I think what is being argued is that subjectively their problems are equivalent. Elsa's problems to her are as bad as Szeth's struggles are to him personally. And I've pretty much always believed that about all of us. But then there's the objective side, wherein I believe Szeth's problems (and the consequences they bare on society) are clearly worse. He was made to KILL, sometimes for the sake of killing. Most of his victims played crucial roles in global society, causing a dynamic, irreversible change in the world.