I realized something like this about physical pain recently. I had always been told (when in the hospital) to rate my pain on a scale of 0 to 10. Zero being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain that I could imagine. Well, I have a vivid imagination, so I had always kept in mind that it could be worse. When I had the worst ever migraine, I rated it a five, because after all, if someone set me on fire, I had plenty of room to feel even worse. I would have rated the accident where I tore my toenail off as a five also, despite the fact that I vomited from the pain. Then recently a friend told me that she rates her back pain as a five, despite the fact that she runs 5-10 miles/day. When I’m at a 5, I’m in a pile whimpering. That was when I realized that we all have a different idea of what a five actually is. My five is her 10. Her 5 must be my 2 or 3. It doesn’t mean that she’s feeling more pain, or alternatively, that she’s tougher in handling her pain. It’s just almost impossible to compare feelings between people.
(here from creme)