People Are Sharing The Habits That Completely Destroyed Their Quality Of Life, And It’s A Cautionary Tale

We all make mistakes, but sometimes we pick up a bad habit that is so significant that it digs us deeper into a life hole. On the popular subreddit r/AskReddit, Reddit user u/Unlikely_Bid8892 asked: What's something you did that reduced your quality of life so much that you wish you had never done it? The results were brutally honest and will make you rethink your life choices:

FG Trade / Getty Images

1."Taking on student loans."

—u/Beautiful-Signal7249

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2."Worked 12-hour days for a job that wasn't worth it."

—u/sylphdreamer

3."Neglect my body for years. Almost no movement. Rather poor hygiene. Horrible food. And little to no sleep."

—u/Sad_Fee_4104

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4."Succumbed to my food addiction...again. After two years of extreme dieting and exercise, I lost a significant amount of weight and achieved the best shape of my life, feeling very good about myself. Once I got down to an ideal weight, I didn't know what to do with myself anymore. I didn't know how to maintain it. I started eating horribly again and am now, just over a year later, at the heaviest point in my entire life. I binge eat to the extreme, and I'm pretty powerless to stop it. It affects pretty much every aspect of my life to some degree, and it's a very depressing feeling."

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—u/NocturnaPhelps

5."Bulimia for 15 years since I was a teen. All because my mom signed me up for Weight Watchers as a kid, since I was a little chubby. Never felt thin enough. Ruined my teeth and digestive health. 10/10 do not recommend."

—u/ghostbustrnutclustr

6."Trying to impress people who don’t GAF about you."

—u/Brave_Calendar_941

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7."Decided to give working in a warehouse a shot. Quality of life went from 90% to below 50%."

—u/F3Grunge

8."Isolated myself for years. I’m not sure it could really have been otherwise with the issues I had, but it annihilated my social circle."

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—u/NuclearSoil

9."Living with a boyfriend who rages."

—u/Equivalent_Hair_149

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10."Vaped. Been nine months without it, and still cough and get winded easily. Used to sing as well and I can't hit notes for shit these days."

—u/Ok-East-8412

11."I was jumping on our kids' trampoline and I hurt my back, and I’ve suffered sciatica pain all these years since. My life would be so much better if I had not thought jumping on a trampoline would be good exercise."

—u/AvailableBreeze_3750

12."Spent years to impress the girl I like, I should have given that attention to my own self instead, improving my life."

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—u/OkAccess6128

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13."Holding out for a management position instead of moving on. He won't retire. The man is mid-70s."

—u/Funkyp0tat0chip

14."Trying to please people."

—u/OrchidCrushxoxo_

15."Not wearing earplugs at concerts."

—u/organicbooger

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16."Moved to a new province (state) thinking I needed a fresh start, but in reality I was just running from my problems!"

—u/Smooth_Raspberry_007

17."Running too much in bad shoes. Now I have arthritis in my foot and I can't run anymore."

—u/justablueballoon

18."GET INTO DEBT!!!"

—u/ImpactSmooth299

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19."Overeating."

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—u/Different_Cat7932

20."Caring for others who do not give a damn about me in return. Wasted far too many sleepless nights on people who wouldn't give a flying monkey if I was in a situation like theirs."

—u/Party_Phrase2445

21."The wrong partner will wreck your life. I've been there, done that."

—u/Top-Car-808

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22."I went rock climbing one day without a helmet on. The first time I didn’t have it on was on the day it was needed. A Severe TBI is an injury I wish upon no man, woman, or child."

—u/Impressive-Dog-408

23."Smoked."

—u/Verlin_Wayne

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24."Going to prison at 19 for selling weed. In the end, it worked out. I've since graduated from college and have a nice engineering job and a great life. It was a rough patch in my life for sure. Freezing, stuck in a prison cell in Joliet for 77 days, I went weeks without showers or seeing sunlight. Then, I was shipped off to boot camp for 4.5 months to be further denigrated. In the end, it caused me to grow up and prioritize what I want in life. Worked and paid my way through a 2-year community college, followed by a MIS degree at a 4-year University. Life hasn't been perfect, but I always have perspective on a 'bad day' in that I've had it much worse."

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—u/leprechanmonkie

25."Putting effort into people who didn't do the same for me. Then getting anxiety over it."

—u/MeltyFrog

26."Stayed in my college major even after I knew it wasn't for me. I wasted a lot of time that I can never get back."

—u/SororitySue

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27."Skipped the mammograms cause I had an 'it’ll never happen to me' attitude when I was younger. Now I’m lying on a bed at a breast center waiting to get five biopsies for suspicious spots."

—u/Snowfall1201

28."Being understanding when someone treats/talks/screams at you like shit. Don't stand for it."

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—u/Hangytangy

29."Ever touching nicotine."

—u/titsmuhgeee

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30."Drinking wine every night."

—u/OpheliaJuliette

31."I left Walmart after 15 years to be a store manager at Starbucks —worst mistake of my life. I remember nights when I was there, ten after a closer called off, to have an opener call out, and knowing I'd have to wake up in four hours and work another shift, hoping the same thing wouldn't happen again. It was just awful, and the stories I'd hear from interviewing people made me realize how bad fast food was. People from other companies wanted to work at Starbucks cause those places were even worse."

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—u/bendystrawboy

32."Social media. It has seriously messed with my attention span. And I can’t even remember how to enjoy free time without checking it every five minutes."

—u/NeonPinkBag

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33."Married young, at 18, now 61 divorced, wish I had planned my life better for my future first before I got married, I just didn't want to be alone."

—u/Ok-Dependent4293

34.And finally, "Dwelling on the past."

—u/Ball2daW-all

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The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.

Is there a bad habit that you feel has derailed your entire life? Comment below on what you are doing to change it!