CAUTION: some sensitive reading material ahead.
Life is full of twists and turns, and none more upsetting than the ones that have thepotential to ruin your life in one fell swoop.
Thanks to Redditor Jaclyn_the_Jacklyn, who asked the online community:
"What ruined your life?"
We're reminded more than ever that life is truly a luck of the draw.
"I got jumped..."
"I got jumped on my way home when I was 19 by someone I didn't know and was brutally assaulted / damn near murdered. My insurance had lapsed at the time and I ended up with $55,000 roughly in hospital bills. I had a severe traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures to my face, and lost most of my working memory. I wasn't able to really hold conversations and the PTSD "
"I experienced broke my trust with almost everyone around me. It took years to become functional again. Prior to that happening I was working on being an actor, was doing a couple small videos for school systems, and helping out at the local high school theater. I gave up on my dreams and eventually landed in call center work. I've only recently begun really working towards new dreams and goals."
Glad you made it through! What an experience.
"Ann."
"Ann. She became manager of my department and she is the reason I now understand the saying "people don't quit jobs, they quit managers." I had a job I loved for seven years and in seven weeks I was having major health issues because of the stress so I quit. 80% of the over 40 crowd also have left or been fired by her in less than a year."
"I was already..."
"Probably drugs."
"I was already on my way out but when I started using meth 1.5 years ago it got way worse."
"4 months clean today."
Staying sober is no easy feat! Congrats!
"Staying at a job..."
"Staying at a job way to long with blind expectations. Basically wasted ten years."
"Now it's been..."
"Blunt head trauma. No scar. No visual sign of damage. No sympathy or understanding from spouse who left me for one of her female patients. Became emotionally immature at 40. Lost my family over it. Lost my home. Lost my business. Went through about 5 years of couch surfing, after I'd spent all my savings. 10 years before I started to feel like myself again.
Now it's been 17 years; great relationship with both my kids, wonderful job, renting a cute little caretakers cottage on an estate. Life is now good, emotionally and physically, but I lost so much of my life and financial potential. But I'm a happy person and my kids love me. That's what matters."
17 years? You're a total rockstar! Bravo!
"It just festers..."
"OCD. It just festers in every corner of my brain! Totally ruining my life."
"I used to be..."
"Social anxiety. People gave me a rough time during middle school and my personality did a complete 180. I used to be a bright, happy, sociable, and adventurous kid, but now I hate making friends and don't like to leave my house. It's gotten much better, but it's still hard knowing who I used to be."
Social anxiety is no joke and you are not alone. Many people have similar issues.
"I don't know..."
"Depression."
"I don't know if it ruined my whole life, but it definitely ruined my childhood and teenage years, and the scars will never fully go away."
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"I'd give anything..."
"Having our house foreclosed on us while I was in elementary school and the subsequent stress that followed my family for the next decade of my life."
"I'd give anything to have not lost that house."
"I'm fine now..."
"Bullying in high school."
"I know this happens to lots of people but I'm still astounded it's still a thing. The constant bullying for several years utterly crushed me, and it took me years to get my life together. Overall, it set me back 10 years in terms of developing healthy personal relationships and building my career."
"I'm fine now, and life is great. I had mixed feelings when I found out one of the bullies died last Christmas of pancreatic cancer. It gives me shameful pleasure to outlive the bastard."
We're glad these people made it through.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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