--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If suffering like hers had any use, she…" description: "\"“If suffering like hers had any use, she reasoned, it was not to the sufferer. The only way that an individual's pain gained meaning was through its co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/diane-wood-middlebrook-232804_depression_if-suffering-like-hers-had-any-use-she-r_934411.jpg" --- # If suffering like hers had any use, she reasoned, it was… ![“If suffering like hers had any use, she reasoned, it was not to the sufferer. The only way that an individual's pain gained meaning was through its communication to others.” quote by Diane Wood Middlebrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/diane-wood-middlebrook-232804_depression_if-suffering-like-hers-had-any-use-she-r_934411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/diane-wood-middlebrook-232804_depression_if-suffering-like-hers-had-any-use-she-r_934411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/737/diane-wood-middlebrook-232804_depression_if-suffering-like-hers-had-any-use-she-r_934411.jpg) > ““If suffering like hers had any use, she reasoned, it was not to the sufferer. The only way that an individual's pain gained meaning was through its communication to others.”” Diane Wood Middlebrook ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pain gains meaning when shared, turning personal suffering into collective understanding. **In simple terms:** Sharing pain gives it purpose. Key Takeaway Share your pain to help others. Themes suffering meaning communication empathy mental health Mood empathetic hopeful Type Depression:1 Helping others:1 Mental illness:1 Pain:1 Relating:1 Self disclosure:1 Suffering:1 Pain Gain:0 Suffering Like:0 Individual Pain:1 Reasoned Sufferer:0 Meaning Communication:1 When to use this quote - therapy groups - supportive friendships - public speaking Key Concepts Narrative therapy social support psychological resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you safely share personal pain? - What benefits arise from communicating suffering? A Different Perspective Sharing can expose vulnerability and cause distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Helping others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-others/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Gain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-gain/) [Self disclosure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-disclosure/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Change happens when one individual has had enough pain and finds the inner resolve to ask for help and make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ferguson/change-happens-when-one-individual-has-had-enough-pain-and-finds-the/) [Mike Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ferguson/) > [The meaning of your communication is the response you get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/the-meaning-of-your-communication-is-the-response-you-get/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [The meaning of a communication is the result you get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bandler/the-meaning-of-a-communication-is-the-result-you-get/) [Richard Bandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bandler/) > [“Her full face was not soft; it was controlled, kindly. Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/her-full-face-was-not-soft-it-was-controlled-kindly-her-hazel-eyes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Nothing eases suffering like human touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/nothing-eases-suffering-like-human-touch/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [And I watch my words from a long way off. They are more yours than mine. They climb on my old suffering like ivy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/and-i-watch-my-words-from-a-long-way-off-they-are-more-yours-than-2/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“On the other hand, for those of us who have the tendency to believe that everything worthwhile should involve pain and suffering (like yours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/on-the-other-hand-for-those-of-us-who-have-the-tendency-to-believe/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [And I watch my words from a long way off. They are more yours than mine. 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While confidentiality protects much that is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissela-bok/confidentiality-refers-to-the-boundaries-surrounding-shared-secrets/) [Sissela Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissela-bok/) > [“Research in self-disclosure supports my own experience that the personal openness of the guru facilitates and invites the increased openness of the pilgrim. (24)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-b-kopp/research-in-self-disclosure-supports-my-own-experience-that-the/) [Sheldon B. Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-b-kopp/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. 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