4 Ways Saying “It Could be Worse” Does More Harm Than Good
Heal yourself and others by doing this instead.
It’s a coping mechanism that many of us don’t know we have. Four little words that — until pointed out — do more harm than good. “It could be worse,” we tell ourselves, despite it doing little to serve us.
We mean well when we say it. The priority, we’re taught, is to always be looking forward. What use is dwelling on problems we can’t immediately solve when instead we can try on guilt for size? You know what I mean. It’s the attempt to compare anything that seems trivial, by comparison, to dying of cancer or starving on the streets.
For many of us, this starts in childhood. Deep-rooted shaming into synthetic gratitude is hard to shake. Our parents worked long and hard to provide for us. We should have been more grateful. So, we learn to sweep away unpleasant emotions in a heartbeat. Of all the circumstances we could find ourselves, ours isn’t so bad. It’s only a shame that we apply this to all facets of our adult life too.
I’m guilty of this myself. For much of my life, whenever I felt sadness or pain, I’d squash the feeling before it could squash me. How dare I indulge in such selfish behavior! Did I not realize that I had a roof over my head and plenty of food in the fridge? Surely I’d…
