It sounds cliché, but you really can ruin your life in an instant.
One careless decision can lead to a lifetime of misery…it’s the truth.
And today we’re going to hear from folks on AskReddit about how they saw people ruin their lives.
Let’s check out their stories.
1. Terrible.
“A fellow barfly I knew was an MMA fighter. Had won some regional matches as an amatuer, his gym was promoting him, he was in talks with a MMA promotion.
A guy mouths off to him. He replies. The guy takes a swing. He punches him and the guy hits his head on the pavement. D**s. 5 years for manslaughter.”
2. Downward spiral.
“19 yr old cousin. S
tarted hanging with gangs, introduced to M**h then back into p**stitution (had done it previously when she was homeless) and gained a gambling habit.
Also, faked pregnancy and stole from family and made it look like others were involved which irreparable trust was broken between innocent parties that some have never recovered from.”
3. Passed away young.
“One of my friends turned to al**hol and all but gave up on life after his mom passed. It eventually caught up with him and he passed away at the age of 32.
The sad part is that there were signs that he wanted to get better and wanted to get life together again. It was just too little too late and he went about it the wrong way.”
4. That’s bad.
“A guy I used to work with got himself into crazy levels of debt.
A local guy won the lottery. Nothing major, but still life changing. Something like $30,000. We were all on our lunch break, talking about what we would do if we won that much.
I would pay off these credit cards, or I would trade in my car for a newer model. This guy says that it wouldn’t make a difference. At 23 he was already over $200,000 in debt between credit cards and personal loans.
He would just get another loan to pay something off, and keep borrowing. A few months later he was complaining about how he was now an additional $50,000 in debt on top of it. This guy was only making around $40,000 a year.
He got the bright idea to file bankruptcy. Lost his car, his house, his job. Last I knew he was staying at friends houses couch surfing, working for a pittance just trying to survive.”
5. Awful.
“Some guys I knew were having a party.
A few of them decided some backyard wrestling would be fun. Ten minutes later an ambulance is taking one guy to the hospital after his friend tried to break a table with him. Broken neck and spine.
Now spends his life in a wheelchair unable to control his bowels or get a boner ever again. Had to drop out of college, his GF dumped him and his parents have to take care of him for the rest of their lives.”
6. Family story.
“My brother. He**in addiction.
He was always an odd kid, but a very talented guitar player, and one of the most thoughtful, caring, funny, and unique people I’ve ever known. He passed away four years ago from a fentanyl overdose.
I miss him every day, but he brought so much joy to the lives of those around him that the memory of him isn’t a sad one. I laugh way more than I cry when I think about him.”
7. Back on the bottle.
“My first wife and al**hol.
She had lots of people to support her. She was in the hospital for a week to dry out, then a treatment program for a month. It lasted 3 months before she was back on the bottle. Her doctor warned her that she has 1/3 of a liver left, and if she didn’t stop, she’d d**.
Which she did, 18 months after she last went back to the bottle. Her ankles swelled up, as did her legs as the kidneys and dying liver couldn’t process the fluids, and when she finally succumbed, she looked like she was 5 months pregnant as the fluids were now accumulating in the lower torso.
So, d**d at 38, that was back in 1996.”
8. Lesson learned.
“I saw my dad destroyed his life by not taking care of himself. When I was 2 he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
After my Mom divorced him he went down hill and refused to cooperate with his meds (he’s also a manic depressive bipolar). Every year since I was 5 he has had some kind of amputation.
I am 22 years old now. He is 49… has no legs below his knees, only has 3 fingers total now since he just got one of his thumbs amputated.
I really need to be careful and watchful that I am not like him.”
9. Destroyed.
“My nana gave up smoking and instead turned to heavy drinking.
Within two years she destroyed her brain and was in a home with very little control over her body or memory.”
10. Threw it all away.
“I was a pilot for a US regional airline. Smaller, stepping stone airline. Rough schedule, low pay.
Anyway one of our pilots was a good guy…wife, lovely kids… but made very little money. Anyway he got involved with someone that wanted him to smuggle some c**aine into the US by swallowing a few condoms full of the s**t then travel back to the us.
Well the condoms started breaking in his stomach enroute. He went to the lav and about near d**d. They had to have the EMTs haul him out on a stretcher. He went right to the hospital, recovered, then went right to jail.
Through it all away for a bit of money.”
11. Got what they deserved.
“There was a kid in my school that “hired” two dudes to k**l his grandparents.
Unfortunately they succeeded.
They were trying to get inheritance money like some sort of movie plot. They are rotting in jail.”
12. Heartbreaking.
“Sitting out in the backyard of my high school best friend. Her dad was mowing the lawn and there was this really loud clunk sound.
I don’t think anyone clicked what was happening. Her dad reaches down to pull whatever it is out, and I just remember thinking “wonder what it is?” But not “wtf don’t stick your hands in the blades!”
Destroyed his hand, and his career. Got compensation but things went real bad for him. No longer the active, outgoing, “cool” dad. Lost their house. My parents said he “had some demons”, which seems to be a euphemism for either mental health or drug issues. Divorced and lost custody of his kids eventually.
I know there are worse things, but just the brutality of that one wrong move changing his whole life really breaks my heart.”
13. Not a good idea.
“A friend of mine decided to not use protection with a girl he’d just met… for a whole weekend… without asking if she was using any contraception at all… and finishing inside.
I often feel really bad for this poor baby dragged into this world out of sheer stupidity.”
Do you have any stories like this?
If so, share them with us in the comments.
Please and thank you!
