeks ago
My dear dad passed away early on Christmas morning in 2013. Trying to hold it together and keep a smile on my face for my two daughters who were excited about Christmas and young to understand was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. Even now more than ten years later I still get emotional and I find Christmas a difficult time of the year.
Load More Replies... Kenny Kulbiski 4 weeks ago
I lost my one of my adult sons, my wife of46 years, and my cat of 20 years all within a year and a half. Which brings me to this. People I've known for years greet me with " how are you? I feel like saying " how the f**k do you think I am?" Got a few hours? I don't though. My point is that phrase needs to be dropped as a casual greeting.
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