Things could be worse

Olivia

Olivia

Well-known Member
Location
Hawaii
Is thinking or feeling or somebody saying that "things could be worse", is that a negative pessimistic idea, or a positive optimistic idea? What are your thoughts?
 

I think it's a negative positive thought. Things are bad now but no knowing how bad things can be in the future,so maybe things now are not as bad as what may come in the future.
 
I think it's a way for people to deflect when they don't know what else to say to you. I personally can't stand when someone says that. I obviously know things could be better or worse but whatever my situation is, it is personal and specific to me at that time and has no reference to anybody else's situation. I think the problem should be acknowledged, not written off. Everyone reacts differently to each situation so deal with the situation at hand and don't slight someone for feeling how they feel.
 
It's nearly always a perfectly horrible thing to say to someone who is in crisis. Too bad both of your legs had to be amputated, but I know someone with your shoe size. Yeah, that's bound to make someone feel better.

When I was going through the worst time in my life, a friend slid down the ice-covered hill to my house to tell me remember, god never gives us more than we can handle. I came up out of my chair, saying if that were true there would be no such thing as suicide or nervous breakdowns, so go try that one on the refugee mother whose children are starving to death. She came back in a few days and said she'd been thinking about it, and she decided it was at the very least a terribly dismissive thing to say knowing what I was going through.

I'm sure it placates something in us when we give that kind of meaningless and uncharitable response to someone in pain, but it's worth absolutely nothing to the person to whom we say it.
 
I think of it as a positive thing when I say it to myself. If something unfortunate happens to me, I always try to look at the big picture, so instead of getting really bummed out about it, I'll keep in mind so many other people who are going through so much worse than I am, and I remind myself that things could be worse. Not a bad thing, puts things in perspective and helps not to dwell on the negatives. I think it might also be a positive thing to say to a spouse or friend, depending on the situation.
 
I think it's basically a negative thing to say. If I say or think it to myself it's different but I don't want anyone to minimize what I am feeling by telling me things could be worse. To be honest though, I don't think anyone has ever said that to me, not even one time.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I think of it as a positive thing when I say it to myself. If something unfortunate happens to me, I always try to look at the big picture, so instead of getting really bummed out about it, I'll keep in mind so many other people who are going through so much worse than I am, and I remind myself that things could be worse. Not a bad thing, puts things in perspective and helps not to dwell on the negatives. I think it might also be a positive thing to say to a spouse or friend, depending on the situation.
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I agree. Try to see it as something of a positive - like the glass is half full etc.
 
I don't think this is something a person should EVER say to another person, but I say it (or a paraphrase of it) to myself all the time. It serves to keep me focused that my present problem, whatever it is, isn't the end of the world and that there are others who would probably be delighted to only be facing whatever present problem I'm dealing with. But to say it to someone else, NO!
 

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