@medianplus30 Yours sounds like a perfect case for writing an addendum. It's not hardship that makes a sob story, but a self-pitying tone. As long as you describe your circumstances factually, it won't be whiny. I think you should write it.
... come off as a sob story as long as you don ... a given thing puts your story over the top and makes ... it a sob story; the question is whether it ...