Get Well Soon Messages

The main thing to get right here is register. “Get well soon!” is perfect for flu and actively wrong for a chronic condition or a serious diagnosis, where it can land as an instruction to hurry up and be better. Sorted by situation.

For something minor

• Get well soon! The group chat is significantly worse without you.
• Heard you are unwell. Rest properly rather than doing what you normally do.
• Sending soup, sympathy and no expectations of a reply.
• Take the full week. Nobody gets a medal for coming back early.
• Feel better soon. Do absolutely nothing until you do.
• Get well soon — the world will manage without you for a bit.

Warm and sincere

• “Thinking of you and hoping you feel like yourself again soon.”
• “No pressure to reply to anything. Just wanted you to know I am thinking about you.”
• “Rest as much as you need. Everything else can wait.”
• “Sending you a great deal of warmth and absolutely no advice.”
• “I am around for anything at all, including nothing.”

Funny (only if that is your relationship)

• Get well soon. This is a poor excuse to avoid me and I see through it.
• Heard you are ill. Have you tried simply not being ill?
• Feel better soon — I am running out of people to complain to.
• Sending you soup and my continued judgement about your immune system.
• Get well soon. Your absence has caused a noticeable drop in group standards.

One caution: humour only works if it is already how you speak to each other, and never for a serious diagnosis unless they set that tone first.

For something serious

Drop “get well soon” entirely here. It implies a timeline and a simple outcome, neither of which may exist.

• “I am so sorry you are dealing with this. I am here, for as long as it takes.”
• “You do not have to be positive or update anyone. I am just here.”
• “No need to reply. I will keep messaging and you can answer whenever you want.”
• “Thinking about you every day. Nothing required from you.”
• “I am not going anywhere.”

Before or after surgery

• “Thinking of you tomorrow. Message when you can, and not before.”
• “Good luck for tomorrow. You are in good hands and I will be waiting to hear.”
• “Glad it is done. Rest now and let people look after you.”
• “One thing at a time. Today the only job is resting.”

For a colleague

Warm, brief, and containing no work.

• “Sorry to hear you are unwell — take the time you need. Everything here is covered.”
• “Get well soon. Genuinely do not think about work, it is handled.”
• “Hope you feel better soon. No rush at all on coming back.”

That “it is covered” line matters more than anything else you could write. A large part of the stress of being ill is worrying about what is piling up.

For a child

• Get well soon! Your bed is the best place in the world right now and you are allowed to stay in it.
• Feel better soon — everyone is asking about you.
• Sending you a very large amount of soup and cartoons.

What to avoid

• “Everything happens for a reason.”
• “At least it is not…” — anything after those words minimises it.
• “Have you tried…” unless they asked for suggestions.
• “You are so strong.” Often heard as an instruction to cope quietly.
• “Let me know if you need anything.” Sincere, and it puts the work on the person with the least capacity.

The upgrade

Replace the open offer with a specific one: “I am bringing food on Thursday, tell me if that is a bad day.” One decision instead of four. And if you want the message to be more than a chat bubble, a get well card sent as a link arrives as something they open, with your voice attached if you record one — which for someone stuck in a bed is worth considerably more than text.