When someone has problems in their lives, they're often told, "Why are you so sad? Other people have it worse!" I always hated this way of thinking. The first time I heard that was from my mother. I probably complained about how poor we are, and she screamed that at least we have enough to not go hungry. And, I mean, yeah, duh. Is that supposed to make me feel better? And, if I take it to the extreme, if my food in a restaurant doesn't taste good, am I not allowed to complain about it just because somewhere people are dying of hunger?

My cousin's son recently got severely injured. His arm and leg were wounded. And it's very serious — there was even a risk of his losing the leg, but it's better now. His mobility is most likely going to be limited, though. Forever. He's going to be disabled. Not wheelchair-bound, but he has to walk with crutches now. Maybe in the future he'll be able to switch to a cane. But he'll never fully recover. And he's only 23!

Naturally, he was depressed. And what did his mother say to him? "Why are you sad? Be glad that you're alive! Others have died!" When I heard about this, it made my blood boil. Are you trying to inflict survivor's guilt on the kid? Why did you say that? And sure, it could've been worse. He could've lost his leg. He could've died. So what? Are you saying he should be grateful that it's only his leg that won't bend properly? And act like it's not a big deal?

He was always a shy kid. He wouldn't open up. He didn't even talk that much. And I'm afraid that now he won't share what's on his mind at all because he doesn't expect to get the kind of emotional support he needs. And that's a scary thought — to be alone with all your emotional burdens.

I've managed to see him only once since the injury because for a very long time he's been in a hospital that didn't allow non-immediate family to visit, and he seemed pretty optimistic. But I couldn't stop thinking, What if he's just pretending that everything is fine so as to not burden me with his problems? But at the same time, is there anything that could possibly be said to make things easier for him? I have no idea. Surely, no words can help his physical condition, but I think he was bound to have psychological trauma because of where he's been. And I'd like to help.