if you’re someone with mental illness, than you’ve probably heard plenty of insensitive, even offensive comments about your condition. Maybe a loved one announced that there’s nothing really wrong with you, or a doctor blew off your symptoms and suggested they were caused by a so-called “real” illness.
Fed up with being dismissed or dissed, thousands of people with mental illness are now posting the worst comments they’ve heard to the hashtag #ThingsPeopleHaveSaidAboutMyMentalIllness.
The now-viral Twitter thread was launched by UK journalist Hattie Gladwell, who started things off by writing, “One person told me I didn’t need medication, I just needed to be more motivated to cope with my mental health.”
From there, the hashtag caught on, and others posted their own stories and quotes.
“‘Everyone has a stressful job, I have a stressful job, what makes you think yours should be treated as better than everyone else?’ – from a therapist after my suicide attempt,” @joesgotcrohns wrote.
“When I had an ectopic pregnancy and was told [I] didn’t need help via counselling as I couldn’t be depressed over something that wasn’t even a baby,” shared @curly_wurly85.
“Just try to think positive for once, it’s all in your head,” @Sophie9131 said.
“It’s all just an excuse, you were feeling alright the other day!” @AdamHoward2000 posted.
“I told someone I had OCD and their reply was ‘oh so you like to clean then’. I said, ‘no, I struggle with intrusive thoughts and worry about bad things happening’. Their reply then was, ‘oh, so you’re just superstitious?’” shared @AlongCameLydia.
These are just a few of the comments and retweets that have come in from users all over the world. While mental health issues don’t carry the same stigma they did a generation ago, the responses on this thread serve as a reminder that depression, anxiety, and other disorders are extremely common—and very misunderstood.
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