15 Cringeworthy Pieces of Advice People With Chronic Illness Have Received

I recently asked our chronic illness community on Twitter:

Share the most annoying advice you’ve received re: your #chronicillness #spoonie pic.twitter.com/q7MYNUyNrM

— Moms with Pain (@momswithpain) August 1, 2016

As you can imagine, my followers have been on the receiving end of some pretty terrible advice. Some of the responses are downright infuriating, especially the ones that involve victim blaming. But some will make you laugh. Others will make you cringe. A few you’ve probably heard before.

1. The one who wants to cure you with an exorcism:

@momswithpain I was told chronic illness was caused by demon possession & neg thinking. I apparently just needed to pray more. Sure sure. ????

— Mandy the Phoenix (@thephoenixmandy) August 1, 2016

  2. The one who thinks they know more than your doctor:

@momswithpain here, take this pill. — Julie Ryan (@drunkitty2000) August 1, 2016

3. The one who just knows they have the right cure for you:

@momswithpain re:annoying advice: if u take special vitamins/cut gluten/get off meds you will feel so much better. Bwahaha! Um. Ok. Thx no???? — alexandra bird (@alexandrabird13) August 1, 2016

4. The one who thinks your chronic illness is temporary, like a cold:

@momswithpain @drunkitty2000 there are too many to list but, you need to get out more, Are you better yet, you don’t look sick, — ditzynic (@ditzynic04) August 1, 2016

  5. The one who thinks you just need some fresh air:  

@ditzynic04 @momswithpain @drunkitty2000 def get out more — Linda Temple (@lt_temple) August 1, 2016

6. The one who thinks it’s all in your head:

@momswithpain do you really need to take pills, maybe meditate! — Trace Williams (@Tracewilliams27) August 1, 2016

7. The one who thinks you just need to get pregnant:

@momswithpain having a baby will make it better — Jess (@Ima_Goober) August 1, 2016

8. The one who blames you:

@momswithpain @livingthedx “Take better care of yourself.” #IBD #INDColitis #chronicillness #spoonie — Kenzie IBD (@kenzieibd) August 2, 2016

9. The one who thinks you just need to push yourself a bit more:

@momswithpain @drunkitty2000 you’re not trying hard enough to get better. — Caitlin (@kitkatmd91) August 1, 2016

10. The one who thinks you just need to go to the gym:

@momswithpain u need to get out more. Have u tried exercise. It’s all in ur mind.. — Lauz (@CowlingLaura) August 1, 2016

  11. The one who thinks your feet just need a good caffeinated soak:

“Soak your feet in green tea, it cures ulcers so it should cure ulcerative colitis.” >.< https://t.co/bjbzfzBrE1 — Eve (@LuthienIRL) August 2, 2016

12. The one who doesn’t think you’ve tried the most common over-the-counter medications:

At the ER (24hr) 5 day migraine, woman beside me hands me her 2 Bayer aspirin solution. Wish it was that easy. https://t.co/a4REhSpCaI — Living In Stigma (@livinginstigma) August 2, 2016

  13. The one who thinks a good long snooze will cure you:

“Maybe if you exercise more…” “Maybe if you got more rest…” https://t.co/XByc3m0URG — Sassy Introvert (@1SassyIntrovert) August 1, 2016

14. The one who believes you can force yourself to get better:

“Just keep pushing yourself” Im an severe M.E sufferer RT @momswithpain: most annoying (cont) https://t.co/K4PcvOigTc — Akasha Shamanka (@akasha_shamanka) August 2, 2016

  15. And last, but certainly not least:

@momswithpain “Just put some yogurt up there” #vulvadynia #endometriosis https://t.co/eiiRFXeHjd — Endo Catie (@CatieMWhite) August 1, 2016

A version of this post was originally published on Moms With Pain.