I have a friend who really is getting on my nerves. Whenever we and our other friends talk about our problems - eg family or health problems, she'll always act like hers are so much worse then the rest of ours and try and make it sound like she's got the worst life ever when she doesn't. She'll say "Oh you think that's bad... " And then mention whatever or she'll say "hmmm, how can I beat this " and will literally just give us a list on all the things that are wrong with her life. She acts like it's a competition and that she likes the fact that her life is 'so bad'. It's like whenever we talk about her problems, she'll trample all over them and then it makes you feel like yours mean nothing and so I'm finding it difficult to talk to her. I'm going through some stuff and I haven't even really said anything to her because I know she'll like dismiss it and talk about herself and how she has it 'so much worse' or that my problems are'nothing' instead of listening and helping me
I'd kindly remind her it's not a competition and drift the conversation away from her problems. If the behavior persists, then you should really sit down and have a conversation with her. Tell her that her behavior is alienating you and your friends and that if she needs space to talk about her problems she's more than welcome to have it, but others deserve that space as well.
Some people are like this. They feel that they're not valued enough for who they are, so embellish their problems to get pity and feel better about themselves. If you start talking solutions, I bet you she'll dismiss them - the problems aren't the problem for her; the problem is that she isn't getting all the attention. If she won't stop, just work through your problems with your other friends.
