After a childhood friend of mine died a few years ago, I remember her mom saying that despite her grief, she thinks that most of the time people would prefer their problems over someone else’s.  And it’s true — when we hear about something happening to someone else, we tend to perceive it as much worse than anything that is happening to us.

I think of this frequently, particularly when I go to the doctor’s office (I have type 1 diabetes).  Today I had to go in for a PFT (pulmonary function test) for a study I’m participating in, and while I was there I saw the sleep lab where they do sleep studies on people who have a hard time sleeping at night for whatever reason — insomnia, sleep apnea, etc.  And despite the fact that I take injections several times a day, my first thought was, “I am SO glad I don’t have that problem.”

I always have the same thought when I talk to someone with cancer, or a handicap that prevents them from physically doing things that I can do — at least as easily.  We can’t choose our problems, that’s true, but we learn how to deal with them.  The devil you know over the devil you don’t, right?

I  honestly think that, when it comes down to it, most people would prefer their own problems to anyone else’s — no matter how much some people cry and moan about how awful their lives are.  You know they would do it no matter what, so even they would probably prefer their own problems, no matter how much they complain about them now!

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