Martian Thoughts

Everything is not alright

It's hard to deliver bad news. Unless one suffers from pathological schadenfreude, nobody enjoys bearing terrible tidings. Telling someone that a family member died or that they lost their job is a heavy task that demands much emotional labour.

One may be tempted to sugar-coat it. One may be tempted to find the silver lining. One might be tempted to focus on the bright side. Yet, in my experience, nothing trumps honesty as long as it is imparted with care, tact and empathy.

“I know you’re scared, you’ve got every reason to be, and things might still get worse before they get better, but I’ve got your back, and we’re here to support each other” is much more comforting and reassuring than the predictable, overused and ultimately spurious “everything will be alright”.