10 Wild And Untold Secrets Shared Anonymously In This Online Thread

It’s arguably safe to say that everyone has secrets, no matter how big or small. And they’re secrets for a reason, as people might not want those around them to know what it is that they feel, know, or have experienced.

Yet for some reason, disclosing secrets to individuals they don’t know might not be as difficult or scary. Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed the topic, after the user ‘meepmorp98’ asked them what is a secret they wouldn’t tell outside the bounds of the internet. Fellow netizens were open and honest about it and shared stories ranging from wholesome to heartbreaking, and beyond, so scroll down to find them and see what is easier to confess without someone’s eyes staring directly at you.

Seeking to learn more about how sharing secrets anonymously can affect us, Bored Panda reached out to a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University, Maurice J. Elias, Ph., who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You can find his thoughts in the text below.

10 PHOTOS

#1

My fiance loves to sing around the house - but only when I'm not there or can't hear. She has the most beautiful voice and incredible vocal ability.
My secret? When I have my headphones on around the house, she'll sometimes call out to me and I'll pretend I can't hear her at all. She'll often start singing and I turn my headphones off so I can hear her properly. It's been 4 years and she still doesn't know that I purposely ignore her so I can listen to her singing

#2

A few years ago my dad's truck was broken into and he lost all of his rings (he had several silver rings and would take them off to drive bc the wheel rubbing on the rings was irritating. Forgot them in the truck one day and they were all stolen).

My dad is not the type to accept gifts, especially if it's a replacement for something that was lost due to his error.

Over the years, I've been slowly replacing them. I'll save up, buy a ring that looks similar to one of the old ones, and then I'll either claim I found it somewhere or leave it for him to find.

I replaced 2 by pretending I found them in the snow while out shoveling. Months later I left one outside our front door for him to find.

It makes him SO happy every time one is found. I hope he never finds out I am the one leaving them lol.

#3

I’ve tried to off myself several times before, I have “ letters” hidden everywhere to my husband and my kids and my mom and siblings. I started Zoloft because of it, I had developed a panic disorder about three years ago and no one would take me seriously when i would try to talk about it, other than my husband, I started Zoloft for my anxiety, but in reality, I started it so I would stay alive for my husband and my children, and it’s been 4 months in, and the past two weeks I’ve felt happy, like excited about living instead of the opposite.

#4

I have come to realize that I like being around my pets more than people, as my pets are not inherently corrupt.

Studies found that a person keeps around 13 secrets at any given moment, five of which they haven’t revealed to anyone; the other eight were likely shared on Reddit.

Be it Reddit or any other online platform where you can post things anonymously, it seems to be easier to unveil secrecies there rather than to someone’s face. While discussing the reasons for why that is, Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University and author of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting, Maurice J. Elias, Ph., pointed out that just because we confess something, it doesn't mean that we want to take responsibility for it.

“Just as little children try to ‘hide’ behind one finger, adults ‘hide’ by attempting to conceal their identity,” he told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “It's also worth reflecting on the structure of the Catholic confessional—there is an attempt to make confession easier by making the confrontation not be ‘face to face’.”

The expert added that there was the common belief that the eyes are the window to the soul, which makes some anonymous confessions somewhat incomplete, as people might be holding back on perhaps some of the worst details... details that might be detectable through eye contact.

#5

Just about every day, when I am in the car headed to work, I genuinely contemplate just driving off and leaving everything behind. My fantasy is heading to Alaska, living in a motel room, and washing dishes for work.

I can't go through with it because I have people counting on me.

Yes, I am in therapy.

Edit: I got a message from a bot that a concerned Redditor was reaching out. I don't know who you are, but I appreciate you. I can assure you that I do not wish to harm myself. Just experiencing "the call of the void". Thank you, though. You are a good person.

#6

Sometimes I get up in the morning, shower, get ready, and then get back into bed and pretend to be sleeping just so my daughter can run into our room and wake me up.

She's 7 and still loves waking me up in the morning to get my day started by seeing her face first.

I pray that I will never know a day that doesn't start like this.

#7

Back when we were dating, my wife found out I'd never had a surprise birthday party before. She *really* wanted to throw one for me, which I was okay with. Only one problem: it never worked. She'd try almost every year, try throwing surprise parties for other occasions. Each time, as she was planning stuff, I'd pick up on some discrepancy in her cover story, or pick up on something that a friend said, ask about it, and she'd be unable to cover it.

Then finally, after years and years of this, she pulled it off. She was delighted and so proud that she at last managed to surprise me. She's talked about it for years, about how close I came to uncovering it. It made her so happy, and it was a lot of fun.

What happened is I finally managed to be quick enough to put the pieces together to stop myself before I asked about the discrepancy in her cover story. Played dumb, and pretended I had no idea. Acted surprised when the day came.

She will never know.

#8

My life expectancy is less than a year. My friends and family think I'm anti-social but I spend most of my time in bed. I don't want to tell anyone and I don't know why.

While revealing secrets is typically not easy, it can make you feel better; even if for a moment. According to Prof. Elias, confession unburdens us from the powerful emotions of guilt and shame. “Yet in confessional situations, people still are fearful that they will be judged harshly if the worst of their actions are known,” he added. “So we get partial confessionals, which sometimes can make the guilt and shame easier to live with but more often only bring temporary relief.”

#9

I'm in love with my best friend.

I told her two years ago that I wanted to take her on the actual date, and she told me she just wanted to be friends. After that, It was a couple of weeks of her not really talking to me and then unfortunately she had an accident. The accident resulted in problems partially impacting both long and short-term memory.

I didn’t ask if she remembered our conversation. And we more or less went back to the way things were, other than her telling me the same adorable stories over and over again, multiple times a week.

#10

I ran in a high school track meet once using a tampon. The entire tampon. Plastic tube and all. I was so confused about how these were in popular use because wow what a pain in the a*s it was trying to keep that little extendable plastic stick from falling out, why did people like using these things???

Edit - I have deep regret about the word choice of "pain in the a*s" in this post