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People Share The Most Painful Moment Of Their Lives

People Share The Most Painful Moment Of Their Lives
engin akyurt on Unsplash

*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.

Life can never prepare us for the curveballs hurled our way. If we survive the challenges, it's time to count our blessings.

Some of the most horrific experiences are physical. People deal with horrific diseases and are reliant on various pain medications to stay sane.
Certain medical procedures patients endure can also be tough to endure.
Others experience emotional suffering that can be too much to bear in life.

Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Infinite_Unicorn asked:
"What was the most painful moment of your life?"

Medical procedures and ailments were at the top of the list as some of the most painful experiences.

Gezhundeit

"Sneezing after corrective thoracic surgery with fluid in my lungs. Everything went dark for a second. After that I could suddenly surpress sneezes (most of the time)."

– kerter19

F'k Cancer

"Being diagnosed with cancer twice."

"For anyone wondering I was diagnosed with stage 2A Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin's Lymphoma both times. I am and have been in remission for about 5 months."

"For anyone fighting KEEP FIGHTING!"

– N0tch0

This Really Sucked

"Had a catheter inserted into my calf to suck out bloodclots, I had to be mostly coherent in case the doctor needed me to respond to him. My heart rate went from about 65bpm to 140bpm when he was inserting it... I never want to experience that kind of pain ever again."

– spartanleaves

Metal Halo

"My max pain was when being fitted with a metal halo for a brain MRI. The 4 screws on the halo had to actually contact my skull bones and poke slightly into them. The staff first injected liberal amounts of Novocain into the 4 locations, then quickly tightened the screws. Even with the Novocain, the pain of having screws inserted directly into skull bones was excruciating. It softened after about 15 seconds later as the drugs took effect, but that first 15 seconds is quite memorable."

– peter4256home

Severe Infection

"Wisdom tooth rot. Coupled with some kind of nerve pain. Plus for the removal, the doc said I needed antibiotics for 3-4 days to remove the infection before he could do the surgery."

"My experience with pain isn't a lot. But Ive had dislocated shoulders, elbows, had a broken ankle, 3-4 times terrible gastro pain. And i dealt with them fine enough. No biggie."

"But persistent tooth nerve pain was, holy sh*t, like nothing I've ever experienced ever. As a 30 year old dude, all i could do was just lie face down on my pillow and cry."

– derphighbury

"Physical pain - Kidney Stone."

"Though in comparison to holding my father's hand while he breathed his last breath (esophageal cancer) . . . I'd rather have had a few more Kidney Stones."

– PhesteringSoars

These people experienced emotional trauma.

Losing A Best Friend

"When I was in my early twenties, my best friend committed suicide. I couldn't even sit inside at her funeral because I was crying too hard and loudly. It's been twenty years, and I still think about her a lot and get triggered at random things that remind me of her."

– Madermis

Sham Marriage

"I caught my wife in an affair and it totally broke me, but the worst part was when I found out that the affair was longer than our marriage and that none of the children were mine. Just kinda woke up one day and found out my entire adult life was a lie. She settled down with him in a nice little house they bought while she was still married to me. He dumped her because he couldn't deal with the kids."

– Ayback183

Salt On The Wound

"Finding my husband in bed, doing the deed with my friend. He left me for her."

"His death in a car crash 6 months later, leaving my 3 kids (all under 8 years old) without a father."

"Having to deal with her grief at the funeral."

"Being abandoned by his family while they supported her emotionally and financially while my kids had no help from them."

– TigerTrue

Unfortunate circumstances led to painful injuries, and even worse, death.

Waterpark Incident

"I fell over at a Turkish waterpark, knocking my 2 front teeth clean out of my mouth. For the next 20mins they shoved a hose in my face to wash the constant bleeding."

"The teeth are probably still in the pool today."

– Luksin

Bad Impact

"I got a chip in my tooth after being kicked into a pool railing as a kid. I can't even imagine how painful it must be to lose two whole teeth."

– meavisconti

Game Gone Wrong

"Had the pleasure of getting 7 teeth kicked out of my head by some clowns playing 'the knock out game'. Waking up with my jaw broken, skull fractured and several broken ribs to the sight of my teeth laying around me on the ground was pretty memorable. Doctors poked my teeth back in and wired my broken jaw shut. Teeth survived and still functional 25 years later. They’re much more crooked though."

"Getting your teeth knocked loose is definitely a unique type of pain. I didn’t notice the broken bones until after gathering my teeth up. When I tried to fit them back into my mouth is when I realized my jaw was broken. After that the rib and skull fractures became apparent."

– G00DW0LF

Fatal Rupture

"The death of my girlfriend. We were in the shower, she stepped out, said, 'Oh God,' falling back into the shower, I caught her but she died of an aneryusm."

– f1shermark1

The worst physical pain I felt was from my first severe sun poisoning from when I went tubing for four hours in Arizona.

I had no idea I was allergic to the sun screen my friends gave me, and I liberally sprayed my entire body with it.

During the lazy river excursion, I noticed my arms were as red as a cooked lobster. Later that night, my arms had swelled to almost twice the size and when I bent my arm, the skin ruptured and a significant amount of clear liquid poured out from the opening.

To describe the sensation as painful was an understatement.

The combination of sun poisoning and the sun block ruined me for life, and to this day, I can't have direct UV exposure for more than 30 minutes.

So, yeah, the sun is not my friend.

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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