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What is the most unhelpful advice you have received? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by axolittl@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'll go first: "You have to have children when you're young," told to me when I was in my late 20s, with no desire to ever have kids, and no means to support them, by someone divorced multiple times with at least one adult child who does not speak to them.

Also: Responding to "How do I deal with this problem?" questions with "Oh, don't worry about it, it's enough that you're even thinking about it!"

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[–] RedBike23@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That since I was pregnant it was time to let my career go.

My career is critical to my family’s ability to live a middle class life (and it’s critical to my sanity and happiness, but the person who gave me this “advice“ wasn’t really one for acknowledging or valuing mental health).

[–] 001100010010@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

"Just be happy" to a depressed person

Oh wow, jeez, thanks, why didn't I think of that earlier!

[–] son_named_bort@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

"There are people worse off than you"

Thanks, that totally solves my problem.

[–] QubaXR@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Don't ever quit.

Screw that. Quitting is healthy, quitting is good. Nothing worse than digging yourself deeper and deeper based on sunk cost fallacy.

[–] axolittl@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

"Don't be a quitter" is like saying "Fuck your boundaries. Stay in toxic situations no matter how bad they get."

[–] NewEnglandRedshirt@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Someone told me that if I wanted to be a history teacher I should get a degree in special Ed to "make myself more marketable." It took 14 years to get out of special education and land a job teaching history

[–] axolittl@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

14 years is a long time. Hope you're having a better time now.

[–] JimmyDean@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Coincidentally, I know someone who recently applied for a regular teacher's assistant role and when they got to the interview the hiring director didn't even ask questions about that position; instead they interviewed for a special ed job and then only offered that. It was a total bait & switch to try and fill a role nobody was applying for.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 1 points 1 year ago

I was a new dog owner, went to /r/Dogs to ask about a particular behavior my dog was exhibiting I'd never seen or read about before (turned out to be normal tho) and every reply I got basically told me I don't know how to care for an animal and that I should give him to someone else.

It was then I realized that it wasn't just /r/RelationshipAdvice that was full of bitter, jealous losers whose advice is always "dump them." It applied to literally every single subreddit dedicated to advice. They may have started with good intentions and knowledgeable people, but over time filled up with people who had no business giving anyone advice.