7 Things NOT To Say To Someone with Anxiety

billions of people from all over the world struggle with mental illness according to a survey by Nami one out of every five adults in the United States alone have been reported to suffer from mental illness one of the most prevalent mental illnesses of today anxiety affects over 40 million American adults with more and more being diagnosed every year do you know someone who's struggling with anxiety or are you suffering from it what are the things people tell you about your anxiety that are unhelpful or downright debilitating at worst sometimes they're probably said with good intentions but they usually do more harm than good one it's all in your head most people with anxiety recognize that yes it is all in their heads but no that does not make it any less painful or frightening if anything it may even make it worse telling someone with anxiety to Simply calm down and get over it is ignorant and unhelpful anxiety is not a choice Choice you're getting anxious over nothing while it may seem like nothing is wrong from your point of view to the person experiencing anxiety it's not the case when you tell someone they're getting anxious over nothing you're invalidating their feelings and being dismissive instead of helpful asking them to calm down is pointless and may even make things worse they'll likely feel that you're not trying to understand them or that you don't empathize with what they're going through three everything is going to be fine this one might surprise you but telling someone with anxiety that everything is going to be okay isn't actually advisable even if you mean it to be comforting and supportive the other person will most likely not believe you and think that you're just saying that to make them stop being anxious instead of trying to reassure them it's better to help them understand their anxiety and tell them it's okay to feel the way that they do but before going on to the next point we also recently did a video to help people recognize signs of emotional burnout if you haven't checked it out be sure to do so after watching this video four stop acting like that it's weird anxiety can make people do strange things sometimes for example some people suddenly fall silent run away get Restless or may even have an anxiety attack needless to say the fight against mental illness isn't pretty but you don't need to judge a person so harshly for how they choose to deal with it even if you only meant it as a joke it's never nice to make fun of someone for something they're probably already insecure about the decent thing to do is to try and understand their odd behaviors and make them feel accepted regardless of them five oh here we go again this is perhaps the most harmful thing you can say to someone with anx xiety because you're making the person feel as if their illness is a burden to you according to a study by apaa anxiety usually comes and goes from time to time in varying degrees of severity so while it's okay to feel frustrated whenever someone who has anxiety seems to get better only to relapse again it's best not to voice your concerns with the person in a way that would make them feel as if you're fed up with them six I know exactly how you feel if you've never experienced any serious anxiety yourself you shouldn't try to make it out as if you've been in the other person's shoes before the truth is you don't really know how anxiety feels or how bad it can get so don't try to comfort them by saying that you do they might think you're trivializing them and making light of what they're going through and even if you have experienced serious anxiety before remember that anxiety and depression May differ in feelings experiences and perspectives for each individual and finally is it me did I do something wrong if someone with anxiety seems distant or detached don't take it to mean that you did something wrong they're most likely just trying to deal with their anxiety in the best way that they can don't pile your insecurities about yourself or your relationship on top of their problems mental illness can be hard to understand because it's not something we can see with our own eyes if someone you love is plagued with anxiety and you want to help them through it it's important that you let them know that you're there for them don't dismiss their feelings or try to remedy them yourself but rather be supportive and stand with them make them feel that they're not alone in their struggle and that you're here to cheer them on through everything if you're struggling with anxiety do you find this video accurate what other phrases are you tired of hearing let us know in the comments below share this video with someone who may find it helpful don't forget to like this video And subscribe to our channel for more psychology content