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Comment by golemotron | Hacker News Reader

This isn't about argumentative logic, it's about proportion and perspective. When we feel we have it rough recognizing that others may have it rougher lends a perspective that leads to gratitude and less self-centeredness. People who suffer often find release from their suffering when they help others. A program where ex-Olympians volunteer to help veterans might do both some good.

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> When we feel we have it rough recognizing that others may have it rougher lends a perspective that leads to gratitude and less self-centeredness.

Sometimes, for some people. For some people, when they express their feelings, and the response they are met points out that others have it worse, they sometimes feel worse. It can sometimes feel like a dismissal, invalidating their feelings and experiences. I'm using qualifiers here, but I personally think most people want to feel validated.

The question to ask then is: after validation, what's next? How do they build their sense of self-worth? Fortunately, that sensitivity can dissipate.

It’s not about suffering. Olympians, Students, Soldiers, Prisoners, Widows, Retirees, and anyone else who goes from regimented patterns to increased freedoms are all to a greater or lesser degree cast adrift.

It’s rare for people to only be facing a single issue, and the degree that any one issue is impacting them can very wildly. Still, dismissing similarities because of differences in intensity is counter productive. Grief counseling often involves encouraging people to go through their daily rituals, but all of those transitions can benefit from similar advice.

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