An acquaintance of mine and I had a discussion yesterday regarding my use of the words, “life sucks.”
It’s not a phrase I personally share with others a whole lot, so I was interested in learning her reaction to it, when the phrase slipped out in conversation.
Not surprising, this person’s outlook on severe mental illness, bordered on toxic positivity and (for lack of a better way of saying it) comparative thinking, whereby she compared my struggles to that of a blind person or someone in a wheelchair.
First, isn’t that kind of thinking quite extreme?
Allow me to elaborate… she said that my experiences, “were not as bad” as someone fitting the aforementioned circumstances.
So, I am all for having compassion for people struggling (even in ways that I do not), but that compassion should not come at the expense of my own (or someone else’s) suffering.
So, anyway, this was a tough discussion to be involved in… and, I attempted to educate her on the dangers of comparative thinking (or whatever it is called).
I just hate it when people compare circumstances though… any kind of circumstances!
It so cheapens what the subject matter is going through, and leads everyone else to believe that that’s “just the way it is.”
But is it? What are your thoughts on the issues brought up in this post? Agree? Disagree? And, why or why not?