Oooh - Suzi - I empathise so much with your post. I have things going on in my life that worry ME (long-term health issues for myself, my Mum, my father-in-law ...). I KNOW there are people worse off, but when I'm having a bad day, when it's all getting on top of me, when someone at work is whining (again!!!) about some pathetic piece of office politics and I have to deal with it, I just wonder when will it be MY turn for some support?!! My 'troubles' may be trivial, but they are what I have to deal with - I can feel sorry for myself and still feel for those who are genuinely worse off than me.
I'm not sure if that made any sense at all - it's so hard to put it into words. I do think it's part of getting older though - we spend so much time caring for/about other people and feel guilty about caring for ourselves.