When I was pregnant, I got all sorts of advice from folks on how to embrace new parenthood (often unsolicited) and occasionally that advice was unhelpful and, at worst, harmful. For example, I had someone once tell me to just completely ignore the state of my home because the baby comes first and cleaning shouldn’t be a priority when you have a newborn. While most likely well intentioned, this completely ignores the fact that - for me - a completely messy home is a surefire way to tank my mental health. I don’t need it to be spotless necessarily, but I know that I generally feel better as a human (and mother) when I can see my counters.
It got me thinking that this is likely a common experience we all have as this type of advice permeates all corners of life. Exercise, eating, mental health, new parenthood, and many other domains. We also get it coming from social media influencers, friends, family, co-workers, etc.
I would love to hear what types of bad advice you have gotten and I plan to create a series where I share examples of this bad advice and **attempt** to break it down for how it can be harmful as well as ways to reframe it to get at the original intention or spirit of the advice. While I will do this as a mental health professional, I also want this to be a place where folks can share experiences as well as practice helping each other to reframe so we don’t unintentionally give this sort of bad advice.
So, as much as you are comfortable sharing - what bad advice have you gotten throughout your life?
Need your help - What bad advice have you gotten?
Hello Fitnessblender community!
When I was pregnant, I got all sorts of advice from folks on how to embrace new parenthood (often unsolicited) and occasionally that advice was unhelpful and, at worst, harmful. For example, I had someone once tell me to just completely ignore the state of my home because the baby comes first and cleaning shouldn’t be a priority when you have a newborn. While most likely well intentioned, this completely ignores the fact that - for me - a completely messy home is a surefire way to tank my mental health. I don’t need it to be spotless necessarily, but I know that I generally feel better as a human (and mother) when I can see my counters.
It got me thinking that this is likely a common experience we all have as this type of advice permeates all corners of life. Exercise, eating, mental health, new parenthood, and many other domains. We also get it coming from social media influencers, friends, family, co-workers, etc.
I would love to hear what types of bad advice you have gotten and I plan to create a series where I share examples of this bad advice and **attempt** to break it down for how it can be harmful as well as ways to reframe it to get at the original intention or spirit of the advice. While I will do this as a mental health professional, I also want this to be a place where folks can share experiences as well as practice helping each other to reframe so we don’t unintentionally give this sort of bad advice.
So, as much as you are comfortable sharing - what bad advice have you gotten throughout your life?
Strive on,
Haley