[THREAD] I thought I would take some time and debunk some of the myths or sayings that our parents or loved ones may use that could actually be harmful to our mental health instead of helping us. Stigma is something that is so deeply embedded in our culture.
That means that advice and the way we are raised often includes a great deal of it. “It is all in your head” Not really, mental illness has physical symptoms, digestive issues, and a host of other symptoms that are not just in our head.
“Mental illness is a sign of weakness”. Not even one bit. Technically, mental illness happens for a host of reasons from biological, environmental, trauma induced. Just like a flu is not a sign of weakness or strength, neither is mental illness.
“Just be grateful, others have it worse”. One of the most useless piece of advice. Technically, someone always has it worse. How does that impact my mental health right now besides making me feel even more guilty than I already was.
“See the positive in every situation” not every situation is positive. While it is true that we can overlook positive things and not register them when we are depressed, we can’t create positive situations out of thin air either.
“You are so dramatic”. This one is especially non validating. Living with anxiety sucks. Living with depression sucks. Living with trauma sucks. If you haven’t lived through that agony everyday, to the point where you just couldn’t take it anymore, you can’t comment on “drama”.
“Thinking something will make it happen. Keep only positive thoughts in your mind”. First of all, we have 80k thoughts a day. No way are all of them positive. Also, if we could make thoughts a reality, we would all be able to summon anything we want by thinking about it.
That’s it for this edition of stigma in common sayings. I will probably do it again in the future with other common phrases people use in everyday life.
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