Skip to today's page
Resources

Read · what to say back

What to say when people say the wrong thing

Scripts for 'everything happens for a reason,' 'at least,' and the other sentences you'll hear this month. You're allowed to protect yourself politely - or not politely.

People will say the wrong thing. Not because they're cruel - because death frightens them, and frightened people reach for the nearest sentence. The nearest sentence is usually terrible.

When they say "everything happens for a reason"

You can say: "I don't find that comforting, but I know you mean well." You can also just say "mm" and change the subject. You do not owe anyone a philosophy debate about your person.

When they say "at least…"

"At least she isn't suffering." "At least you had forty years." Any sentence that starts with "at least" is trying to shrink your loss to a manageable size. It isn't manageable. You can say: "There's no 'at least' in this for me yet."

When they say "you're so strong"

Often this means "please don't fall apart in front of me." You can be honest: "I'm really not. I'm just upright." Or take it as intended and let it go. Both are allowed.

When they say nothing at all

Some people will cross the street to avoid you. It stings like a second loss. Mostly it means they don't trust themselves to speak - it's about their fear, not your worth. The ones who stay and say clumsy things are usually the ones worth keeping.

You're allowed to protect yourself politely. You're allowed to protect yourself impolitely. Grief doesn't come with a hospitality requirement.

Write with this - a prompt from the journal

What do people keep saying to you that doesn't help? What do you wish they'd say instead?

Sign in to answer it in your journal →

Written from lived grief, not from a clinic - this whole place is peer support, not therapy. If today is heavier than a page can help with, the support lines have humans on them, at every hour.