Cliches become a shorthand for people when you become sick. While some are helpful (though I'm at a loss right now for which ones actually don't make me want to scream) there are those, such as "Every cloud has a silver lining" that should remain unsaid. Some other favorites that people ought to not say *although they have:

1. This too shall pass
2. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger
3. Time heals all wounds
4. Everything happens for a reason
5. Turn that frown upside down and let a smile be your umbrella
6. Only the good die young
7. Life's a bitch and then you die
8. Anything you need, just ask
9. What goes around, comes around

I'm sure there are more but those are the ones that come to mind. I also hated it when people were like, "You have to be positive." ALL THE TIME. I know that it's important to keep a good attitude, but there are going to be times when the world is just overwhelming. You're going to cry. So many people were telling me to be strong, not get upset, and so on and then I would actually feel guilty for crying and started to count how many times I cried. I was proud for not getting upset. As if this is a contest of who can handle it better. Some people would be like, "don't be self-pitying" if I lamented about my appeareance or what not. Okay, if there's ever going to be a time when a little, I didn't say a lot, of self-pity is going to be okay, now is about that time. A lot of people don't realize that they're doing it, they think that they are being a good influence. But they wind up invalidating your feelings or making you feel worse. Then you start to not want to talk about things in front of them. I felt that I was depressing people or angering them and I couldn't be truly honest about how I felt because I was worried about their feelings. It just became a mess. I'm not even sure that it's all resolved because I'm not sure that there's any real set list of rules for this. But I guess we try on a daily basis to just make sure that we don't take all our anger on those who care about us and they try to be mindful of our situation. And there's a tentative truce set up that will eventually become the working vocabulary for all those involved. At least that's the best to hope for. No one is ever going to say the perfect thing, unless they whip out index cards or rehearse it beforehand (and yes that has happened) so I learned to be a little more forgiving, although I really wish more people would be like, "what the hell?" or "damn, this sucks." It's a little more honest and a lot less trite.