Life might be a mystery, but the universe still works in such a way that we can more or less imagine the consequences of our actions. However, we know from personal experience that the universe also has a weird sense of irony and likes to throw us curveballs once in a while.

To show you just how unpredictable things can be sometimes, we’ve collected some of the saddest examples of people getting the responses they were definitely not looking for from the Sad Cringe subreddit.

These responses might make you groan. They may make you cringe (and maybe even facepalm a bit). But most importantly, they’ll remind you that life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Remember to upvote the responses that left their mark on you and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever been in similar situations. And be sure to give the very popular r/sadcringe community a visit, too.

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#1 When You Just Need Someone To Support You…

#2 Life Stops Right At 35

#3 Kinda Sad

Reddit user Niceboihappy, one of the moderators at r/sadcringe, told Bored Panda that the community has seen an increase in members since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the mod also pointed out that the subreddit is always growing in size. And the more members there are, the stronger the community becomes.

Niceboihappy also shared some advice about what to do if you receive bad news or an unexpected response. “I would say be confident, but not too confident. And, especially, for an unexpected response it is probably best to just own it and make light of it.”

The Sad Cringe subreddit is practically ancient. It was created back in 2013 and now boasts over 882k members (that’s way more than I could count to). So what does this community of nearly-a-million do, exactly? Well, it’s dedicated to collecting examples of the most embarrassing and awkward situations that also make you feel sad inside.

#4 More Sad Than Cringe

#5 Sad Cringe

#6 Yikes

In other words, content that’s just cringeworthy isn’t worth a spot on r/sadcringe if it’s missing the ‘sad’ part. The community guidelines indicate that “pathetic loser sad” content doesn’t work and that the responses have to be “unhappy/depressing sad.”

“The content should make you go: ’oof, that hurts,’ not: ‘lol, what a moron,’” the moderators point out. They also stress that they’re not here to make fun of people. Which is why they ask everyone to avoid bullying and harassment. “Be nice,” they add.

There will always be times when we’re caught completely off-guard by bits of news or responses from people. However, there are ways to bounce back and make the best of a bad situation.

#7 Please Excuse Me While I Search For A New Psychiatrist

#8 Ouch

#9 That’s Just Nasty

LinkedIn Learning Instructor Tatiana Kolovou states that when we’re faced with bad news, we tend to react emotionally. So what you want to do is allow that initial emotional reaction to pass by giving yourself some time to process things.

“Calm yourself. Take a deep breath. Possibly look away momentarily to try and focus your thoughts. Exhale deeply. All these behaviors will help you bring your elevated heart rate down and physically center you,” Kolovou explains how to get yourself under control again. Keep that in mind the next time life throws a curveball at you and you might just hit a home run.