34 Childhood Habits People Swear By—But The Hidden Truth Behind Them Will Shock You
Ever caught yourself biting your nails during a tense moment or reheating your coffee for the third time, wondering “Why do I even do this?” Well, strap in—because what feels like random quirks might actually be intricate coping mechanisms forged back in the trenches of childhood. Turns out, some of those odd habits we swear by could be survival tactics shaped by growing up in less-than-ideal homes filled with chaos, neglect, or downright emotional minefields. Redditors bravely peeled back the curtain, spilling their untold stories of hyper-vigilance, emotional shutdowns, and mental escape plans so wild, you’d think they starred in their own psychological thriller. This isn’t just about habits; it’s about understanding the hidden scars woven into our daily ticks—and realizing we’re far from alone in this. Curious how your childhood coping stirred the adult you? Let’s dive deep into those eye-opening confessions and perhaps find a little solace—and a lot of insight—along the way. LEARN MORE
Some of the habits that people currently have might be childhood coping mechanisms that they picked up as ways to survive. They might have lived in a toxic family environment and faced neglect or abuse. They might have had to deal with constant fear, stress, and anxiety. And it only occurred to them way later, when they grew up, that the habits they grew to rely upon aren’t ‘normal’ at all.
Reddit users revealed the childhood coping methods that they unknowingly developed in an incredibly honest and impactful thread. They wrote about being hyper-aware of people’s microexpressions, shutting down their emotions, and creating imaginative scenarios to make their situations more tolerable. Scroll down for the most powerful things you will likely read today.
Bored Panda had a very open conversation about hardship, mental health, and childhood coping mechanisms with the author of the thread, redditor u/GreggOfChaoticOrder. They were very candid about their own struggles, the massive impact their r/AskReddit thread had, as well as their thoughts on dealing with trauma. Their hope is that by shedding light on these topics, others can know that they’re not alone in their struggles and it helps make the world a better place.
I look for signs, such as micro-expressions, about what kind of mood the other one is in. My therapist told me not all people do this, and I do it a lot. He also told me I developed it because I was always on the lookout because of my often angry, drunken stepdad.
I can cut people out of my life and stop caring about people at the snap of my fingers, and I do it far too often to people who sometimes may not deserve it to keep myself safe.
Apparently, I do something called ‘disassociating’ where I get so deep in thought that I don’t hear anything else around me. It drives my wife nuts.
I don’t know if it was a coping mechanism so much as a survival tactic. I walk on the balls/toes of my feet all the time. If I’m barefooted, my heels never touch the ground unless I’m standing still. Quietness was the objective.
I talk to myself, like full blown heart felt conversations. I’d keep things to myself because I would get in trouble for saying the wrong thing. I lie because people couldn’t know certain things. I’d day dream because it was better then reality. I observed the room, their gestures to know if it’s safe to interact. I don’t say things about myself because I can’t trust easily.
Over apologizing and always questioning if I come off annoying, mean, or disrespectful. Having little to no self esteem. And self neglect.
I learned to lie rather convincingly. I was petrified of getting in trouble for the smallest things that I learned to hide quite a bit. I had such high anxiety as a kid.
My house is spotless. Everyone is surprised my house is so clean when I have three kids. It’s totally a coping mechanism. If I’m upset or stressed, I clean, and with a baby, I’m stressed a lot.
This behavior comes from my dad throwing epic fits if the house wasn’t clean and tidy. He would yell that he has four daughters, so why aren’t things clean? I thought if the house was clean, it was one less thing to be yelled at about.
I’m slowly learning that it’s OK to leave dishes in the sink or have an unmade bed. A mess still makes me extremely anxious, but I’m doing my best not to pass it on to my kids.
Eating too fast. I remember noticing this even as a child still. I was always done first. And I never out grew it. Neglect and abandonment issues.
Always being okay having your decisions overridden by others and believing they know best. Examples: For birthdays, we’d get to pick a restaurant to eat at. I’d pick a place and usually my sister would complain and my parents would override. Being asked what I’d want for Christmas and being told ‘No, you don’t’ when you tell them what you want. I was super into astronomy growing up, so when I asked for a telescope, I was told more than once I didn’t want it. So I started to believe I didn’t want one.
Self depreciating jokes. If I make fun of myself first it wont hurt as bad when someone else makes fun of me.
Or shutting down because you have to work out the ‘perfect response’ in real-time. And no, screaming at me for being quiet will not make this process go any faster or help to resolve the mind-numbing panic that triggered it in the first place.
I do this, too — and I terrified co-workers when I materialized behind them like a ghost at the copy machine or café counter. They called me ‘The Ghost,’ and I laughed along, but kept to myself that I also knew where the exits were and what was between them and myself at any given moment.
Both of my parents had terrible tempers and three out of my four grandparents were abusive (of every kind you could name) people. You are absolutely right to call it a survival tactic.
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