---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These days people seemed to suggest that…"
description: "\"“These days people seemed to suggest that you should talk about everything, even those things that people never talked about in the past, but did this ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/alexander-mccall-smith-372_forgetting_these-days-people-seemed-to-suggest-that_290941.png"
---

#  These days people seemed to suggest that you should talk…

![“These days people seemed to suggest that you should talk about everything, even those things that people never talked about in the past, but did this make life any easier? She was not sure. In fact, she thought there were occasions on which talking about distressing things merely kept those things…” quote by Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/alexander-mccall-smith-372_forgetting_these-days-people-seemed-to-suggest-that_290941.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/alexander-mccall-smith-372_forgetting_these-days-people-seemed-to-suggest-that_290941.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/alexander-mccall-smith-372_forgetting_these-days-people-seemed-to-suggest-that_290941.png)

> ““These days people seemed to suggest that you should talk about everything, even those things that people never talked about in the past, but did this make life any easier? She was not sure. In fact, she thought there were occasions on which talking about distressing things merely kept those things alive, whereas not talking about them, consigning them to the past, forgetting them, allowed one to think about things that were positive, things that made the world a bit better.””

[Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Talking about painful memories can keep them vivid, while silence may help move past them toward positivity.

**In simple terms:** Discussing distress can preserve pain; silence may aid healing.

Key Takeaway

Choose when to speak or stay silent.

Themes

memory healing communication

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- personal reflection
- therapy sessions

Key Concepts

psychology trauma coping mechanisms

Questions to Reflect On

- When does speaking help versus hinder?
- How can you balance remembering and moving on?

A Different Perspective

Silence can also suppress needed processing of trauma.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forgetting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgetting/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

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> [ I liked the idea of using this mega-star \[Beyoncé \] to talk about all those things on the tiny scale of my life. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/i-liked-the-idea-of-using-this-mega-star-beyonc-to-talk-about-all/)

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> [“Anyway," continued Mr. Miller, "when I was a kid, people used to sit under the stars at night and look up into the sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-martin-beckner/anyway-continued-mr-miller-when-i-was-a-kid-people-used-to-sit-under/)

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