Everyone reacts to terrifying situations entirely differently. Some people instantly transform into seasoned action heroes who know exactly what to do. Other people completely freeze up or dissolve into total panic. Both reactions are entirely human. But one twenty-eight year old man on Reddit recently decided to grade his partner on her panic attack survival skills, and the internet is absolutely dragging him for his complete lack of empathy.
The Original Poster is a twenty-eight year old man who is currently engaged to his twenty-nine year old fiancée. He opens his story by bragging about his own incredible situational awareness. He claims he is a quick thinker who never panics in the face of danger. He then brutally contrasts his own perceived heroism with his fiancée, stating she has the survival instinct of a panda raised in captivity. That is certainly one way to describe the woman you are planning to marry.
The real test of these supposed survival skills happened on a random Friday. The couple went out on a friend’s boat for what was supposed to be a fun day on the water. They were only anticipating some light rain. Instead, they were unexpectedly hit with a massive downpour, high winds, and highly aggressive waves. The situation quickly turned dangerous, and the men on the boat jumped into action to strap things down and keep the vessel from capsizing.
While the guys were playing deckhand, the fiancée completely lost her mind. She went into full hysterics, crying for dear life and screaming that they were all going to die. She even yelled out that it was entirely her fiancé’s fault she was trapped on the boat because he was the one who invited her. The Original Poster made sure to point out that none of the other wives or girlfriends on the boat were acting like this. It was just his fiancée having a complete meltdown.
In the end, the terrifying maritime disaster was not exactly the sinking of the Titanic. The severe downpour only lasted for about fifteen minutes. After exactly fifteen minutes of wailing, the storm passed and the group made it back to the shore completely safe. The Original Poster noted that the only actual damage they suffered was a few spilled White Claws. But the real storm was brewing for the car ride home.
When a loved one experiences a severe panic attack, the normal response is to comfort them and make sure they feel safe again. This guy chose a very different route. During the drive home, he decided to give his future wife a formal performance review regarding her behavior during the crisis. He coldly told her that her panic was incredibly embarrassing to witness in front of his boys.
He did not stop at calling her embarrassing. He explicitly told her that the fifteen minute boat ride proved he could absolutely never rely on her in a life or death situation. He stated she would be of zero help and would only make things more stressful. He then demanded she learn how to not panic and figure out how to be helpful instead.
Naturally, the fiancée got unbelievably angry. She defended herself by stating she genuinely believed she was going to die out there on the water, which gave her a perfectly valid reason to freak out. The Original Poster completely dismissed her feelings, telling her that everyone else was scared too but nobody else acted as ridiculous as she did. They argued for the entire car ride, and she is rightfully still furious with him.
The internet comment section did not hold back and quickly crowned him a massive a**hole. You cannot train the fear out of someone by lecturing them in the car after they just thought they were going to drown. Comparing her to a captive panda and prioritizing his own ego in front of his friends shows a staggering lack of emotional intelligence. People do not choose to have panic attacks, and screaming at them for being unhelpful is incredibly cruel.
Marriage is supposed to be about balancing each other out and supporting one another through the darkest moments. If this guy wants a partner who can tie maritime knots during a hurricane, he probably should not have proposed to a woman he clearly views with such thinly veiled contempt. He might have saved the boat from capsizing, but his total lack of empathy is absolutely going to sink his relationship.