When Life Looks worse than it feels

Sometimes one's life feels worse than it looks and at other times, it looks worse than it feels. What I mean is how we think our life appears to others can I have a bearing on our mood. Thinking about how the world sees our shortcomings or misfortunes can often make us feel worse than the shortcomings and misfortunes themselves do. This is not a call to banish judgement, even if that were possible. Being able to judge situations and circumstances relatively dispassionately is an invaluable human skill. For instance, it often tells us when someone is in need of help, even if they are not asking for it. But, we tend to judge ourselves and our own circumstances too harshly. so, it might be useful to reflect on whether at a given point, life feels worse than it looks, or looks worse than it feels. If it is the latter, it means we are judging ourselves through the lens of the outside world and self-sabotaging our mood. Being aware when we are doing so can itself be a mood-booster. When life feels worse than it looks, it gets more complicated. It is easy to berate oneself for feeling low when there are others in much worse situations. On the other hand. life feeling worse than it looks could also be a warning to seek help for one's mental health, especially if the feeling persists.