 As anyone ever told you, they could've been worse, or others have had it worse. Believe it or not, saying this does not help or improve things. Instead, it makes people feel guilty for expressing their emotions and symptoms of trauma. Psych-Central states, traumatic invalidation can damage your self-worth and mental health by convincing you that your feelings and trauma symptoms are unacceptable or unwelcome. Invalidation, intentional or not, can be severely damaging by negatively affecting your understanding of yourself and the world and making it harder to heal. But all trauma, no matter how big or small, is valid. Instead of invalidating someone's trauma or brushing it off as nothing, we need to acknowledge and validate it to create a safe space for someone to process their emotions and begin the healing process. As Sam says it best, trauma has no boundaries regarding age, gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. So why act like your trauma or that anyone else's trauma is any less than valid?