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Have you ever met someone and within just a few minutes you guessed that they had probably been through some serious things in their lives?
Sometimes there are telltale signs that just tip you off…
And folks on AskReddit talked about what they think these signs are.
Take a look.
1. Reactions.
“Their reaction to unexpected stress.
If, for instance, you startle someone and their reaction is atypical (defensive or offensive stance, dropping to the ground, or otherwise very pronounced, followed by anger) that’s a sign they have spent a lot of time in life-threatening situations.
Also, if everyone around is panicking, but they are very calm and collected… that is an indication of living in a state of extreme prolonged stress.”
2. No feelings.
“My buddy came back from deployment this Zero emotion left after. Wife left with his kids and he just acted like he never had them in his life at all.
His mom d**d maybe a year later, and he didn’t even respond to it. Just kept his routine of drinking until he fell asleep.”
3. Avoid it.
“Never talking about their issues seriously.
Probably joking about it or even staying away from the topic completely.”
4. Reaching out.
“Empathy and understanding.
Many have heightened senses of empathy naturally, but oftentimes the people who really care for others shows me that they themselves have really needed it at some point.”
5. Defense mechanism.
“If they pay super close attention to the expressions of people around them and are always on the lookout for someone getting angry or upset.
That’s a surefire sign that they were a**sed at some point because it’s a defense mechanism that they learn to try and head off upcoming blow-ups.”
6. Yes.
“Constantly having a reason/explanation ready for anything even though nobody asked. Or over explaining yourself without prompt.
Or asking permissions for really small things you wouldn’t think about. Or over-apologizing over small mistakes.”
7. Stuck in neutral.
“Lack of emotional response whether that be happy or angry.
It’s like they’re always in neutral.”
8. Assess the situation.
“People like this will do odd things when walking into a room. Like they’ll step into the room, then step off to the side of the room and scan it before moving to wherever they planned to do in the room.
And, situational awareness is high. Like they know where everyone is in that room.”
9. Sad.
“The “ghost walk”, where someone will casually walk on the front of their feet to suppress the noise from their footsteps.
I notice this from a**sed children/teens typically. Some people should just not have children, so sad.”
10. They see it all.
“Observant. Extremely observant.
So observant to the point that they can point out things about other people that are more than likely true without knowing the person at all.
Remembering small details, noticing things you wouldn’t have even thought to notice, but they did.
Pay attention to the way someone reacts when you raise your voice slightly. Do they tense up? Do they stop what they are doing? Do they instantly look down? Do you catch them observing you?
The way they react can tell a lot about the type of s**t they’ve been through.”
11. No complaints.
“I have multiple friends and family who served and were in combat.
They don’t complain about ANYTHING normal people do. Raining out and they have no umbrella? Smile on their face. Snowing? Same smile. Traffic? Same smile.
The exception being my one cousin with PTSD who ended his own life a year ago. If you know anyone who’s struggling, be there for them.”
12. Very private.
“People who are very very closed off. I’ve always known that I’m a really private person but I’ve recently made the connection about why I’m closed off to such a degree.
When you’ve been through some s**t in your life, sometimes the idea of anyone knowing any intimate detail about you can be taxing and even scary.”
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