I suffered a lot of trauma has a kid, and oddly enough, it makes it hard for me to sympathize with people who have had it easier than me even though still had struggles and traumas of their own.

For example, I started counseling three years ago, which has helped me a lot, but two of my very close friends, who grew up wealthy and had a lot of other opportunities afforded to them, also started counseling about a year ago. Despite thinking everyone should get counseling at some point in their lives, I realized I was irritated they thought they needed counseling. Another very minor example, one of their grandparents died. They weren’t close and externally I was supportive, but internally, all I could think was, “Get over it. I never had any grandparents.” I know this is really toxic behavior, and I mask the ugly thoughts now, but I worry I’ll slip one day. I care deeply for these two friends, so these toxic, ugly thoughts have the added bonus of making me feel like a terrible person. I’m working on it.