Saying someone has a sprained ankle is not an insult. You hope they are icing it, wearing support of some kind, following a good plan to heal, and, in the meantime, getting around as best they can to take care of what they need to take care of.
With a more severe issue, say, cardiovascular disease, it’s the same. You hope they have medical care and are following a good plan.
As for physical health, so for mental health
If someone has an anxiety disorder, you hope they are following a good plan to manage it. It’s not an insult. You hope they are addressing it and not ignoring it. You hope they have expert help.
You hope also, that they are not ashamed. Just as someone with a sprained ankle does not see their ailment as shameful, just painful, inconvenient, and frustrating.
A sprained ankle might mean you can’t partake in certain activities for a while. An anxiety disorder might mean the same. A sprained ankle might mean you need to take extra time to take care of it, and an anxiety disorder might mean the same.
It’s certainly not a perfect analogy, but neither mental or physical ailments are insults. And both deserve our attention and care to manage, to heal and to live with.
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