To tell you the truth scaredy cat, I can not win this argument because you are dead set on avoiding the self-fulfilling prophecy of being depressed all day if you admit you lose ;).
The things you say seem to apply to people who are easily impressed, maybe vain. Individuals have the ability to analyze and calculate and ration both reactions to this comparision syndrome and things like piles of food, to the right degree…If you can’t I call that a personal problem, perhaps a mistake, it has nothing to do with me “pretending”. There may be an apparent hierarchy to you, but “happiness” doesn’t align with it in any consistent manner. It aligns with attitude.
To me there is no absolute hierarchy with winners and losers…just people in different situations.
