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Mental Health Quotes

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Mental Health Quotes

“Suicidal thought is a symptom of illness, of something else gone wrong. Most suicides are not impulsive, spur -of-the-moment decisions at all. Instead, most of these deaths are the result of a person losing a long and painful battle against their own impaired thinking. A suicidal person is someone who is unable to tolerate their suffering any longer. Even if she does not really want to die, she knows death will end that suffering once and for all.”

“But I live here, in this place. And I don’t know how to tell you that. I don’t want you to squirm, or take my hand and say it’s tragic. I don’t want you to roll your eyes as though I’m playing a macho game of one-upmanship: My pain can beat up everyone else’s adolescent pain, so I’ll just be over here in the corner, savoring the depths of my stoic suffering and shedding no more than a single tear when I listen to every single cover of “Hurt” and “Hallelujah” on repeat. No, you can’t help me. Don’t try to help me. Please try to help me.”

“During the worst of it, onlookers who have learned my story often comment to me that, “All the hardships you suffered were part of a divine plan for your life because something good came from each bad thing.” As though a divine presence decided to teach me these great lessons through pain. I am affronted by such a suggestion because it robs me of my accomplishment by removing the element of transcendence. I don’t believe we learn anything from suffering. If human beings inherently learned through suffering, we would be a population of enlightened beings and we’re not. We learn from suffering if and only if we manage to transcend our suffering to find meaning in what is otherwise senseless. This process of transcendence is a profoundly human one that imparts the deepest—most lasting—sense of achievement.”

“The character of the disillusioned warrior soothed by the simplicity and silence of nature is an archetype of this war-driven, industrialized era. It is the story arc that traces the trail of the once-idealistic-now-misanthropic protagonist led astray by progressing culture who ultimately finds themselves and a long-sought truce with their demons in the honesty of the landscape, be it alone or among a native people with a more rightly-aligned set of values. …There is some element of hope for the hopeless found in these stories that speak to the profound depths of our weariness and sparks in even the most disillusioned soul the hope of peace and a quiet life of meaning.”

“Mental illness People assume you aren’t sick unless they see the sickness on your skin like scars forming a map of all the ways you’re hurting. My heart is a prison of Have you tried?s Have you tried exercising? Have you tried eating better? Have you tried not being sad, not being sick? Have you tried being more like me? Have you tried shutting up? Yes, I have tried. Yes, I am still trying, and yes, I am still sick. Sometimes monsters are invisible, and sometimes demons attack you from the inside. Just because you cannot see the claws and the teeth does not mean they aren’t ripping through me. Pain does not need to be seen to be felt. Telling me there is no problem won’t solve the problem. This is not how miracles are born. This is not how sickness works.”

“Oh dear She smiles alot She has the loudest laugh Everyone knows her as crazy weird miss have it all lucky lady The kind of lady that seems to have no problems on her shoulders That's okay She doesn't mind what the think Or how they see her She knows in her heavy heart A war is wagering on In her mind it's being beaten and bashed from one side to another She's dying a little every minute”

“I’m Fine I stand on the precipice of solitude, A tempest raging within, unseen by all. They depart, like autumn leaves in the wind, Their absence a hollow echo, a fading call. I don’t care who leaves my life, Their footsteps erased from the sands of time. The bonds we wove, now frayed and brittle, Yet I stand resolute, unyielding, in my prime. The pain, a searing fire, consumes my chest, Anger coils like vipers, venomous and cold. They say love is a balm, a healing touch, But what if love itself is the blade that unfolds? I lose them, one by one, like stars in the night, Their constellations fading, swallowed by the void. Yet I cling to my essence, my fractured soul, For in this desolation, I find strength, unalloyed. I don’t care who I lose, for they are but shadows, Their laughter, their tears, mere echoes in the gale. As long as I don’t lose myself, my core unshaken, I’ll wear this mask of indifference, my heart’s veiled tale. So let them depart, let them fade into oblivion, I’ll stand here, battered and scarred, but alive. For I am the tempest, the flame, the unyielding force, And in this fractured existence, I’m fine”

“Living with akathisia is akin to enduring a relentless storm, where extreme anxiety, distress, and a distorted sense of reality besiege one’s being. The symptoms are multifaceted: dizziness, uncontrollable movements, overwhelming agitation that scorches the soul, leading to a sense of decay that seems to spread from within to the outside world. Fraud, deceit, theft, and abandonment by those who once provided love and protection add layers of torment, fueling an intense remorse. This condition cripples one’s day-to-day functioning, reducing it to a mere shadow of its former state. In our desperate search for any sliver of hope, many find solace in the confines of their beds, foregoing essential self-care or any semblance of self-love. The excruciating ordeal feels like a relentless nightmare, with regular flare-ups and an omnipresent sense of doom.”

“. . . PTSD, and other illness terms as well, have become a way of claiming a right to legitimate pain and misfortune. It is as if, without the illness label, their anguish wouldn't be valid, and they wouldn't be granted a passport to what Susan Sontag once called citizenship in 'the kingdom of the sick.' [However, it is] only some realms in that kingdom [that] offer a refuge from the stigma of mental illnesses: the diseases that come to us from the outside, apparently through no fault of our own, like PTSD and the enigmatic Gulf War syndrome (GWS).”

“Levin could not look calmly at his brother, could not be natural and calm in his presence. When he entered the sick-room, his eyes and his attention were unconsciously dimmed, and he could not see or distinguish the details of his brother's condition. He smelt the awful foul air, saw the dirt and disorder, the twisted way his brother lay, and hear the groans, and felt powerless to do anything to help. It never occurred to him to analyse the details of the sick man's situation, to consider how the body was lying under the quilt, how the emaciated legs and loins and spine were doubled up, and see if they could not be made more comfortable, whether something could not be done to male things, if not easier, at least less wretched. A cold shudder would creep down his back when he began to think of all these details. He was convinced beyond doubt that nothing could be done t prolong his brother's life or to alleviate his suffering, and the sick man was conscious of his brother's conviction that there was no help for him, and was exasperated. And this made Levin's lot still more painful. To be in the sick-room was torture to him, not be there still worse. He went in and out on all sorts of pretexts, incapable of remaining alone.”

“The relentless pursuit of consumer goods feeds the entitled 'false self,' while the insecure and empty inner self remains anxious and wounded—driven then to buy even more goods to cover up the inner emptiness. The empty self seeks the experience of being continually filled up in an attempt to combat the growing alienation.”

“Diabolical. You’re a scoundrel in tasteful athleisure wear.” I grinned and stretched my arms. “Isn’t this jacket cute? I really couldn’t pass it up.” “It’s adorable.” She sipped her tea. “You’re adorable. Cooper should eat you up. But I have two of you that are as stubborn as mules. How is even a certified busybody supposed to Hallmark-ending you two?”

“So often when we are unhappy it is becasue we are taking too much responsibility or we are taking too little. Instead of being assertive and choosing clearly for ourselves, we might become aggressive (choosing for others) or passive (letting others choose for us), or passive-aggressive (choosing for others by preventing them from achieving what they are choosing for themselves).”

“Când am intrat prima dată într-o școală, acum 20 de ani, nu știam că începuturile pot fi atât de zguduitoare. Ani la rând am încercat să mă adaptez unui sistem care nu se adapta niciodată la mine. Am învățat din mers ce înseamnă identitatea unui profesor, cât de mult te expune o clasă și cât de repede se vede adevărul tău interior când stai în fața copiilor. Astăzi sunt psiholog și lucrez cu profesori, adolescenți și adulți care trec prin aceleași întrebări pe care le-am avut și eu. Există un moment în viața fiecărui profesor în care își pune aceeași întrebare: De ce nu mi-a spus nimeni cum e, de fapt? Am creat această resursă pentru ca debutanții să nu meargă singuri. Ca să știe că nu este nimic în neregulă cu ei dacă se simt copleșiți.”

“Emotional burnout isn’t about doing too much; it’s about not getting the reward you need. You can’t pour from an empty cup. Recognizing burnout is the first step to refilling that cup and reclaiming your energy.”

“Burnout isn't just about being tired; it’s a profound exhaustion that infiltrates every aspect of your life.”

“Burnout doesn’t happen all at once—it builds over time, often so gradually that you don’t even realize how much it’s affecting you.”

“People-pleasing is more than just being kind or helpful. It's a deeply ingrained habit of prioritizing others' needs to the detriment of our own.”

“While wanting to be helpful and considerate is a positive trait, people-pleasing becomes problematic when it becomes a chronic pattern that negatively impacts your well-being.”

“Basing your self-worth on external validation can lead to deep feelings of inadequacy, worthlessness, and a constant need for approval.”

“I think I might be a bit mentally disabled.” “Disabled, eh? Really?” "Yes, because the others grow up, become acquainted with death, love, and how life is in general. They accept it, and cohabit peacefully with everything. Not me. I cannot get used to it. Every day I am born all over again, and start learning from scratch. Every night it’s as if I were dying, to be reborn in the morning. I suffer from insomnia, maybe that’s why. Your colleague yesterday spoke of the alphabet and the ways they teach us at a young age to interpret things. How do we consider someone unable to learn the alphabet? They’re disabled, I say...”

“A recovery friend of mine once belonged to an AA group called “What’s Your Motivation?” She said she’d always ask herself that in situations where she had to say or do something she might regret, and she’d ask others as well. She asked me that once or twice. So, you start out by asking yourself that question when the situation arises, and a lot of time you realize there is no good motive behind the thing you want to do or say, so you don’t say it. You don’t do it. After a while, it becomes second nature. Unfortunately, however, so many people out there are living their lives while untreated for their afflictions. Whether it’s addiction, including alcoholism, or a type of personality disorder, their behavior often stems from how they feel about themselves based on other people’s words and actions, things they had inadvertently taken on and clung to fiercely. They may have a desperate need for attention, validation, admiration, and respect. Maybe their delusions distort their perception of themselves and how others view them. They are so busy worrying about themselves that they are often oblivious to their motives and may not realize how little regard they have for others. In a genuine sense, they are fighting for themselves, but they’re not winning. Many of us have lived that way once upon a time and, because of it, spent a copious amount of energy on damage control. Knowing we said something we shouldn’t have said or did something we shouldn’t have done and going into this anxiety-ridden desperation to save our “image”—an image that likely isn’t real but a delusion. When we should be more concerned about apologizing or making amends, we’re more obsessed with not wanting to be seen in a negative light and having to act in order to change the negative perception. It takes recovery, healing, and time to learn that if you are intent on doing the right thing, doing right by people, and having everyone’s best interests at heart, you’ll know how to react and respond to things. And if you ever say or do something you regret, you simply say you were wrong and apologize. Empathy for others and for ourselves is what makes it possible. It makes us care about how we treat people and the effect it’s having on not only them but on our lives and the lives of anyone who cares about us. We eventually understand that how we treat people is just as important as catering to our own needs. I think it’s important to understand what made us a certain way in life and to acknowledge that, but then we have to fix it. It becomes our job and responsibility to heal that so that we grow and change. Too many people never get to a point where they can see it, let alone understand it, so those of us who do are quite fortunate.”