One of the toughest social aspects about being sick is how we compare ourselves both to others around us and to an earlier version of ourselves.
When we struggle personally with any tough circumstance, including illness, we all believe that we deserve a bit of a break. Everyone deserves a break.
The tough part is resisting the urge to become jealous when we see someone else getting that break.
Because we have no idea what anyone around us is struggling with - nor how serious the circumstance - we can sometimes assume that what we are going through is worse than that of another person. It may easily appear that someone doesn't deserve some time off from trauma more so than another person.
When we see other people winning money, accepting job opportunities, being 'discovered' in a field of performance, receiving intense medical treatment, being taken on vacations - it's incredibly difficult to avoid feeling jealous - for anybody.
What we cannot know is the internal and/or private struggles that each and every one of us goes through. Every single person needs a break - so even though it may feel unfair to watch someone else's break come sooner than your own, maybe they needed the break a hell of a lot more.