For me, it's the advice to seek support from family and friends. Ironically, the very people causing my mental health issues are often the ones I’m told to turn to for help.
What about you? What’s the most unhelpful advice you’ve received regarding your mental health?
For me, it’s the advice to “just stay positive.” It oversimplifies the complexities of mental health and doesn’t really address the underlying issues.
i’ve been told it gets better with time or get over it. no tf it does not. it only gets worse with time when unassisted. learned that the hard way.
edit: changed “assisted” to “unassisted”
“Everyone has depression nowadays because of the state of the world.” #invalidating
Or
Go get some sunshine!
😫
Worst advice: pull yourself together, everyone has problems.
Oh, where do I even start? One of the most useless pieces of advice I’ve heard about mental health is probably “just think positive thoughts.” It’s like telling someone with a broken leg to just walk it off. Mental health isn’t magically fixed by thinking happy thoughts. It’s a complex journey that often requires professional help, understanding, and support from loved ones. This advice oversimplifies the struggles people face and can make them feel invalidated. It’s important to acknowledge the depth of mental health issues and offer genuine support instead of brushing them off with superficial suggestions.
My parents gaslighting me that I was fine and refusing therapy and help for years
Had an ex tell me that I was “too smart” to be depressed and that depression was only for unintelligent people. When asking for more information, I believe his exact words were “I’m a smart guy and I’m not depressed, so anyone who is depressed must be dumb.” To this day I don’t know what possessed me to even consider dating him.
Any advice that includes the word “just”.
“Fake it until you make it”
“You gotta look at the glass half full”
“Just pray about it.” Yeah, that never works for me.
“Cheer up!” Oh yeah, because I never thought of that one before! Thanks for the groundbreaking advice, Captain Obvious! 🙄
Honestly, all advice I’ve been given till now about mental health has been garbage.
Why can’t you just be happy.
Pull yourself together.
Cheer up, it may never happen.
“Try harder”
“Everyone has times where they aren’t happy. You just need to want to make yourself happy.”
“It’s all about perspective”
Sometimes this is true. However, sometimes, things just objectively suck and viewing it positively only does more damage.
Go exercise
things will only get better
god gives his hardest battles to the strongest warriors
huh.
For me, hearing people say “seek medical help, its out there, reach out” . But when someone is depressed, “reaching out” isnt on their list of things to do. IF they reach out to medical professionals, theres a wait list to see a counselor. Some people do great with medication, some people do great with therapy, some need both. But the wait times to see your doctor, to then get a referral, to then wait for an office to call you, to then wait for an appointment here in BC is ludicrous and about acyear in total. Yet the BC Government plasters social media with little slogans of “get help, we’re here for you” just so they can pat their backs and feel like they are providing mental health care to the people in the province.
Honestly advice from anyone who thinks depression is just being sad. I hate how people tell me it’ll pass or everyone gets that way. No Roseanne, not everyone lays in bed unable to move because they have no energy or interest in anything and can’t eat for days at a time.
Meditate and everything will be fine. I love my dad but this is one of the most useless advice he ever gave.
“Just don’t think about it.” Never works
When i first started having panic attacks, my dad told me, “The most important piece of advice I can give you is, DONT PANIC.”
I was on medical leave due to a series of seemingly neurological issues and being at a low point mentally (right after having surgery). Though I was desperate to get back to work, I couldn’t and had to let myself heal. Despite barely being able to walk, chew, type, write, get out of bed, etc, my dad told me, “I think you’re fine. What you really need is some motivation.”
“You need a two week vacation where you travel away from home”, from a boomer to my 20-something self struggling to pay rent
You just need to loose weight.
Oh get over it.
Snap out of it.
“You don’t have problems, I wish I have your problems”
Mine either “have you gone to church?”, “get over it”, or “it’s all in your head”/”that doesn’t exist so stop it”
Also see: /r/thanksimcured
Ive been in therapy since I was 14. Went through about 5 different professionals for very difficult issues that later turned out to be BPD, OCD and other things. By all these therapists I’ve been told to “just smile when I feel bad, and I’ll instantly feel better.” When I was only a few months into my recovery for self harm, alcoholism and bulimia, I expressed to my therapist that I am having a hard time sticking to being sober and clean, that I have not improved mentally at all and am just putting it off for as long as I can. And she told me “Well you’re not acting in it now so that means you are recovered.”
“Just cheer up!”
“Look at the bright side!”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“Nobody likes a Debbie downer”
“it’s because you’re not busy. You have time to be depressed and it’s just you looking for an excuse to be lazy” -my dad when I was working 1 full time jobs and 2 part time jobs, self medicating with food, not realizing I needed a therapist over a paycheck.
Religion. I once had the nurse of my *Jewish* Dr lean in one time and whispered to me that if I accepted Christ as my savior, my PPD/PPP symptoms would vanish and I would be cured!
If religion works for you, then go for it! But, it is not a fit for me. I have strong feelings when someone tries to wiggle in a religious conversion as a “cure” for any illness.
I dropped that Dr in a millisecond.
Think of all you have in life and are thankful for!
My depression / anxiety is unrelated to the factors of my life. It comes over me whenever it wants and is uncontrollable – it does not reflect the aspects of my life. That’s what makes the most mad.
entirety of cognitive behavioural therapy. most generic and useless shit ever. dbt should be the gold standard
I was told to “just breathe” when I was having a full blown panic attack with trouble breathing…like I would love to just breathe and it magically go away. 🖕🏻
“What have you got to be stressed about”
“You’re adopted. Your life could’ve been worse.”
If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, I’d have enough to fund my therapy
Just snap out of it. This one really pisses me off
“Change your mind set” or “think positively” or “speak to friends family or teachers” or “go for a walk”