Ask HN: People who suffer(ed) more than you?

A memory: """One day in late November in a city in Europe that measures temperature in degree Celsius: I was studying. I felt numb. So numb. That day, I already studied for ages. Longer than any person could possible bare. It must have been around 4 or maybe even 6 hours. The library felt like an endless hall where nothing is allowed to move or make a sound louder than taking a sip from a bottle filled with plain water - no sugar. I needed a break. The suffering was too much. I needed fresh air. So, I decided to procrastinate home.

On my way home - on my bike - my 20 feet long hair moved hastily in the wind as I tried to free myself of my mental suffering. And then I saw them: construction workers shoveling earth in the freezing cold. My heart stopped. Not because they didn't seem quite happy. They seemed neutral. But it was my mental image of what it must be like. For me. To be in their skin. To be shoveling earth right now. In the cold. Probably already longer than 6h that day. And probably also tomorrow.

My mind shifted. Immediately. I was motivated to study. Right there. Right then. I wanted to make sure that I would never be in their skin. To suffer as I imagined they must suffer. I was sure, studying would help. And, boy, did I study that day. That week. That month. Until I forgot. And then I remembered again."""

I am living a privileged life. However, every now and then I am suffering. And it feels like the end of the world because my mind compares my current situation to a dream world. It feels odd to me - how easily my mind shifts. Just the other day I was suffering. Then I watched a movie. A fiction story. But my suffering slowly faded away. It's odd. But it worked.

I am wondering: do you have observations of people who suffer(ed) more than you?