--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound…" description: "\"An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.\" — Alice Miller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png" --- # An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals… ![“An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.” quote by Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png) > “An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.” [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unaddressed trauma persists, resurfacing unexpectedly if ignored. **In simple terms:** Ignored trauma can flare up later. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and heal hidden wounds. Themes trauma healing memory Mood reflective somber Type therapeutic cautionary When to use this quote - therapy sessions - family conflicts - work stress Key Concepts psychology emotional health longterm effects Questions to Reflect On - What wounds have you left unexamined? - How can you safely confront them? A Different Perspective Healing may be painful and time‑consuming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heal/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/) [Trauma Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma-like-2274935/) [Unacknowledged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unacknowledged-1041822/) [Unacknowledged Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unacknowledged-trauma-2274934/) [Wound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wound/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [“Healing from toxic relationship trauma is like realizing you spent your entire life eating and having allergic reactions to rotten tomatoes when life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-storch/healing-from-toxic-relationship-trauma-is-like-realizing-you-spent/) [Pamela Storch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-storch/) > [I had learned to harness ignorance with presumption. I was ready to become an unacknowledged watercolorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-had-learned-to-harness-ignorance-with-presumption-i-was-ready-to/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Man is never alone. Acknowledged or unacknowledged, that which dreams through him is always there to support him from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/man-is-never-alone-acknowledged-or-unacknowledged-that-which-dreams/) [Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/) > [ “Everything stayed hidden \[…\] it was all secret – known by anyone who cared to know, but unacknowledged, like a priest’s feverish brightness around… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/everything-stayed-hidden-it-was-all-secret-known-by-anyone-who-cared/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [“If you share too much of yourself, you risk growing into someone who has nothing unacknowledged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/if-you-share-too-much-of-yourself-you-risk-growing-into-someone-who/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [I didn't know that I could be an actor until I was 25 years old, and now I continue to go back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cabral/i-didn-t-know-that-i-could-be-an-actor-until-i-was-25-years-old-and/) [Richard Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cabral/) > [There are those uncomfortable things that've passed that you have to deal with or they define you, like childhood trauma. 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Amy Eleni and I must watch it seventeen or eighteen times a year, and with each viewing our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/our-favorite-film-is-vertigo-amy-eleni-and-i-must-watch-it-seventeen/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“Partake not in the drama your trauma causes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/partake-not-in-the-drama-your-trauma-causes/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Who said that time heals all wounds? It would be better to say that time heals everything - except wounds. With time, the hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-marker/who-said-that-time-heals-all-wounds-it-would-be-better-to-say-that/) [Chris Marker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-marker/) > [“Within wounds there is valor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/within-wounds-there-is-valor/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. In addition, many memories are simply painful, and there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-wounds-are-too-deep-to-heal-or-too-deep-to-heal-quickly-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) ## More by Alice Miller > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Wherever I look, I see signs of the commandment to honor one's parents and nowhere of a commandment that calls for the respect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/wherever-i-look-i-see-signs-of-the-commandment-to-honor-one-s-parents/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [The art of not experiencing feelings. A child can experience her feelings only when there is somebody there who accepts her fully, understands her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-art-of-not-experiencing-feelings-a-child-can-experience-her/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Disrespect is the weapon of the weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/disrespect-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Even if one ultimately risks losing all contact with oneself and merely functioning as a mask, an "as if" personality, there are always drugs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/even-if-one-ultimately-risks-losing-all-contact-with-oneself-and/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Thus he spent his whole life searching for his own truth, but it remained hidden to him because he had learned at a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/thus-he-spent-his-whole-life-searching-for-his-own-truth-but-it/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Most people do exactly the opposite. Without realizing that the past is constantly determining their present actions, they avoid learning anything about their history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/most-people-do-exactly-the-opposite-without-realizing-that-the-past/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [People who, as children, were intellectually far beyond their parents and therefore admired by them, but who also therefore had to solve their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/people-who-as-children-were-intellectually-far-beyond-their-parents/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Parents are indeed capable of routinely torturing their children without anyone interceding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/parents-are-indeed-capable-of-routinely-torturing-their-children/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Ultimately the body will rebel. Even if it can be temporarily pacified with the help of drugs, cigarettes or medicine, it usually has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/ultimately-the-body-will-rebel-even-if-it-can-be-temporarily-pacified/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [The child has a primary need to be regarded and respected as the person he really is at any given time, and as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-child-has-a-primary-need-to-be-regarded-and-respected-as-the/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [For some years now, there has been proof that the devastating effects of the traumatization of children take their inevitable tollon society--a fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/for-some-years-now-there-has-been-proof-that-the-devastating-effects/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“The older we get, the more difficult it is to find other people who can give us the love our parents denied us. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/the-older-we-get-the-more-difficult-it-is-to-find-other-people-who/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [It is very difficult for people to believe the simple fact that every persecutor was once a victim. Yet it should be very obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/it-is-very-difficult-for-people-to-believe-the-simple-fact-that-every/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We don't yet know, above all, what the world might be like if children were to grow up without being subjected to humiliation, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/we-don-t-yet-know-above-all-what-the-world-might-be-like-if-children/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) [Explore all 120 Alice Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) ## More Heal quotes > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [ I guarantee you \[Hillary Clinton\] is smoking in humiliation over the idea that she needs to heal and that \[Donald\] Trump's the guy to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-guarantee-you-hillary-clinton-is-smoking-in-humiliation-over-the/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [“Our irises are galaxies; our pupils are black holes if we allow ourselves to bottle up everything inside us instead of allowing ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-johnston/our-irises-are-galaxies-our-pupils-are-black-holes-if-we-allow/) [Jaclyn Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaclyn-johnston/) > [Spirituality does not have to be serious. You are spirituality. Fun laughter heal you faster than anything. Introduce fun back into your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-moorjani/spirituality-does-not-have-to-be-serious-you-are-spirituality-fun/) [Anita Moorjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-moorjani/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [There's nothing that the road cannot heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-s-nothing-that-the-road-cannot-heal/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [If you don't feel free and be yourself, you can't connect. Find people who accept your quirks. They'll heal your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/if-you-don-t-feel-free-and-be-yourself-you-can-t-connect-find-people/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Time does not heal anything, it just teaches us how to live with THE PAIN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/time-does-not-heal-anything-it-just-teaches-us-how-to-live-with-the/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [“Sleep deeply, the sleep of our people, chosen one of my sister,that you will heal completely and wake refreshed and in full strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/sleep-deeply-the-sleep-of-our-people-chosen-one-of-my-sister-that-you/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [Time doesn't heal, time helps heal and learning helps heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-izzo/time-doesn-t-heal-time-helps-heal-and-learning-helps-heal/) [Tom Izzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-izzo/) > [“A heart that bleeds instead of beats in thousands of broken bits - pick one up and the sharp shard scrapes your hand; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-kowalski/a-heart-that-bleeds-instead-of-beats-in-thousands-of-broken-bits-pick/) [Martha Kowalski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-kowalski/) > [We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/we-come-unbidden-into-this-life-and-if-we-are-lucky-we-find-a-purpose/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [There are some - called 'death fatigue' - people who just grow so tired of death, so they don't want to keep perpetuating death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-are-some-called-death-fatigue-people-who-just-grow-so-tired-of/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Art is love creating the new world and justice is love rolling up its sleeves to heal the old one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/art-is-love-creating-the-new-world-and-justice-is-love-rolling-up-its/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) [Browse all 2,227 Heal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound-that-never-heals-over-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound-that-never-heals-over-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/alice-miller-3713_heal_an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound_1020942.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.” — Alice Miller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An unacknowledged trauma is like a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound-that-never-heals-over-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/an-unacknowledged-trauma-is-like-a-wound-that-never-heals-over-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```