One of the troubles with saying "that's not the same thing" is that it can lead to accusations (internal or external) of whining. Or fears of accusations of whining. Or, just an overwhelmed feeling of how there's no way to bridge the gap.
I think that's one of the reasons it's important to be careful in this kind of situation, to be aware of the possibility that it could be hurtful to draw any kind of comparison. That way, if you do make a statement that's intended to be empathic, and it doesn't work out, well, now you can try to recover.
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Date: 2006-06-04 07:24 pm (UTC)I think that's one of the reasons it's important to be careful in this kind of situation, to be aware of the possibility that it could be hurtful to draw any kind of comparison. That way, if you do make a statement that's intended to be empathic, and it doesn't work out, well, now you can try to recover.