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Yahoo
06-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The Harsh Life Lessons That Hit Them Like A Truck Once They Reached Adulthood
Getting older means gaining clarity and perspective on a lot of things, so Reddit user u/Riptidecharger asked people to share the harsh life lessons everyone should know. Below are some noteworthy ones that were shared. 1."You will have to make very practical (sometimes very cold) decisions about what you want from life and what you're willing to give up. And if you don't make them, then life will make them for you." —Anonymous 2."Even your dream job sucks sometimes. Even the love of your life gets on your nerves sometimes. There is nowhere you 'should be by now.' All life paths are different and equally valid. Happiness is a practice, it isn't something you achieve and then you're good." —u/maybenut 3."Don't spend more money just because you are starting to earn more. Lifestyle inflation creeping in is a bitch." —u/Neutrum 4."You learn that the friendships you took for granted as a kid actually fall away pretty quickly if you neglect them, and that even if you don't, time has a habit of changing people. Your best friend from school is different since they got married, and that guy you partied with in college never really got the hang of stopping drugs..." —u/ChubbyWordsmith 5."Life is finite. As a kid, life is just this thing that goes on forever. Consequences don't matter as much because the future is unfathomably far away. It's a good time for making bad decisions, but as you progress through your life, you start realizing that the future is coming up fast, and how it looks actually does depend on what you do now." —u/ChubbyWordsmith 6."You have to speak up for yourself. No one else will." —u/Logical-Command 7."You are not invincible. Stop driving like an idiot and stay out of unnecessary physical altercations." —u/Neutrum 8."You learn that relationships aren't like in the movies. They take work and thought, and everyone is flawed and they'll probably kick you in the gut at least a dozen or so times." —u/ChubbyWordsmith 9."Go to the fucking dentist. You can't wait for mommy to make an appointment for you and hold your hand the whole way... get your ass in there before it's too late. Teeth don't heal and once you've fucked them up, you've fucked them up." —u/MyNameIsSkittles 10."The people you love are going to die. I don't want anyone to learn this lesson, ever, but it provides some pretty serious perspective when it inevitably happens." —u/cosmolegato 11."It's important to deal with trauma early on in life, or it will take a toll on you." —u/lalalolamaserola 12."Minimize your shit. Owning things won't make you happy. Plus, sometimes you shouldn't hold onto objects just for the sake of owning them. This can also be applied to people. Hindsight really is a bitch. Not all family is blood relations. If only one person is making all the effort in a friendship, it's probably not as good a friendship as you thought it was. And, most important lesson: It takes an embarrassingly long time for eyebrows to grow back." —u/LadyEmry 13."Sometimes your best isn't good enough. Sometimes you put everything you've got into something and still don't get what you wanted." —u/Fthat_ManaBar "You can do everything right and still fail." —u/Spire-hawk 14."Life is about lessons. Here are a few you'll learn: The 'Now I know why unprotected sex is risky' lesson. The 'Work your ass off for that advanced qualification then start at the bottom of the career ladder and be grateful' lesson. The 'I shouldn't have gotten a loan for something I couldn't afford' lesson. The 'I misplaced my trust in someone and got fucked over' lesson. The 'Always have a plan to get home' lesson. The 'Drunk tattoos aren't ideal' lesson. The 'You can eat whatever shit you want' lesson." —Anonymous 15."Do not lie to your significant other. Have hard conversations and trust them enough to be able to have them with you. Give them the chance and don't be afraid/avoid doing it in fear of rejection or judgment. I learned that one the hard way, unfortunately." —u/Ginoblee 16."Most people are basically decent, but don't rely on it. Really try to see people for the individuals that they are and not who you would want them to be or fear them to be. If your significant other says they love you while treating you as worthless, they are lying. Would you accept such behavior from a stranger? Would they? Honesty is not as valued, particularly in the workplace, as you may be led to believe, but don't give up on it. The people who value your integrity are priceless, and you won't know who they are without it." —u/Selenay1 17."If you have a gut feeling about a particular person or situation, DO NOT fight it. Follow your instincts." —u/Equivalent-Roll-3321 18."Some people who just fucking coast through life and have everything handed to them. Life is absolutely fucking unfair, and the sooner you stop comparing yourself to people who had a 50,000 mile headstart from birth, the sooner you can ACTUALLY start to live." —u/Novirtue 19."Knowing when to say 'no' and doing that is more important than saying 'yes.' —u/wradam 20."If your employer is doing something illegal or unethical and you decide to confront them about it, for fucks sake, do it in a way that all communication will leave a paper trail." —Anonymous 21."Do stuff that makes you happy instead of doing stuff that makes you look cool." —u/Neutrum 22."You learn that being healthy isn't an autopilot thing anymore. That if you eat shitty food and sit on your couch too much, shit will start to hurt and you'll feel more tired and grouchy. There's a similar lesson with booze and drugs." —u/ChubbyWordsmith 23."Very few people actually follow through on what they say they'll do. It can be for any number of reasons, from 'I don't want to hurt their feelings' to 'I want to look good in front of others' or 'I want to please everyone' — and that's just for starters. When you find people who DO, cherish them. It's why I always post 'Look at the person's patterns of actions, not their words, to see their true feelings.'" —u/bmyst70 24."Some things really are just about luck." —u/foreveralready 25."Take care of your mental health early on so you can be healthy and meet other healthy people. You think you've had your fair share of life experiences, but they're still coming, and some hit you unexpectedly 'cause you're not where you need to be mentally in life. Don't say 'that'll never happen to me' because bad people do exist, and they don't discriminate." —u/overthinking_7 26."Pride does absolutely nothing. If you don't say good morning to your boss in the morning because you think your boss is a dick, you're not doing yourself any favors." —u/thisesmeaningless 27."You can love someone and still know they're not right for you." —u/nomadicsailor81 28."Don't do business with family. Love your children more than you hate your ex." —u/emmett_kelly finally: "You'll accept that you're halfway through your life at some point, and that'll freak you out a bit, but it's a good thing." —u/ChubbyWordsmith Do you have any to add to the list? Let us know in the comments!
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investing advice that Reddit got very wrong — or very right
You can find advice about anything pretty much anywhere on the internet, especially if you need to learn about investing. The only problem is, not all of it is accurate or helpful, especially if it's from a random thread on Reddit. Sure, Reddit can be a great place to learn new recipe hacks, ask embarrassing questions and receive some validation from other people experiencing the same thing you're going through. But when it comes to investing, don't take Redditors' word for it — check out what they're saying for yourself. Here's a look at some of the best and worst investing advice on Reddit, why some of it is just downright wrong and what to do instead. After scrolling through hundreds of investing subreddits, here are some of the worst investing suggestions and recommendations. 'I'm very lazy and I don't want to put any effort into investing. How important is rebalancing? Is there a way I could set up a portfolio where I only rebalanced every 10 years or maybe even never? Do I have to do it across all my accounts?' —Mysterious_Mix_6660 Here were some of the responses to this user's question: 'No; it's not super important. It can squeeeeeeze a tiny bit more out of your portfolio over the long haul, but not enough to make me excited.' — buffinita 'I've been at it for roughly 30 years and had rebalancing set for one investment for a couple of years. I stopped that a long time ago. No, I don't think it's worthwhile to rebalance. If you are indexing, the market forces are deciding in part how you should be invested (split between US and international; I don't own bonds). I've ended up 79% US/20% international just by drifting there.' — Sagelllini Why this isn't helpful: It's tempting not to rebalance, especially if you don't have a financial advisor to help and have to figure it out yourself. However, it's crucial to rebalance. 'If you never rebalance your portfolio by selling stocks and buying more bonds, you will open yourself up to a much bigger impact from market swings than your risk tolerance may allow,' says Crystal McKeon, a certified financial planner and chief compliance officer of TSA Wealth Management in Houston. 'This could lead to panic selling in choppy markets like we are experiencing now. If you have a diversified allocation where you are comfortable with the range your portfolio can swing, then you are more likely to keep your long-term positions instead of panic fire selling.' When you rebalance your portfolio, you reassess how your risk tolerance lines up with your long-term financial goals and how your asset allocation fits into that picture. There is a 'lazy' way to rebalance though: You can invest with a robo-advisor. The best robo-advisors will automatically rebalance your portfolio for you. Get started: Match with an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals 'So, I've been reading a lot, and most places predict Nvidia will have a $20 trillion market cap by 2030. SP [Stock price] of $134 currently, they say it could soar to 800 by then. Is it too late to go in, given the current price? Would it be worth it to start going heavy on Nvidia?' — humanityIsL0st Why this isn't helpful: While the question is a valid one, the short answer is that going all in on one stock, or heavily tilting your portfolio toward one stock, isn't a great idea. If you're invested heavily in just one stock and it performs poorly, you have nothing else in your portfolio to offset the loss and stabilize your returns. It's important to have multiple assets in your portfolio — think a combination of stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds and other assets — so that you reduce the concentration risk of owning a single stock. 'A diversified portfolio has been a solid strategy for decades now because it will allow you to ride out ups and downs in the markets with some investment losses balancing out other investments' gains,' says McKeon. 'I sold a coin at 3.5k profit that would've been 80k at the peak. Made a post about it a few days ago [about] how it randomly started getting volume again after being dead for ten months. Total investment was around 50 bucks.' — Single_Offshore_Dad 'So my plan is to go all in on meme coins. Why? Because once BTC takes out its previous highs (like on Oct 20th, 2021), every meme coin shot up for the next 2-7 days. I'm predicting that meme coins will start to climb and tank once news about BTC is being pushed mainstream to the general public within the next 6–12 months. I'm planning on cashing out on all my meme coins within 48hours after BTC breaks its previous high.' — Redditor Why this isn't helpful: For starters, cryptocurrencies (especially memecoins) have no intrinsic value. Their prices are based on what others are willing to pay for the coin. In other words, their prices are based on 'vibes,' or how people feel about the coin, not cash flow or business performance. This makes it impossible to tell how the coins are actually going to perform. If you invest in crypto or a memecoin, you should only invest what you're OK with losing. On top of that, investing in memecoins is somewhat glamorized on social media. There are stories of people who have gotten lucky and went all in on a coin and made a ton of money — and even more stories about people who've lost every dollar of their investment. The first Redditor above claims they could've made an $80,000 profit at the coin's peak, but even their strategy fell short. The reality is, most people who invest in these coins and do profit from them simply get lucky. 'Speculation is when you buy something hoping it will rise quickly, like crypto or 'hot' stocks,' says Jamie Bosse, CFP, and senior advisor at CGN Advisors. 'There is usually a lot of hype and not a lot of history or data. Investing, on the other hand, is about the value of assets growing over time to build wealth. One is chasing returns and trying to get rich quick, and the other is building a solid financial foundation.' If you just can't resist, most financial pros say that if you are going to invest in crypto, don't put in more than 5 percent of your overall portfolio. For all the bad investing suggestions on Reddit, there was plenty of good advice, too. From advocating for diversification, to explaining why maxing out your 401(k) should be a priority, these Redditors got it right. 'Stay in it for the long haul. Continuously add money. Ignore it when times are tough.' — Saul_T_C_Man Why this is helpful: This is some of the best investing advice, period. A buy-and-hold strategy, or staying invested for the long haul, is typically the way to go for long-term investors. But how do you continuously add money to your investments and not touch it when times are tough? One of the easiest ways is to use a strategy called dollar-cost averaging, which is where you gradually invest a fixed amount of money at intervals over time. By making regular and consistent contributions, you invest whether the market is up or down, average your purchase price over time and increase your share count. 'If you happen to be successful in timing the market, then you will do better. The recommendation is based on the fact that very few are successful in doing so.' — YoungestDonkey Why this is helpful: There's a theory in economics called the 'efficient market hypothesis,' which basically means that markets are efficient and already factor in all available information. Because of this, consistently timing the market in your favor is nearly impossible because prices already reflect what investors know. To time the market, you'd have to essentially predict the future. Unless you're somehow a wizard, this can be very difficult to do. What matters more is your total time invested in the market, allowing compound returns to do their thing. Let's break it down. On average, the S&P 500 returns roughly 10 percent each year. This means if you had invested $10,000 in 1974, you'd have $2.5 million now, according to Legendary investor Warren Buffett is a proponent of this long-term approach to investing, often emphasizing the importance of buying and holding, rather than selling for a profit. 'I was telling my father that if we continued investing at our current rate, we should theoretically be able to retire with a good chunk of change (hopefully). And he said, 'Yeah, I thought that too when I was your age. I calculated and thought I'd retire a millionaire, but that didn't pan out.' So I asked him what he invested in, and he looked me dead in the eyes and said it was just one stock he invested in. So, folks, diversify, diversify, diversify.' — Illustrious-Nose3100 Why this is helpful: Investors diversify to protect against the unknown. If we knew what was going to happen, there would be no reason to diversify. We would all buy Nvidia (NVDA) for pennies a share in 1997, watch the 388,344 percent returns roll in and retire millionaires. Or we'd buy Netflix (NFLX), not Blockbuster. Because we can't know, a solid investing plan should include diversification — and remember to diversify across companies, industries, countries and time frames. You can make diversification easier by investing in ETFs or other funds that hold a broad range of assets, such as an index fund. You may also want to consider robo-advisors or target-date funds that automate diversification based on your goals and timeline. 'Max [out] your 401k and other tax-advantaged accounts before you start investing in a taxable account.' — JustMeerkats Why this is helpful: Tax-advantaged accounts, such as an IRA or 401(k), offer tax breaks, either now or later. That's why maxing out your contributions to those accounts first can be a good move. This strategy boosts your investment growth through tax-free compounding, and may include an employer match on your 401(k). Compounding explains how $10,000 becomes $2.5 million over 50 years. You might only get a 10 percent return each year, but that adds up over time. If you give your invested money enough time to grow, it acts as a snowball, picking up more cash on its way down the hill. Also, these retirement accounts have annual contribution limits — $23,500 for a 401(k) and $7,000 for an IRA, so you can't exactly catch up later. You can make catch-up contributions after certain ages, but those amounts are lower and only available once you're closer to retirement. For example, the extra $1,000 in your IRA from 50 to 67 adds up to $18,000, less than three years of maxed-out contributions that you have missed out on in your 20s. If you're not able to max out your tax-advantaged accounts, contributing whatever you can as early as you can is better than contributing nothing. Get matched: Find a financial advisor who can help you maximize your investments 'You don't invest to make as much money as possible, but to meet your financial goals. This means that you should limit the amount of risk you take while investing and that you don't gamble with your savings. Take as much risk as needed, but also as little risk as possible.' — Redditor Why this is helpful: At the end of the day, you can listen to and read all the investing advice you want. Some of it will be good, other ideas will be bad. The most important thing that you can do as an investor is begin by establishing what goals you're trying to achieve. Maybe it's saving for retirement, maybe it's buying a home or maybe it's sending a kid to college. The point is, reaching those goals will look different for everyone. Don't take on unnecessary risks. Instead, prioritize decisions that will safeguard your financial future. Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
"It's Such A Turn-Off": Frustrated Women Are Revealing Everyday Things Guys Aren't Ready To Hear About Women, And This Is So Spot On
Note: The story below discusses harassment. Let's be honest: there are a lot of things men don't know about women. So when I saw Reddit user Early-Manner-473 ask: "Women of Reddit, what are some things the guys aren't ready to hear about women?" I thought it would be helpful to share their answers. Here's what they said below. 1."If you don't do your share of the chores, then in our minds you become a child to care for, and we lose attraction and desire." —Rounders_in_knickers "Facts. I don't want to pick up after a grown man. It's such a turn-off." —woolyjumper2 2."We observe how you treat women you're not attracted to." —M_Ad "My mom taught me to pay attention to how a man treats the elderly, babies, and animals — or just how he treats others in general." —Sea_Breath28 3."We have a lot more body hair than some men seem to think we do. A lot of us, in addition to shaving our legs, are also shaving our toes." —NoIntroduction2673 "When I got laser hair removal on my legs, I asked if I could get it on my toes. Apparently, the whole top of the foot is included with the leg, so I was pretty psyched." —stampedingnuns 4."That the first however many minutes it takes a guy to decide if they want to sleep with us, we are deciding if you are a safe person to be around." —raerae1991 "Exactly! Sometimes, it seems to only take mere seconds. About two weeks ago, two men stopped me while I was walking and asked me a bunch of invasive questions. They were trying to get me to go somewhere after work with them. It was so strange." —Hello-Avrammm 5."Just because we're nice doesn't mean we're interested. Kindness ≠ flirting. A woman being polite isn't a green light, and rejecting someone doesn't make her cold or rude." —Ok-Raspberry-5374 "Sometimes we're polite and nice because we're uncomfortable and scared of you and trying to safely end the interaction without upsetting you. I can only speak for myself, but if I'm interested, there will be some teasing, joking, etc. I won't be using the same politeness I use with people I meet when I go to church with my parents." —EducationWestern5204 6."Period shits. Periods give a lot of women wild indigestion, and there's no experience quite like having three liquids coming from your body at the same time. Sorry." —lady-luthien "By my count, six liquids: Evacuating your guts from both ends, peeing, bleeding, sweating, and crying. Multitasking." —UhLeXSauce 7."Bras fucking suck most of the time. More specifically, our underwear isn't as comfortable as guys." —Grey_0724 8."I was hit on more by grown men when I was between the ages of 12-17 than I am now at 24. This isn't uncommon, and many of my friends have also experienced this. Call out your pedo friends." —voidharmony "Yep. I didn't realize it until I was out of college because in college I was surrounded by college-aged guys, but holy shit, that spikes in your early teens then falls off so fast. It's horrifying. I'm 32 now and haven't dealt with this for years. I love that for myself, but am also realistic about what I look like and what I looked like as a literal child when I was getting that attention. It's foul and more men need to call that shit out." —willikersmister 9."Guys with big dicks, be proud of it if you want, but keep in mind that it can hurt some women! The bigger it is, the more foreplay, communication, and gentleness are needed the first time. Don't assume it's going to be amazing for everyone. You have to check to make sure your partner is okay, and stop if they're not. Vaginas can't handle every size dick instantly because it's capable of childbirth, those are very different actions. Seriously, stop if your partner is not okay, please." "In fact, no matter your size, always check that your partner is okay. Real sex isn't like porn, you have to talk or have your partner signal that things are still good. You don't know what's going on in their head unless you ask or they tell you. No orgasm is worth traumatizing someone." —Saphira9 "Also, just because you have a big dick doesn't mean you don't also need all the other skills, too. I don't wanna speak for everyone, but I'd personally rather a small penis and great hands and mouth vs. a big penis and average hands and mouth." —kucky94 10."If you only see women as romantic or sexual partners, you are very likely (whether you realize it or not) treating most women like they don't matter. Besides, treating the remaining ones as though they only matter for one reason. It is making you unlikable. Think of them as people, regardless of your personal level of attraction to them, and you might find yourself a more likable person." —InimitableMe 11."We want you to amp up the foreplay and go down on us more and act like we are the most beautiful thing on the planet and every other girl could never compare." —aimeeytk 12."Not taking no for an answer and lingering around women who have made it very clear your presence is not wanted is a complete and total ick. It's genuinely so gross, and I don't know why some men still do this. It makes me want to bust out my beard mace on y'all." —AnywhereParty573 13."We can say the exact same thing as a man, and be taken automatically less seriously or talked down to more than a man would. A lot of us have to work harder to even be seen as competent, especially by certain groups of men. It's especially apparent when it's less obvious I am a woman online, and not talked down to nearly as often." —Cthulhuhaspeduncles "Yep. My experience as a woman in construction: men are perceived as competent until they prove the opposite, and women are perceived as incompetent until we prove the opposite. Also, we are often seen as one homogeneous entity. I've heard so many variations of 'I once worked with a woman who was bad at this job, so I thought maybe this just isn't for women.' I then always say the same thing: 'Ok, but how many incompetent men do you know?' It's almost comical seeing the realization in their faces." —ellenitha Women, are there some things guys aren't ready to hear about women? Tell us what it is and why in the comments or in the Google Form below:
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The Mild Inconveniences They'd Actually Wish Upon Their Worst Enemy, And The Creativity Is Both Twisted And Impressive
Sometimes the littlest things can end up being the most annoying. Reddit user toto93lnd recently asked, "You curse your enemy, but it can only slightly inconvenience them. What would it be?" Here are the prettiest responses: 1."They start to sneeze, but never fully sneeze." —u/Ok-Opinion-8701 2."Every pair of shoes they wear is sticky on the bottom, even if they're brand new. They can never escape the sound or feel of sticky shoes." —u/theOTHERdimension 3."They will always pick the slowest-moving line. Grocery store check out, in traffic, or anywhere a line may exist." —u/Possible_Ad_4094 4."I hope your every meal is never the right temperature when you eat it." —u/Kimikohiei 5."May both sides of your pillow be warm." —u/Wolfie_142 6."They never leave the house with everything the first time, but they realize every time they sit down in the car." —u/Kman1986 7."Every traffic light will turn red when you approach." —u/Canucklehead_Esq 8."Their sheets will never fit their bed properly." —u/Shot_Fox3432 9."May you wipe and wipe but never get your butt clean." —u/JustWowinCA 10."You shall have the constant feeling of a hair in your mouth." —u/BreakfastTerrible659 Related: Private Investigators Are Sharing The Most Disturbing Cases They've Ever Gotten, And Wow 11."The first pen they pick up will always be out of ink." —u/flstcjay 12."Whenever they buy a bag of salad and take it home and put it in the fridge, it's already turning brown and getting slimy the very next time they open the fridge." —u/unclemikey0 13."Their hair always looks a little bit greasy." —u/CodReasonable 14."May your socks always slip down in your shoes." —u/binky_snoosh 15."For the rest of their life, they always choose the wrong option first when deciding whether to push or pull every door they encounter." —u/klc81 16."Eyelash in your eye forever." —u/Empty_Estus Related: People Are Sharing How What Happened In Vegas Did NOT Stay In Vegas, And This Should Be A Lesson To Never Go To A Bachelor/Bachelorette Party There 17."All of their socks are mildly damp, enough to be uncomfortable." —u/TraumaGirly 18."The audio for every video they watch will always be either a few seconds early or a few seconds late compared to the visuals." —u/The-idea-man 19."May their marinara never cling to their pasta." —u/ThatweirdoCrystal 20."Always stubbing their little toe whenever they walk past anything." —u/Meggiekayyy 21."Spinach stuck in their front teeth. Forever." —u/Limp-Owl2643 22."Every time they turn on a radio, no matter the station, it plays a song they hate." —u/Puzzleheaded_Jury429 23."Make them lose one sock every time in the washing machine." —u/Future-Exercise-5667 24."Thumbs don't work on touch screens." —u/verified_OP 25."Shoes automatically untie themselves every 10 steps." —u/lastfreerangekid 26."They always bite their tongue when they chew." —u/elvisluvr 27."May they always lose one headphone." —u/WimbledonWombleRep 28."Lose their car keys right when they need to leave." —u/Kshi-dragonfly 29."They hear that 'drip drip' water sound every day, all times of day, louder while sleeping." —u/runawayrosa 30."Random wifi and data disconnecting every few hours. It immediately goes away when someone else looks at it and never manifests at the store." —u/wayoverpaid 31."Anytime they are in a situation where they need to use an app right away, it wants them to update it first. Want to call an Uber? Hold on, needs to update. I've got a Zoom meeting now! Give me a sec, updating. Trying to share that new song with a friend? Oh, wait, updating." —u/Thomisawesome finally, "They step on a small Lego every time they get out of bed." —u/Vexonar What's the most annoying mild inconvenience you'd add to this list? Share your thoughts in the comments! Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Also in Internet Finds: I Need To Call My Doc For A New Inhaler After Cackling So Hard At These 41 Funny Tweets From The Week Also in Internet Finds: Here Are 50 Pictures That Make Me Grin Uncontrollably No Matter How Many Times I've Seen Them, In Case You Need Them Also in Internet Finds: People In HR Revealed Truly Unhinged Reasons Employees Got Fired, And My Jaw Is On The Floor
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The Modern Addictions Nobody Really Thinks About, And Yes, Dopamine Is On This List
When we think of addiction, our minds typically go to substances like drugs or alcohol. But addiction can take many forms — some so subtle and normalized that we don't even recognize them as problematic. So when a now-deleted Reddit user asked, "What's an addiction that nobody considers?" the responses revealed how our modern world has created countless ways to chase dopamine hits and develop unhealthy dependencies. Here's what they had to say: 1."Validation addiction, aka the compulsive need for approval, praise, or recognition from others." —u/RevealIntelligent737 2."Nasal spray. This one is kind of obscure, but the thought of having a stuffy nose and needing more and more and more of that stuff is kind of scary." —u/TazzzTM "I literally cut myself off 10 years ago because it was causing me problems." —bobbutson "This happened to me in fifth grade! It was so severe that I needed to use it at least once an hour, or my nose was completely blocked up. The addiction lasted weeks. I would bring it to school and sneak huffs of it from my backpack during class, pretending I was rummaging for something." —u/iamnotahermitcrab 3."Habits that put us into the same patterns we're already familiar with. For example, let's say someone was previously abused and has low self-esteem, so they now gravitate toward people who mistreat them, etc." —u/crypticcryptidscrypt 4."Food." —u/LivingSalt9816 "This doesn't get talked about enough. Someone can truly quit any of these other addictions. You cannot quit eating. And even if we could, eating is the center of most cultures, communities, and fellowship." —u/GingerrGina 5."Shopping." —u/blissfulheadgames 6."Victim mindset." —u/tokenasian99 Related: 23 Cute, Happy, And Wholesome Posts I Saw On The Internet This Week That You Absolutely Need To See 7."Gambling is often overlooked. It's also not just lotto tickets and bingo. Casino apps, sports betting, online gaming 'mystery boxes,' and day trading are just a few examples of things that use the same mechanics." —u/threadbarefemur 8."Dieting, eating disorders and/or disordered eating, and counting calories." —u/Global_Concept1331 9."Social media." —u/Goddess_alma__ "It's a bigger issue than that. Social media falls under dopamine abuse, basically. It's just a constant onslaught of the pleasure ventures in the brain these days. Companies research ways to hit those centers and use the marketing to sell it. Small things like the action of swiping or flavors in food. Salt. Porn. Video games. Social media. YouTube showing you all the things you want but can't go for. All of these things are beneficial targeted one at a time, but goddamn, it fries people's brains all at once." —u/Klashus Related: Holy Crap, I Can't Stop Laughing At These 28 Painfully Awkward And Embarrassing Conversations 10."Working all the time." —u/MotherEarth1919 11."Dermatillomania, or skin-picking disorder." —u/strangekey2 12."Dating apps. They're like a game, and the incentive for winning is your orgasm." —u/Present-Loss5880 13."Porn." —u/PEACH_MINAJ 14."Sleeping in all the time." —u/Tough_Representative "Sleeping in general. I genuinely can't stop napping during the day. It's awful." —u/lights-camera-bees 15."Weed. While it's not an addictive substance, people definitely become emotionally dependent. One problem is that weed makes you okay with being unproductive and bored, and many people use it as a crutch." —u/8v9 16."Phones." —u/Then_Coyote_1244 "That's me — same with my iPad. When I iron my clothes, I put on YouTube on my iPad. Eating dinner? Netflix. Drinking a cup of tea? TikTok. Waiting on the bus? Reddit. My phone is always in my hand. I take it with me when I go to bed, when I take a shower, when I walk the dog, when I have to get something from the attic, etc. I miss growing up in the '90s and not having a phone — just being present in the moment. But somehow, I can't do it anymore." —u/Dazzling-Yam-1151 What do you think after reading these responses? Are you recognizing some (completely normalized) patterns in your own life or others? What hidden addictions do you think are affecting people today? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy. The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text 'NEDA' to 741741. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website. Also in Internet Finds: Lawyers Are Sharing Their Juiciest "Can You Believe It?!" Stories From The Courtroom, And They're As Surprising As You'd Expect Also in Internet Finds: 51 People Who Quickly Discovered Why Their Hilariously Clueless Partner Was Single Before Meeting Them Also in Internet Finds: People Are Sharing "The Most Believable Conspiracy Theories," And Now I'm Questioning Everything I Thought I Knew
