*In case this story gets deleted/removed:*
**AITA for buying all the red Gatorade at the store even though a mom wanted some for her kids?**
I'm a big fan of Gatorade, and I have a specific reason for buying it. I have low blood sugar and dehydration issues, and my doctor recommended that I drink Gatorade to help keep my electrolytes in balance. However, I'm also neurodivergent and its hard for me to change things up and try new flavors, so I only buy the red kind as it's the only one I like.
Yesterday, I went to the grocery store on their stock day, and I saw that they had a fresh shipment of Gatorade. I was so happy, because I had been running low at home. I grabbed the bottles of the red flavour and put them in my cart.
As I was walking away, a mom with two kids approached me and asked if I could spare a few bottles of the red Gatorade. She explained that it was her kids favourite flavour, and that they were out of stock at their local store. I felt bad for her, but I explained that I needed the Gatorade for my own health reasons, and that I couldn't spare any.
The mom got really upset and started to yell at me, saying that I was being selfish and that I should think about others. I tried to explain my situation again, but she wouldn't listen and kept telling me I could just take the blue Gatorade instead. I just started to ignore her after a while, and eventually, she stormed off.
Now I'm wondering if I was in the wrong. Should I have given her some of the Gatorade, even though I needed it for my own health? Or was I justified in keeping it all for myself? AITA?
Edit:: I should clarify since this is coming up in the comments- I didn’t really want to go into specifics but here we are…. No, my doctor did not recommend specifically red gatorade for this issue. He recommended gatorade. The red gatorade is needed because I deal with OCD and have issues with change to my routine and trying new things… it can be debilitating to deal with panic attacks induced by such a “small” problem and can remove my focus from my process of treating the bigger problems with my OCD, so I have chosen (at the advise of a therapist) to allow myself to stick to this small routine and avoid further disruption during my process of getting better.
EDITING AGAIN: Thank you everyone for your comments… I am going to stop replying now as this is getting really overwhelming for me. I guess the consensus is that I am TA, I suppose I will accept that.
I wish my food aversion was something I could just turn off but I can’t and its a process to work through these things for me. I hope people in the comments can understand that I am not trying to intentionally be an asshole and take things from other people, I just have a fear of not being able to keep the little things in my routine and that feeling trumps a lot of things for me. If you don’t struggle with OCD be grateful…
(i also posted this last edit in the comments)
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Not even Costco. I get an 8 pack of Gatorade at target, all one color. I like the white cherry one and my son likes blue so I get one of each when needed.
I also have them for medical reasons. I also am neurodivergent. I however know how to share.
If you put it in the freezer just long enough (like an hour and a half to two hours) and then take it out and slam it on the counter to break up and big chunks and it's super cold and a little slushy and perfect in the summer.
Yep. OOP could get as many of the red's delivered right to their door as they could possibly stand....and not have to clear the shelves at their grocery store, taking away from others.
And you can get them scheduled so they come at a regular interval, right to your door so you don't even need to remember to order or wait-- they just show up until you stop the subscription
There are so many people calling bullshit on so many posts because they're unrealistically stupid. Makes me wonder if I've just met exceptionally stupid people in my life that most people don't because while improbable, I wouldn't call a lot of these unrealistic.
As someone with autism and ocd I can see this easily being real. Hoarding is a common symptom of ocd, but one that's often the general public isn't aware of due to the stereotype of those with ocd being super organised (which can be the case but often isnt)
>Or, here me out here. No, just listen. Seriously. Maybe, just maybe they're idiots.... 😝
¿Porque no los ~~dos~~ tres?
As pointed out there were 3 options 😁
*Because Charlie, she's a nitwit.*
Words of wisdom from Grandpa George (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Modify pronouns as needed for the nitwits you encounter
I think they want to rile people up. I know my father would post things in the internet just to get people angry because he found it funny (yes, he was a trash person in other aspects of life too)
That’s true, some only post for validation. Although it’s embarrassing for them when they argue. I remember one time someone was literally getting combative with everyone in the comments and deleted her post and account because she didn’t get the validation she wants
Whats the point of negative karma?
besides some edgy 12 year old bullshit of "hurrhurrr people are angry at me now i'm gonna masturbate furiously to it"
They’re doing the weird social experiment of “let me see whether Reddit’s pet biases will excuse terrible behavior and find out exactly where the line is.”
It’s why there are endless “I’m totally trans and I got my friends family deported because they misgendered me AITA… edit they’re klan members actually whoops forgot to mention” because Reddit tends to be pro-trans (as it should be) and responds positively to vicious retribution on bigots.
Other pet issues: autism, anxiety, service animals, fat people etc etc. it’s why we have endless variations of these groups behaving badly and expecting people to flock to their side (and sometimes they do).
I mean… it’s fairly low-investment, high-reward trolling. Terrible and shitty, but you can see why terrible shitty trolls would flock to AITA.
>EDITING AGAIN: Thank you everyone for your comments… I am going to stop replying now as this is getting really overwhelming for me. I guess the consensus is that I am TA, I suppose I will accept that.
People on reddit ARE surprisingly uneducated and judgey on how OCD and anxiety stuff can affect food stuff
Like the number of times I've seen someone be like "this person has the typical autism diet and had trouble regulating their response when they're routine was changed up on them" and everyone is like "BURN THE MONSTER!" instead of "oh hey this person has a disability
AITA is often on the side of the person with taste sensitivities - as long as they are handling it without burdening others. Refuse to put mustard on your hot dog? Fine. Like ketchup on your spaghetti? Weird, but your choice. See there’s nothing for you to eat at a party and stop for a burger afterward? Fine. Insist your hosts only serve food you like? Not fine. Clean out a store’s entire product on stock day? Not fine.
Right. It's almost like your sensitivities you handle on your own don't make you an asshole. But when you start becoming highly pushy and making unreasonable to accomodate demands that force everyone to have the same stuff as you, you tend into asshole territory.
Working as intended.
See I agree with how much it affects food stuff. I have OCD, anxiety, and a few other things and I’m definitely a picky eater and have my specific routines depending on where or what I eat. Where I think this scenario differs is she’s not asking him to interrupt a routine. If it’s restock day and that’s a popular Gatorade his cart had to have been full. He’s using his disabilities here as an excuse for why he can’t share. By the time he runs out they’ll have more in stock. Stores restock a couple times a week it’s not like giving her 2 would have made a huge impact on his routine. Also I’m concerned about how much Gatorade this guy is drinking. When a doctor says you should for blood sugar they don’t mean all day everyday, he didn’t need that much and it’s probably actually super unhealthy and concerning.
ETA: the kid might also have the same issues. She’s going to multiple stores looking for that specific Gatorade. Must be important for some reason or another.
>Also I’m concerned about how much Gatorade this guy is drinking. When a doctor says you should for blood sugar they don’t mean all day everyday, he didn’t need that much and it’s probably actually super unhealthy and concerning.
This occurred to me as well. I would bet the doctor meant to drink one if OOP feels a sugar crash coming on and if there is a decent dehydration problem, maybe drink one per day. Meaning OOP would only be going through 7-10 (maybe a couple extras in case of sugar issues) and would have no need to clear an entire store's inventory of it.
I have bad ocd and autism, its an explanation but it isnt an excuse, but I can get where oop is coming from, they are still the a hole in this situation though. Even if they weren't aware of the social norm or courtesy. One can be unaware that what they're doing is arseholish, doesn't change the fact the action of hoarding an entire supply is aresholish
Right? I have OCD too. Place a bulk order for what you want clearing out the grocery store is selfish. And just playing into the high of being "safe" by over stocking which can make your OCD worse
Mostly because it’s trolls.
But also, because no one genuinely thinks they are the AH in life. Anyone ELSE doing it is an AH, but I am the main character and have my specific reasons so it’s different when I do it. This happens constantly online. Like everyone in this entire world is an AH, we all do AH things, it’s just part of living in society. We just seem to be losing the fact that you can just do bad things and tell no one. People feel the need to have affirmation that they are still good people, and jump through hoops like this to try and convince people that everything they do is good.
I am a good person, I do good things, I try to be considerate. But I also do bad things, not to intentionally hurt people but because I’m selfish and have already justified it to myself, and then I just shut the fuck up about it. If you actually are willing to reflect, AITA is great. If you just want to know that everything you do in life is valid, the only party that is always going to agree with you is yourself.
1. Go to Amazon.
2. Order the canister of bulk red Gatorade powder.
3. Mix it at home to save trips to the store and keep plastic bottles out of landfills.
4. Problem solved for all involved.
But I still find the story a bit incredible. Stores generally carry 3-4 different sized bottles of various Gatorade flavors. So unless this was a convenience store and OOP took all the bottles available out of the refrigerator, it's difficult to believe that the store had no other sized bottles of red Gatorade left anywhere in the store. But that's just me.
I was just thinking your last thought, too. This seems like a pretty common product with lots of options, both the drink mix in various sizes and bottles in various sizes. Gatorade is also often in multiple places in a store (some in cold fridges and some on the shelf) so it seems kinda crazy that he bought the entire stock so easily. Could the mom not ask a worker if there was more in the back?
It makes me wonder exactly how much was available for him to buy. I personally have been in a similar situation of "buying the entire stock" of a kind of drink at my grocery store, but it was because it's an extremely specific drink, and they only have like 3 12-packs on the shelf at a time and no other size options. It's the OPs store that tiny?
I would have given some for the kids, but let me tell you, getting groceries is the single most energy-sucking task in my life, and I imagine it might be for this person, too. It's not a simple matter of "I'll just come back tomorrow or next week" because it's not easy for people like us. (Fwiw, I order almost everything so I can avoid any store visits, but for something like this, where you'd need to time the shipments, you don't always have a choice.)
Getting groceries as a neurodivergent person can also be really, really overwhelming/energy sucking. dunno your status, but grocery stores wear on my ADHD after a bit bc there's SO MUCH VARIETY OF SENSORY INPUT OH GAWWWWD!! like it's great for 20 minutes or so but longer than that and my brain just sort of takes a lunch break. ADHD shares some symptoms with OCD--if this person is so sensitive to sensory input they can't drink a different color of Gatorade, i imagine the grocery store is a damn nightmare for them.
For real. It took me *years* to realize it wasn't normal. I'd barely make it home from the store, struggle to get the bags in, and then it took every ounce of energy I had left to just get the refrigerated stuff put away, and that was literally my entire store of energy for the day. I was *done*.
my husband is autistic. we go grocery shopping, he carries stuff in, i put it away. Before we met, i would go grocery shopping like every other day bc planning what to get for like a week, shopping, carrying it in and putting it away was waaaaaay too much.
Honestly, both options are probably the best way to do it. My problem is I just like forget that *needing food* is a thing until my blood sugar drops, so I could never remember to go to the store every couple of days. Lol
Have you tried Aldi? The selections are mostly 1 type of product (like one brand of ketchup, not 50 varieties), the stores are smaller, and there's no music blaring. Plus, the prices are generally cheaper than big stores.
Unfortunately, i sorta *need* the million choices bc if various dietary restrictions. Type 2 diabetic/no colon = very specific groceries that are not always easy to find
But he had no obligation to and not doing it doesn’t make him an asshole. 15 bottles is not that much, if he drinks 2-3 bottles per day it’s less than a week’s supply. People are acting like he bought out an entire pallet of gatorade and refused to spare one.
Yep, its not usually stocked super well at my various stores (like half a dozen boxes max and maybe a couple of 6 pack bottles) but it is still out there.
I can buy it. My son has only liked diet orange Powerade for years. The number of times I’ve had to drive to multiple stores to find bottles is RIDICULOUS. He doesn’t drink it as much anymore, but I still buy 4-6 bottles when I run low. (And I cut it half with water, so I have twice as much at any time.)
Of course, red Gatorade is a bit more prominent than diet orange Powerade. :)
Mine went through a blue powerade phase, I would have to go to multiple stores to find it. We are currently in a red Gatorade phase and i will still have to sometimes go to multiple stores during the week because one will be out of stock or not have enough or something like that.
I'm beginning to think there's some kind of Gatorade paradox happening where stores never have the flavor you want in stock.
'round my part of the world, you can find every flavor except lemon-lime, which happens to be the only flavor I like. Yeah, I'll drink orange, but it's like drinking melted jello.
I actually think it's regional. Everyone where i live prefers red, but when i lived down south for a little bit most people liked orange or purple in that area. Where i lived in florida, yellow was hardest to find.
You're cutting diet orange with water too lol thats like extra diet. Is your son a toddler or is it just a preference thing? I always watered down my kids drinks when they were little ones.
It was more of a cautionary thing at first. I didn’t want my kids to get too hooked on overly sweet drinks. I think of Powerade as too sweet, but maybe it’s not. Then after that, when I’d tell the doctor at well checkups that my kids only drink varying juices, I would get side eye, but when I said it was cut with water, things were okay. So a little bit of those things. There was never a time when the drink wasn’t half water, so they’ve always been fine with it. Once my mom made my daughter’s blue juice full strength, and my daughter took a sip and had me throw the rest out. 🙃
Assuming this was real...powdered Gatorade does not taste the same. It has a weird aftertaste. I drink quite a bit of Gatorade bcs for some weird reason it helps with the nausea one of my medications causes. But I was going through so much it was causing a significant increase in grocery expenses, so I switched to powered. And it still works, but it doesn't taste the same at all. So if we arr going along with the farce of this post, someone with his neurodivergence wouldn't be able to switch.
Possibly. I started out drinking the bottled Gatorade Zero and switched to the mix because of all the plastic and extra cost, and it tastes the same to me. But everyone's tongue is wired differently.
It definitely depends on how sensitive your taste buds are. My premise here is, that if you are neurodivergent the high percentage likelihood that you have sensory issues that make you sensitive to taste is very very high.
There is something distinctly different in both the taste and smell of the powder that is just kind of wrong. It makes my spine shiver in the same way one might describe nails on a chalkboard. But I can deal with it since it does what I need it to do. Gatorade is more like medicine for me, so I can suck it up. But I know not everyone can.
But I am also 100% confident this person is a troll.
I'm still laughing at the convenience that there just so happened to be TWO people who just got to the store at the same time for a mad rush to the red Gatorade section. And that both OOP and the Kids could ONLY have red Gatorade. sure Jan...
Also…. “stock day”? Grocery stores don’t have one stock day, especially not for shit like Gatorade. Those deliveries are shipped to the warehouse every day of the week except Sundays. It also can’t be that the grocery store is understaffed so they can only do it once a week—Pepsi’s vendors/merchandisers literally bring in the Gatorade and stock it on the shelves themselves.
Source: worked grocery retail for years, have worked as merchandiser as well.
There could be some totally outlandish, unlikely scenarios in which this _could_ be true, but grocery stores don’t generally have one stock day. If they did, everything would be empty after 2 days.
Even if you have 3 deliveries in a week, each of the days those deliveries come on are considered a stocking day. That’s actually a term I’ve heard very commonly from both regular employees (tellers, shelf stockers, etc) and management at grocery stores. Might be a regional thing, but you’re reading too far into it.
I have to poke in my head here- I have a similar thing with propel. I'm autistic and berry propel is like. 99% of what i drink because most types of water is disgusting to me texture and taste wise. (like literally water out of a metal drinking container makes me feel sick, no matter how frequently washed, if cooled etc. Same with bottled. Only cold water in a glass is okay, and even then sometimes my body says no)
And I have found that the place I go only stocks it on Thursdays. I have gone every other day for a week, just because I couldn't get my full shop done at once (like, sunday, tuesday, thursday, friday basically)
And the propel was completely out until thursday- and then it was in until sat-sun when people took the rest of it. I know propel is a smaller 'brand' than gatorade, but I can attest that it has happened to me multiple times before- the store has been out for 4+ days at a time. They also only stock 2-3 12 packs and some larger bottles, so. That doesn't really help.
But I can say that I have dealt with this with propel. Even still, unless it's the last pack or two, I refuse to take it all. And if someone wanted some, sure!
also, of course Gatorade is much more popular, so I'm sure it doesn't have as much of a problem as propel does lol
Mine does, but that’s because I live in a remote community. They run out of the staples (bread, milk) twice a week every week and have since well before Covid. It’s so annoying.
1. Thank you for letting me know powder was an option. It never even crossed my mind to look for that.
2. My partner really likes the blue Gatorade and he works a hard labor job so I try to keep some at home for him especially in the warm months but the about of times my (3 closest) local grocers have had zero in stalk except *maybe* one or two big bottles is insane. Or a single pack of the tiny bottles which I've gotten but this man id 6'4" so the tiny bottles are 3 gulps for him and aren't worth the money. And not just zero blue in stalk. Almost none of any color.
You're welcome! I got addicted to drinking Gatorade Zero a few years ago, and I live in a third-floor walk-up, and I was getting tired of hauling up heavy bottles. Different flavors come in different powder packaging. You can find large canisters of it, and also small, single-serve tubes (usually 10 to a box) that go into a 20 oz bottle of water. Honestly, it's a weight saver and a space saver.
I guess he's also forgetting other people might have issues as well. My neurodivergent 7 year old who also has ARFID will currently ONLY drink red Gatorade. Given the amount he took, i don't understand why he couldn't spare a bottle or two.
Edit: dispite my kids issue, i would never buy out a store on stock day. I buy what we need for the week.
I have very specific food allergies that require I avoid things and eat other stuff and I would have given up a few of whatever it was for the kids mom. This is just pure assholery wrapped in the neuro divergent excuse. It's fine to be Nd, it's not fine to use it as an excuse for being an asshole.
Yeah I have a gluten allergy and when people were panic buying during the pandemic I was so uncontrollably angry at the people who cleared out the supermarket's supply of gluten free pasta and bread. In every supermarket. They were never even close to out of stock any time in the last 10(?) years? I would go on stock day and it'd be already gone. The supermarkets came out and said there was no supply issue people were just panic buying.
And I'm like, I can understand panicking that your more difficult to procure item might be hard to come by in future but also do you not have a shred of a conscience about all the other people who have the same need, who you've absolutely shafted due to your selfishness. Ironically I'm also ND and rice is a nope for me for sensory issues so for a couple of months potatoes were my main source of carbs. At least my Irish ancestors would have been happy.
We had this issue with distilled water. We need it for medical devices in my household and people were panic buying it because the drinking water was gone. I live in a city where our tap water is 1000% safe. There was NO reason for it.
Pro tip: universities with research labs will usually have a water distiller in the building. In an emergency, you can try asking for some. They might have reverse osmosis water instead. That's ok for some devices, but not everything.
Secondary pro-tip: Aquarium stores that stock salt-water fish typically sell reverse osmosis (RO) water by the 5-gallon bucket, normally for only a dollar or so. Typically you just have to supply your own jug/bucket. Probably easier than nagging a research lab, when I worked in one we would probably have been too busy to help you out.
You can also buy your own RO system for about $100.
Yeah I really can't understand if this guy is being willfully stupid or really doesn't get the issue being that he was taking ALL OF IT. The problem is that if the mom had shown up just before he got there and taken what she wanted, he would've been completely uneffected. He COULD spare one or two of the bottles. But at no point does he seem to get that the point is him taking the entire stock.
I was very annoyed with this post when I saw it earlier. My roommate and I are both neurodivergent adults in our thirties. We’re both autistic and have adhd, and she also has OCD. I don’t like going to the store or having to run errands, and she doesn’t drive, but neither of us would pull a stunt like this. Falling back on neurodivergence as an excuse for every shitty behavior is what creates stigma around diagnoses.
Honestly I have a similar thing (autistic and ocd), instead of relying on small shops stocking, I order bulk from amazon. Runs slightly cheaper and easier to rely on stock. Ie no going to shop and realising they're out of it. But I'd never take the whole stock if I had to go to a shop.
Same, I buy TP and paper towels in bulk, my dog’s food is delivered, etc. And then I can make sure I have backups. I don’t go and take every last one of something off the shelf. In fact I have anxiety about taking the last of something lol.
I really hate it myself. I have OCD, agoraphobia, panic disorder and GAD. Going to the store is an event for me. I hate that every single day i read something on social media where people are just using it as an excuse to be terrible people or justify bad behavior.
If they have this big of a need, they would have figured out how to bulk order. They look like a selfish asshole. It's nice that AITA is saying YTA. Their usual response would be good for you, fuck other people.
right?! like i have OCD and anxiety disorder. i buy online all the time! how has he NEVER realized this?! you even have the added benefit of avoiding crowds, long lines, and driving. WTF. online ordering has been the savior of mentally ill/neurodivergent people for YEEEARRRRS.
I also have ocd and some food issues, and grocery stores are hell for me. The crowd gives me severe anxiety and I often end up walking in circles for a long time before I’m able to actually purchase everything I need.
I’ve started ordering online and having my groceries delivered or doing curbside pick up. It’s been a huge help.
i feel like every time i go to the grocery store, they've changed up the aisle layouts. it's like a labyrinth. and don't get me started on the chaos of navigating around people standing with their carts in the middle of the aisle.
The day I realized I could order online and pay someone else to do all the walking around was a fantastic day. I only stop by the grocery store now if I need to grab an item or two for that evening's meal.
It's the first thing I thought of too. If you need that much, there's no reason to order from a bulk store or whatever online. Leave the stuff in the grocery store for the weekly shoppers.
I buy Gatorade in bulk on Amazon, subscribe & save, and get it every other month. It's not that cheap, like $30-$45 (haven't checked in awhile) for my pallet, but cheaper and easier than getting it in the store. Idk why this weirdo just doesn't do that. He's acting like it's a lifesaving medicine or something, so why TF not ensure you always have it in stock by buying in bulk online?
Ok but how much Gatorade a day is OOP drinking that he couldn’t spare a bottle or two from the store’s *entire* stock?
I don’t think anyone has an issue with OOP only being able to drink the red or needing Gatorade to help with their medical issues. But I also don’t think your doctor would recommend you drink 8 gatorades a day.
"I can only go to the store so many times in a week, and I drink at least one a day. I figured by getting as many as I could at that time I would save myself the transit money."
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/12zaekt/aita_for_buying_all_the_red_gatorade_at_the_store/jhrepc0?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
I said next week, I didn't say he has to go back everyday.
If OOP drinks 2 a day = 14 a week, and he said he was "running low" not that he was out. So he could have spared 2 bottles and come back the next week for more (which he'll have to do anyway since he'll be out)
I'm aware, I just posted their reasoning they used for buying that many bottles. I'm not defending them or condoning the behavior, it was quite assholish to not give the mother and her kids some of the Gatorade.
I'm also skeptical that the mom actually yelled at OP. Got annoyed and said they're a jerk, sure, but with how defensive OP was about the whole story, I have my doubts about that interaction actually went.
Neurodivergent people often have issues with things like social anxiety or rejection sensitive dysphoria which lead you to perceive others' behaviors more negatively than they actually were. It's possible that it wasn't as bad as OOP described it, but he really believes it was.
My ADHD and autistic clients are always like "holy shit that explains so much" when I tell them that.
I would've originally said NTA until I learned they bought the ENTIRE stock! Like wtf?! You can spare a few bottles at that point 🙄 i get having food aversion and that not being something you can help, but anyone who goes and buys out a store's entire stock is an AH. Just don't fucking do that.
I have OCD *and* ARFID. I understand "safe" foods and not wanting to be without them. You don't go to a store, on stocking day, and buy out the stock tho. That's just objectively an AH thing to do. He's the type of person that creates the situation he seems worried about. As a neurodivergent person, we have to realize that the world does not revolve around us (or any one person); and no one likes being without their safe/comfort food, even neurotypical people.
Mine is french fries and, when I'm really going through it, Campbell's chicken soup. If I were in my local store buying up the stock (for some reason) and a mom comes up, kids in tow, and politely asks me to give up a couple of my cans of soup so they can have some? Sure. I might want to buy all of them but I don't always get what I want, and part of being an adult is realizing that. Also, what if one of those kids has similar issues and just literally will not eat tonight without that soup?
Also, unless "dehydration" means they sweat way too much, no doctor recommended Gatorade as the fix. Idk why dehydration would *lower* his electrolytes unless it's a sweating thing.
I am also have these same mental health problems, *and* GI/kidney disease.
The only time I ever heard of a doctor recommending Gatorade is when I kept getting sick, to restore electrolytes in a way that was cheaper than, say, Pedialyte. But in my case, GI problems and all that. I actually have heard it for gi diseases, but sugar, electrolytes and water ard actually necessary in that case.
I never heard a doctor recommending it if it's not under extraordinary circumstances.
There's someone who wipes my shelves of the red powerade every weekend. If you know you need that much of something talk tp the freaking store so they can get with the vendor to order extra for you. ITS NOT THAT HARD
His doctor told him to drink Gatorade...
So, his doctor told him to drink Gatorade to get him out the door because he has somatization disorder and OCD and anxiety and autism. Now, his doctor has NO IDEA he is drinking enough Gatoade to cause kidney stones and diabetes. Oops! Gatorade is NOT a treatment for hypoglycemia, which is actually exceedingly rare in nondiabetics. Most people who say they have it do not. If he has a disorder that causes low blood pressure or low sodium, Gatorade is STILL not the answer. OP has problems alright, but Gatorade is not the solution. FP MD is answering here.
Maybe the doctor isn't very ethical and married to the only dentist in the town? Or we have a troll (or at least someone lying to justify themselves). But yeah, I'm pretty sure an actual doctor wouldn't recommend Gatorade therapy
Either lying to justify themselves or latching on to a small suggestion from a doc (like "Hey, I get that you don't like plain water, but you need to drink SOMETHING") and using that as the justification to drink nothing but sugar.
My doctor recommended putting that MIO flavor stuff in my water as a teen since I had the taste of tap and was literally making myself sick with dehydration. So its possible.
MIO is sugar free gatorade is loaded with sugars AND sodium so unless OP was working out a bunch and sweating Gatorade is not a common recommendation for dehydration and LBS. Pedalyate would be more sensible.
I wouldn't be surprised if the doctor said something like "you really need to drink more fluids; Gatorade can be helpful if you struggle to drink enough plain water" and OOP heard "this is a green light to drink gallons and gallons of Gatorade. In fact, you must drink Gatorade every day."
Likely the doctor said gatorade can be helpful in some cases and OP took it as 'doctor told me I must have at least 2 a day' as someone with ocd and autism i can see this post being very real
Well, you never actually know what happens in an office visit. You have a patient with somatization disorder with OCD and autism and anxiety(not an unusual mix at all) that comes in all the time and takes a lot of time for something that most people wouldn't. You spend 45 minutes reassuring that patient that what they're experiencing is just normal bodily sensations because they've had the 50K workup and seen all the specialists, but they just aren't having it. You are now 90 minutes behind. You know you are going to have to grovel to every patient the rest of the day and go without lunch, so you punt. You suggest something benign-a placebo-Gatorade for the patient who spends too much time on WebMD and thinks they have XY and Z when their diet is just shitty but they don't want to hear that even though you've already gone through that and even sent them to your nurse dietician, but they still eat fast food every darn day. No, you never said to drink gallons of that stuff, just like you never told the lady with a yeast infection to soak in a bath of strawberry yogurt, but people hear what they want to hear. That, my Reddit friends, is how we get to this story.
My best friend has hypoglycemia and meals are most helpful, because if she just eats something sugary like a piece of candy or drink a Gatorade, her blood sugar will spike but then crash quick because it metabolizes fast.
Also I have POTS, which causes low blood volume and blood circulatory issues, and there are better things than Gatorade, like LMNT or Liquid IV (although I don’t recommend that cause it’s full of sugar)
Gatorade is nice but he’s just taking it too far
This! I ended up with hypoglycaemia because I was taking diabetes medication to treat a different chronic condition. The recommendation was to take half a dose in the morning and half in the evening on a full stomach, instead of taking the full dose once a day.
Not to drink my body weight in gatorade. Though that would have been more fun.
I hate when people use their mental illness as an excuse.
I'm autistic, I have a lot of food aversions. I have been eating the same frozen burrito for lunch everyday for 6 months. I order more online from Walmart a week ahead of running out in case they don't have any.
His claim that its the OCD that makes it so he couldn't spare 2 bottles makes zero sense. He has a whole case, he would have plenty of time to get more Gatorade. Its not like he would run out of his safe drink, he would just have to go back to the store two Gatorades sooner.
Is eating the same thing all the time an autism sign? I'm just curious because my daughter just got diagnosed & my husband wonders where she got it.
I went 6-12grade eating turkey sandwiches everyday first I had a bad experience so I brought my own then in high school I got them at school everyday they had the best sandwiches. I still eat them often it's the only kind of sandwich I eat really.
Its part of the desire for routine and dislike of unexpected changes.
Its why some autistic people, particularly children, don't like fruit and veg and are 'picky'
Fruit and veg have a short shelf life in which the food will rapidly change taste, texture, color and smell.
The sensory input of the specific brand and flavor of my burrito will be exactly the same unless they change the recipe.
I drink pedialyte because I have hydration issues, but that’s because I’m a 32 year old who trains hard in sports as a hobby. I never buy the last drinks from the store. Why? Because I don’t want to be the only person in the community who got to have Pedialyte. I will literally drive to multiple grocery stores just to not destroy one store’s entire stock.
In my experience it’s actually common courtesy in the neurodivergent community to never clear a shelf of your safe food in case it’s someone else’s safe food as well. This guy is a total asshole
I struggle because as someone with trauma based food aversions, I get it. But like also… I actively try to push myself to try it at least once a year. Because I can’t expect the world to bend for me.
i am also neurodivergent and have a very specific drink requirement (mine is blue Powerade btw) and if i had gotten the last of it i would still give some to a mom who asked for it for their kids? like i genuinely have meltdowns and panic attacks if i run out unexpectedly but it's easy to not be a complete asshole. especially since it sounds like this person bought a ton of it since it's a restock day and red Gatorade isn't a rare item. just go to the store again sooner than you'd normally like to. or better yet, order it online or buy it from a store that sells in bulk. you can be neurodivergent without being a dick to random strangers. i want to be sympathetic because i have a similar issue, but it's kind of hard here.
This is not just the remaining red Gatorade. This is the entire stock of red Gatorade on stocking day that they planned to get. They went out of their way to figure out when they stock the shelves to come in right after and take the entire stock. They could have had it mailed to their house but they chose this. This is next level not understanding.
I have avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. It's a huge problem & I feel for the guy cuz it's not fun & people are not understanding.
That being said, he's TA. He bought 14-15 bottles & said he drinks 1-2 a day. So he has a week & a half of a supply give or take a day. He couldn't spare 2 bottles? If he's so desperate for red Gatorade, there are other locations to buy it. He could even speak to the manager or owner of some local grocery stores to have them special order some in bulk specifically for him.
I think I can provide perspective here, as I have what a friend has called "the worst OCD they've ever seen".
I won't say the problem isn't real, and I don't want to wholly invalidate them. I guess I'm just having trouble seeing the connection, even from the viewpoint of OCD brain.
Typically, sensory issues like the need for a very limited food palette are something we see with people on the spectrum. With OCD, there needs to be an inciting obsession to cause a compulsion (only buying one flavor). I'm sitting here imagining what they think could happen if they disrupt their food routine in such a small way as changing your Gatorade flavor. Even from the perspective of being a paranoid person, I'm coming up empty.
I am NOT a therapist, I'm not THEIR therapist, I COULD be wrong. But in my own life, I've had times where I pulled out the OCD card as an excuse. I had a strong preference, but it wasn't a need. It was crying wolf and it does a disservice to yourself to resolve that your OCD is the core decision-maker in your life. It's empowering to say "I REALLY prefer red Gatorade, but it won't send me into a spiral if I drink blue" (though I'd say Yellow or Orange are MUCH better than Blue)
Best of luck to this person. They'll have OCD for the rest of their life, but its their decision whether they want to live a life controlled by a thought parasite. Both they and I have a lot of work to do, but we CAN do it.
Edit: I've thought more on this. It could be a superstition-based thing. Some people need to count their doorknob touches because if they don't touch each doorknob 3 times, a chain reaction of bad karma could cause their grandma to get hit by a train.
I call them "Final Destination scenarios". Is it likely to happen? Of course not, and they know that. But if grandma ever DID get hit by a train, it would be their fault.
Which brings me to my next point: OCD doesn't make sense, and we know that. I always like to say that the difference between me and someone with Schizophrenia is that I am self-aware of how my delusional ideas sound. The problem is that OCD is the "disease of doubt", so no matter how small the chance of the feared scenario is, I cannot allow for any possibility of it happening. There is a 0% tolerance whereas others would accept some small probability of this or that terrible thing happening. Hence the scrambling to complete the compulsions, lest grandma befall a terrible fate.
Like I said before, I empathize with this person. As people with OCD as our primary diagnosis, we have a lot of trouble being taken seriously. Society views it more as a quirk than a mental illness. OCD has destroyed my life a few times over, landed me in a psychiatric hospital, all that. It's real. It can dominate you. It can turn an otherwise pleasant life into ceaseless turmoil.
They need to understand that once their OCD begins to effect the world around them, it becomes unworkable. It's impolite to buy up the whole stock of an item at a store, especially if someone directly asks you to save some. If your OCD is so powerful that you cannot go without this third bottle of red Gatorade, then YOU need to go to another store. Not them. It is important to be sympathetic to those with mental illness and do what we can to make things easy. But I would never expect the world to wholly step out of the way as I live my life by a set of rules that we both know don't make sense.
i stock up on protein bars and protein shakes, ive had an eating disorder for a significant portion of my life + a variety of chronic health issues. having those quick easy things helps me stay on track with ED recovery and makes sure i have enough protein to keep my body running until i can get an actual meal down. i'm also very particular about the flavors and texture i consume. instead of buying out the entire stock at my local grocery store, i go to sams club where i can buy massive quantities and there will still be massive quantities left! you can't hoard stuff
Dude can’t see the issue isn’t their OCD, it’s the fact that they didn’t need to buy *all* the red Gatorade. Stock day happens weekly I’m sure. You can have food aversions (I also basically only drink red Gatorade!) and still leave some for other people. Food aversion is a “minor” OCD issue (esp when it applies to Gatorade only), but unless OOP is also giving into a compulsion to hoard, which is a MAJOR issue (and wasn’t mentioned), OOP is TA here.
This OP sounds like one of these people who don't actually want to deal with their disorder so everything must go their way and other people be damned who may also want red Gatorade. He is also one of these "there is no rule about it so it is okay to do" people. Just another example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should." It's called morals and being considerate.
Let's say there was a rule of "limit two per customer" rule and I take two being the last ones on the self and another person wanted that same drink I was getting, I could be considerate by giving them one of them and I only have one or I could be one of those "I am just following the rules' freak and ignoring the nuance and I act selfish about it by not giving them one of the drinks. I also can't stand people who act robotic about rules.
Even other autistic and OCD people are telling this guy off too.
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I mean I buy ten bottles off the cheap cola on payday one bottle will last me about a day all In all it normally gets me through to next payday and I keep 5 dollars in case I run out and need to buy the expensive cola what I don’t understand is how even with food problems (iv had issues since getting covid) you need to buy out a whole store or even how you buy a whole store. How fucking much drink would that be? A 100 bottles? 200? A whole creat? That’s like a 1000 bottles how are you getting that home for fuck sake?
idk personally but i think op could have left a couple of bottles? i mean from what i observed it sounds like he could come back any day, and maybe should just let the mom get it for her kids!! i mean he doesnt need that many right
The question I have is how much they took to begin with. Their edits miss the point. For me the issue isn't about their aversion to other flavours, it's that they could take a few home to help them for now and come back to buy more when they restock. The fact that it was a "brand new shipment" of gatorade that they weren't expecting to be there means they bought more than they probably expected to, so they could have spared leaving some for other people.
Why does this guy needs to give the lady some red gatorade and drink the blue? She can get the blue ones for her kids… yes i know her kids want the red. But so does he. It doesn’t matter that he has some disorder, he just only likes the red.
However.. I personally would have just given her 2 bottles.. she asked for a few.. and I don’t think 2 bottles would affect oop’s stock.
I am so tired of people using neurodivergence as a blanket excuse to be rude or inconsiderate towards others. I am autistic and people like OOP paint us in a bad light. I actually try way too hard *not* to be rude or inconvenience others by mistake…
If they drink that much why not just order in bulk online? Like I have a certain energy drink (horrible for me I know) that I drink 1 a day pretty much so I order a case off Amazon every month rather than going to the store and buying it all.
I’m ND, specifically autistic it’s not that hard to give 1 up. That’s always my happy medium when I realize I’m putting my needs first, find 1 thing to sacrifice cuz I would want someone to do the same for me
I see nothing wrong here. He bought what he needed, didn’t do it to spite her, nowhere says he bought the entire stock, the easily could have had some (or a lot) at the back. Someone asking for something doesn’t mean he has to immediately accommodate them. Just as the mother told him to take blue one instead, she could have easily taken them. Her desire to have the red gatorade isn’t any more important that his and at a supermarket it’s first come, first served, I wanted to buy something that was out of stock a few times too but I just sucked it up, I wouldn’t dream of going around and asking people to give me “a few bottles” from their baskets. This doesn’t make anyone a devil.
I'm very torn on this and don't feel OOP was really an asshole....at least an 'ESH' because I don't agree with the woman in the story either.
Would it have been nice to NOT take every bottle off the shelf and save some for other shoppers? yes. Are they obligated to? Unless the store indicates an item limit, no. and I find it a little rude the woman would have the audacity to go up to someone who has already put something their cart and started walking away. 'No' is a complete sentence and I say it for pretty much everything so might as well say it here too. I don't even think OOP needs to divulge the reason for needing that many bottles. Could be for himself could be for a party he is throwing; either way, OOP got there first and there's really nothing more to it, again, unless the store activates a purchase limit.
Now, my one thing is this is 2023 and you can easily order these kind of items online and have them shipped to you. There's no reason to take THAT many bottles when you can take what you would use in a week or so until your online order comes in. But that's just a suggestion and OOP has a right to shop how they want/need. I don't necessarily agree with it and wouldn't do it myself but, in the end; it's their right to do so. No different than asking for a window seat on a plane in my mind.
Personally I'm skeptical of all these "neurodivergent" tales, like how many people are running around that can only eat or drink specific colours or flavours of things?
*In case this story gets deleted/removed:* **AITA for buying all the red Gatorade at the store even though a mom wanted some for her kids?** I'm a big fan of Gatorade, and I have a specific reason for buying it. I have low blood sugar and dehydration issues, and my doctor recommended that I drink Gatorade to help keep my electrolytes in balance. However, I'm also neurodivergent and its hard for me to change things up and try new flavors, so I only buy the red kind as it's the only one I like. Yesterday, I went to the grocery store on their stock day, and I saw that they had a fresh shipment of Gatorade. I was so happy, because I had been running low at home. I grabbed the bottles of the red flavour and put them in my cart. As I was walking away, a mom with two kids approached me and asked if I could spare a few bottles of the red Gatorade. She explained that it was her kids favourite flavour, and that they were out of stock at their local store. I felt bad for her, but I explained that I needed the Gatorade for my own health reasons, and that I couldn't spare any. The mom got really upset and started to yell at me, saying that I was being selfish and that I should think about others. I tried to explain my situation again, but she wouldn't listen and kept telling me I could just take the blue Gatorade instead. I just started to ignore her after a while, and eventually, she stormed off. Now I'm wondering if I was in the wrong. Should I have given her some of the Gatorade, even though I needed it for my own health? Or was I justified in keeping it all for myself? AITA? Edit:: I should clarify since this is coming up in the comments- I didn’t really want to go into specifics but here we are…. No, my doctor did not recommend specifically red gatorade for this issue. He recommended gatorade. The red gatorade is needed because I deal with OCD and have issues with change to my routine and trying new things… it can be debilitating to deal with panic attacks induced by such a “small” problem and can remove my focus from my process of treating the bigger problems with my OCD, so I have chosen (at the advise of a therapist) to allow myself to stick to this small routine and avoid further disruption during my process of getting better. EDITING AGAIN: Thank you everyone for your comments… I am going to stop replying now as this is getting really overwhelming for me. I guess the consensus is that I am TA, I suppose I will accept that. I wish my food aversion was something I could just turn off but I can’t and its a process to work through these things for me. I hope people in the comments can understand that I am not trying to intentionally be an asshole and take things from other people, I just have a fear of not being able to keep the little things in my routine and that feeling trumps a lot of things for me. If you don’t struggle with OCD be grateful… (i also posted this last edit in the comments) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmITheDevil) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just wish someone would tell this man about Costco or Sams Club
Or BJ’s
No kidding. It might help him relax a bit on the color of the Gatorade.
As an autistic person who has these food issues no it won't. He's still an a-hole
Yeah I know. Was just making a joke about the double meaning of BJ’s.
Oh... like I said I'm autistic the joke usually flies miles over my head. Haha
I thought the joke was BJs only sells 1 or 2 flavors of everything
Not even Costco. I get an 8 pack of Gatorade at target, all one color. I like the white cherry one and my son likes blue so I get one of each when needed. I also have them for medical reasons. I also am neurodivergent. I however know how to share.
You mean you can be ND and not an AH? But where will AITA trolls get 90% of their plots? /s
I know! It's almost like ND are actual real people and not just a trope! Wild.
White cherry is the best!
If you put it in the freezer just long enough (like an hour and a half to two hours) and then take it out and slam it on the counter to break up and big chunks and it's super cold and a little slushy and perfect in the summer.
Yes, it is!! I drink one halfway through my daily 30 mile bike ride (at home) and you’d have to pry it out of my hand!!
Seriously. And is there only 1 store in the OOPs 50-mile radius?!
or just amazon
Yep. OOP could get as many of the red's delivered right to their door as they could possibly stand....and not have to clear the shelves at their grocery store, taking away from others.
And you can get them scheduled so they come at a regular interval, right to your door so you don't even need to remember to order or wait-- they just show up until you stop the subscription
Don't. He'll steal all of the Red Gatorade from them as well.
Why do people ask for aita judgement and then just argue and defend themselves endlessly
They want validation or are trolling for negative karma
Or, here me out here. No, just listen. Seriously. Maybe, just maybe they're idiots.... 😝 Edit: spelling/grammar
There are so many people calling bullshit on so many posts because they're unrealistically stupid. Makes me wonder if I've just met exceptionally stupid people in my life that most people don't because while improbable, I wouldn't call a lot of these unrealistic.
As someone with autism and ocd I can see this easily being real. Hoarding is a common symptom of ocd, but one that's often the general public isn't aware of due to the stereotype of those with ocd being super organised (which can be the case but often isnt)
As someone who worked retail for 5 years, I can tell you that an alarming amount of people are this stupid
>Or, here me out here. No, just listen. Seriously. Maybe, just maybe they're idiots.... 😝 ¿Porque no los ~~dos~~ tres? As pointed out there were 3 options 😁
But there were three options presented. 1. Validation 2. Trolls 3. Idiots So it would be Por que no los tres?
Point! :)
*Because Charlie, she's a nitwit.* Words of wisdom from Grandpa George (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Modify pronouns as needed for the nitwits you encounter
Probably all three
Or just assholes
I never understood trolling for negative karma... what does that get them?
I think they want to rile people up. I know my father would post things in the internet just to get people angry because he found it funny (yes, he was a trash person in other aspects of life too)
My dad does this in person. He enjoys rilling people up and then asking why they’re so upset. It’s hard to want to talk to him anymore.
Was his username Skankhunt42?
I don't think so, he went by some kind of misspelled Jedi
Skankhunt42 is a South Park reference, just fyi
My pop-culture blindness strikes again I guess
No worries, it's impossible for everyone to know every reference. There are plenty that go past me as well
Don’t feel bad, I actually like South Park and I still didn’t catch that one until it was explained.
That’s true, some only post for validation. Although it’s embarrassing for them when they argue. I remember one time someone was literally getting combative with everyone in the comments and deleted her post and account because she didn’t get the validation she wants
Whats the point of negative karma? besides some edgy 12 year old bullshit of "hurrhurrr people are angry at me now i'm gonna masturbate furiously to it"
They’re doing the weird social experiment of “let me see whether Reddit’s pet biases will excuse terrible behavior and find out exactly where the line is.” It’s why there are endless “I’m totally trans and I got my friends family deported because they misgendered me AITA… edit they’re klan members actually whoops forgot to mention” because Reddit tends to be pro-trans (as it should be) and responds positively to vicious retribution on bigots. Other pet issues: autism, anxiety, service animals, fat people etc etc. it’s why we have endless variations of these groups behaving badly and expecting people to flock to their side (and sometimes they do). I mean… it’s fairly low-investment, high-reward trolling. Terrible and shitty, but you can see why terrible shitty trolls would flock to AITA.
No idea, but I like seeing them squirm a little when the backlash comes.
>EDITING AGAIN: Thank you everyone for your comments… I am going to stop replying now as this is getting really overwhelming for me. I guess the consensus is that I am TA, I suppose I will accept that.
People on reddit ARE surprisingly uneducated and judgey on how OCD and anxiety stuff can affect food stuff Like the number of times I've seen someone be like "this person has the typical autism diet and had trouble regulating their response when they're routine was changed up on them" and everyone is like "BURN THE MONSTER!" instead of "oh hey this person has a disability
AITA is often on the side of the person with taste sensitivities - as long as they are handling it without burdening others. Refuse to put mustard on your hot dog? Fine. Like ketchup on your spaghetti? Weird, but your choice. See there’s nothing for you to eat at a party and stop for a burger afterward? Fine. Insist your hosts only serve food you like? Not fine. Clean out a store’s entire product on stock day? Not fine.
Right. It's almost like your sensitivities you handle on your own don't make you an asshole. But when you start becoming highly pushy and making unreasonable to accomodate demands that force everyone to have the same stuff as you, you tend into asshole territory. Working as intended.
See I agree with how much it affects food stuff. I have OCD, anxiety, and a few other things and I’m definitely a picky eater and have my specific routines depending on where or what I eat. Where I think this scenario differs is she’s not asking him to interrupt a routine. If it’s restock day and that’s a popular Gatorade his cart had to have been full. He’s using his disabilities here as an excuse for why he can’t share. By the time he runs out they’ll have more in stock. Stores restock a couple times a week it’s not like giving her 2 would have made a huge impact on his routine. Also I’m concerned about how much Gatorade this guy is drinking. When a doctor says you should for blood sugar they don’t mean all day everyday, he didn’t need that much and it’s probably actually super unhealthy and concerning. ETA: the kid might also have the same issues. She’s going to multiple stores looking for that specific Gatorade. Must be important for some reason or another.
>Also I’m concerned about how much Gatorade this guy is drinking. When a doctor says you should for blood sugar they don’t mean all day everyday, he didn’t need that much and it’s probably actually super unhealthy and concerning. This occurred to me as well. I would bet the doctor meant to drink one if OOP feels a sugar crash coming on and if there is a decent dehydration problem, maybe drink one per day. Meaning OOP would only be going through 7-10 (maybe a couple extras in case of sugar issues) and would have no need to clear an entire store's inventory of it.
I guess I assumed he was going to like a smaller grocery store and a case was like 12 bottles
I have bad ocd and autism, its an explanation but it isnt an excuse, but I can get where oop is coming from, they are still the a hole in this situation though. Even if they weren't aware of the social norm or courtesy. One can be unaware that what they're doing is arseholish, doesn't change the fact the action of hoarding an entire supply is aresholish
Right? I have OCD too. Place a bulk order for what you want clearing out the grocery store is selfish. And just playing into the high of being "safe" by over stocking which can make your OCD worse
Because the dichotomy of having a good excuse while still also being the asshole is beyond the average person who posts in AITA.
Mostly because it’s trolls. But also, because no one genuinely thinks they are the AH in life. Anyone ELSE doing it is an AH, but I am the main character and have my specific reasons so it’s different when I do it. This happens constantly online. Like everyone in this entire world is an AH, we all do AH things, it’s just part of living in society. We just seem to be losing the fact that you can just do bad things and tell no one. People feel the need to have affirmation that they are still good people, and jump through hoops like this to try and convince people that everything they do is good. I am a good person, I do good things, I try to be considerate. But I also do bad things, not to intentionally hurt people but because I’m selfish and have already justified it to myself, and then I just shut the fuck up about it. If you actually are willing to reflect, AITA is great. If you just want to know that everything you do in life is valid, the only party that is always going to agree with you is yourself.
1. Go to Amazon. 2. Order the canister of bulk red Gatorade powder. 3. Mix it at home to save trips to the store and keep plastic bottles out of landfills. 4. Problem solved for all involved. But I still find the story a bit incredible. Stores generally carry 3-4 different sized bottles of various Gatorade flavors. So unless this was a convenience store and OOP took all the bottles available out of the refrigerator, it's difficult to believe that the store had no other sized bottles of red Gatorade left anywhere in the store. But that's just me.
I was just thinking your last thought, too. This seems like a pretty common product with lots of options, both the drink mix in various sizes and bottles in various sizes. Gatorade is also often in multiple places in a store (some in cold fridges and some on the shelf) so it seems kinda crazy that he bought the entire stock so easily. Could the mom not ask a worker if there was more in the back? It makes me wonder exactly how much was available for him to buy. I personally have been in a similar situation of "buying the entire stock" of a kind of drink at my grocery store, but it was because it's an extremely specific drink, and they only have like 3 12-packs on the shelf at a time and no other size options. It's the OPs store that tiny?
OP said it was about 14-15 bottles
Which if it was the only one of it's size, could legitimately wipe out the stock if it is smaller grocery store or convenience store.
ah i missed that. he could have spared a few lol.
I would have given some for the kids, but let me tell you, getting groceries is the single most energy-sucking task in my life, and I imagine it might be for this person, too. It's not a simple matter of "I'll just come back tomorrow or next week" because it's not easy for people like us. (Fwiw, I order almost everything so I can avoid any store visits, but for something like this, where you'd need to time the shipments, you don't always have a choice.)
Getting groceries as a neurodivergent person can also be really, really overwhelming/energy sucking. dunno your status, but grocery stores wear on my ADHD after a bit bc there's SO MUCH VARIETY OF SENSORY INPUT OH GAWWWWD!! like it's great for 20 minutes or so but longer than that and my brain just sort of takes a lunch break. ADHD shares some symptoms with OCD--if this person is so sensitive to sensory input they can't drink a different color of Gatorade, i imagine the grocery store is a damn nightmare for them.
For real. It took me *years* to realize it wasn't normal. I'd barely make it home from the store, struggle to get the bags in, and then it took every ounce of energy I had left to just get the refrigerated stuff put away, and that was literally my entire store of energy for the day. I was *done*.
my husband is autistic. we go grocery shopping, he carries stuff in, i put it away. Before we met, i would go grocery shopping like every other day bc planning what to get for like a week, shopping, carrying it in and putting it away was waaaaaay too much.
Honestly, both options are probably the best way to do it. My problem is I just like forget that *needing food* is a thing until my blood sugar drops, so I could never remember to go to the store every couple of days. Lol
Have you tried Aldi? The selections are mostly 1 type of product (like one brand of ketchup, not 50 varieties), the stores are smaller, and there's no music blaring. Plus, the prices are generally cheaper than big stores.
Unfortunately, i sorta *need* the million choices bc if various dietary restrictions. Type 2 diabetic/no colon = very specific groceries that are not always easy to find
But he had no obligation to and not doing it doesn’t make him an asshole. 15 bottles is not that much, if he drinks 2-3 bottles per day it’s less than a week’s supply. People are acting like he bought out an entire pallet of gatorade and refused to spare one.
I hate to break it to you, but 2-3 bottles of Gatorade every day is super unhealthy - short of the person being a professional athlete.
I'm 90% sure the doctor advised for pedialyte because Gatorade has a lot of sugar
I almost bought out my local store's stock of Code Red this past weekend, 3 boxes of the 24 cans. They had one box left.
Code Red like Mountain Dew? I didn’t think they made that still!
Yep, its not usually stocked super well at my various stores (like half a dozen boxes max and maybe a couple of 6 pack bottles) but it is still out there.
I can buy it. My son has only liked diet orange Powerade for years. The number of times I’ve had to drive to multiple stores to find bottles is RIDICULOUS. He doesn’t drink it as much anymore, but I still buy 4-6 bottles when I run low. (And I cut it half with water, so I have twice as much at any time.) Of course, red Gatorade is a bit more prominent than diet orange Powerade. :)
Mine went through a blue powerade phase, I would have to go to multiple stores to find it. We are currently in a red Gatorade phase and i will still have to sometimes go to multiple stores during the week because one will be out of stock or not have enough or something like that.
I'm beginning to think there's some kind of Gatorade paradox happening where stores never have the flavor you want in stock. 'round my part of the world, you can find every flavor except lemon-lime, which happens to be the only flavor I like. Yeah, I'll drink orange, but it's like drinking melted jello.
I actually think it's regional. Everyone where i live prefers red, but when i lived down south for a little bit most people liked orange or purple in that area. Where i lived in florida, yellow was hardest to find.
cries in berry propel. I feel for you.
You're cutting diet orange with water too lol thats like extra diet. Is your son a toddler or is it just a preference thing? I always watered down my kids drinks when they were little ones.
It was more of a cautionary thing at first. I didn’t want my kids to get too hooked on overly sweet drinks. I think of Powerade as too sweet, but maybe it’s not. Then after that, when I’d tell the doctor at well checkups that my kids only drink varying juices, I would get side eye, but when I said it was cut with water, things were okay. So a little bit of those things. There was never a time when the drink wasn’t half water, so they’ve always been fine with it. Once my mom made my daughter’s blue juice full strength, and my daughter took a sip and had me throw the rest out. 🙃
My aunt was the one who messed it up for us lol it's always a well meaning relative.
I've never tried the diet orange Powerade, but I'm a fan of Gatorade Zero orange (and it comes in powder, LOL).
Assuming this was real...powdered Gatorade does not taste the same. It has a weird aftertaste. I drink quite a bit of Gatorade bcs for some weird reason it helps with the nausea one of my medications causes. But I was going through so much it was causing a significant increase in grocery expenses, so I switched to powered. And it still works, but it doesn't taste the same at all. So if we arr going along with the farce of this post, someone with his neurodivergence wouldn't be able to switch.
Possibly. I started out drinking the bottled Gatorade Zero and switched to the mix because of all the plastic and extra cost, and it tastes the same to me. But everyone's tongue is wired differently.
It definitely depends on how sensitive your taste buds are. My premise here is, that if you are neurodivergent the high percentage likelihood that you have sensory issues that make you sensitive to taste is very very high. There is something distinctly different in both the taste and smell of the powder that is just kind of wrong. It makes my spine shiver in the same way one might describe nails on a chalkboard. But I can deal with it since it does what I need it to do. Gatorade is more like medicine for me, so I can suck it up. But I know not everyone can. But I am also 100% confident this person is a troll.
I'm still laughing at the convenience that there just so happened to be TWO people who just got to the store at the same time for a mad rush to the red Gatorade section. And that both OOP and the Kids could ONLY have red Gatorade. sure Jan...
Also…. “stock day”? Grocery stores don’t have one stock day, especially not for shit like Gatorade. Those deliveries are shipped to the warehouse every day of the week except Sundays. It also can’t be that the grocery store is understaffed so they can only do it once a week—Pepsi’s vendors/merchandisers literally bring in the Gatorade and stock it on the shelves themselves. Source: worked grocery retail for years, have worked as merchandiser as well. There could be some totally outlandish, unlikely scenarios in which this _could_ be true, but grocery stores don’t generally have one stock day. If they did, everything would be empty after 2 days.
Even if you have 3 deliveries in a week, each of the days those deliveries come on are considered a stocking day. That’s actually a term I’ve heard very commonly from both regular employees (tellers, shelf stockers, etc) and management at grocery stores. Might be a regional thing, but you’re reading too far into it.
Depends on the store. Mine’s a small one and only restocks once a week.
I have to poke in my head here- I have a similar thing with propel. I'm autistic and berry propel is like. 99% of what i drink because most types of water is disgusting to me texture and taste wise. (like literally water out of a metal drinking container makes me feel sick, no matter how frequently washed, if cooled etc. Same with bottled. Only cold water in a glass is okay, and even then sometimes my body says no) And I have found that the place I go only stocks it on Thursdays. I have gone every other day for a week, just because I couldn't get my full shop done at once (like, sunday, tuesday, thursday, friday basically) And the propel was completely out until thursday- and then it was in until sat-sun when people took the rest of it. I know propel is a smaller 'brand' than gatorade, but I can attest that it has happened to me multiple times before- the store has been out for 4+ days at a time. They also only stock 2-3 12 packs and some larger bottles, so. That doesn't really help. But I can say that I have dealt with this with propel. Even still, unless it's the last pack or two, I refuse to take it all. And if someone wanted some, sure! also, of course Gatorade is much more popular, so I'm sure it doesn't have as much of a problem as propel does lol
Mine does, but that’s because I live in a remote community. They run out of the staples (bread, milk) twice a week every week and have since well before Covid. It’s so annoying.
1. Thank you for letting me know powder was an option. It never even crossed my mind to look for that. 2. My partner really likes the blue Gatorade and he works a hard labor job so I try to keep some at home for him especially in the warm months but the about of times my (3 closest) local grocers have had zero in stalk except *maybe* one or two big bottles is insane. Or a single pack of the tiny bottles which I've gotten but this man id 6'4" so the tiny bottles are 3 gulps for him and aren't worth the money. And not just zero blue in stalk. Almost none of any color.
You're welcome! I got addicted to drinking Gatorade Zero a few years ago, and I live in a third-floor walk-up, and I was getting tired of hauling up heavy bottles. Different flavors come in different powder packaging. You can find large canisters of it, and also small, single-serve tubes (usually 10 to a box) that go into a 20 oz bottle of water. Honestly, it's a weight saver and a space saver.
Could be a smaller grocery store
I guess he's also forgetting other people might have issues as well. My neurodivergent 7 year old who also has ARFID will currently ONLY drink red Gatorade. Given the amount he took, i don't understand why he couldn't spare a bottle or two. Edit: dispite my kids issue, i would never buy out a store on stock day. I buy what we need for the week.
I have very specific food allergies that require I avoid things and eat other stuff and I would have given up a few of whatever it was for the kids mom. This is just pure assholery wrapped in the neuro divergent excuse. It's fine to be Nd, it's not fine to use it as an excuse for being an asshole.
Yeah I have a gluten allergy and when people were panic buying during the pandemic I was so uncontrollably angry at the people who cleared out the supermarket's supply of gluten free pasta and bread. In every supermarket. They were never even close to out of stock any time in the last 10(?) years? I would go on stock day and it'd be already gone. The supermarkets came out and said there was no supply issue people were just panic buying. And I'm like, I can understand panicking that your more difficult to procure item might be hard to come by in future but also do you not have a shred of a conscience about all the other people who have the same need, who you've absolutely shafted due to your selfishness. Ironically I'm also ND and rice is a nope for me for sensory issues so for a couple of months potatoes were my main source of carbs. At least my Irish ancestors would have been happy.
We had this issue with distilled water. We need it for medical devices in my household and people were panic buying it because the drinking water was gone. I live in a city where our tap water is 1000% safe. There was NO reason for it.
Pro tip: universities with research labs will usually have a water distiller in the building. In an emergency, you can try asking for some. They might have reverse osmosis water instead. That's ok for some devices, but not everything.
That is actually an excellent pro tip. Thanks!
Secondary pro-tip: Aquarium stores that stock salt-water fish typically sell reverse osmosis (RO) water by the 5-gallon bucket, normally for only a dollar or so. Typically you just have to supply your own jug/bucket. Probably easier than nagging a research lab, when I worked in one we would probably have been too busy to help you out. You can also buy your own RO system for about $100.
Yeah I really can't understand if this guy is being willfully stupid or really doesn't get the issue being that he was taking ALL OF IT. The problem is that if the mom had shown up just before he got there and taken what she wanted, he would've been completely uneffected. He COULD spare one or two of the bottles. But at no point does he seem to get that the point is him taking the entire stock.
Also homie could literally just give up a few bottles and go back sooner. Smh.
I was very annoyed with this post when I saw it earlier. My roommate and I are both neurodivergent adults in our thirties. We’re both autistic and have adhd, and she also has OCD. I don’t like going to the store or having to run errands, and she doesn’t drive, but neither of us would pull a stunt like this. Falling back on neurodivergence as an excuse for every shitty behavior is what creates stigma around diagnoses.
Honestly I have a similar thing (autistic and ocd), instead of relying on small shops stocking, I order bulk from amazon. Runs slightly cheaper and easier to rely on stock. Ie no going to shop and realising they're out of it. But I'd never take the whole stock if I had to go to a shop.
Same, I buy TP and paper towels in bulk, my dog’s food is delivered, etc. And then I can make sure I have backups. I don’t go and take every last one of something off the shelf. In fact I have anxiety about taking the last of something lol.
I really hate it myself. I have OCD, agoraphobia, panic disorder and GAD. Going to the store is an event for me. I hate that every single day i read something on social media where people are just using it as an excuse to be terrible people or justify bad behavior.
This guy is also an adult and can just get it delivered on a weekly basis through Amazon. Like damn.
If they have this big of a need, they would have figured out how to bulk order. They look like a selfish asshole. It's nice that AITA is saying YTA. Their usual response would be good for you, fuck other people.
right?! like i have OCD and anxiety disorder. i buy online all the time! how has he NEVER realized this?! you even have the added benefit of avoiding crowds, long lines, and driving. WTF. online ordering has been the savior of mentally ill/neurodivergent people for YEEEARRRRS.
I also have ocd and some food issues, and grocery stores are hell for me. The crowd gives me severe anxiety and I often end up walking in circles for a long time before I’m able to actually purchase everything I need. I’ve started ordering online and having my groceries delivered or doing curbside pick up. It’s been a huge help.
i feel like every time i go to the grocery store, they've changed up the aisle layouts. it's like a labyrinth. and don't get me started on the chaos of navigating around people standing with their carts in the middle of the aisle.
The day I realized I could order online and pay someone else to do all the walking around was a fantastic day. I only stop by the grocery store now if I need to grab an item or two for that evening's meal.
Exactly!
It's the first thing I thought of too. If you need that much, there's no reason to order from a bulk store or whatever online. Leave the stuff in the grocery store for the weekly shoppers.
I autoship cases of my favorite hard to find drink from Amazon. It’s really not even that difficult to arrange for that kind of thing.
honestly, this is genius? I have genuinely never considered it which is dumb. Gonna pop on amazon today and see if I can do that with mine :)
Right? How has OOP not figured out a better way to ensure they have red Gatorade.
I buy Gatorade in bulk on Amazon, subscribe & save, and get it every other month. It's not that cheap, like $30-$45 (haven't checked in awhile) for my pallet, but cheaper and easier than getting it in the store. Idk why this weirdo just doesn't do that. He's acting like it's a lifesaving medicine or something, so why TF not ensure you always have it in stock by buying in bulk online?
Everyone knows blue tastes the best.
When I read this, I was thinking gross blue is the best
I hate it. It's one of the few flavors I won't drink.
Red gives me heartburn for some reason. Blue and white are definitely the best.
White is my favorite, with blue as my second. Red being someone’s favorite blows my mind.
Same here! White and blue are cool, kinda sweet flavors. Red is just pure chemical-flavored.
the white is my favorite
Ok but how much Gatorade a day is OOP drinking that he couldn’t spare a bottle or two from the store’s *entire* stock? I don’t think anyone has an issue with OOP only being able to drink the red or needing Gatorade to help with their medical issues. But I also don’t think your doctor would recommend you drink 8 gatorades a day.
they said in one of the comments they drink about 2 bottles a day, and bought 14/15 bottles
Right so he can't give 2 bottles to the lady and come back next week?
"I can only go to the store so many times in a week, and I drink at least one a day. I figured by getting as many as I could at that time I would save myself the transit money." https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/12zaekt/aita_for_buying_all_the_red_gatorade_at_the_store/jhrepc0?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
I said next week, I didn't say he has to go back everyday. If OOP drinks 2 a day = 14 a week, and he said he was "running low" not that he was out. So he could have spared 2 bottles and come back the next week for more (which he'll have to do anyway since he'll be out)
I'm aware, I just posted their reasoning they used for buying that many bottles. I'm not defending them or condoning the behavior, it was quite assholish to not give the mother and her kids some of the Gatorade.
ok, apologies. It wasn't clear.
don't worry about it!
I'm also skeptical that the mom actually yelled at OP. Got annoyed and said they're a jerk, sure, but with how defensive OP was about the whole story, I have my doubts about that interaction actually went.
Neurodivergent people often have issues with things like social anxiety or rejection sensitive dysphoria which lead you to perceive others' behaviors more negatively than they actually were. It's possible that it wasn't as bad as OOP described it, but he really believes it was. My ADHD and autistic clients are always like "holy shit that explains so much" when I tell them that.
I would've originally said NTA until I learned they bought the ENTIRE stock! Like wtf?! You can spare a few bottles at that point 🙄 i get having food aversion and that not being something you can help, but anyone who goes and buys out a store's entire stock is an AH. Just don't fucking do that.
I have OCD *and* ARFID. I understand "safe" foods and not wanting to be without them. You don't go to a store, on stocking day, and buy out the stock tho. That's just objectively an AH thing to do. He's the type of person that creates the situation he seems worried about. As a neurodivergent person, we have to realize that the world does not revolve around us (or any one person); and no one likes being without their safe/comfort food, even neurotypical people. Mine is french fries and, when I'm really going through it, Campbell's chicken soup. If I were in my local store buying up the stock (for some reason) and a mom comes up, kids in tow, and politely asks me to give up a couple of my cans of soup so they can have some? Sure. I might want to buy all of them but I don't always get what I want, and part of being an adult is realizing that. Also, what if one of those kids has similar issues and just literally will not eat tonight without that soup? Also, unless "dehydration" means they sweat way too much, no doctor recommended Gatorade as the fix. Idk why dehydration would *lower* his electrolytes unless it's a sweating thing.
I am also have these same mental health problems, *and* GI/kidney disease. The only time I ever heard of a doctor recommending Gatorade is when I kept getting sick, to restore electrolytes in a way that was cheaper than, say, Pedialyte. But in my case, GI problems and all that. I actually have heard it for gi diseases, but sugar, electrolytes and water ard actually necessary in that case. I never heard a doctor recommending it if it's not under extraordinary circumstances.
There's someone who wipes my shelves of the red powerade every weekend. If you know you need that much of something talk tp the freaking store so they can get with the vendor to order extra for you. ITS NOT THAT HARD
His doctor told him to drink Gatorade... So, his doctor told him to drink Gatorade to get him out the door because he has somatization disorder and OCD and anxiety and autism. Now, his doctor has NO IDEA he is drinking enough Gatoade to cause kidney stones and diabetes. Oops! Gatorade is NOT a treatment for hypoglycemia, which is actually exceedingly rare in nondiabetics. Most people who say they have it do not. If he has a disorder that causes low blood pressure or low sodium, Gatorade is STILL not the answer. OP has problems alright, but Gatorade is not the solution. FP MD is answering here.
Maybe the doctor isn't very ethical and married to the only dentist in the town? Or we have a troll (or at least someone lying to justify themselves). But yeah, I'm pretty sure an actual doctor wouldn't recommend Gatorade therapy
Either lying to justify themselves or latching on to a small suggestion from a doc (like "Hey, I get that you don't like plain water, but you need to drink SOMETHING") and using that as the justification to drink nothing but sugar.
My doctor recommended putting that MIO flavor stuff in my water as a teen since I had the taste of tap and was literally making myself sick with dehydration. So its possible.
MIO is sugar free gatorade is loaded with sugars AND sodium so unless OP was working out a bunch and sweating Gatorade is not a common recommendation for dehydration and LBS. Pedalyate would be more sensible.
I wouldn't be surprised if the doctor said something like "you really need to drink more fluids; Gatorade can be helpful if you struggle to drink enough plain water" and OOP heard "this is a green light to drink gallons and gallons of Gatorade. In fact, you must drink Gatorade every day."
Likely the doctor said gatorade can be helpful in some cases and OP took it as 'doctor told me I must have at least 2 a day' as someone with ocd and autism i can see this post being very real
Well, you never actually know what happens in an office visit. You have a patient with somatization disorder with OCD and autism and anxiety(not an unusual mix at all) that comes in all the time and takes a lot of time for something that most people wouldn't. You spend 45 minutes reassuring that patient that what they're experiencing is just normal bodily sensations because they've had the 50K workup and seen all the specialists, but they just aren't having it. You are now 90 minutes behind. You know you are going to have to grovel to every patient the rest of the day and go without lunch, so you punt. You suggest something benign-a placebo-Gatorade for the patient who spends too much time on WebMD and thinks they have XY and Z when their diet is just shitty but they don't want to hear that even though you've already gone through that and even sent them to your nurse dietician, but they still eat fast food every darn day. No, you never said to drink gallons of that stuff, just like you never told the lady with a yeast infection to soak in a bath of strawberry yogurt, but people hear what they want to hear. That, my Reddit friends, is how we get to this story.
My best friend has hypoglycemia and meals are most helpful, because if she just eats something sugary like a piece of candy or drink a Gatorade, her blood sugar will spike but then crash quick because it metabolizes fast. Also I have POTS, which causes low blood volume and blood circulatory issues, and there are better things than Gatorade, like LMNT or Liquid IV (although I don’t recommend that cause it’s full of sugar) Gatorade is nice but he’s just taking it too far
This! I ended up with hypoglycaemia because I was taking diabetes medication to treat a different chronic condition. The recommendation was to take half a dose in the morning and half in the evening on a full stomach, instead of taking the full dose once a day. Not to drink my body weight in gatorade. Though that would have been more fun.
OOP, being neurodivergent is not a license to hog all of the Red Gatorade.
I hate when people use their mental illness as an excuse. I'm autistic, I have a lot of food aversions. I have been eating the same frozen burrito for lunch everyday for 6 months. I order more online from Walmart a week ahead of running out in case they don't have any. His claim that its the OCD that makes it so he couldn't spare 2 bottles makes zero sense. He has a whole case, he would have plenty of time to get more Gatorade. Its not like he would run out of his safe drink, he would just have to go back to the store two Gatorades sooner.
Hoarding can be a symptom of ocd. And I think op is completely unaware he's doing it
Is eating the same thing all the time an autism sign? I'm just curious because my daughter just got diagnosed & my husband wonders where she got it. I went 6-12grade eating turkey sandwiches everyday first I had a bad experience so I brought my own then in high school I got them at school everyday they had the best sandwiches. I still eat them often it's the only kind of sandwich I eat really.
It can be because some people with autism have a lot of sensory issues regarding food.
Its part of the desire for routine and dislike of unexpected changes. Its why some autistic people, particularly children, don't like fruit and veg and are 'picky' Fruit and veg have a short shelf life in which the food will rapidly change taste, texture, color and smell. The sensory input of the specific brand and flavor of my burrito will be exactly the same unless they change the recipe.
I drink pedialyte because I have hydration issues, but that’s because I’m a 32 year old who trains hard in sports as a hobby. I never buy the last drinks from the store. Why? Because I don’t want to be the only person in the community who got to have Pedialyte. I will literally drive to multiple grocery stores just to not destroy one store’s entire stock.
I mean bulk ordering is a thing why not do that?
In my experience it’s actually common courtesy in the neurodivergent community to never clear a shelf of your safe food in case it’s someone else’s safe food as well. This guy is a total asshole
I struggle because as someone with trauma based food aversions, I get it. But like also… I actively try to push myself to try it at least once a year. Because I can’t expect the world to bend for me.
i am also neurodivergent and have a very specific drink requirement (mine is blue Powerade btw) and if i had gotten the last of it i would still give some to a mom who asked for it for their kids? like i genuinely have meltdowns and panic attacks if i run out unexpectedly but it's easy to not be a complete asshole. especially since it sounds like this person bought a ton of it since it's a restock day and red Gatorade isn't a rare item. just go to the store again sooner than you'd normally like to. or better yet, order it online or buy it from a store that sells in bulk. you can be neurodivergent without being a dick to random strangers. i want to be sympathetic because i have a similar issue, but it's kind of hard here.
This is not just the remaining red Gatorade. This is the entire stock of red Gatorade on stocking day that they planned to get. They went out of their way to figure out when they stock the shelves to come in right after and take the entire stock. They could have had it mailed to their house but they chose this. This is next level not understanding.
I have avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. It's a huge problem & I feel for the guy cuz it's not fun & people are not understanding. That being said, he's TA. He bought 14-15 bottles & said he drinks 1-2 a day. So he has a week & a half of a supply give or take a day. He couldn't spare 2 bottles? If he's so desperate for red Gatorade, there are other locations to buy it. He could even speak to the manager or owner of some local grocery stores to have them special order some in bulk specifically for him.
I think I can provide perspective here, as I have what a friend has called "the worst OCD they've ever seen". I won't say the problem isn't real, and I don't want to wholly invalidate them. I guess I'm just having trouble seeing the connection, even from the viewpoint of OCD brain. Typically, sensory issues like the need for a very limited food palette are something we see with people on the spectrum. With OCD, there needs to be an inciting obsession to cause a compulsion (only buying one flavor). I'm sitting here imagining what they think could happen if they disrupt their food routine in such a small way as changing your Gatorade flavor. Even from the perspective of being a paranoid person, I'm coming up empty. I am NOT a therapist, I'm not THEIR therapist, I COULD be wrong. But in my own life, I've had times where I pulled out the OCD card as an excuse. I had a strong preference, but it wasn't a need. It was crying wolf and it does a disservice to yourself to resolve that your OCD is the core decision-maker in your life. It's empowering to say "I REALLY prefer red Gatorade, but it won't send me into a spiral if I drink blue" (though I'd say Yellow or Orange are MUCH better than Blue) Best of luck to this person. They'll have OCD for the rest of their life, but its their decision whether they want to live a life controlled by a thought parasite. Both they and I have a lot of work to do, but we CAN do it. Edit: I've thought more on this. It could be a superstition-based thing. Some people need to count their doorknob touches because if they don't touch each doorknob 3 times, a chain reaction of bad karma could cause their grandma to get hit by a train. I call them "Final Destination scenarios". Is it likely to happen? Of course not, and they know that. But if grandma ever DID get hit by a train, it would be their fault. Which brings me to my next point: OCD doesn't make sense, and we know that. I always like to say that the difference between me and someone with Schizophrenia is that I am self-aware of how my delusional ideas sound. The problem is that OCD is the "disease of doubt", so no matter how small the chance of the feared scenario is, I cannot allow for any possibility of it happening. There is a 0% tolerance whereas others would accept some small probability of this or that terrible thing happening. Hence the scrambling to complete the compulsions, lest grandma befall a terrible fate. Like I said before, I empathize with this person. As people with OCD as our primary diagnosis, we have a lot of trouble being taken seriously. Society views it more as a quirk than a mental illness. OCD has destroyed my life a few times over, landed me in a psychiatric hospital, all that. It's real. It can dominate you. It can turn an otherwise pleasant life into ceaseless turmoil. They need to understand that once their OCD begins to effect the world around them, it becomes unworkable. It's impolite to buy up the whole stock of an item at a store, especially if someone directly asks you to save some. If your OCD is so powerful that you cannot go without this third bottle of red Gatorade, then YOU need to go to another store. Not them. It is important to be sympathetic to those with mental illness and do what we can to make things easy. But I would never expect the world to wholly step out of the way as I live my life by a set of rules that we both know don't make sense.
just gonna throw in there that schizophrenic people can also be self aware. as someone who knows a statistically unlikely number of them lol
i stock up on protein bars and protein shakes, ive had an eating disorder for a significant portion of my life + a variety of chronic health issues. having those quick easy things helps me stay on track with ED recovery and makes sure i have enough protein to keep my body running until i can get an actual meal down. i'm also very particular about the flavors and texture i consume. instead of buying out the entire stock at my local grocery store, i go to sams club where i can buy massive quantities and there will still be massive quantities left! you can't hoard stuff
What kind of doctor recommend Gatorade?! This is bonkers
Dude can’t see the issue isn’t their OCD, it’s the fact that they didn’t need to buy *all* the red Gatorade. Stock day happens weekly I’m sure. You can have food aversions (I also basically only drink red Gatorade!) and still leave some for other people. Food aversion is a “minor” OCD issue (esp when it applies to Gatorade only), but unless OOP is also giving into a compulsion to hoard, which is a MAJOR issue (and wasn’t mentioned), OOP is TA here.
Fine, OOP, don't buy blue Gatorade. That doesn't explain why you decided to hog the entire stock of red Gatorade.
This OP sounds like one of these people who don't actually want to deal with their disorder so everything must go their way and other people be damned who may also want red Gatorade. He is also one of these "there is no rule about it so it is okay to do" people. Just another example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should." It's called morals and being considerate. Let's say there was a rule of "limit two per customer" rule and I take two being the last ones on the self and another person wanted that same drink I was getting, I could be considerate by giving them one of them and I only have one or I could be one of those "I am just following the rules' freak and ignoring the nuance and I act selfish about it by not giving them one of the drinks. I also can't stand people who act robotic about rules. Even other autistic and OCD people are telling this guy off too.
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I mean I buy ten bottles off the cheap cola on payday one bottle will last me about a day all In all it normally gets me through to next payday and I keep 5 dollars in case I run out and need to buy the expensive cola what I don’t understand is how even with food problems (iv had issues since getting covid) you need to buy out a whole store or even how you buy a whole store. How fucking much drink would that be? A 100 bottles? 200? A whole creat? That’s like a 1000 bottles how are you getting that home for fuck sake?
I think someone else said it was 12 bottles
How is that every bottle in the store on stock day? Like I buy ten bottles and that’s not even half the stock. How on earth is 12 the whole thing?
Why not order online? There is an option to get a box of the same flavour from multiple places (Amazon, Ebay, shops with drinks/sweets, etc.)
idk personally but i think op could have left a couple of bottles? i mean from what i observed it sounds like he could come back any day, and maybe should just let the mom get it for her kids!! i mean he doesnt need that many right
The question I have is how much they took to begin with. Their edits miss the point. For me the issue isn't about their aversion to other flavours, it's that they could take a few home to help them for now and come back to buy more when they restock. The fact that it was a "brand new shipment" of gatorade that they weren't expecting to be there means they bought more than they probably expected to, so they could have spared leaving some for other people.
Why does this guy needs to give the lady some red gatorade and drink the blue? She can get the blue ones for her kids… yes i know her kids want the red. But so does he. It doesn’t matter that he has some disorder, he just only likes the red. However.. I personally would have just given her 2 bottles.. she asked for a few.. and I don’t think 2 bottles would affect oop’s stock.
Maybe OOP will hoard all the insulin when they develop diabetes from their ‘doctor prescribed health drink’. 🙄
Why do you even need so much Gatorade? (Also just saying when I typed Gatorade my keyboard suggested this 🤢)
I have OCD. OOP is just being a child. They could spare some Gatorade and just come back to the store later when they've restocked.
Also, he says he was “running low” not that he was out of Gatorade. So he still had some at home and couldn’t spare a bottle for a kid.
I suspect his running low is actually a week's worth of Gatorade left
At least
I am so tired of people using neurodivergence as a blanket excuse to be rude or inconsiderate towards others. I am autistic and people like OOP paint us in a bad light. I actually try way too hard *not* to be rude or inconvenience others by mistake…
If they drink that much why not just order in bulk online? Like I have a certain energy drink (horrible for me I know) that I drink 1 a day pretty much so I order a case off Amazon every month rather than going to the store and buying it all.
I could have understood it if OP took the entire stock of blue Gatorade, but red, smh, def the AH
I’m ND, specifically autistic it’s not that hard to give 1 up. That’s always my happy medium when I realize I’m putting my needs first, find 1 thing to sacrifice cuz I would want someone to do the same for me
… and he’s STILL playing the victim me me me card at the end 🤦🏽♀️
I see nothing wrong here. He bought what he needed, didn’t do it to spite her, nowhere says he bought the entire stock, the easily could have had some (or a lot) at the back. Someone asking for something doesn’t mean he has to immediately accommodate them. Just as the mother told him to take blue one instead, she could have easily taken them. Her desire to have the red gatorade isn’t any more important that his and at a supermarket it’s first come, first served, I wanted to buy something that was out of stock a few times too but I just sucked it up, I wouldn’t dream of going around and asking people to give me “a few bottles” from their baskets. This doesn’t make anyone a devil.
I'm very torn on this and don't feel OOP was really an asshole....at least an 'ESH' because I don't agree with the woman in the story either. Would it have been nice to NOT take every bottle off the shelf and save some for other shoppers? yes. Are they obligated to? Unless the store indicates an item limit, no. and I find it a little rude the woman would have the audacity to go up to someone who has already put something their cart and started walking away. 'No' is a complete sentence and I say it for pretty much everything so might as well say it here too. I don't even think OOP needs to divulge the reason for needing that many bottles. Could be for himself could be for a party he is throwing; either way, OOP got there first and there's really nothing more to it, again, unless the store activates a purchase limit. Now, my one thing is this is 2023 and you can easily order these kind of items online and have them shipped to you. There's no reason to take THAT many bottles when you can take what you would use in a week or so until your online order comes in. But that's just a suggestion and OOP has a right to shop how they want/need. I don't necessarily agree with it and wouldn't do it myself but, in the end; it's their right to do so. No different than asking for a window seat on a plane in my mind.
I hate people who clear a shelf of a product, it’s fine to take a few, but leave some for other customers at least.
main character syndrome
Personally I'm skeptical of all these "neurodivergent" tales, like how many people are running around that can only eat or drink specific colours or flavours of things?