
Employee Mortified After Panic Attack at Work—Then Receives Note From Boss
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Internet users are rallying around a boss's act of kindness after an employee had to leave work due to a panic attack.
A few days later, their employer sent a heartfelt handwritten card—and the gesture has touched thousands online.
Reddit user u/GI-Robots-Alt shared the story in the r/MadeMeSmile subreddit, explaining what happened to their partner.
"My partner, who has major anxiety and depressive disorders, had a panic attack at work last week, was super embarrassed, and had to leave early. They got this card from their boss a few days later. It made me cry a little honestly. I'm so thankful that they have such an understanding employer," the user wrote.
The post, which has received more than 6,100 upvotes, included a photo of the card, which contained a message of empathy, encouragement, and affirmation.
The boss thanked the employee for being themselves and for bringing "art," "kindness," "joy," and "light" to those around them. They reminded the employee of their "incredible strength" and emphasized how much they are appreciated, writing that they show up and do their best every day.
The message concluded: "Don't let anyone make you forget. The world needs what you have to offer."
Stock image: A woman smiles as she reads a card at a table.
Stock image: A woman smiles as she reads a card at a table.
Farknot_Architect/iStock / Getty Images Plus
Expert Insight
Licensed therapist Alyssa Kushner, LCSW, told Newsweek why gestures like this are especially meaningful following workplace panic attacks.
"A simple 'You're not in trouble. I care about you. Take the time you need' can be so deeply healing," she said. "The handwritten card in this story is a beautiful example of relational safety—and a reminder that small acts of compassion can undo layers of shame," Kushner added.
She added that panic attacks at work often feel particularly shameful because our self-worth is so closely tied to our performance and how "together" we appear. In fast-paced, high-pressure environments, many people push through stress and burnout silently, afraid of judgment or stigma. So when a panic attack becomes visible—crying, shaking, or leaving suddenly—it can feel like a personal failure or loss of composure, especially for those who struggle with perfectionism.
What actually helps, Kushner said, is nonjudgmental, compassionate support—exactly like what this boss provided. Acknowledging what happened without minimizing or ignoring it can help regulate the nervous system and restore a sense of safety.
Certified trauma-informed human potential coach Kamini Wood also weighed in, telling Newsweek: "In order for businesses to be more productive and successful long-term, recognizing that employees are human beings and have trauma or emotional challenges at times is so important."
"As humans, we all need to be seen and heard," Wood continued. "When someone is experiencing an emotional or mental challenge, it is vital to give them space and to allow them what they need in order for their nervous system to regulate again."
Reddit Reacts
Thousands of Reddit users were moved by the post and praised the boss for their empathy and leadership.
"That is a great boss with strong, empathetic leadership skills," one user wrote.
"Came here to say this. Amazing boss!" added another.
"I love hearing these stories. It restores my faith in humanity. My boss is the exact opposite. This gives me hope!" someone else shared.
"My boss is like this and it's why my loyalty is to her and not the owner of the company I work for. True leadership at its best!" another commenter noted.
One user summed it up perfectly: "There's a pretty common phrase with a lot of variations that's basically, 'People don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses.' The inverse also seems true; that people will stay when they have good bosses."
Newsweek reached out to u/GI-Robots-Alt for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
Newsweek's "What Should I Do?" offers expert advice to readers. If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured on "WSID" at Newsweek.

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Buzz Feed
4 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
People Are Sharing The Dumbest People They've Ever Met
A little while back, we shared stories from Reddit's r/StoriesAboutKevin, where people share their best stories about "Kevins," i.e. people who are staggeringly unintelligent, clueless, or incompetent. Well, members of the BuzzFeed Community chimed in with their own stories, so we rounded them up here along with some new ones from the subreddit (we also added the original post's entries at the end for good measure). Enjoy! This will make you feel smart! "Kevin once brought soup for lunch. Not in a container. Not in a thermos. Nope, he brought it in a Ziploc bag. A floppy, sad, cold bag of soup. At lunchtime, he asked where the microwave was. We said it was broken. Kevin went, 'Oh, okay, I'll just heat it up on the stove.' We assumed he'd pour it into a pot like a normal person. We were so wrong. He literally plopped the Ziploc bag directly onto the burner. We noticed the smell of burning plastic before we saw the flames. Kevin stood there poking the bag with a spoon. He said, 'I don't get it. It worked when I did it in the fireplace that one time.' It melted, of course — soup and plastic were everywhere." "I was in the checkout lane at TJ Maxx, and the couple in front of me were looking at last-minute items. The lady said, 'Oooh, Lemon Mint Tea! That sounds delicious.' She then examined the box and howled, 'Made in China?!' The man replied, 'China?! What do the Chinese know about tea?'" "A friend I had in high school burned most of his hair off because he didn't realize that lighting matches and holding them near his head would do that. He wasn't injured, but you'd think he was with the amount of bitching he did about having to shave his head. When asked why he had the matches near his head in the first place, he claimed he was trying to 'hear the fire.'" "I was going to watch Tipping the Velvet with one of my exes, and I was telling her, 'This show is British, it's from the BBC.' She very seriously replied, 'So its gonna have subtitles?'" "I worked with a guy whose teenage son crapped in the cat's litter box to see if anyone would notice. They did, within less than 60 seconds." "My friend, whose actual name IS Kevin, almost got shot by an armed guard at the US Capitol in 2012 because he started walking toward some door and either somehow didn't hear or didn't listen when they started yelling at him to stop. Then the NEXT DAY, he did the EXACT SAME THING when we were walking past the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building." "When I worked at a hair salon, I had more than one Kevin/Kevina who, when scheduling their next appointment IN THE FUTURE, would ask 'Will he/she be running on time?'" "I (29F) work the graveyard shift at a local gas station. One night, a blonde-haired Kevina comes in. She grabs a small pack of Oreos worth about $2.50 and comes up to the counter, trying to pay with a crisp one-dollar bill. She claimed she had read somewhere that one-dollar bills are actually worth four dollars. I told her that wasn't true and that I needed an additional $1.50. She kept insisting that the bill was worth four dollars and that she had enough. Eventually, she relented and scrounged up some change to pay for the Oreos. I know some older dollar bills can be valuable, but this was a brand-new, crisp one-dollar bill. There was no way it was worth more than one dollar. And honestly, even if it somehow was worth four bucks — why would you spend it at a gas station, of all places?" "I once stopped Kevin from microwaving a can of corn. As in, an unopened can." "My husband once wanted to make us scrambled eggs, but we didn't have milk to make them fluffier, so instead he decided that using French vanilla creamer was a good idea. It was as bad as it sounds. Later, upon retelling the story, he somehow convinced himself that I was the one who did it (I grew up in kitchens and worked in restaurants my whole life)." "My Dad (a Kevin) once went to a hotel and decided that he really wanted to know what an elevator shaft looked like. So, he forced open the doors to an elevator while waiting in the hallway, which caused the elevator to jam. Somebody was inside. Dad was asked to leave the hotel. The kicker? The elevator shafts were made of GLASS. So yes, he forced open the doors of the elevator so he could see the shaft when the entire fucking thing was already transparent." "This was many years ago. During a meeting, we needed a copy to be made of something, so 'Kevin' was asked to run down the hall to one of the main copiers. Kevin ambled off, but 10–15 minutes later he still wasn't back and the meeting was almost over so I went to find him. I found him standing around watching someone fix the copier. I asked him why he didn't just use a different copier around the corner. He thought it was more important to call someone to fix it and wait for them! We finally had to let him go. His response? 'Oh that's okay, I'm going to law school this fall anyway.'" "I work for a guy whose 15-year-old stepson is the most Kevin person I've ever met. Now, I've known some dumb teenagers in my time. Hell, I used to be one. But this kid is just on another level. Two examples: 1. He licked a lit match because he thought fire would taste like a Flamin' Hot Cheeto; 2. He once dropped a bowl of cereal and milk, and rather than clean the mess with a towel, he soaked up the spill with his sock. A sock that was still on his foot. He then put on his shoes, went out to catch the bus, and went to school with a soaking wet milk sock. Later that day, he went to the school nurse because he was convinced that his foot was bleeding and soaking through his sock." "I used to work part-time at a phone repair shop, and one day Kevin walked in looking like someone just told him the Earth was flat. He plopped a melted Samsung on the counter and said, 'I think my antivirus didn't work.' I ask what happened. He says he was browsing some shady website, clicked a link, and his phone 'started acting possessed.' Classic malware. I nod and tell him I can probably help if he didn't do anything drastic. Then he goes, 'Yeah, so I microwaved it for, like, 40 seconds to kill the virus. Like how hospitals sanitize stuff.' I just blinked. My coworker choked on her water. This man cooked his phone like a Hot Pocket because he thought heat would kill malware. And the best part? He wanted to claim it under WARRANTY." "A client called our grooming shop for the price of a bath and nails. I asked her what kind of dog it was. She said, 'I don't know what it is now, but when it grows up, it's going to be a black lab.' I was dumbfounded, literally. I asked her how old it was, and she said it was three months, so I'm thinking maybe 20 lbs max, so I told her maybe $20–$25. Swear to God, the lady brings 'Red' in, and he is a POMERANIAN, a POM. I said, sorry, but this is a Pomeranian, and she told me, 'Well, I know it's going to be a black lab because I have papers at home.' I pulled up pictures of labs and Poms on the computer, but I still think she believes it will be a black lab. I'm going home to drink wine." "One of the stupidest people I've ever met was a 26-year-old male who turned up to work for me an hour and a half late the first day. He was brought in by his mum, which I thought was kind of odd for a grown man. I let that slide, but then things just got worse. It was a small roadside cafe/eatery, so I thought I'd ease him into the way of the place with some small duties. I asked him to put new toilet paper in the toilets — a minute or so later, I heard him yelling, 'It won't fit on the toilet roll holder!' I'm like what? That's a pretty simple thing. I tell him to bring it to me so I can show him — he's carrying a roll of paper towels; it's almost three times the length of the toilet paper holder." "My friend told his wife about an article he read about people in Siberia digging up frozen mammoth tusks and selling them. Her: 'That's terrible!' Him: 'Why is it terrible?' Her: 'They'll sell all the frozen ones, and then people will start killing mammoths for their tusks, and pretty soon they'll all be extinct!'" "I used to work in emergency medicine. Obviously, the emergency department sees many people who've had moments of foolishness that have caused them suffering. To err is human. I would not mock such victims of mere mortal frailty. Kevin was special. Kevin arrived by car, bloodied and battered. Kevin had fallen off a ladder. Since coming to get checked out was very sensible, it's not surprising that someone else insisted. Kevin was carefully checked over, his scrapes treated, and his bones imaged. Kevin was sent home. An hour later, Kevin was back, looking rather worse for wear. The staff, concerned, questioned him closely as to what had happened this time. Kevin had fallen off the ladder again. Kevin's friend had insisted that Kevin rest rather than climb the ladder again, so Kevin was determined to prove he was perfectly fine to go up the ladder. Kevin was not fine." "My husband owns a small plumbing business and participates in a job-readiness program with the local high school. This semester, he got a Kevin. One of Kevin's biggest jobs is to answer the phone. On his first day, he was instructed to pick up and say, 'Custom Quality Plumbing, don't forget to ask about our seasonal maintenance deal specials, how can we help you today?' Instead, he answered the business phone, 'Kevin residence, who's calling, please?' When confronted, he explained that he had forgotten the greeting and that this was how his mother had taught him to answer phones." "When I was in high school, some of the jocks decided that Home Economics would be an easy A. One of the jocks was an absolute Kevin. So, the Home Ec class was learning how to use sewing machines. Kevin was sewing merrily away, with his thumb sticking out perpendicular to his left hand, putting it on trajectory toward the needle. Not surprisingly, he ran his thumb through the feed dogs and punctured it several times. He called out to the teacher for help. She came over and asked, 'What did you do?' Kevin replied, 'I did this,' and proceeded to repeat his actions, including going through the feed dogs and getting additional puncture wounds to his thumb." "Sage started dating Kevin about two years before this incident. Things seemed to be going all right between them. She told me he was a bit of a derp and sometimes incredibly oblivious. He couldn't pick up subtle cues, and even suggestions flew over his head with about a mile of airspace between his skull and the suggestion. She initially chalked it up to him being on the autism spectrum, as she has a few other friends who have similar problems picking up cues. So she switched her behavior from 'talking to neurotypical' to 'talking to neurodivergent,' and the bumps smoothed out for a while. Then the talk of taking the relationship seriously came up. Marriage. Becoming a family. And that's when the plane hit the mountain with a cartoonish bang. Kevin said he wanted to DNA test Sage's kids to ensure they were his. The kids were 5 and 3 when Sage and Kevin started dating." "I may have married a Kevin. He initially doesn't strike you as a Kevin, because he had a very successful career working for a government alphabet agency. But once he gets a notion in his head, you cannot remove it with dynamite. If his mother or his teacher, Sister Mary Godzilla, told him something 50+ years ago, then that was Revealed Truth and could not be changed. Sister MG told him men have one less rib than women. It has to be that way because God took Adam's rib to make Eve. I had to show him side-by-side images of male and female skeletons in a medical encyclopedia and make him count the ribs before he believed Sister may have been mistaken." "My husband's ex wondered why planes and helicopters didn't crash into the moon." "Kevin wanted to 'grow his own fruit' because he saw a TikTok about 'living off the land.' Respectable…until he pulled up to our local community garden with a bowl of chopped fruit. No seeds. No whole fruit. Just literal fruit salad. Mangos, bananas, grapes, and a strawberry or two diced, marinated, and probably taken from a hotel breakfast bar. He dug little holes and carefully spooned fruit chunks into the soil. Like he was planting flowers. He even watered them with pineapple juice because 'they'll grow faster if you feed them what they like.' We tried to tell him that's not how fruit works, but he insisted it would 're-form in the dirt' and 'find itself again through nature.' Bro thought fruit had a respawn point. He came back two weeks later, mad nothing sprouted, and blamed the 'vibe of the soil.'" "My sister used to work with a lady who was a total Kevina. One day, she called out from work because she was in the hospital, on IV fluids, from dehydration and heat exhaustion. After returning to work, my sister asked her how she got so dehydrated. Poor Kevina had no idea, although I'm certain they tried hard to explain it to her at the hospital." "In the early '90s, I knew this kid (15) whose mom asked him to vacuum the house while she was at work. Kevin didn't want to — he just wanted to sit in his room, smoke pot, and listen to music — so he hatched a brilliant plan to get out of vacuuming. He knew the vacuum left lines in the carpet when run over it, so, without plugging in the machine, he ran it over the house's carpet so that it would leave the lines. Voila! Kevin got out of his vacuuming chore!" "One night, I got to meet this girl who my friends said was a perfect description of a 'Kevina.' We were eating some fast food (burgers and fries) when she asked, 'I really wonder what fries are made of? Flour?'" Know a Kevin or Kevina, LOL? Let us know in the comments or by using the anonymous form below and you could be featured in a future BuzzFeed post!
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
No, You Aren't Obligated to Feed Your Kids' Friends, but Here's Why It Might Be Worth It
All it takes is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to make your home feel like the safest place in the world. Once your kid is old enough for playdates, you might find that your days after school and on the weekends are taken up by a rotating cast of friends coming through your door—especially as your children get older. Typically that's a good thing—we can only hope that our kids form strong bonds with their peers, and that our homes feel like a warm, welcoming space—at least until they all start raiding your pantry. One mom found herself wondering what the proper etiquette is for parents who feel as though they are constantly feeding other peoples' kids. 'Are we expected to be feeding these kids lunch if they are over when my kids are going to eat? Can I just send them home and tell them to come back later? What is protocol these days?' she asked Reddit. Are Parents Obligated to Feed Their Kids' Friends? The answer really depends on your family's values—there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way to approach it. If you have the means (and a fully stocked pantry and refrigerator) you might have no problem freely offering food anytime your kid has a playdate or friends over. 'I want my home to feel like a second home to [my kid's friends] so they feel welcome and seen. I'm grateful they show up and spend time with us and feel comfortable,' wrote one commenter. If you have no issue opening up your home to hoards of hungry kids, one caveat is that you should 'talk to parents first about any allergies or diet restrictions if the child isn't able to clearly and confidently communicate them to me themselves,' as another commenter pointed out. It's also just as valid to feel as though your budget doesn't allow for many kids other than your own to eat through your weekly groceries—or that you are too busy with chores or taking care of your other kids to prepare a meal for their friends. 'To Have a Village, You Have to Be a Villager' That being said, if you do decide that you're not able to feed your kids friends, there are some downsides—it might mean giving up a sense of community and camaraderie with other families in your neighborhood. Parents say, 'they have no village and want a village yet also don't want to take actions that would set the building blocks for said village. A village doesn't just magically appear unless we as parents put ourselves out there somehow. This is exactly how you begin to create a community—providing light snacks or lunch for a few kids and then the hope is that eventually other parents return the favor and you start to build a village,' wrote one commenter. Providing Snacks for Friends Goes Beyond Satisfying Their Hunger Sometimes, all it takes is a handful of pretzels and an orange, not necessarily any elaborate meal, to make both your kids and their friends feel happy and comfortable. Depending on your values as a parent, you may create certain boundaries around snacking, like kids aren't welcome to rummage around the cabinets without asking first, or that they have to go home before dinner so you can have some one-on-one family time. But otherwise, feeding the neighborhood kids doesn't have to be high maintenance task. And it might feel more worth it when you remember that feeding your kids' friends isn't just about making sure that they don't go hungry. It's also about signaling to other kids and parents around you that your family is dependable, and that your home is a safe space. Even if all you can offer is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, to a child that really needs to feel welcomed and cared for, that sandwich might as well be a feast. Read the original article on Parents Solve the daily Crossword


Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Newsweek
Chinese Ships Detected Near Coast of US Ally
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China's coast guard has been occupying waters off the coast of the Philippines' largest islands, carrying out patrols that could further inflame territorial Beijing-Manila tensions. Newsweek has reached out to the Philippine coast guard and Chinese foreign ministry via email for comment outside of office hours. Why It Matters Beijing claims jurisdiction over most of the South China Sea, alleging historical rights. It regularly deploys its coast guard in what analysts have called a bid to normalize China's presence in neighboring countries' maritime zones. The Philippines has mounted the stiffest pushback, with confrontations between the two countries' coast guards raising concerns a misunderstanding could trigger Manila's Mutual Defense Treaty with Washington and spark a greater power conflict. China Coast Guard vessel conducts a patrol on October 14, 2024, in Sansha, Hainan province. China Coast Guard vessel conducts a patrol on October 14, 2024, in Sansha, Hainan province. Wang Jiang/Associated Press What To Know A Chinese coast guard cutter with hull number 3304 was observed just 50 nautical miles (57.5 miles) off the west coast of Luzon on Wednesday morning, according to ship-tracking data shared on X by Ray Powell, director of the Stanford University-affiliated maritime analysis group SeaLight. Meanwhile, a second vessel, China Coast Guard 5306, was spotted near Half Moon Shoal, roughly 50 nautical miles from Palawan, the country's westernmost major island. Both ships were more than 900 miles from China's southernmost province of Hainan and within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, an area extending 200 nautical miles from territorial waters in which the Philippines alone is entitled to explore and manage natural resources under international maritime law. Powell contrasted what he described as the "intrusive" Chinese patrols with the activities of their Philippine counterparts, who were engaged in relief efforts as tropical storm Francisco brought mudflows and flooding to Luzon, including parts of Manila, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. Since taking office in 2022, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stepped up the country's challenge to Chinese activities within the exclusive economic zone, including efforts to run Chinese blockades around hotspots like the Spratly Islands' Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a small military garrison aboard a grounded former warship. While tensions have eased somewhat on the matter of Second Thomas Shoal since a fierce clash in June 2024 that resulted in several Philippine injuries, Chinese coast guard ships have been observed sailing further east—though rarely as close as the recent approach by cutter 3304. China has called on the Philippines to return to bilateral dialogue and accused Manila of acting as a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain its rise. July 12 marked the ninth anniversary of a Hague-based arbitral tribunal's decision that largely rejected China's expansive claims over the South China Sea. Beijing did not participate in the proceedings and maintains the ruling is invalid and politically motivated. What's Next China is likely to continue deploying maritime forces into the Philippine EEZ, but it remains to be seen where Manila will draw the line and what will be the threshold for further escalation.