25 Horrifying Stories From People Revealing What Childhood Experiences Made Their Life Unbearable
Probably many of us are aware that bad memories tend to stay with us, sometimes even longer than good ones. At the same time, they’re things that made us who we are, no matter how hard or heartbreaking they were.
This list is full of examples of such experiences, or in other words, canon events people experienced in their childhoods that felt like “hell of Earth.” Even though they’d surely never want to go through it again, they didn’t shy away from sharing their stories online. So, let’s dive in, shall we?
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Other kids. Nobody gave a s**t if you were bullied in the 70s and 80s.
When a kid would bully I would tell an adult. Their answer? “oH tHaT jUsT mEaNs tHeY lIkE yOu.”
Yeah because that’s totally a healthy way to learn how to develope relationships or find your way out of toxic ones.
Church!! I used to dread Sundays. I promised myself that once i turned 18 years old, I would NEVER attend church again. Til this day, I’ve kept this promise. I absolutely HATE that place.
Childhood is an important part of any individual’s life. The way a person is brought up and the things they experience at that time shape what kind of a person they turn out to be socially, physically, emotionally, and so on.
Positive childhood experiences make a kid feel valued, nurtured, and supported, which in the long run builds up their resilience and well-being. Interestingly, these experiences can be split into three categories, based on what benefits they bring to the child: nurturing relationships, a sense of belonging, and developing strengths.
My Narcissistic Mom. Spent my childhood always walking on eggshells and nothing was ever her fault.
Hearing my mother tell my dad it was liver night.
That meant a power struggle with my parents that I would eventually lose.
Dinner was at 6PM.
It was not uncommon for me to sit at the table until my bed time.
I did not care if I went to bed hungry.
F**k Liver.
My name rhymes with a few unfortunate words… kids calling you names every minute of the day in the class while the teacher does nothing, for two years straight literally changes a person haha.
The more often children experience these positive interactions, the better their developmental outcomes tend to be. Even when negative experiences happen, positive ones can help outweigh them, forming adaptability, emotional regulation, and healthy relationships.
Speaking of negative (or, as they’re called, adverse) experiences, it’s no surprise that they can be toxic to a developing brain. While a short time of low-level stress is healthy while growing up, chronic stress isn’t.
Children who experience too many adversities or adversities that are too immense usually grow up to have problems with physical and mental health, like depression, substance abuse issues, diabetes, and even heart disease. The more toxic these experiences are, the greater the disadvantages a person faces.
My dad. I never knew how he was going to act, react, show up, or not show up. I was constantly in fear, I was very confused, I wanted to love my dad, but after a while, I hated him with every inch of my soul. I still do sometimes.
Locked in a closet, almost dying of sepsis was pretty rough. Getting dragged from town to town, anytime the rent came due or mom saw “them”.
Sometimes going days without eating- going outside and eating grass or pine needles.
Locked in a closet, almost dying of sepsis was pretty rough. Getting dragged from town to town, anytime the rent came due or mom saw “them”.
Sometimes going days without eating- going outside and eating grass or pine needles.
There are numerous examples of what these adversities can look like. In fact, today’s list is basically made up of them. All of them were shared by netizens when a year ago someone on r/AskReddit asked, “What was your personal hell on Earth when you were a kid?”
As these answers show, the idea of what “hell of Earth” looks like differs for everyone. For some, it’s seeing their loved ones’ health deteriorating; for others, it’s neglectful or abusive parents, and so on.
Alcoholic parents at home and constant bullying at school.
Watching my dad go from about 275 to around 70 pounds while cancer took him.
Kids and female teachers who refused to listen when I told them not to touch me.
At the same time, quite a few of these answers mentioned bullying. It’s needless for us to say that bullying is bad – we hear it all the time – but still, it continues to haunt many people over the years.
These answers alone show how detrimental to someone’s well-being bullying can be – people didn’t deem it their personal hell on Earth for no reason. Plus, the examples show that it isn’t limited to a specific time or place – it happens everywhere kids are, and actually even in adulthood too.
It’s undoubtedly heartbreaking to read people describing the kinds of hell they survived when they were little. Human brains are wired to remember the bad things, meaning it’s an unavoidable part of life and one that shapes us.
After my parents divorced it was spending weekends with my dad. He rarely ever did anything with us. “Just go play” he would tell me and my brother. I wanted so bad to do stuff with him. I gave up asking because he would always say no.
Spent a week falling asleep in one foster home and waking up in another before the courts released me to my grandmother. That was pretty horrible.
One, I had such horrible not noticed vision. Until my oldest brother brought his gf to dinner. She was an ophthalmology tech & brought it to my parents attention. I didn’t speak much because I couldn’t see. It was hell but made my other senses so much keener.
Two, my dad got cancer when I was 4. He died when I was 12. My mom didn’t want another kid & I always felt it. My dad was who wanted me. After he died I remember thinking to myself all the time; why God left me with the one who didn’t want me? It was hell surviving her misdirected anger.
While deleting it all, like in the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind might seem like a good idea, it also would delete a part of yourself, as the same movie points out that people are built from both happiness and pain and taking away any of these experiences makes them incomplete.
Again, while it’s undeniably sad to read these personal stories of hardship, it’s also important to recognize that these experiences helped shape who these people are today, becoming an irreplaceable part of them. So, let’s keep that in mind while reading through this list, okay?
Not understanding why nobody seemed to like me. It seemed like every one was always frustrated with me but I couldn’t figure it out. ADHD Middle Kid problems, I guess.
I had to sleep outside for days on end as punishment when i was below the age of 7.
Home trying to not get my mother angry, or ignoring her and my dad fighting.
Having to work from a young age and skipping what should have been a normal childhood. In some ways, it helped me, emotionally… not so much.
Growing up in a rural area with no siblings.
My “friend” Jacqueline’s house.I didn’t actually like her. I just felt like I had to go on playdates with her because that’s what you do. Her parents were horrible people, her brothers and cousins were a******s, and the b***h stole my Polly Pocket and 1 of my barbies and told me she donated them to poor kids in Russia.
I saw my Polly Pocket on the top of a bookcase in her house a month later and that’s when I was DONE with Jacqueline.
My mom was one of those people that everyone on earth would tell their life story too. I lived in fear of my mom getting in a conversation with anyone because it would always be (or feel like…I was young) hours before we could leave. I still get super antsy if someone keeps talking when I’m giving “gotta go” vibes.
Daycare. I swear that woman hated me.
Middle school cafeteria.
Poll Question
What do you think is the most important step in overcoming childhood trauma?
Therapy
Support from loved ones
Self-reflection
Time and patience
