3) “Things could always be worse.”

This is about the least helpful comment you could make to someone going through a difficult time. In our attempt to help, to give strength, or to push, drag, or pull someone out of a period of distress, we often say some really dumb things.

How could things be worse for the woman who has just had her third miscarriage? Could things possibly be worse for the man who has just received the diagnosis of terminal cancer? What about the child who just lost a parent? Could things be worse for them, in that moment?