Words can hurt more than they are intended to. Something that may have been a passing comment can really stick with someone. Through these Redditors stories, hopefully you'll be reminded to watch what you say. You never know what'll end up f*cking with a person's head for the rest of their life.

u/CatsInSpaceSwag asked: What is the most upsetting thing someone has ever said to you that sticks with you to this day?

Whatchu gonna do?

I was laughing out aloud at some sh*tty banter between friends when I was in middle school. And one of them suddenly said to me, 'don't laugh, your teeth are ugly'. I struggled with even smiling with my mouth open right through college because of that one a**hat's comment.

People are thoughtlessly unkind, whatchugonnado.


Harsh words.


My grandfather, on my dad's side, once told me that I will never amount to anything.


My alcoholic uncle once told my brother something like: "<brother> is just a lazy piece of trash and I'd consider it successful if he's not homeless." We think he thought he was talking to someone else in the moment, he was drunk. And he drank himself to death a couple of years later so we can't really ask.

But it was a fairly spot-on prediction really. My brother finally sobered up and got his life together in his mid-twenties, but until then he wasn't that far from being homeless. Still a shitty thing to say about a kid.


Waaaaay unnecessary.

Every time my mother was angry at me I would hear:

"Why didn't you die instead of your sister??!!"

My sister died when I was 11. I heard this all of the way up to 15-16...


Wise words.

"You're ugly, who would want to date you?" That was the day my self-esteem died.


So I'm in my late 30's and overweight. 3 kids too. Not a fantastic body. Maybe a solid 5 on a good day. I use to think that about myself then one day I was like "ehh who gives a f--- anymore". And it's almost like that's when the interest in me started. When people flirt with me I'm looking around like "you lost"?

People do want to date you. People do find you attractive. Most people are afraid to say anything or act on it


What an awful person.


A former best friend called me after we had a huge blowout fight and told me that she wished my disease would eat me alive. I have an autoimmune disease that was killing my kidneys and I was losing the battle.

She made the call while I was on my way to bury my father.


Insecurity starts young.

It was in school and I was about 11 or so.

The cool boys played "Run away from the girls" in the breaks. While I always wanted to also be hunted by these pre-pubertarian girls, I was never chosen huntworthy.

Well some day I ran around for whatever reason and happened to cross path with one of the cooler boys getting hunted.

He looked me in the eyes and said: "You know, they don't want to hunt you right?"

I just said something like "I'm not playing with you right now." and slowed down, sat on a bench and waited for the break to end. It still hurts me when I think back to that.



I went shopping with someone a few years ago, and I have a nerve condition that is incurable so my legs are weak and I can't walk very well. People stare a lot. And that someone said to me "can you at least try and walk properly? It's embarrassing".




"Ashley is the pretty one, Rob is the smart one, I don't know what you are" - my mom talking about my siblings and I.


You: "Dad is the thoughtful one, you're not..."


That's really uncalled for.

"You're such a sweet guy, but I have a career planned. You would just get in the way."

I reflected on that for a couple hours and realized it was true. Now I avoid making friends out of fear.


I mean....same.

"You know everyone just pretends to like you, right?" -Not-friend

I was about 13 years old at the time, so yikes. This was said to me the day my young teen world started to crumble, my "friends", a group that I had spent most of my childhood years with, kicked me out of the group and I found myself all alone. Over 10 years later I still have trouble realizing when people actually like me or enjoy my presence. Most of the time I assume they're just being nice.


Yeah, f*ck that guy!


My personal favorite is my coworker saying he had a bad dream because he dreamed he was me. F*ck that guy.


Just come to work one day and lie about a dream you had that you were him!


That's so insulting.

For me it's recently. At work I had some concerns about staff. I tried to talk to the manager and she ignored my concerns and said I am "mentally ill and slower" and should go see a doctor. My concerns meant nothing apparently.

I've been told awful stuff but I'm not sure it just hit a chord. It's made me second guess everything I've ever done. I'm looking for new work but it's hard. Like I'm beyond insulted. I've had friends commit suicide and have mental illness. I couldn't be more offended.


What a horrible friend.

Once my gay friend brought me as his "date" to this party. I didn't know this, but he was eyeing his bff's straight older brother whom I'd never met. Older brother took about one look at me and asked me out.

I didn't say yes, didn't hook up with him, didn't even kiss him ever, but gay friend ripped me a new one over the phone about it and said that I was interfering with his friendship with bff (Wtf). The comment that I'm not gonna forget was "you're a f*ckup who destroys everything she touches". Which, ok...




"I hope that one day you'll hate someone as much as I hate you."


Oh no.

It was what he didn't say.

I finally had the guts to tell him I love him. I had been wanting to for a while before he left for deployment. He didn't say it back and left.


No answer is still an answer I guess. Sorry that had to happen to you.


The book Toxic People.The Rules of the Game: How to Identify and Deal with Toxic, Irrational and Difficult People in Your Life is available here.



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