Posted by shar on September 18, 2002, at 0:27:16
In reply to Re: pretty nasty, Phil, posted by wendy b. on September 17, 2002, at 10:15:53
> "How dare someone challenge someone else's personal pain, as if it all equalled out in the end...?"
>I think this is something we would all benefit by remembering. IMO, nobody here can really challenge anyone else's pain, or say one form of abuse is ultimately more damaging than another, or that one mental illness is 'worse' than another.
Two people can have the same life circumstances, but because of nature, nurture, DNA, RNA, biochemistry, metaphysics and more, have an extremely different outcome. Or have extremely different life circumstances and end up with almost identical outcomes. It makes no sense to try to say one pain is worse than another because it is not the same pain, not the same person, we will never know what it was like for them, what their strengths were that kept them alive, any of that. They--life circumstances--can be heartbreaking to hear, but 'pain' needs to be respected 'as is.'
Some people who got here--to these boards--after a normal, loving upbringing, are suffering as much in the here-and-now from their mental dis-ease as anyone else. It's possible that the onset of the worst disease is not preceded by early abuse. But we can see that person suffering.
It seems the best approach is to acknowledge that we all have pain in our lives, we look back on different lives, and at times or all the time, our pain can be acute. Beyond that, I believe, a true comparison of whose pain is worse is impossible.
Shar
poster:shar
thread:7487
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020725/msgs/7538.html