At the risk of sounding like Pathos Pollyanna, I offer the thought that suffering — of any kind — can bring us to our knees and make us feel isolated, angry, desperate, and very, very afraid. And none of us are at our best under those conditions. Maybe the only upside of suffering is that it can guide us to have compassion for others, even when we don't particularly like or understand how they express their particular form of pain.