What is an experience that is near impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't gone through it?

Going in for major heart surgery. Nothing quite like having to willingly make a future date to have your heart stopped while you're out cold, weeks in advance. Kinda makes you want to be totally prepared for anything, yknow, like never waking, etc.
— Class1cal

Poverty. Its not just having food and a roof over your head. Its about being stuck in one place trying to keep those two things.
— ghost-chips

Going blind in one eye. No, it's not the same as just closing one of your eyes.
— pastelroyalty

Being stalked by an ex. I pulled up to my house for months and the first thing I did was check if it had been vandalized or if she was parked nearby watching me. She "randomly" ran into me or my friends at dozens of places for months, way more than would have happened by chance. Harassing phone calls at all hours. Pretty soon I was loony and seeing the boogie man behind every tree. You don't know the outcome and start expecting the worst. It gets full-on crazy.
— picksandchooses

Speaking from personal experience, an eating disorder. Other people just don't get it and you can't explain it.
— AwFrickityFrack

Anxiety disorders. It's more than having a lot on your plate or having a ton of work to do. A lot of people associate it as just being stressed out but it's more than that. It really takes a toll on you mentally and physically because your brain is always on high alert and you can't stop it.
— chromosomechick

Wow these are all depressing. I had exchange students at school who had never seen snow before. We happened to have snow that winter and there was much enjoyment.
— iCiteEverything

Being a woman or being a man. I really can't explain what it's like to be a woman, mainly because I have no other experience to compare it to. Perhaps this is why conversations about gender get all nasty sometimes.
— peacefroggyfrog

Top 10 Answers