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Overcoming traumatic life experiences, complete lifestyle changes, etc.

IvanOffelitch

Well-known member
I was watching The Swan (please check out the link if you're not familiar with the show) tonight on Fox tv, and it got me thinking...

Who here has had to overcome significant issues in their lives such as obesity, self-esteem issues, traumatic childhood experiences, disfiguring injuries, etc.?

If so, do feel your experiences give you a different insight or perhaps more compassion to others who face the same issues?

How did you deal with them? Do you still "wrestle" with the same issues today?

Using weight issues as an example:

If you've ever been overweight yourself, do you consider yourself more compassionate to others who struggle with weight issues?

-OR-

Using traumatic childhood experiences as an example:

Say you were picked on a lot as a kid; does that make you more sympathetic as an adult when/if you see a child being picked on?

I have things I may share in a later post, but I'd like to see where this goes first.

Discuss.
 
IvanOffelitch said:
Who here has had to overcome significant issues in their lives such as obesity yes, self-esteem issues yes, traumatic childhood experiences yes, disfiguring injuries yes, but it's hidden, etc.?
IvanOffelitch said:
If so, do feel your experiences give you a different insight or perhaps more compassion to others who face the same issues?
Fuck them, and fuck you for making fun of ugly dudes. Stick a 22G pin in your fucking retina! :finger:
IvanOffelitch said:
How did you deal with them? Do you still "wrestle" with the same issues today?
Everyday, I've made no progress.
IvanOffelitch said:
Using weight issues as an example:

If you've ever been overweight yourself, do you consider yourself more compassionate to others who struggle with weight issues?
I was over 300. I wanted to lose fat and gain muscle. I did.
I growing I growing :)
IvanOffelitch said:
-OR-

Using traumatic childhood experiences as an example:

Say you were picked on a lot as a kid; does that make you more sympathetic as an adult when/if you see a child being picked on?

I have things I may share in a later post, but I'd like to see where this goes first.

Discuss.
Long story...
 
Hmm persoanlly lots i have overcome.

Lets see as a child i was fat.. over 200lbs at 16, and i overcame a learning disability.

When i was 22 i was in an accident that cause second degreee cement burns over alot of my body.. Even a large scar on my face that actually took 2 yrs to heal.

Being fat though did not make me more senstive to chubby people.. I'm not quite sure why. but having that scar on my face for 2 yrs, made me realize how vain i was and helped bring things in perspecitve. I took for granted that sometimes things come easier for people if society deems you "easier on the eye" For 2 yrs everyone i meet would go whats wrong with your face. For a person who was as vain as i was.. it was a big piece of shit to bite on.

Anyway i personally beleive we all have stuff we go through and that no one has it easier than anyone else. We have life lessons to learn, but we have to chose what we gain from it
 
Yeah, years of pretty horrific early abuse turned me into the sweet lovable gentle person I am today
 
Let's just say that the people that really went through stuff would not post on this thread, and i mean really went through hell and back. But those of you that feel you overcame adversity should be congratulated.
 
Never suffered any serious trauma

I got picked on quite seriously for a long time for not being a Christian and amongst other things it has caused me to still be very critical of faith.

All in all my childhood has been more safe and nice and stressfree than most peoples'
 
Well, to be honest, my divorce has really changed my outlook on life. My ex and I were soulmates, the only reason I even married her was because I believed we would stay married forever, it just felt so perfect. Now that it's fallen apart I realize that no matter how perfect any relationship seems nothing is ever guaranteed, you just can't take things like that for granted. I've become alot more jaded towards women in general because of this whole ordeal, and I honestly think that's a good thing. I'm not saying I'll never marry again or give my heart to someone else, but I'm going to be ALOT more cautious and guarded going in. I've also learned alot about marriage/relationships and how to make them work, and what signs to look for that indicate probems. I learned that I don't need a woman to be happy, and a bad relationship just isn't worth my time or effort.

It's made me a stronger man, and even though I am sad that I'm now divorced I'm still glad it happened, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
 
Forge said:
Well, to be honest, my divorce has really changed my outlook on life. My ex and I were soulmates, the only reason I even married her was because I believed we would stay married forever, it just felt so perfect. Now that it's fallen apart I realize that no matter how perfect any relationship seems nothing is ever guaranteed, you just can't take things like that for granted. I've become alot more jaded towards women in general because of this whole ordeal, and I honestly think that's a good thing. I'm not saying I'll never marry again or give my heart to someone else, but I'm going to be ALOT more cautious and guarded going in. I've also learned alot about marriage/relationships and how to make them work, and what signs to look for that indicate probems. I learned that I don't need a woman to be happy, and a bad relationship just isn't worth my time or effort.

It's made me a stronger man, and even though I am sad that I'm now divorced I'm still glad it happened, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Anybody who uses the term soulmate appears to be a bit naive and not realistic enough...


I heard the following dialog in some movie i dont recall

"How are they?'

"they call each other soulmates"

"I give them three months"
 
GREGORY said:
Let's just say that the people that really went through stuff would not post on this thread, and i mean really went through hell and back. But those of you that feel you overcame adversity should be congratulated.


they might post and jsut leave out alot of detail
 
ok... at age 30 i was 250 lbs and lost 100 pounds in a year.
i have posted my before pic here, but i was... a mess.
yes, i'm sympathetic to overweight people. i work hard to maintain myself now, but i like eating and gain easily. i don't believe in god, but that saying "there before the grace of god go i" or something is basically true.

AND, i had a messed up childhood. not messed up like "my parents were really strict" or "my mom raised me alone"- i mean, messed up like involving the FBI, hiding out in an attic for a year, moving from alaska to the virgin island and changing my identity, etc.

eventually, it lead to my father spending 6 years in a federal prison with manuel noriega and eventually dying less than a year ago.

the outcome is: i'm an atheist. the notion of their being a god is so rediculous to me. i'm also probably more liberal than others. and more sympathetic, and at the same time, not so much.
 
GREGORY said:
Let's just say that the people that really went through stuff would not post on this thread, and i mean really went through hell and back. But those of you that feel you overcame adversity should be congratulated.

what he said.
 
Sugarplum said:
ok... at age 30 i was 250 lbs and lost 100 pounds in a year.
i have posted my before pic here, but i was... a mess.
yes, i'm sympathetic to overweight people. i work hard to maintain myself now, but i like eating and gain easily. i don't believe in god, but that saying "there before the grace of god go i" or something is basically true.

AND, i had a messed up childhood. not messed up like "my parents were really strict" or "my mom raised me alone"- i mean, messed up like involving the FBI, hiding out in an attic for a year, moving from alaska to the virgin island and changing my identity, etc.

eventually, it lead to my father spending 6 years in a federal prison with manuel noriega and eventually dying less than a year ago.

the outcome is: i'm an atheist. the notion of their being a god is so rediculous to me. i'm also probably more liberal than others. and more sympathetic, and at the same time, not so much.

You turned out great-
Unlike most people who go through that
 
Robert Jan said:
You turned out great-
Unlike most people who go through that

you know why.
cause like you, i'm a literal thinker, not a theoretical one who overanalyzes facts.
 
Robert Jan said:
I sometimes overanalyze

get a little older and you won't give a shit anymore.
:)
 
Ulcasterdropout said:
blowup doll :rolleyes:

I was going to respond via PM, but decided to respond publicly instead.

I remember that thread, and I apologise if you took that the wrong way. It was not meant as a personal jab, I'm sorry if you took it that way. :(

What is intended to be good-natured (albeit at times a bit on the rough side) ribbing can be mistaken for a personal attack. In real life, my friends and I tend to be quite brutal with eachother at times when it comes to giving eachother guff, but it's all meant in fun. I guess I need to remember that some people don't have as thick of skin as I do and at times can take things the wrong way, esp. given the difficulty of conveying inflection via an internet message board.

Please accept my apologies.

Huge props to you for working around your issues. I know first-hand how difficult it can be.

Prettylittlepest said:
Anyway i personally beleive we all have stuff we go through and that no one has it easier than anyone else. We have life lessons to learn, but we have to chose what we gain from it

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm sorry you had to endure that.

I agree, most everyone has their burden(s) to bear, and some people are more able to deal with their experiences and learn from them than others.

GREGORY said:
Let's just say that the people that really went through stuff would not post on this thread, and i mean really went through hell and back. But those of you that feel you overcame adversity should be congratulated.

Obviously there are things people aren't going to share on here. If someone isn't willing to divulge their stories, they shouldn't feel compelled to do so. I just thought this might develop into something that others could learn from by those who are willing and able to share.

JerseyArt said:
Yeah, years of pretty horrific early abuse turned me into the sweet lovable gentle person I am today

Actually, you seem to be one of the friendlier orbs on this board.

Robert Jan said:
I got picked on quite seriously for a long time for not being a Christian and amongst other things it has caused me to still be very critical of faith.

I don't blame you in the least for being critical. It's very difficult (if not impossible) to see Gods love through His "followers" under these circumstances.

Forge: VERY well said. Sometimes the most painful experiences in life are the ones that we learn from the most.

Sugarplum: Congrats on your weight loss(!). As far as your spiritual beliefs, they are yours to decide and I do not question them, but I would like to mention something for you (and others) to consider:

Matt. 5:45: ...He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Take it FWIW, I won't bring it up again unless asked to.

As far as some of my own personal experiences go...

I've shared a few things about myself in other threads, but I'll gloss over them (and a couple other things) here as well.

I was sexually abused as a child, I've struggled with weight issues in the past, I've had to deal with emotional issues all my life at the hands of a severely alcoholic father, I nearly became an alcoholic at one point myself, and I watched my manic depressive mother rot from cancer before I was out of my teens. These are but a few of the things I've had to deal with. There's plenty more, but I'll save them for another time.

All these things have served in their own way(s) to make me into the person I am today. I still struggle with certain issues, but my faith has enabled me to deal with things I didn't stand a chance of dealing with on my own.

In some areas I've made total recoveries, and in other areas I'm no better than I was in the past. I've made more than my fair share of mistakes, and I still continue to do so on a daily basis.

As Sugarplum said, "there but by the grace of God go I."
 
i signed up for a reflexology course a while back and man did that shit ruin my life, 3 years after im looking into accupuncture. when will this shit end? i still have night tremors and shave life a leaf when i see reflexology commercials.i guess im scarred forever.
 
The grass is never greener on the other side.. Some people are also alot better at hiding their issues
 
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