r/traumatizeThemBack

I was waiting to pick up a prescription today when I heard some shuffling beside me.
For context, I’m blind on my left side. I lost vision in my left eye from glaucoma and eventually had the eye removed, so unless something is directly in my line of sight, I genuinely might not see it.
When I finally turned around, I saw an older lady struggling to pick something up, so I offered to help her.
She snapped at me and said not to bother, because if I “actually wanted to help” I would have been more proactive.
I told her I was sorry, but I’m legally blind and would have helped sooner if I had seen her.
She then hit me with, “People nowadays want to self-diagnose everything to avoid responsibility.”
So I had it.
I took out my prosthetic eye, held it up, and told her, “You can diagnose it yourself if you’re so uncertain.”
Not a word from her after that.

I'm an atheist, and my school is Christian. I normally don't have to go along to religious/church events, my parents will let me skip it and I can chill at home. But this one time, it was sprung up on me, so I had no choice but to go.

I was sitting on the pews, bored AF, and there was this middle-aged woman seated behind me, she tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around. (I'm in first year of secondary so I was wondering why TF this woman is interacting with me, and that made me snarky) and this [I don't have the best memory so this may not be exact] conversation ensued:

Me: me, obviously. WL: weird woman.

Me: Yes?

WL, in a snappy tone of voice: Why aren't you taking part in Our Father's holy ritual? You should be giving respect to him.

Me: I'm an Atheist.

WL, pissed: Well now, that's not a real thing! You were made by God, and God makes no mistakes, so you ought to pray to Him in thanks.

Me: Well, if God makes no mistakes and also made me, then he meant for me to be an atheist.

WL, completely shocked: B-but-

Me: *turns around in my seat and goes back to ignoring her*

She did not bother me at all for the rest of the service, so I'm going to consider her traumatized back.

I knew this guy called Leon, he was one of those guys who thought he was better than everyone and would constantly insult and belittle people. One day he was calling this girl Chelsea "fat" over and over again, saying "shes only fat because she eats so much shit" Chelsea struggled with her weight so she got so upset that she flipped and started beating his ass, turns out Leon (who always acted like he was tough) couldn't fight at all and cheslea started seriously beating his ass, she was throwing him around by his hair and punching him in the face as he was crying. The next day she messaged him saying she would knock him out again if he didn't eat actual shit on video to apologise for what he said and show HE is the one who eats shit and not her 😂 well tough guy Leon was so scared of a girl that he ate his own shit and sent her the video on Snapchat, she screen recorded it and sent it to everyone he was ever nasty to (a lot of people) and they all shared it as well, soon Leon because known as shit mouth by everyone in town and even the kids started bullying him and eventually he moved away. This is still the most perfect karma I have ever witnessed. The way she twisted his words back on him and utterly destroyed the biggest bully by showing he was all talk. Me and my friends still laugh about Leon to this day and chelsea is a local legend 😂

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Aside from the fact that this is infuriating, any ideas on how to catch this fool? I'm not interested in a camera. What can I do to the box or bars? I thought about somehow using ink that would get all over their hands. Any thoughts?

When I was growing up, my uncle had this habit of making little digs at everyone. If you got upset, he'd laugh and say, "You're too sensitive. Learn to take a joke."

For years I just stayed quiet because arguing only made him double down.

At a family barbecue a few months ago, he started in on me again in front of everyone. He made a joke about my job, looked around for people to laugh, and then asked, "What's wrong? Can't handle a little teasing?"

Instead of defending myself, I smiled and said, "You're right. I am sensitive. That's probably why I notice when someone needs to put other people down to get attention."

The table went completely silent.

He laughed awkwardly and tried to say I was overthinking it, but nobody joined in this time. My aunt changed the subject, and one of my cousins quietly said, "She's got a point."

The funny part is he hasn't made a single joke at my expense since then. He still jokes around with everyone else, but somehow he never picks me anymore.

Turns out the people who constantly tell you to "lighten up" don't always enjoy being understood quite so accurately.

So I was always very easy to bully due to my atrocious self-confidence, and my higher than average height. I was 1.76m tall ( 5'08" ), which is tall for an 11-year-old boy. But because I was always drooped and acting like a meek lamb, I was picked on rather easily. So this much shorter boy, which I'll refer to as 'D', started making my life utter hell. Messing with my property, chasing me down the street by threatening me with voilence, and constant verbal abuse. That boy was the bane of my existance for the 2 years I've spent on that school.

I only learned to stand up for myself half-way through the second year of highschool. But since then I've never had an issue with my confidence again. Straightening my back, and proudly walk around as my own person. I feel like that could've been sooner if that boy didn't choose me as a target.

Many years later, perhaps in my mid-20's, I'm in my mid-30's now, I stopped growning. I had reached the nice height of 2.08m (6'10"). And was out to get some groceries. When I saw a certain recognisable face in the distance. It was 'D'.

Now by that time, I had already forgiven him, I mean, why would I hold a grudge for the actions of a preteen bully, right? I approached him and just said hello. Asked how he was doing.

That guy utterly shat himself, he went white as a sheet and looked at me as if I were about to put him in the ground without warning. He trembled a little bit too. Of course I noticed. But I just kept being friendly, until he 'had to leave' and walked off perhaps a bit faster than he had to.

So in his head, I was a lot more dangerous than I actually was. But I liked that he traumatized himself to such a level of fear. Purely by the fact that I didn't stop growing, and didn't lack confidence anymore. He was preparing for consequences which never came, and were never coming either. In hindsight, I felt pretty good anyway.

I (33M) am currently chasing a long-time college friend who owes me a balance of PHP 34,000 (In total. Not in one go) Started as 65k.

We reconnected last November consistently compared to before when just hang out from time to time and she invited me to invest in her buy-and-sell business. (She begged me).The deal was simple: I provide capital when she's short, and we split a 40% profit margin. Since I live paycheck to paycheck, the extra income was a huge help at first.

Everything derailed in March. She claimed clients stopped paying, orders were messed up, and refunds were issued. She convinced me to give her one "final" round of funding, showing me screenshots of a 6-digit pending check to prove she could cover it. However, when payment was due, she claimed her bank account was flagged under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), freezing her funds. Since then, she has repeatedly missed promised payment dates. I finally gave her a hard ultimatum to pay by the end of June.

This has caused a massive strain on my personal finances and my relationship, forcing me to take out short-term loans just to get by.

During my months of chasing her, I asked if her husband (who also went to college with us) could help cover the debt. She immediately got defensive and sent me a series of heavily resentful voice messages. She claimed she is the sole breadwinner, called her husband incompetent and lazy, and said he barely supports their child. She begged me not to involve him, claiming they barely speak and it would cause her immense stress.

Frustrated, I told her that if she missed the end-of-month deadline, I would involve her husband anyway. She gave a passive-aggressive reply: *"Good luck with that. If I can't pay you, I hope he can."*

At this point, I don’t even expect to see my money. But because her broken promises have severely damaged my financial health and my own relationship, I want her to feel the same level of stress and strain she caused me. If she misses the deadline, my plan is to forward all of those negative voice messages directly to her husband.

WIBTA if I send her husband the audio of her trash-talking him as retaliation for not paying me back?

P.S = She begged me to lend her the money and assured me she'll pay. She started offering it way back 2017-2018. Then begged me recently when we reconnected.

Also she moved up north and had her condo rented out. I do not know her current address.

I have a friend who always dismisses things by saying people are “too sensitive,” including me.

If something bothered me and I brought it up, he’d just brush it off with that line instead of actually listening.

One day, we were hanging out and someone made a small joke about him. Nothing serious, just light teasing.

He got visibly annoyed and started defending himself.

I just calmly said, “Why are you reacting like that? You’re being too sensitive.”

He went quiet for a second and then said, “That’s different.”

I didn’t argue, I just left it at that.

Since then, he’s toned down using that phrase on others.

https://www.reddit.com/r/traumatizeThemBack/s/LiFOokmVSC

I calmly spoke to her since it is the last day of the ultimatum today.

I told her that she failed her commitments so many times and as agreed she should pay in full today.

She told me not to message her as husband. If she is not able to respond, she is busy because she is in a team building activity. I told her that it's my choice to tell him of the debt.

She committed to pay me 9:00 pm tonight.

Also I received new information that even if they are still legally married, (since divorce is not legal here in the PH and Annulment is expensive), they have broken up. (Not sure if this is true)

Because, last time when I had a delivery, it was her husband who handed it to me.

I am now considering not to send the recordings. What do you guys think? Should I still? There's something missing here.

For almost a year, one coworker had a habit of making little jokes at my expense during team meetings. They were always subtle enough that if I reacted, I'd look "too sensitive," but frequent enough that everyone noticed. I tried ignoring it because I didn't want unnecessary drama.

One week he interrupted me three different times while I was presenting an update. Each time he would correct me, even when I was right. Instead of arguing, I simply said, "Let's check the project notes after the meeting so we're all looking at the same information."

The next meeting came around, and he confidently corrected me again. This time I calmly opened the shared document on the screen. It showed that my original statement matched exactly what had been agreed on the week before his own comments were still there, proving it.

Ok, this one is ongoing.

I have had my cellphone number for at least 30 years now.

In 2016, someone I have never met and don't know started giving out my phone number to every political phone bank staffer and roofing scammer across 2 states. I started getting spam and scam calls and texts right before the 2016 US election, and they have not stopped since. Multiple times per day.

We contacted our phone company multiple times, and there has been no action.

One day (IIRC in 2024) I received a text from a realtor, directed at this person, asking about the sale of his home, and listing a street address. I thanked him for giving me my identity thief's address, and promptly found a landline phone number by the simple hack of using Google. I used this to call the home number, and there is an outgoing voice mail message that is apparently from the guy's wife. No help there either. She's been extremely rude, when she bothers to answer at all. Cue the entertainment.

Now, every time I get a call/text from a roofing scammer, I set up appointments. Some for 7 am, some for 8, some for noon. Random days. Random times. I send them a contact card with the home address and home number, and instruct them to call the home number if they need further info. Hey, at least I'm giving them a chance to find out they were calling the wrong person. Some of them never bothered to call the landline. It has been fun.

Oh, yeah. I also found an obituary for the guy. Sometimes, if I'm feeling generous, I'll send a link to the obit and tell them to contact 'me' via Ouija board. Anyone care to bet how many have paid attention to that?

They just keep showing up to his house. One day, I might could ask hubby to drive us over there and hang out across the street filming.

The last time I spoke to my Aunt I was in my early twenties, maybe closer to mid twenties. At the time I identified as a cismale gay man (which is a bit different these days but not the point). My mother had always been raised to be the whipping post of the family and, so, I suffered a lot of verbal and some physical abuse at the hands of my extended family. It started because I was of mixed race and got worse as I grew up and came out as queer and just otherwise too different from these Southern Good Ol' Boys and Gals. Me being Family made them look bad, or so they felt.

With that bit of set up, the last time I spoke to my Aunt was a Thanksgiving where my family was going to use my Aunt and Uncle's lakeside cabin (my mother had and I had been discovered by a child she had put up for adoption that year) and my Aunt was in a foul mood. She hated when anything good happened to our family, and this was like winning the lottery when my mom's "mistake" turned out to be a successful, loving daughter who wanted to reconnect.

So, she corners me while I'm getting my stuff ready and offers me something. I look over and see some pamphlet with "The Rainbow is for God, not Gays" on it and knew it was a Conversion Camp bullshit or something in the same vein.

"I'm not in the mood for this, [Aunt]. I'm busy and going to hang out with my sister!"

"But, does she know what a shame you are? You don't want to disappoint your new family do you?"

"Look, she knows. She's cool. Now, quit being mean. If you continue, I'll be mean back. And I'm much better at it than you are."

I had spent years taking this woman's abuse, her carelessness, her crassness, and then she looked at me and said "I guess your sister can at least make your mother proud."

To which I turned to her, smiled, and said, "At least my mom can keep two children alive. Sucks about [Cousin], huh?"

Her eyes widened, she began to bawl and snot and spit began running down her face. She attempted to hit me but she was so dazed and stunned it missed.

To note, her son, whom she had kept from any therapy or help, had had a drug problem in life. She signed him out of his own imposed Rehab program because "Of what the neighbors would think." He had not lasted much longer before ODing after that.

I've never spoken to her since and my Mom, after finding out what I said, never attempted to make me go back to see that part of the family again nor have I really wanted to.

To this day, I'm fine with how we ended things. My Aunt is vile and I feel no regret over having said what I said.

Hope it brings some entertainment to y'all.

Today I received a call from an unknown number. I usually don't answer since it is almost always ads or scammers, but I was waiting for a call so my hand went faster that my brain. Bingo, scammer again, pretending to work for the power company.

"Sir, I call you because you are a home owner suscribed to our compagny." I am not, I can't afford a house, so the informations are already wrong. But he insist and here is the beautiful part : I'm trans, I have been for years now and nobody today uses my deadname. And I don't know where this dude got his data but he said

"You are M. [First name] [Last name], right ?"

"Yes" (he mispronunced my last name)

"And you are married to Miss [Deadname] [Last name] ?"

"Oh, no. She's dead actually. But thank you for bringing that up."

Dude stuttered an apology and hung up immediatly. Hopefully he'll think twice now before stealing people's personnal infos. I doubt it honestly, but at least I had a bit of fun. Don't deadname me and tell me I'm married to myself if you don't want to be embarrassed.

Dad was a narcissitic abusive psycho. He would scream at me for the most ridiculous things full throttle at 100%, screaming that I should die and that I am a good for nothing.

Well today at 35 I exploded and did the same. I screamed at 100% like a psycho at him, telling him he should die. He was flabbergasted and said something like "what the hell is wrong with you boy. You should reflect upon your actions".

I told him to shut up and not be a crybaby because he did that to me for 15 years when I was a little kid. He muttered something like "I never screamed at you" and walked away perplexed.

It feld good in the moment. But now a day later I just feel hollow. And I feel a little bad about it. And I did it once. He did it 1000 times and doesnt even feel any remorse. Actually thinks that he never screamed at me. Some people are just mentally/psychological abnormal.

So I had a friend who always acted like he knew better than everyone else. He would constantly “correct” people in group chats, interrupt conversations, and act like whatever he said was the final word on everything.

At first, I ignored it because I didn’t want drama. But over time it got really annoying, especially because he would also talk down to people in a subtle way and then pretend it was just “jokes” or “being honest.”

One day in a group conversation, he tried to correct me again in front of everyone, saying I was wrong about something I actually knew for a fact. Instead of arguing back, I just calmly asked him to explain how he came to that conclusion.

He started confidently explaining it… but as he kept talking, it became obvious he didn’t actually understand the topic at all. He was basically guessing and mixing up information he had heard somewhere else.

I didn’t insult him or call him out directly. I just kept asking simple follow-up questions like “where did you read that?” and “can you break that part down?” and he slowly dug himself deeper without realizing it.

By the end of it, the whole group had already figured out he was wrong without me saying anything. He got really quiet and stopped trying to correct people after that. He still acts the same sometimes, but now people don’t take him as seriously anymore.

It wasn’t dramatic, but it felt like the situation just flipped on its own without me needing to argue or create a scen

Being stalked by proxy for 2 years has had its us and its downs. I figured it out too late in the game to shut it down "appropriately". Now there are just to many with cameras ready, I'm assuming. So I started making T-Shirt designs about my story and it's not quite the same energy but it is a good outlet for me.

Considering the smartass that I occasionally can be when warranted, and sometimes super petty person I don't want to be, I think they are getting off easy for now. Of course they won't let me close to them and hide their faces if the windows aren't tinted.

Ya know....I have never seen so many people reaching for the glove box, grabbing something from the floor of the car, or literally looking towards the back window while at a stop sign across from me. It's just odd how many. Maybe it's a new stop sign phenomenon or some European thing catching on here in the states.

Anyways, if you have a similar issue, check out my shirts on Etsy by searching The3Three0. I hope someone out there can be empowered by one of them and get a boost of confidence maybe. they are 100% from my brain and I'd appreciate you checking them out and if you want to help support my expression that would be awesome. Either way, I wish you all the best in your TTB's!

And this isn't my real traumatize them back moment, that's still to come!