It Could Always Be Worse

It could always be worse.
These are words that I do not hear.
My feelings shouldn’t be devalued, my thoughts deceptive, or my problems invalid.
I’m aware that it could always be worse…
I am grateful that it is not worse…
But hearing these words has never and will never make me feel better.
 
Saying it could always be worse invalidates my feelings.
It’s as if the words I speak are instantly discredited.
It’s a phrase that provokes irritation at an event that triggers anger.
I am not uninformed about the issues of the day.
I have the appropriate amount of empathy.
I don’t need to be reminded of others’ hardships.
I simply need reassurance that things will get better.
 
I do not wish to discredit the pain experienced by others.
I wish not to compare my situation to his.
There is no comfort in equating pain.
Anger is anger. Fear is fear. Sadness is sadness. Suffering is suffering.
There is no reason to catalog these degrees of grief.
 
It could always be worse.
These are words that I do not hear.
My feelings shouldn’t be devalued, my thoughts deceptive, or my problems invalid.
I’m aware that it could always be worse…
I am grateful that it is not worse…
But hearing these words has never and will never make me feel better.
 
Saying it could always be worse makes my situation feel irrelevant.
It’s as if the words I speak are instantly discredited.
It’s a phrase that adds shame to a circumstance that already carries guilt.
I’m not naïve to what is happening around me.
I’m not ignorant of the conditions of the world.
I don’t need to be told that many others are experiencing hardships, too.
I simply need reassurance that I am not alone.
 
I do not wish to discredit the pain experienced by others.
I wish not to compare my situation to hers.
There is no comfort in equating pain.
Anger is anger. Fear is fear. Sadness is sadness. Suffering is suffering.
There is no reason to catalog these degrees of grief.