Talking to someone about
their WM diagnosis

Listen.
Try to give your loved one the time and space to explain their diagnosis or treatment options in their own words, and express the way they’re feeling. Everyone feels differently, and there’s no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ way for them to feel.

Don’t try to fix things.
It can be easy to try and ‘fix’ problems. It might make you feel like you’re doing something practical and productive, but it’s not always what the person diagnosed needs or wants. Try to listen to what they are asking you, sometimes it might just be that they want to talk things through instead of solve an issue.

Give yourself grace.
There is no ‘right’ way to support someone, so try not to put pressure yourself to give the ‘right’ response or feel the ‘right’ way. Simply being there for your loved one is often enough.

Keep talking about normal things.
The person diagnosed might not want to talk about their diagnosis all the time. Keeping a sense of normality – whether that’s chatting about your favourite show, or sending them a funny video – can really help the person diagnosed by showing that you’re still there for them whilst giving them the option to talk about their diagnosis or not.

Don’t avoid difficult subjects.
It can be easy to try to avoid the difficult conversations, but people with WM often feel alone because they have few people to talk to who know about the disease. Although hard to face, try to make sure your loved one knows they can talk to you about difficult subjects as and when they’re ready.

Respect their boundaries.
Even if you feel ready to discuss things, your loved one might still be processing their emotions, or not ready to talk yet. Instead, just let them know that you are open to talk when they are ready or want to. If and when they do talk to you, they might not want to share everything.

Educate yourself.
Your loved one might find it difficult to explain their illness to you, either because they can’t find the words or don’t know how to explain it. By doing reading of your own and not relying on them as your source of information, you can start to understand their experience, which might make talking easier.