I like to listen to what my friends have to say. I thrive off of being the person they go to when they need a listening ear. I've heard more stories, confessions, and testimonies than I am capable of counting. All too often a disclosure of hurt feelings or a story of a week of depression and anxiety is followed by the phrase, "but I can't complain. There are people who hurt more than me."
It pains me to hear this. I know that, yes, there are starving children in Africa. There are people with large-scale physical disabilities. There are people who have lost close family members way before they should have. Even though somebody else, somewhere in the world, hurts more than you do, that doesn't mean that you don't have the right to heal.
Think of it this way. You've heard the phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side." That phrase is used to show that there are, and always will be somebody "more" something than we are. It is highly unlikely that you will ever be the most wealthy, the most intelligent, or the most beautiful person. Even so, does that stop us from striving? Do we stop learning because we will never know the most? Do we stop searching for promotions because there will always be somebody above us in the company? No! Why, then, do we prevent ourselves from healing because somebody else may hurt more?
"This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer, and seen your tears; I will heal you."
2 Kings 20:5
This verse is directed towards Hezekiah, a man who was told, in the surrounding verses, that his illness would kill him. Instead of laying in his pain and sorrow, Hezekiah turned to God for help. He was not concerned with, "Oh, maybe God has more important things to do for people in worse situations," and God did not give a stipulation like "I'll assist you, after this line of hurting people." Hezekiah asked, and was healed.
Even if you don't believe in the words of the Bible, you should still understand my point. You do not need to be the most in pain to seek help. You do not need to be deep in depression before you feel like you can talk to somebody. You do not need to feel like you need to meet some "hurt" standard before you admit you need somebody to lean on. Talk to somebody. Let out what you have to say. You have every right to feel the way you feel, and to be able to let it out. There are people around you who care, even if you don't think there are. Please, take the time to tell them what's going on. I don't think you'll regret it.
