--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain." description: "\"Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain.\" — Alma Katsu" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg" --- # Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain. ![“Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain.” quote by Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg) > “Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain.” [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring deep suffering can paradoxically erase prior pain, offering a chance for renewal. **In simple terms:** Great pain can erase earlier pain. Key Takeaway Seek transformative experiences. Themes pain healing transformation Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - addiction recovery - trauma therapy Key Concepts psychology spiritual growth catharsis Questions to Reflect On - What pain have you transformed? - Can pain ever be a catalyst for growth? A Different Perspective Pain may not always be beneficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Obliterate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliterate/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [“Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the dancer is to obliterate that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-object-of-the-dancer-is-to/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [“Necessity can obliterate our hatreds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/necessity-can-obliterate-our-hatreds/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“In that smooth fortress of glass, I caught a glimpse of my corruption gripping steel, which before I had thought of as my salvation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/in-that-smooth-fortress-of-glass-i-caught-a-glimpse-of-my-corruption/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“Willful blindness” may hinder us from discerning the critical fault lines in the narrative of our life. Our memory may obliterate then the crucial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/willful-blindness-may-hinder-us-from-discerning-the-critical-fault/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Will I obliterate national debt? Sure, why not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/will-i-obliterate-national-debt-sure-why-not/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [I destroy the image after I've made it, obliterate it a little so you never have it completely there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-turbeville/i-destroy-the-image-after-i-ve-made-it-obliterate-it-a-little-so-you/) [Deborah Turbeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-turbeville/) > [So eager are our people to obliterate the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-eager-are-our-people-to-obliterate-the-present/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-most-effective-way-to-destroy-people-is-to-deny-and-obliterate/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Taking advice is fine; by all means, be open-minded, but not to the point of allowing others to obliterate your uniqueness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/taking-advice-is-fine-by-all-means-be-open-minded-but-not-to-the/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“They had overshadowed her in life. They would obliterate her in death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/they-had-overshadowed-her-in-life-they-would-obliterate-her-in-death/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Don't let one cloud obliterate the whole sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/don-t-let-one-cloud-obliterate-the-whole-sky/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Those who try to obliterate the past are injuring the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/those-who-try-to-obliterate-the-past-are-injuring-the-present/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“They want us to be afraid. They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes. They want us to barricade our doors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/they-want-us-to-be-afraid-they-want-us-to-be-afraid-of-leaving-our/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [A new life begins, destroy everything. Obliterate what makes us weak. Destroy everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hatebreed/a-new-life-begins-destroy-everything-obliterate-what-makes-us-weak/) [Hatebreed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hatebreed/) > [“Her temperament has never been competitive; she immediately wants to disappear, to obliterate herself, to make way for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillipe-grimbert/her-temperament-has-never-been-competitive-she-immediately-wants-to/) Phillipe Grimbert ## More by Alma Katsu > [And it´s so different for a lot of people I´ve known. One partner doesn´t love the other enough to stop drinking, or gambling, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/and-it-s-so-different-for-a-lot-of-people-i-ve-known-one-partner/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“We were arrogant and naive, thinking we knew what we felt then was love. Love can be a cheap emotion, lightly given, thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/we-were-arrogant-and-naive-thinking-we-knew-what-we-felt-then-was/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“I´ve always wanted him to love me the way I loved him. He did love me, I know he did. Just not the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/i-ve-always-wanted-him-to-love-me-the-way-i-loved-him-he-did-love-me/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“Have you ever been in love with someone so badly that you’d do anything for them? That no matter what you want, you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/have-you-ever-been-in-love-with-someone-so-badly-that-you-d-do/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [I’d always secretly believed that a love as fierce and true as mine would be rewarded in the end, and now I was being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/i-d-always-secretly-believed-that-a-love-as-fierce-and-true-as-mine/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“She was telling me that I had a life of disappointment before me if I continued to love him as I did. A love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/she-was-telling-me-that-i-had-a-life-of-disappointment-before-me-if-i/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“You might ask if I loved Jonathan for his beauty, and I would answer: that is a pointless question, for his great, uncommon beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/you-might-ask-if-i-loved-jonathan-for-his-beauty-and-i-would-answer/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“A man´s desire is a powerful thing. It can reduce a strong man to nothing. When he sees a woman who fascinates him, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/a-man-s-desire-is-a-powerful-thing-it-can-reduce-a-strong-man-to/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“It was like being in love with the sun: brilliant and intoxicating to be near, but impossible to keep to oneself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/it-was-like-being-in-love-with-the-sun-brilliant-and-intoxicating-to/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“There is not only one measure of beauty, Lanore. Everyone adores the red rose, and yet it is a common sort of beauty. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/there-is-not-only-one-measure-of-beauty-lanore-everyone-adores-the/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [Men hid behind religion to keep others from seeing how frightened they were, how inept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/men-hid-behind-religion-to-keep-others-from-seeing-how-frightened/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [The true measure of a man is how he behaves when death is close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/the-true-measure-of-a-man-is-how-he-behaves-when-death-is-close/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“Perhaps one day you will understand that, flawed as I am, no man will love you as I do, and you will search your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/perhaps-one-day-you-will-understand-that-flawed-as-i-am-no-man-will/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“He'd observed over the centuries that what made people old was when they could no longer keep up with change. It's the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/he-d-observed-over-the-centuries-that-what-made-people-old-was-when/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) > [“I've come to warn you, too. It's a dangerous game you're playing. There's a reason the rest of us maintain a distance from Adair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/i-ve-come-to-warn-you-too-it-s-a-dangerous-game-you-re-playing-there/) [Alma Katsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) [Explore all 16 Alma Katsu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/) ## More Obliterate quotes > [“Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the dancer is to obliterate that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-object-of-the-dancer-is-to/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [A new life begins, destroy everything. Obliterate what makes us weak. Destroy everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hatebreed/a-new-life-begins-destroy-everything-obliterate-what-makes-us-weak/) [Hatebreed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hatebreed/) > [“They want us to be afraid. They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes. They want us to barricade our doors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/they-want-us-to-be-afraid-they-want-us-to-be-afraid-of-leaving-our/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Those who try to obliterate the past are injuring the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/those-who-try-to-obliterate-the-past-are-injuring-the-present/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [Don't let one cloud obliterate the whole sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/don-t-let-one-cloud-obliterate-the-whole-sky/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“They had overshadowed her in life. They would obliterate her in death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/they-had-overshadowed-her-in-life-they-would-obliterate-her-in-death/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Taking advice is fine; by all means, be open-minded, but not to the point of allowing others to obliterate your uniqueness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/taking-advice-is-fine-by-all-means-be-open-minded-but-not-to-the/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-most-effective-way-to-destroy-people-is-to-deny-and-obliterate/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [So eager are our people to obliterate the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-eager-are-our-people-to-obliterate-the-present/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I destroy the image after I've made it, obliterate it a little so you never have it completely there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-turbeville/i-destroy-the-image-after-i-ve-made-it-obliterate-it-a-little-so-you/) [Deborah Turbeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-turbeville/) > [Will I obliterate national debt? Sure, why not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/will-i-obliterate-national-debt-sure-why-not/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [“Willful blindness” may hinder us from discerning the critical fault lines in the narrative of our life. Our memory may obliterate then the crucial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/willful-blindness-may-hinder-us-from-discerning-the-critical-fault/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“In that smooth fortress of glass, I caught a glimpse of my corruption gripping steel, which before I had thought of as my salvation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/in-that-smooth-fortress-of-glass-i-caught-a-glimpse-of-my-corruption/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“Necessity can obliterate our hatreds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/necessity-can-obliterate-our-hatreds/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“Her temperament has never been competitive; she immediately wants to disappear, to obliterate herself, to make way for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillipe-grimbert/her-temperament-has-never-been-competitive-she-immediately-wants-to/) Phillipe Grimbert [Browse all 22 Obliterate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliterate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alma Katsu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Obliterate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/603/alma-katsu-30781_obliterate_sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain_2463954.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain.” — Alma Katsu", "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": "Alma Katsu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-katsu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes only pain can obliterate pain.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-katsu/sometimes-only-pain-can-obliterate-pain/#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 } } ] } ```