‘Silence can be incredibly hurtful’: How to talk to someone about their chronic illness

Personally, I appreciate a simple ‘how’s your health?’ once in a while, about as often as you might ask after someone’s family, writes Grace Jennings-Edquist Photograph: Dmitriy Shironosov/Alamy

When you have a chronic illness, people say puzzling, vaguely inappropriate things all the time.

Since developing an autoinflammatory disease two years ago, I’ve learned there are endless suggestions of natural “remedies” for my incurable condition: “My neighbour’s cousin went vegan, and she’s never been better!”