But it’s past time for us to stop romanticising undeserving behaviour or actions that ultimately become the norm in society. We came across a Reddit thread where people have shared things we need to stop romantising and they all make perfect sense. 

1. “Acts of charity that shouldn’t be necessary.”

– lmac_bean

2. “Mental illness. It’s not a fashion accessory, it’s a disease none of us want to have. You’re not cool, trendy or suddenly super [friggin] interesting because you claim to have a mental illness.”

– lelakat

3. “Giant weddings. Why are you putting yourself into crazy debt and through a bunch of stress for a giant event you probably won’t even be able to fully enjoy? Save your money, elope and buy a cool house or go take an awesome vacation.”

– OiKay

4. “Public marriage proposals, where the other party is basically shamed into accepting.”

– MisterMarcus

5. “Controlling/abusive relationships. Twilight and 50 shades I’m looking at you.”

– cerose2

6. “Workaholism, the grind, hustle culture. It’s not for everybody, and it doesn’t mean someone is a failure to not devote their life to making as much money as possible. What’s the point of making money if you have no time of your own to enjoy it?”

– thechristoph

7. “Jealousy. You know what’s hot? Trust.”

– ipakookapi

8. ‘”Gangster” lifestyle. Nobody in the hood wants to be there.”

– AfroMan98

9. “The mentality of girls “playing hard to get”. No, she’s not into you because you’re being a creep dude, not because she wants you to try harder.”

– isthisourthrowaway

10. “Eating disorders. It’s not beautiful and tragic, it’s just a lot of gross s**t. Like hoarding bags of chewed up food under your bed.”

– tomorrowistomato

11. “Toxic relationships and the bad boy ideology – ‘bad boys’ may seem all cute on paper but no, you cannot fix them. It is up to the person to change and toxic relationships are a battle to make healthy. Only if the two parties are willing to sort it out then it can work out but there’s nothing romantic about toxicity, it hurts and screws with your head.”

– anonymous 

12. “Having children. Being a parent is hard work, and kids are basically a**holes for years and years. If you’re not sure you’re up for the challenge, postpone it while you consider it some more.”

– DisobedientSwitch

13. “Working while sick. JUST STOP! It’s not tough of you. You’re not taking one for the team. You’re probably about to take the whole team out.”

– gramosaurusflex

14. “The past. No, it wasn’t better. No, back in your day kids weren’t better behaved. No, back in your day things weren’t easier.”

– Anonymous 

15. “Pregnancy. It’s scary, life threatening, hard, exhausting, and so many more things. I was so sick. I was sick even after delivering at 32 weeks because if I didn’t she and I would have died from HELLP syndrome. Feeling her kick and wiggle was the only thing I liked about being pregnant. She’s the greatest thing to ever happen to me but it was so hard and the NICU was terrifying in itself. So many people romanticize pregnancy when there isn’t nothing pretty about it. The Maternal Mortality rate in this country is absolutely shameful but that seems to get over looked with most things when it comes to pregnancy.”

– sstanger

16. “Poverty. Growing up poor and oppressed in a third world country and climbing your way out of this hell, it is not inspirational nor heartwarming. There is nothing beautiful about having to work until you break just so you can provide. No person deserves to live this kind of life. Help, don’t romanticize the poor.”

– viciousmotherf**ker

17. “Losing your virginity. You don’t suddenly change into a whole new person once you’ve had sex. Teenagers should definitely not have this as a benchmark for being grown up.”

– ilovezombies33

18. “Stalking. Nothing’s sexy about a guy following you around or appearing randomly everywhere you go.”

– cerose2

19. “Portraying a glamorous life on social media. I am so sick and tired of every single person trying to make themselves look like a foodie, fitness model and wanderlust world explorer. Just live your life people. Stop doing things for the ‘gram. It doesn’t care about you or how much of your life you are wasting trying to impress people. Spend more time with your spouse, friends and family and you won’t regret it.”

– soulsista12

20. “Gambling; because gambling isn’t about James Bond playing Baccarat in Monte Carlo. It’s about sad, addicted people desperately playing slot machines and losing money they don’t have.”

– the_real_grinningdog

21. “Ignorance. You’ve got the right to not care about the world around you, but it’s not something to brag about.”

– Stockholm-Syndrom

22. “Being proud of ‘being bad at Math’. Also hating learning/education.”

– guesswhat8

23. “For me, personally, it’s codependency. I always had romanticized the idea that me and my partner would fully depend on each other for every emotional and physical need, and that we would and should be able to fulfill the other persons needs. Now that I’m married I realized that if my husband and I did that with each other we would have a gross and dangerous codependent marriage.”

– TaraLynnSmith

What else do you think we need to stop romanising?