When the full moon rises, it’s more than just werewolves that start howling in the deep, dark forests of the world. Even rarer still, transforming only underneath the light of a blue moon, are ‘self awarewolves,’ internet users who (almost) become self-aware of their flaws and biases, completely by accident. That’s where the r/SelfAwarewolves subreddit comes in.

It’s an online community of just over 522k members that documents the moments that people (again, almost) become “self-aware creatures,” unknowingly describing themselves in their posts on the internet.

Take a look at some of the best and most on-point posts below, upvote the ones that caught your attention the most, and let us know which of these got you thinking, Pandas. Oh, and don’t forget to go and follow the r/SelfAwarewolves subreddit if you liked their stuff!

Self-awareness is potentially one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal, helping guide us through lies and illusions, towards our potential as better, more empathetic, more capable Pandas.

Redditor u/mangeiri, one of the moderators behind the entire r/SelfAwarewolves community, gave Bored Panda some insights about the subreddit, its history, and the constant challenges the mods have to deal with. It's grueling work being a moderator, but far from everyone knows about this.

#1 Was This Already Posted Here?

Image credits: SydneyLWatson

Moderator Mangeiri told Bored Panda that many mods on r/SelfAwarewolves are "almost entirely inactive," and they were kind enough to answer some of my questions about the community.

According to Mangeiri, the subreddit was created on a whim and its founder actually considered pulling the plug several times. "The top moderator, iSluff, created the subreddit some 5 years ago but has said publicly that they did it as a goof, 'hate meme subreddits,' and 'thought about deleting it multiple times.' Near as I've been able to tell, most of the moderators they brought on immediately after were members of an online Minecraft playgroup, I've only actually communicated with a couple of them," Mangeiri explained to Bored Panda.

The subreddit became more active since iSluff invited Mangeiri and a redditor named Drutt to help moderate it. Unfortunately, the community itself isn't as happy-go-lucky as you might think, watching from the outside. Being a mod is tough, there are no two ways about it. "The subreddit is incredibly challenging to moderate, as recent socio-political events in the US along with Reddit's lax account creation policy make it a battleground for trolls and toxic people to come in and harass sensical commenters," Mangeiri said.

#2 Believe In Yourself

Image credits: sundownmotel

#3 Healthcare Is For The Elite

Image credits: BernieSanders

Finding quality moderators to help out in a fairly toxic and troll-filled environment is one of the biggest challenges. "Some of the aggressive individuals we've dealt with have derogatorily called us 'unpaid digital janitors,' and sometimes it feels all of that. We've lost fellow moderators who had to step down due to the toxicity of the experience and try our best to inform potential moderator candidates as to what they're walking into and make sure it's the way they want to shape their Reddit experience going forward. Unsurprisingly, we've had some quality folks tell us, 'no thanks.'"

Mangeiri was candid that they don't know the inspiration behind the name of the subreddit. Meanwhile, the subreddit's 'No Gnomes' rule was already in place when they and Drutt joined r/SelfAwarewolves. "We left it as a nod to our inactive predecessors. Another mod indicated it was a term to describe a specific type of bigotry which slips my mind at the moment, and perhaps it was meant in that context, but none of the earlier mods have ever chimed in to tell us."

#4 And Go

Image credits: steel-monkey

#5 I Do See Where It’s Going, Thank You Very Much

Image credits: ianman729

#6 I Just Don’t Get How They Don’t See It

Image credits: sam_aye_ahm

If you’re planning on being an active member of r/SelfAwarewolves, then you have to know the community’s rules by heart. Obviously, the content that you post has to fit the spirit of the subreddit: if there’s no self-awareness involved, odds are, the screenshot might fit a different part of Reddit better.

Like many other subreddits, r/SelfAwarewolves asks its members to refrain from reposting images too often. The pics might be great, but looking at the same ones over and over all the time can be exhausting.

In tune with the spirit of the subreddit, the moderators also ask its members not to be bigotted, to avoid being ‘edgelords,’ and not to troll anyone. What’s more, you should refrain from any “name-calling and abuse.” Personal attacks won’t be tolerated.

Funnily enough, the ‘Self Awarewolves’ community moderators also have a separate rule that simply states: “No Gnomes.” No additional context. No explanations about why gnomes might be excluded. Simply, “No Gnomes.”

#7 I Changed The Photos To See If The Impact Was Still The Same

Image credits: Back4smith

#8 Who Would Have Guessed Lady, Who Would Have Guessed

Image credits: KohleRustin

#9 Brexiteer Discovers What Brexit Meant For Their Holidays

Image credits: ColinBrowning14

A while back, I reached out to Vanessa Bohns from Cornell University to talk about all the embarrassing knowledge blind spots that we have.

"We spend a lot of time and effort presenting an ideal version of ourselves to other people. When something happens that contrasts with the image we’ve been projecting—when we say or do something that shows we actually aren’t as graceful or as smart as we’d like people to believe—we feel embarrassed," she told Bored Panda.

#10 Does This Fit Here?

Image credits: IlhanMN

#11 Well S**t Let’s Just Provide Healthcare For Everyone Then!

Image credits: BernieSanders

#12 Yeah, Let’s

Image credits: CulturalHighway5369

"Discovering you were wrong about something most everyone else around you has long known to be true is one of those moments. In that moment we learn, 'Wait a minute, maybe I haven’t been presenting the image of being smart or worldly that I thought I was presenting all this time,' which is embarrassing,” Vanessa explained that we feel mighty embarrassed when our imagined perceptions of ourselves and reality don’t line up as we think they should.

#13 I Cannot Believe She Got So Close While Still Completely Missing The Point

Image credits: AggressiveIyAvg

#14 Choose One

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#15 Correct

Image credits: TheJimmyDodger

Meanwhile, psychotherapist Silva Neves from the United Kingdom told Bored Panda that some people who feel insecure about themselves can lash out at others because they feel like they’re ‘not enough.’ However, self-compassion can help them become more secure, confident, and empathetic toward others.

#16 Spot On

Image credits: sadepicurus

#17 First Time Posting, Saw This And Just Couldn’t Believe It

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#18 That's A Great One

Image credits: Comfortablejack

"Insecurity carries the message: 'I'm not enough', 'I'm not good enough,' or even 'I'm worthless.' These are painful beliefs to have about ourselves but many do have those underlying beliefs," the psychotherapist explained to Bored Panda what lies at the core of insecurity.

#19 Could It Happen Again

Image credits: D0NW0N

#20 Oh Boy, That Was Close

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#21 She Is So, So, So Very Close

Image credits: reddit.com

"Insecurity can manifest either by making themselves invisible (If I'm not seen, nobody will notice my flaws), or the opposite, by what we call 'bragging': shouting at everybody about how wonderful they are. This is usually to try to persuade themselves that they are good enough,” the expert noted that sometimes insecurity can manifest in extremely different ways.

#22 Uh Yes That’s Kind Of The Point

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#23 He Might Be Onto Something Here

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#24 Well, Yeah?

Image credits: thehill

“Another way to counter the 'I'm not enough' is by pushing others down, sabotaging other people's success, or attacking people as a way to feel powerful so that they can control their inner pain of 'I'm not enough.' All of these strategies don't work because what they do is either internalizing or externalizing the belief 'I'm not enough' rather than changing it," psychotherapist Silva told Bored Panda that certain individuals put down others to feel better about themselves.

#25 We Like Your Music, Just Not You

Image credits: the_mercer

#26 Accidentally Arriving At The Right Conclusion

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#27 Oof

Image credits: Captainsboot

"The key to becoming more secure is to change the underlying belief 'I'm not enough' to 'I'm enough.’” Learning self-compassion can help unlearn the ‘I’m not enough’ beliefs that we grow during our childhoods. As we mature, these beliefs can become deeply enrooted in us.

#28 Just Maybe

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#29 Imagine Identifying The Issue So Precisely Yet Missing The Point By So Much

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#30 Ridiculous To Suggest We Supply People With Necessities

Image credits: DrewBk

"Perhaps parents didn't praise children enough, or they paid more attention to the mistakes rather than the successes. As an adult now, people can give themselves a hug once in a while and tell themselves, gently: 'you're doing good,' 'well done,' 'congratulations.' Eventually, the brain will listen and slowly change the message 'I'm not enough' to 'I'm enough.’ Rather than shouting your praise at other people, it is about speaking to yourself in a loving way. When people are genuinely aware of their successes, they can become genuinely more confident without the need to impose their power onto others."