You've made great progress, and I'm sorry you even had to make progress - the trauma could have been avoided if people knew how to be decent and civil. The pretend you're ok on the outside thing - I've had anxiety most of my life, and know just how that goes! And YES to stop comparing traumas. I have done that, too, and seen a lot of people do it, and I do think we do that to ourselves to sort of heal it away / wish it away, like if we can convince ourselves maybe it wasn't as bad as someone else's experience, then maybe we won't feel bad. But often I think we feel worse. It's so weird. Anyway, it's good that you shared this and I hope writing it helps with the healing process even more! :) <3