This is something that bothers me, to
NO end.
Let me explain further. Some days, we have a traumatizing experience.. and we just want to talk about it with someone. You know, so that we can get over it, like normal human beings, right? So you pick someone to tell about your trauma, and they start to sympathize, but then... WHAM They hit you with it. The same thing happened to THEM a while ago. And for some reason, (they're not using this to explain that they know how you're feeling..), when it happened to them, it was somehow worse. Or worse in every way. So then you start to feel bad for them, you sink deeper into depression, and feel worse than when you started.
This is the art of trauma bragging. Guaranteed that after the initial shock wears off, you'll be pissed at this person for belittling your plight.
And you thought you were pathetic. ;-)