we just have to face it this time we're through

What's challenging for one person is very easy for someone else, and the same applies to the same person at different points in their life. There are things that were challenging for me a year ago that aren't challenging at all now. 

Something I've noticed about myself and others is that we have no empathy at all for challenges we haven't experienced ourselves. I think something we can learn to do, though, and that is a really good thing to learn is to take a position of understanding even when we don't understand - like, believing people about their own reality rather than imposing our reality onto them and judging them accordingly - telling them that they are wrong and we are right about them.  

And it's good to do that in our assessment of ourselves as well. Only you really understand yourself. If someone is being understanding and positive and encouraging you, it's good to take that on board. But if someone is accusing you, disparaging you, dismissing you, invalidating you, you don't have to take that on board. They do not know. They are not right about you. Of course, sometimes when someone is accusing you of something, you might have done what they're accusing you of. That's different. But even in that case, you know best. You know what you've done and what you think and who you are. No one else really understands yourself like you do. 

Sometimes we need to help others to understand us. We need to represent ourselves to people and give them the opportunity to understand us. But other times we need to reject other people's view of us. We don't need to fight them or let their view bother us, but we don't need to accept their view and take it to heart. Instead of getting all worked up about this fictional character that someone else has created, be about the business of being you.