Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what you have learned about yourself by being on Mumsnet?

135 replies

LauderSyme · 09/01/2017 00:22

I've learned that

  • I am a gullible fool (or if being kind, I always want to see the best in people Wink)
  • I am a lot more authoritarian than I thought. I always believed I was pretty liberal, but have realised that I put a lot of faith in rules and think people should abide by them and reap the consequences if they don't.

Am sure there's more but these are the two things that have struck me most. How about you?

OP posts:
BewitchedBotheredandBewildered · 09/01/2017 01:01

That I'm, well, just perfect really .

Original poster
LauderSyme · 09/01/2017 01:03

hungryhippo me too!
I am often deeply impressed by the kindness, compassion and wisdom of other users - not to mention their comedic genius - and sometimes feel absurdly proud of them!
Obviously the opposite can also be the case Grin
I came here a few years ago as a first time poster because a bomb went off in my emotional life and I was really struggling to deal with it.
I was so grateful for the understanding, support and sympathy I was given, it helped me massively to process my feelings and made me feel much better.

OP posts:
DementedUnicorn · 09/01/2017 01:10

That I do not want kids. Ever.

I absolutely love Mumsnet but by God, parenting sounds hard Shock

dailymaillazyjournos · 09/01/2017 01:11

That there are wise and kind strangers willing to help others through all sorts of situations.

That I've been through a ridiculous amount of shit in my life (so many situations that threads are about I seem to have experienced! )

That some of the things I've been through in life I needed and deserved far more support for than I ever asked for or was given. If MN had been around when I was going through some absolutely 'soap opera-worthy' crises, I would have coped much better and not felt so petrified and alone. And got some decent advice I reckon.

That I err on the side of kindness and try wherever possible not to hurt people.

That generally people want to try to help others. Which is a bloody lovely thought right now with so many dreadful things going on here and overseas.

I've learned some of the things to watch out for as a new MIL and GP from reading some of the crap things DIL's are having to deal with.

AgathaMystery · 09/01/2017 01:12

I am much less liberal than I thought, but also more of a feminist.

I've realised I'm quite good at my job & my standards remain high (NHS).

I knew nothing about skin care. Really, nothing, but lots about watches & handbags.

I am very very fortunate. I always had an inkling but I really am.

hungryhippo90 · 09/01/2017 01:45

Checkpointcharlie!?! Afraid of foreigners? So basically a racist?! I'm a bit aghast I was called xenophobic now! (Back then I didn't know what it meant so I shrugged it off)

Laudersyme- I think it's truly what makes MN what it is! There are so many types of people here, the Ones that have such sharp wit, that'll have you snorting coffee out of your nose! Then there are the genuinely kind ones who are there to lend support and their own stories, there are also a few threads that have seen me in tears. It's the humanity of it all... god I love it here!

HerrenaHarridan · 09/01/2017 01:56

That I'm much better off as a single parent.

That feminism has an impossible divide and I can only ever be on one side of it :(

Original poster
LauderSyme · 09/01/2017 02:11

hippo yes I have been literally crying with laughter reading some threads.

But oh god yes, the ones that make you cry.... Do you remember reading about the mother who had PTSD and wanted to have her daughter adopted? It was so sad for them both. I think about her and her little girl a lot and hope things got better for them.

I have also learned that I am a fairly "live and let live" person (unless they're breaking any rules!)
I wouldn't dream of reacting as violently as some posters do at other people's transgressions.

OP posts:
NoncommittalToSparkleMotion · 09/01/2017 02:37

That I am a judger. But now, I wait til I have all the facts, and acknowledge that I can't possibly know the whole story.

And that I'm common as muck.Grin

MotherKat · 09/01/2017 07:14

I have learned that there is life outside my bubble; for example in real life I don't know anyone who is pro brexit or anti trans, I now realise how far we have to go as a society.

ThisIsNotARealAvo · 09/01/2017 07:17

That I'm fortunate to have a DH who is not an arsehole.

That I'm a feminist.

mygorgeousmilo · 09/01/2017 07:28

Another autism one! I was fairly convinced anyway, but threads on here helped me push for diagnosis for my son when he was just 2. People's positive stories and advice helped me get in the right frame of mind to actually welcome the diagnosis.

mygorgeousmilo · 09/01/2017 07:32

Oh AND another one that realised my DH is not a pig/bastard at all Shock I'm also quite harsh and judgmental in comparison to some pp, whereas in RL I always thought I was very liberal and open minded. It probably doesn't help that you are going off of a one-paragraph OP, but I tend to be very "oh pull your fucking socks up OP!" On here, and in real life I'm more considerate of circumstances and history etc. I'm definitely more brutal on here. off to see a psychiatrist now

OllyBJolly · 09/01/2017 07:42

I've learned that I'm not always fair and kind to my DH, who is always fair and kind to me. I now recognise that and I'm striving to be nicer.

I realise how lucky I am that ExH married a lovely woman, who was a wonderful step mum to our two DCs, and a great support to me.

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge and willingness to help from individuals on this form. I could ask anything (my boiler isn't working/it looks like I've just vomited up my appendix, what to wear with this dress) and get a sensible, humourous answer.

PinkSquash · 09/01/2017 07:44

I learned that I was in an abusive relationship and MNers gave me the support and encouragement to leave.

I also learned that I am strong and a feminist. Smile

MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 09/01/2017 07:47

That I'm a racist, misogynistic, disablist, intolerant hand maiden.

Apparently. Hmm

normastits5 · 09/01/2017 08:00

That I wish I knew about MN sooner so that I could have been supported a few years ago when my world caved in .

Wriggler79 · 09/01/2017 08:05

I didn't know emotional abuse was a thing until I found a description of it on Mumsnet. I left my ex the same week; had been trying to understand why I couldn't make the relationship work before that. Absolutely life-changing and I'm much happier now!

Divorcingjack · 09/01/2017 11:32

That my DH is a keeper.

That the support of people that you have never met can save you.

That I, my DH and probably my DS have ADHD.

c3pu · 09/01/2017 12:40

That I identify as cisgender

Zaphodsotherhead · 09/01/2017 13:13

That I'm actually a bit pants. I always thought I was fairly together and managing as best I could under difficult circumstances but I'm actually just a bit lazy and hopeless!

I don't really mind. But hats off to everyone who really changes their lives - I've learned that women can be one hell of a lot stronger en masse.

Changerazelea · 09/01/2017 13:15

That I needed an instant pot pressure cooker in my life. That I would let an amazon delivery man use my loo.

DJBaggySmalls · 09/01/2017 13:18

That I could never do half the things people post about. Every day people come on and list awful things others have done to them. I try to imagine being the other person and I cant do it.
I'm a liberal authoritarian as well as it turns out, stick to the rules, share, be nice, do as you would be done by. Or fuck off.

ToEarlyForDecorations · 09/01/2017 13:24

I'm a man pleaser. Also, I mansplain, apparently.

However, I do not have an irrational fear of toilet brushes. In addition, I've trained my poo not to fly out of the toilet bowl and dance all over my toothbrush. I goes down the pan on flushing every time without fail.

That's why I brush my teeth in a bathroom with a toilet in it.

Oh I think of MN when I leave my tooth mug and toothbrush on the cistern. I have a sly smug grin on my face when I eat a bit of deli meat en route to the till in the supermarket.

ExcuseMyEyebrows · 09/01/2017 13:25

I honestly thought that I had a hard life. It is NOTHING compared to what a lot of people endure every single day.