Could just be as simple as nobody wants to sound like their success was handed to them (evokes jealousy & bitterness) and so everyone is encouraged to embellish

Could just be as simple as nobody wants to sound like their success was handed to them (evokes jealousy & bitterness) and so everyone is encouraged to embellish their struggles just a little, which in turn means everyone else has to embellish just a bit more so their actually-perfectly-ordinary experience doesn't sound too comparatively cushy.