How to better understand my girlfriend who is very different than me.

Hello, I posted this to r,/advice, but I thought this may be a more suitable place. thank you for reading. I’m fairly young only a little older than 16, so is she. But I’m in a relationship and have been for some time now (just under 2 years). This at face value may present some of the problem.

However what I wanted to talk about is my girlfriend herself, and intern who I am as a person. My girlfriend’s been through a lot, and had a hard start to her life. I’ve had a pretty good life, so the discrepancy is created where she has learned the behavior from her parents where small things seem big to her. Its not her fault, but it is the opposite of me. My parents have always taught me to roll with those small things.

When we have conversations, I often hold back how I feel, mainly when I’m upset. So when i have problems they very rarely get fixed. This is my fault. I just can’t get myself to bring up problems when I know she’ll be upset if I do. I know what I need to do, I know that I need to say these things anyway, but its hard because I really care about her and how she feels. Because its not worth it for me to be in pain, just to keep up that image for her.

I think I just need to hear it from someone. Or some perspective from someone who might understand a little better than I do. Sorry if this is a dumb inquisition, and thank you for your time.

Tl;DR- My Girlfriend struggles with her emotions. Is there something I can and should do to make this easier? Better yet, any tips on how to communicate my emotions in a way that are easier for her to understand?