--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The crowd intimidates me, its breath…" description: "\"The crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me. I feel paralyzed by its curious look, and the unknown faces make me dumb.\" — Frederic Chopin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/frederic-chopin-9176_breath_the-crowd-intimidates-me-its-breath-suff_1911429.jpg" --- # The crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me. I feel… ![“The crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me. I feel paralyzed by its curious look, and the unknown faces make me dumb.” quote by Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/frederic-chopin-9176_breath_the-crowd-intimidates-me-its-breath-suff_1911429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/frederic-chopin-9176_breath_the-crowd-intimidates-me-its-breath-suff_1911429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9f/frederic-chopin-9176_breath_the-crowd-intimidates-me-its-breath-suff_1911429.jpg) > “The crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me. I feel paralyzed by its curious look, and the unknown faces make me dumb.” [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling overwhelmed and immobilized by a large, unfamiliar audience. **In simple terms:** Crowd makes me nervous and speechless. Key Takeaway Practice exposure to build confidence. Themes anxiety social pressure performance crowd paralysis Mood nervous introspective Type motivational psychological When to use this quote - public speaking - stage performances - networking events - crowded public spaces Key Concepts psychology social dynamics self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - What specific thoughts trigger your paralysis? - How can you reframe the audience’s curiosity? A Different Perspective Fear may persist despite preparation; some anxiety is natural. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) [Crowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowd/) [Crowd Intimidates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowd-intimidates-2880904/) [Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious/) [Dumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Paralyzed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-paralyzed-537407/) [I feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-feel/) [Intimidates Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimidates-breath-2880903/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Paralyzed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paralyzed/) [Paralyzed Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paralyzed-curious-2880902/) [Suffocates Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffocates-feel-2880901/) [Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknown/) ## Related quotes > [“If I’m writing, at least I don’t feel as paralyzed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-goode/if-i-m-writing-at-least-i-don-t-feel-as-paralyzed/) [Laura Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-goode/) > [I guess you're happy if you have some kind of balance in you. I'm a human being. I have days when I feel paralyzed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-conroy/i-guess-you-re-happy-if-you-have-some-kind-of-balance-in-you-i-m-a/) [Frances Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-conroy/) > [The Administration of the United States is such dread I almost feel paralyzed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/the-administration-of-the-united-states-is-such-dread-i-almost-feel/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I am not fitted to give concerts. The audience intimidates me, I feel choked by its breath, paralyzed by its curious glances, struck dumb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/i-am-not-fitted-to-give-concerts-the-audience-intimidates-me-i-feel/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [The prayer of the feeblest saint who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to Satan. The very powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-prayer-of-the-feeblest-saint-who-lives-in-the-spirit-and-keeps/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Surrendering to fear and allowing ourselves to be paralyzed by peril isn't something most of us can afford to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/surrendering-to-fear-and-allowing-ourselves-to-be-paralyzed-by-peril/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [“Fear is the paralyzing emotion that inhibits or restricts normal feelings of love, confidence, and well-being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/fear-is-the-paralyzing-emotion-that-inhibits-or-restricts-normal/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [The philanthropists inquire whether Transcendentalism does not mean sloth: they had as lief hear that their friend is dead, as that he is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-philanthropists-inquire-whether-transcendentalism-does-not-mean/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. The fifteen-year-old boy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/i-think-a-hero-is-an-ordinary-individual-who-finds-the-strength-to/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [Woman has so long been subject to the disabilities and restrictions with which her progress has been embarrassed that she has become enervated, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/woman-has-so-long-been-subject-to-the-disabilities-and-restrictions/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/nothing-is-more-urgent-than-a-serious-dare-i-say-compassionate-debate/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Before I was paralyzed, there were 10,000 things I could do; now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I've lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-i-was-paralyzed-there-were-10-000-things-i-could-do-now-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear and caution are two different things. Be cautious - be conscious - but do not be fearful. Fear only paralyzes, while consciousness mobilizes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/fear-and-caution-are-two-different-things-be-cautious-be-conscious/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“Watching someone you love go through difficult times is like being trapped in your own body but paralyzed. You want to yell at them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/watching-someone-you-love-go-through-difficult-times-is-like-being/) [Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/) > [The anger I felt when the ACLU tried to disenfranchise me because my religious stayed with me. These are dangerous people who make dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hyde/the-anger-i-felt-when-the-aclu-tried-to-disenfranchise-me-because-my/) [Henry Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hyde/) ## More by Frederic Chopin > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“My earthly body has been a terrible disappointment to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/my-earthly-body-has-been-a-terrible-disappointment-to-me/) [Frédéric Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [We fell silent and all joking ceased. We gazed mutely into each other's eyes and an intense longing for the fullest avowal of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/we-fell-silent-and-all-joking-ceased-we-gazed-mutely-into-each-other/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [If I were still stupider than I am, I should think myself at the apex of my career; yet I know how much I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/if-i-were-still-stupider-than-i-am-i-should-think-myself-at-the-apex/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [England is so surrounded by the boredom of conventionalities, that it is all one to them whether music is good or bad, since they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/england-is-so-surrounded-by-the-boredom-of-conventionalities-that-it/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [They want me to give another concert but I have no desire to do so. You cannot imagine what a torture the three days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/they-want-me-to-give-another-concert-but-i-have-no-desire-to-do-so/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [Oh, how miserable it is to have no one to share your sorrows and joys, and, when your heart is heavy, to have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/oh-how-miserable-it-is-to-have-no-one-to-share-your-sorrows-and-joys/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [I could express my feelings more easily if they could be put into the notes of music, but as the very best concert would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/i-could-express-my-feelings-more-easily-if-they-could-be-put-into-the/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [If the newspapers cut me up so much that I shall not venture before the world again, I have resolved to become a house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/if-the-newspapers-cut-me-up-so-much-that-i-shall-not-venture-before/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [Man is never always happy, and very often only a brief period of happiness is granted him in this world; so why escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/man-is-never-always-happy-and-very-often-only-a-brief-period-of/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [You already know when I'm writing, so don't be surprised if it's short and dry, because I'm too hungry to write anything fat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/you-already-know-when-i-m-writing-so-don-t-be-surprised-if-it-s-short/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [I don't know where there can be so many pianists as in Paris, so many asses and so many virtuosi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/i-don-t-know-where-there-can-be-so-many-pianists-as-in-paris-so-many/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [Bach is an astronomer, discovering the most marvellous stars. Beethoven challenges the universe. I only try to express the soul and the heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/bach-is-an-astronomer-discovering-the-most-marvellous-stars-beethoven/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [The earth is suffocating... Swear to make them cut me open, so that I won't be buried alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/the-earth-is-suffocating-swear-to-make-them-cut-me-open-so-that-i-won/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [The last thing is simplicity. After having gone through all the difficulties, having played an endless number of notes, it is simplicity that matters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/the-last-thing-is-simplicity-after-having-gone-through-all-the/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) [Explore all 73 Frederic Chopin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) ## More Breath quotes > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stopped loving you today, But OMG..., Seeing your Body takes my breath away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/i-stopped-loving-you-today-but-omg-seeing-your-body-takes-my-breath/) [Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/) > [So we must do our very best Whatever life may bring And look beyond the winter chill To smell the breath of spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-we-must-do-our-very-best-whatever-life-may-bring-and-look-beyond/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poetry should be vital--either stirring our blood by its divine movements or snatching our breath by its divine perfection. To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [“The first step in awareness is to be watchful of your body. Slowly,slowly one becomes alert about each gesture,each movement. And as you become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-first-step-in-awareness-is-to-be-watchful-of-your-body-slowly/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“To control your life, control your mind. To control your mind, control your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-control-your-life-control-your-mind-to-control-your-mind-control/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“He’s sitting so close, I can feel his breath on my cheek. My stomach flip-flops again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-s-sitting-so-close-i-can-feel-his-breath-on-my-cheek-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“My life to yours. My breath beecome yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/my-life-to-yours-my-breath-beecome-yours/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“My heart is your heart," she whispers, and wow that takes my breath away, this line from my childhood that she always used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabel-pitcher/my-heart-is-your-heart-she-whispers-and-wow-that-takes-my-breath-away/) [Annabel Pitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabel-pitcher/) > [Good manners and bad breath will get you nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/good-manners-and-bad-breath-will-get-you-nowhere/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [“Being able to be myself was like being able to exhale for the first time after holding my breath for years. It’s only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/404-ink/being-able-to-be-myself-was-like-being-able-to-exhale-for-the-first/) [404 Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/404-ink/) [Browse all 1,839 Breath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me. 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