Invalidation can be exquisitely painful to experience, especially when it’s ongoing or occurring in close relationships. Regardless of the other person’s intentions, invalidation can lead to people not feeling worthy of support, to doubt their own experiences, to feel alone, and to judge their own emotions and thoughts.

Comparisons are something that we do all the time and I do think there’s a time and place for it. They can have their benefits when it comes to determining the value of something because we generally don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Comparisons with others can also give us ideas about what’s important to us and can feel motivating to know that other people were able to achieve what we want.