Insensitive things people say to someone with mental illness

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By Arun Dahiya

1. Try to Snap Out of it

Thank you, I never thought that I could snap out of it. Ah! I just need to cheer up.

This is so wrong. Would you say to someone with a broken leg that you don’t need a cast, just walk? Similarly, it is a health issue that one can’t just snap out of by choice.

insensitive - Arun lists 7 of the most insensitive things people say to those with who live with mental illness, and we've certainly heard a few of them ourselves.

2. You Have Nothing to be Depressed About

Depression can happen without any cause and to a person with a perfect life. It’s a chemical imbalance of the brain. So, saying they have nothing to be depressed about is trivializing them.

3. You are Lazy

Yes, some days I spend the whole day lying on my bed doing nothing. I deal with a continuous mental struggle that is exhausting. Would you say to a cancer patient that they are using cancer as an excuse to be lazy?

4. You Need to Change Your Attitude

The problem is not my attitude but my mental illness. Change of perception is a good thing but depression, OCD, anxiety or PTSD are not about attitude. With mental illness, it’s very likely our thoughts get hazy.

5. Suicide is Selfish

Suicide isn’t selfish. It’s a desperate act of a person in intense pain, a person who stops seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s not a sudden act. Often the person does try to reach out and get help.

Furthermore, it’s high time people stop saying someone committed suicide. Crimes are committed. Rapes and murders are committed, not suicide. People should say died by suicide. We shouldn’t shame them for it.

It’s never a sudden act. There are often endless tries by the person to get help.

6. Everyone Feels Sad

There is lots of difference between feeling sad and being depressed. We often feel sad, that is a normal human reaction. Yet depression sometimes consists of feeling numb.

While I am numb, I don’t feel anything. I can’t cry or be happy. I’m like a robot who is devoid of any human emotion. I see everything around me happening without understanding what’s going on, I feel hollow. So, saying it is something everyone feels isn’t true. It’s kind of like telling people with mental illness that their struggles aren’t real.

7. These Medications Are Bad For You

My medications are between me and my psychiatrist. It’s not anyone else’s business. It’s okay to take medications for your mental illness.

Would you tell a diabetic person to stop taking their insulin? My desvenlafaxine gave me my life back. It helps me to have a normal day and feel strong enough to even have a day. It only takes missing one single dose to feel foggy and dark again. It’s perfectly fine to take medications to manage my serotonin levels.

Reproduced with permission, originally posted here: anudahiyablog.wordpress.com