If you’ve opened up to people about living with mental illness, chances are that at some point someone has said something almost impressively stupid about your condition or mental health in general.
We are no strangers to ‘invisible illness’, with many of the most serious illnesses and disabilities often having no symptoms that you can see with the naked eye (Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer. Live Disease, Diabetes, Arthritis, Dementia, Lyme Disease, Heart Conditions, Migraines, etc), and yet people are especially ignorant when it comes to mental illnesses.
We’ve probably all heard the infamous ‘It’s all in your head’ by now and it’s one of the worst, isn’t it? The most basic of conversations or even Google searches could debunk this phrase in moments:
- There are actually many many symptoms of mental illness that manifest physically and in other parts of the body, like sweating, shaking and having difficulty breathing that comes with a panic attack.
- Even if it were “all in my head” what’s your point? The brain is only one of the most important organs in our bodies, no big deal if it becomes unwell, right?
- Double even if it were “all in my head” what’s your point? Your kidney infection is all in your kidney, Sandra, it doesn’t make it any less dangerous.
And yet people continue to say it.
We asked Twitter what the stupidest things people had overheard or had said to them personally about mental illness was and many people responded. So we wrote a list. Here are 100 of the stupidest things people have to say about mental illness:
- ‘Mental illness is a choice’
- ‘If they have chosen to live that way, nothing can be done to help them’
- ‘You’re just lazy’
- ‘Pull yourself together’
- ‘Depression is just not counting your blessings’
- ‘Your anxiety isn’t justified.’
- ‘You can’t have depression; you’re smiling.’
- ‘If someone told me they had depression, I’d tell them to f*ck off’
- ‘Mental illness is trendy’
- ‘Snap out of it’
- ‘Stop thinking about it’
- ‘You don’t look ill’
- ‘Just think positive’
- ‘Be happy with what you have’
- ‘You won’t kill me, will you?’
- ‘You’re attention seeking’
- ‘What have you got to be anxious about?’
- ‘You worry too much’
- ‘Some people have it worse than you’
- ‘Man up’
- ‘You’re jumping on the bandwagon’
- ‘You just need to find a relationship’
- ‘But you’re so lovely, how can you be depressed?’
- ‘Are you taking your meds?’
- ‘It happened so long ago. Forget about it’
- ‘It’s trendy to say that there is a stigma around mental health. There isn’t.’
- ‘Just let it go.’
- ‘What have you got to be depressed about?’
- ‘Have you ever thought about how badly your depression is affecting everyone else?’
- ‘I don’t know what you’re getting so upset about. You can’t be cured, you’re going to have to get used to it.’
- ‘You’re possessed.’
- ‘You look like a self harmer’
- ‘Give yourself to Jesus.’
- ‘Have you tried praying?’
- ‘Go on a pilgrimage’
- ‘You have the devil inside you.’
- ‘You’re demon infested’
- ‘Anxiety is just a lack of faith’
- ‘You should be happy, you have 2 beautiful children. Be grateful.’
- ‘You seem normal to me.’
- ‘Isn’t it about time you grew out of that now?’
- ‘You should know better.’
- ‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself.’
- ‘Eat more vegetables.’
- ‘Cheer up, it’s a lovely sunny day.’
- ‘Don’t cry, you don’t want people to think you’re mental.’
- ‘Only the police should engage with her because she has mental health issues.’
- ‘Suicide is selfish’
- ‘You’re loving one minute and then not the next, that isn’t mental health.’
- ‘I guess I’m lucky because I’m normal.’
- ‘Can’t you just do therapy on yourself?’
- ‘You can’t be suicidal. You’re a parent.’
- ‘We all have bad days sometimes. Just get over it.’
- ‘You just need more vitamins.’
- ‘In my day, we just had to get on with it’
.
- ‘But you’re a grown man.’
- ‘You’re just being dramatic.’
- ‘Have you tried mindfulness?’
- ‘Emotional disorders are a sign of mental weakness.’
- ‘People with eating disorders just do it for attention’
- ‘You don’t need medication or a psychiatrist, you just need to turn the music up and dance around’
- ‘Be careful you don’t become addicted to your meds’
- ‘Depression is a sign of being too strong for too long’
- ‘Post Natal Depression is an excuse to be lazy’
- ‘You just had a baby. How can you be sad?’
- ‘You can’t have social anxiety, you’re a [insert occupation]’
- ‘Smile. You’ll feel better.’
- ‘You just need routine.’
- ‘Mental illness is imaginary’
- ‘Nobody will like you if you carry on’
- ‘Nothing that a bit of willpower won’t fix’
- ‘Snowflake’
- ‘You’re just too sensitive.’
- ‘Oh no. You’re not going to cry again are you?’
- ‘You’re too emotional. It’s hard to be around you.’
- ‘You aren’t a veteran, so you can’t have PTSD.’
- ‘I’m a bit bipolar.’
- ‘But you seem so happy all the time.’
- ‘I don’t believe in mental illness.’
- ‘I’m so relieved you have bipolar. I was starting to think you were just a horrible person.’
- ‘Everyone has a little ADHD’
- ‘Bipolar is a choice.’
- ‘Mental illness is a lifestyle choice.’
- ‘The world doesn’t revolve around your illness.’
- ‘You’d feel better if you didn’t think so many negative things.’
- ‘Only rich people get depressed.’
- ‘You don’t look depressed’
.
- ‘Cheer up and let’s have a night out.’
- ‘Just eat something.’
- ‘You’re not the type of person I would expect to have mental health issues.’
- ‘You need to focus on telling the voices to go away’
- ‘You’re not trying hard enough’
- ‘Depression doesn’t exist’
- ‘Schizophrenics are dangerous.’
- ‘You’re being silly’
- ‘You’re overreacting’
- ‘You’re pinning your happiness on the wrong things’
- ‘You’re too beautiful to be depressed’
- ‘Have you tried losing weight?’
and of course:
- ‘It’s all in your head