Instead of: "That's nothing, I had it worse." Say: "That sounds incredibly hard. I'm sorry you went through that."
If someone is clearly trolling or trying to diminish your trauma, disengage. You do not need a judge to certify your pain as "real enough." 6. The Harm of the Pain Olympics | For the Individual | For the Community | | :--- | :--- | | Delays seeking treatment (pain isn't "severe enough") | Silences marginalized groups with less "graphic" trauma | | Encourages escalation of self-harm to "prove" severity | Creates a race to the bottom of misery | | Normalizes toxic stoicism ("real suffering is silent") | Destroys empathy and mutual support | 7. Final Rule: Pain Is Not a Competition There is no gold medal for suffering the most. There is no podium. There is only a graveyard of people who were so determined to prove they were broken that they forgot they could be fixed. painolympics
Visible pain (the symptom) is 10% of the issue. The 90% underneath (history, triggers, coping skills) is invisible. You cannot measure two icebergs side by side. Instead of: "That's nothing, I had it worse