13 People Share the Cringiest Things They’ve Ever Done That Still Keep Them Up At Night

Everyone has probably had at least one experience in their life that they wish they could change. We can think of several times where we would go back and say or do things different if only we could. Often these are small things that for some reason our brain just won’t let us forget about it. 

Reddit user UserIsTooLazy asked the community, “When you’re lying in bed at night, do you ever randomly remember some relatively minor social missteps or poorly chosen words you did/said years earlier? And then beat yourself up over it even though it really wasn’t a big deal? If so, what happened?”

The answer is yes; a lot of people do this. Perhaps that’s one reason we sometimes have trouble sleeping at night. 

Here are some examples of social missteps that people shared in answer to this question on Reddit. Hopefully they’ll make you feel a little bit better about whatever social misstep you might be beating yourself up about.

  1. Wheelchair Mishap

    Reddit user JackyBurnsides wrote:

    Accidentally ran wheelchair bound friend into wall. Still cringe about it 7 years later

  2. Chopsticks

    Written by Thoughtitwouldlast:

    It was extremely stupid. I was a kid back then at the airport and I was schedualed to go visit my family. My dad brought me to a restaurant before my flight. While I was there, I saw these chinese chopsticks that looked really cool. But I was sure my dad wouldn’t buy me them. So for the first time ive got mischivieous and tried to steal them. As i was doing so, i turn around and see that everyone happened to be staring at me. My dad, the cashier and the cook. Realizing what had happened and me realizing they realized made me cry instantly. I vividly remember my dad telling the cook and cashier that I am usually not like this which made it even worse. Afterwards i found out the chopsticks were free anyway.

  3. Throwing Up

    Shared by Kaylycat:

    Not really something I said but when I was in second grade I wasn’t feeling well. The teacher was talking & i was taught to wait until someone is done speaking to talk, so i waited and finally I had a chance. I walked up to her desk to ask if I could go to the bathroom & threw up all over her desk.The next day at school she told everyone if we felt sick to just go to the bathroom, don’t ask just go. It’s stuck with me ever since lmao

  4. Traffic Patterns

    LanceFree added:

    I was a sophomore on college living off campus and had English first period. The teacher came in, and drew a diagram of some roads on the board, which was unusual and she started talking about traffic patters and how at a 4-way intersection, the car going North has the right of way, and then how it goes in a circular fashion. If there are two cars going North, the second is supposed to wait. I realized she was actually addressing me, as I had cut her off 10 minutes previous.

  5. Dog vs Friend

    Shared by Pandacat1551:

    Accidentally pat my legs and told my friend to come to me. I hadn’t seen them in a while and was only playing with my dog before they came over. Still think about it a lot even though it was at least 2 or 3 years ago.

  6. A Toddler

    Written by Bannybaws:

    I was having a lunch date with an old friend from school and her toddler. I was showing the kid something on my phone and he grabbed it. For some reason I said, in a jokey voice, “You better not drop that or I’ll stab you!” As soon as the words left my mouth I was like, what the actual fuck have I just said? I looked at my friend in absolute panic. She just looked at me like I was an idiot. To this day I have absolutely no idea why I threatened to stab a baby, even if it was just a daft joke. I think about it periodically and cringe so hard. It’s a wonder my friend still talks to me…

  7. Pizza Delivery

    Reddit user otobedjessica wrote:

    Yes. I still beat myself up over saying “can I give you a hand” to a pizza delivery guy who was trying to juggle a pizza and open a door.

  8. What Did You Say?

    Shared by yourspudbud:

    I have a habit of stepping forward and leaning closer to people when I can’t understand what they’re saying. It was my first year learning ASL, it was a parent-teacher conference, the teacher was deaf. I was having trouble understanding what she was signing, so instinctively moved towards her. In retrospect it must have seemed aggressive for some reason, and I immediately regretted it. Nobody acknowledged it, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt a stronger desire to hurl myself into the sea.

  9. A Runaway Dog

    BirdAsleep added:

    When I was around 11 years old I was at a friends house and their neighbors dog ran away. I followed the dog to a rocky shore and I was calmly trying to grab it’s collar to bring it back home. Then in a split second the owner finds us and startles me and I accidentally step on the dog’s paw and it screamed. The owner thought I had taken the dog out to the shore and that I hurt it on purpose. That shit still makes my heart hurt.

  10. The Nutcracker

    mushroommadam wrote:

    In 3rd grade my art teacher asked if anyone had the Nutcracker movie that they could bring for the class to watch. I volunteered. The next day as she was putting in the VHS tape she said to the class , “This is Barbie and the Nutcracker, I wish Mariah would’ve told me that but I guess we’ll watch it anyways” and shy 3rd grade me was so embarrassed. I turned bright red and felt horrible even though it was a simple mistake.

  11. A New Greeting

    Written by yeticonfette:

    I used to work at a family restaurant as a server and towards the end of the night I was really tired and was trying to mix up my greetings so every table I had didn’t hear the same one. While I was walking up to a recently seated family of 4 I was going back and forth in my head between “What’s up” and “howdy folks”, when I got to the table what came out was “Howdy Fucks”. The complete silence after is mainly what my shame marinates me in late at night.

  12. “I Still Hate Myself”

    Written by ProudLiberal54:

    I was a young, punk,self-centered kid, we played football in the neighborhood. We had another child with braces on his legs but he played with us. I started running my stupid mouth about not wanting him on my team: he was standing behind me. He never said a word. I don’t remember but I don’t think I played that day. That was 50+ years ago and I still hate myself for it.

  13. I Was Shy

    Shared by Mistayadrln:

    In 1st grade, my teacher ask me if I would mind taking something to the teacher in the next room. I said I would mind. What I didn’t say was I minded because I was painfully shy. She was upset with me and made me put my head down on my desk. To this day I lay awake wondering how 6 year old me could have worded it where she would have understood I was too anxious to go. Mrs. Ridges, if your out there, I didn’t mean to be rude!!!