Normalising

25th November 2010
You are trying to make statements that might help reduce the level of anxiety (fostering security) in a young person. Statements that increase the sense that a particular pathological mental state (e.g psychosis) is not only more common than people might think, but also that it is still understandable (or can at least be withstood) help diminish the fear of Stigma. For instance:

"Many people I have met, when they are under stress of one kind or another, experience episodes when they feel very worried, or have odd or frightening experiences - from research and from my own experience it is a lot more common than people think..."