"Suck it up, Princess"

I seem to hear this phrase all the time, and I don't like it. It's not that I don't agree with the underlying message - that sometimes we just have to grin and bear a hard situation - but more the impact of it, and its uselessness in helping others get on with the job of "sucking up" whatever misfortune they've come across.

"Suck it up, Princess" does not in any way validate the emotions of the person who's been told to "suck it up".  It's well shown in empirical research that validation of emotional upset, even if someone does have to eventually "suck it up", is important in helping humans to let go of their distress. Validation is about recognising the truth and weight of another's (or one's own) experience, accepting it, and respecting it. But if anything, "suck it up, princess" just rubs salt in the wound of the "sucker-upperer". The message is also cutting in that it's not too far away from, "sucked in", in both sentiment and language. And this last phase definitely provides no comfort at all. 

So next time you come across someone who just needs to "suck it up", perhaps exercise some restraint and avoid reminding them of this fact.