There are moments sopainfulthat 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 yourmental healththat they shape your future for years if not decades to come.Recently, some incrediblybraveAskReddit 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 Pandareached out tou/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 includeaffiliate links.
There are moments sopainfulthat 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 yourmental healththat they shape your future for years if not decades to come.
Recently, some incrediblybraveAskReddit 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 Pandareached out tou/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 includeaffiliate links.
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.
RELATED:
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.
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.”
One of my kindergarteners died in my arms. He had an undiagnosed heart defect.
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.
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.”
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.”
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….
Watching my grandad lose to dementia.
Healing fromtraumamight 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.
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.
When my daughter died. I’ve never recovered.
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.
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 aserious 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.
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 aserious 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.
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.
Finding my childhood diary and reading about how confident and fearless I used to be. Somewhere along the way life just… dimmed that light.
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.
“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 Mindexplains.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Realizing I’ll truly never be loved the way I really want, or really need. Trauma is a monster.
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.
Moreover, you can try reframing your past(traumatic) experiencesin 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.
Moreover, you can try reframing your past(traumatic) experiencesin 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
See Also on Bored Panda
I only found out I had a son 19 years after the break-up when he died in a car crash as a passenger.
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.
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.
When I found out my husband tried to get two other women pregnant a few days after my miscarriage.
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.
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.
My late wife telling me it was ok to divorce her when she got cancer.
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.
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.
35 years of taking 911 calls.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
When I came to realization that my original hearing would never be restored and I would hear ringing for the rest of my life.
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.
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.
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.
Losing the love of my life.
Ending an 8 year friendship with my best friend.
Knowing without a doubt the person I’m supposed to trust is shady. That bell cannot be unrung.
Modal closeAdd Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Modal close
Add Your Answer!Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add sourcePublish
Not your original work?Add source
Modal closeModal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Modal closeOoops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.UploadUploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermarkChangeSourceTitleUpdateAdd Image
Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
Upload
UploadError occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermarkInstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermarkFacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
Error occurred when generating embed. Please check link and try again.
TwitterRender conversationUse html versionGenerate not embedded versionAdd watermark
InstagramShow Image OnlyHide CaptionCropAdd watermark
FacebookShow Image OnlyAdd watermark
ChangeSourceTitle
Health
