--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was younger I felt very…" description: "\"When I was younger I felt very disempowered, very disappeared. I felt worthless, like I had no right to exist. I think a good part of my life was spent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg" --- # When I was younger I felt very disempowered, very… ![“When I was younger I felt very disempowered, very disappeared. I felt worthless, like I had no right to exist. I think a good part of my life was spent recovering from that. Pulling myself out of that.” quote by Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg) > “When I was younger I felt very disempowered, very disappeared. I felt worthless, like I had no right to exist. I think a good part of my life was spent recovering from that. Pulling myself out of that.” [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling worthless can stem from deep disempowerment; recovery involves reclaiming self-worth and agency **In simple terms:** Feeling worthless is painful but recoverable Key Takeaway Work on self‑acceptance and empowerment Themes self‑esteem recovery empowerment Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational personal growth When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - journaling - creative expression Key Concepts psychology trauma healing personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What steps helped you regain a sense of right to exist? - How can you support others feeling invisible? A Different Perspective Recovery may be non‑linear and trigger setbacks ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When we two parted and you disappeared I felt brokenhearted but I dried my tears. I'd hope you'd move on and try to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/body/when-we-two-parted-and-you-disappeared-i-felt-brokenhearted-but-i/) [BODY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/body/) > [She felt worthless and hollow. There was no hope of fixing this. And when hope is gone, time is punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/she-felt-worthless-and-hollow-there-was-no-hope-of-fixing-this-and/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I felt that I was worthless, that I was ugly, that I didn't deserve anything. I thought people would think, 'What have you got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-bridge/i-felt-that-i-was-worthless-that-i-was-ugly-that-i-didn-t-deserve/) [Frankie Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-bridge/) > [“I would never give someone complete power over me where I lost control; complete power over me where I felt I was worthless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thought-catalog/i-would-never-give-someone-complete-power-over-me-where-i-lost/) [Thought Catalog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thought-catalog/) > [Let's face it, she can't have simply disappeared...can she?" Horace shrugged. "That's what I keep telling myself," he said morosley. "But somehow it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/let-s-face-it-she-can-t-have-simply-disappeared-can-she-horace/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [For women who do not love us, as for the "disappeared", knowing that we no longer have any hope does not prevent us form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-women-who-do-not-love-us-as-for-the-disappeared-knowing-that-we/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [There was a strange happening during a performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures' at a concert hall in Bermuda tonight, when the man playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-barker/there-was-a-strange-happening-during-a-performance-of-elgar-s-sea/) [Ronnie Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-barker/) > [I've always been making music, but I sort of went under the radar. I kind of disappeared... I was never really that comfortable with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-somerville/i-ve-always-been-making-music-but-i-sort-of-went-under-the-radar-i/) [Jimmy Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-somerville/) > [The one person who's disappeared out of the business is the A&R man. Because the listener at home becomes the A&R man. He's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-one-person-who-s-disappeared-out-of-the-business-is-the-a-r-man/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [“If his long day were lived in a European novel, he'd become "D" when on the run or near disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kudera/if-his-long-day-were-lived-in-a-european-novel-he-d-become-d-when-on/) [Alex Kudera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kudera/) > [“When the first time I saw you, when you have been totally stranger, suddenly, somehow everything completely disappeared and I realized that I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rati-tsiteladze/when-the-first-time-i-saw-you-when-you-have-been-totally-stranger/) [Rati Tsiteladze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rati-tsiteladze/) ## More by Eve Ensler > [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. It seemed like the end of the world. Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-wrote-the-good-body-i-turned-40-and-suddenly-had-this-stomach/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cherish-your-solitude-take-trains-by-yourself-to-places-you-have/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they're waiting for someone to say, 'You're good, you're pretty, I give you permission'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/why-are-women-immobile-because-so-many-feel-like-they-re-waiting-for/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [What neo-capitalism does so brilliantly is that it's always subdividing and dividing, so that people are never able to be joined in their numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/what-neo-capitalism-does-so-brilliantly-is-that-it-s-always/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“De acordo com os congressistas, ouvir as experiências reais de mulheres vítimas de violência era diferente de ler as estatísticas de violência contra mulheres.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/de-acordo-com-os-congressistas-ouvir-as-experi-ncias-reais-de/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The clitoris is pure in purpose. It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-clitoris-is-pure-in-purpose-it-is-the-only-organ-in-the-body/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I believe in irony. And if V-Day has taught me anything, it's that if you go out with artistic, outrageous irony and humor, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-believe-in-irony-and-if-v-day-has-taught-me-anything-it-s-that-if/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [People didn't feel so much shame around it and that they didn't feel so much humiliation around it. And the other thing that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/people-didn-t-feel-so-much-shame-around-it-and-that-they-didn-t-feel/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cancer essentially lives in us and becomes activated at some point, and then cells begin to psychotically divide. Initially, the cancer cell looks like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cancer-essentially-lives-in-us-and-becomes-activated-at-some-point/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Today the United States has the highest prison population in the world, over 2.1 million people. ... We lock people up at a rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/today-the-united-states-has-the-highest-prison-population-in-the/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) [Explore all 241 Eve Ensler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## More Disappeared quotes > [“When the first time I saw you, when you have been totally stranger, suddenly, somehow everything completely disappeared and I realized that I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rati-tsiteladze/when-the-first-time-i-saw-you-when-you-have-been-totally-stranger/) [Rati Tsiteladze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rati-tsiteladze/) > [“If his long day were lived in a European novel, he'd become "D" when on the run or near disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kudera/if-his-long-day-were-lived-in-a-european-novel-he-d-become-d-when-on/) [Alex Kudera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kudera/) > [The one person who's disappeared out of the business is the A&R man. Because the listener at home becomes the A&R man. He's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-one-person-who-s-disappeared-out-of-the-business-is-the-a-r-man/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [I've always been making music, but I sort of went under the radar. I kind of disappeared... I was never really that comfortable with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-somerville/i-ve-always-been-making-music-but-i-sort-of-went-under-the-radar-i/) [Jimmy Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-somerville/) > [There was a strange happening during a performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures' at a concert hall in Bermuda tonight, when the man playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-barker/there-was-a-strange-happening-during-a-performance-of-elgar-s-sea/) [Ronnie Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-barker/) > [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [For women who do not love us, as for the "disappeared", knowing that we no longer have any hope does not prevent us form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-women-who-do-not-love-us-as-for-the-disappeared-knowing-that-we/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Let's face it, she can't have simply disappeared...can she?" Horace shrugged. "That's what I keep telling myself," he said morosley. "But somehow it looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/let-s-face-it-she-can-t-have-simply-disappeared-can-she-horace/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [When we two parted and you disappeared I felt brokenhearted but I dried my tears. I'd hope you'd move on and try to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/body/when-we-two-parted-and-you-disappeared-i-felt-brokenhearted-but-i/) [BODY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/body/) > [I was struck by the fact that I hadn't been awed in a while. Did that mean awesome things had disappeared from my life?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-thoele/i-was-struck-by-the-fact-that-i-hadn-t-been-awed-in-a-while-did-that/) [Sue Thoele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-thoele/) > [“Over the last month her grip on her home and work life had slipped beyond her control. Her earnings had disappeared to practically nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-donoghue/over-the-last-month-her-grip-on-her-home-and-work-life-had-slipped/) [Clare Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-donoghue/) > [“Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore’s face had disappeared. “He’s gone!” “Well, you can’t expect him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/harry-turned-the-card-back-over-and-saw-to-his-astonishment-that/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) Browse all 229 Disappeared quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was younger I felt very disempowered, very disappeared. I felt worthless, like I had no right to exist. I think a good part of my life was spent recovering from that. Pulling myself out of that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eve Ensler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowered-very-disappeared-i-felt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disappeared" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowered-very-disappeared-i-felt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/eve-ensler-1402_disappeared_when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowe_2280422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was younger I felt very disempowered, very disappeared. I felt worthless, like I had no right to…” — Eve Ensler", "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": "Eve Ensler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was younger I felt...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowered-very-disappeared-i-felt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-was-younger-i-felt-very-disempowered-very-disappeared-i-felt/#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 } } ] } ```