Things You Shouldn’t Say

The below is a powerful post of what not to say, even if you think you mean well. Even though the study was targetted at anxiety, the results are the same for depression and eating disorders. Throw-away phrases like those below, never help the sufferer, only make the journey back to health harder, lonelier and longer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Natalie Clince / The Priory Group

The Priory Group asked anxiety sufferers to share the worst comments people had made about their anxiety. The results, shown in these pictures, revealed a general lack of empathy.

Natalie Clince / The Priory Group

“Saying ‘snap out of it’ or ‘there’s nothing wrong with you’ is hugely detrimental,” says long-term anxiety sufferer Jonathan. “What that person doesn’t realize is that they are embedding those thoughts into the anxiety sufferer’s mind, which ultimately makes it worse.”

Dr Paul McLaren, a consultant psychiatrist at Hayes Grove Hospital, agrees that people need to have a better grasp of anxiety as an illness.

“It is not easy to switch off,” he said. “We need to work on educating people to help them understand that anxiety is a normal part of human experience and nothing to be ashamed of.”