---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It felt like I’d swallowed an angry…"
description: "\"“It felt like I’d swallowed an angry badger, which had then given birth to a million cell-sized micro-badgers who were currently mauling my insides. Ev..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg"
---

#  It felt like I’d swallowed an angry badger, which had then…

![“It felt like I’d swallowed an angry badger, which had then given birth to a million cell-sized micro-badgers who were currently mauling my insides. Even” quote by James A. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg)

> ““It felt like I’d swallowed an angry badger, which had then given birth to a million cell-sized micro-badgers who were currently mauling my insides. Even””

[James A. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-hunter/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Overwhelming internal turmoil feels like being invaded by countless painful thoughts.

**In simple terms:** Painful thoughts swarm like tiny invaders.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address inner distress.

Themes

pain anxiety overwhelm mental health self‑awareness

Mood

distressed intense

Type

descriptive personal

When to use this quote

- personal crises
- mental health coping
- stress management

Key Concepts

inner turmoil burden stress mindset

Questions to Reflect On

- What triggers these overwhelming feelings?
- How can you calm the mind’s “badgers”?

A Different Perspective

Metaphor may exaggerate, hindering constructive coping.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Angry Badger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry-badger-3142333/) [Badger Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/badger-given-3142335/) [Like Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-swallowed-429419/) [Micro Badgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/micro-badgers-3142334/) [Swallowed Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed-angry-3142332/)

## Related quotes

> [I've been told I looked like I swallowed an elephant or a pig, whichever was more fitting that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katelyn-ohashi/i-ve-been-told-i-looked-like-i-swallowed-an-elephant-or-a-pig/)

[Katelyn Ohashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katelyn-ohashi/)

> [“This is what it felt like to have a broken heart. It felt less like a cracking down the middle and more like she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/this-is-what-it-felt-like-to-have-a-broken-heart-it-felt-less-like-a/)

[Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/)

> [“see it is because her tongue is glinting with metal. Metal studs, metal rings, metal wires: all of it looping on and around her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/see-it-is-because-her-tongue-is-glinting-with-metal-metal-studs-metal/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [“I knew how he felt, how it was like being swallowed by winter, so that even your insides were too stark and too cold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyxandra-harvey/i-knew-how-he-felt-how-it-was-like-being-swallowed-by-winter-so-that/)

[Alyxandra Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyxandra-harvey/)

> [He was the one she was doing all this for, but sometimes she missed him so much it felt like she swallowed broken glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-was-the-one-she-was-doing-all-this-for-but-sometimes-she-missed/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [“Look at that drum of a stomach, it’s like he has swallowed a country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/look-at-that-drum-of-a-stomach-it-s-like-he-has-swallowed-a-country/)

[NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/)

> [“And must I not conceal myself like one who has swallowed gold- lest my soul should be ripped up?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/and-must-i-not-conceal-myself-like-one-who-has-swallowed-gold-lest-my/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [I had something in my throat. It felt like I had swallowed the whole world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-had-something-in-my-throat-it-felt-like-i-had-swallowed-the-whole/)

[Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/)

> [“Judith, you sound horrible. What's the matter with your voice? Are you coming down with something?" Judith shook her head. "I'm all right." "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/judith-you-sound-horrible-what-s-the-matter-with-your-voice-are-you/)

[Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/)

> [What was wrong with me? I had a decent life. I was healthy. I wasn't starving or maimed by a land mine or orphaned.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-was-wrong-with-me-i-had-a-decent-life-i-was-healthy-i-wasn-t/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“I feel like I swallowed a Magritte. Like on the inside, I'm made of clouds and floating eyes, green apples, and slowly rising men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-feel-like-i-swallowed-a-magritte-like-on-the-inside-i-m-made-of/)

[Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/)

> [“Kissing her was like being swallowed alive. Now I can't sleep until you devour me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/kissing-her-was-like-being-swallowed-alive-now-i-can-t-sleep-until/)

[Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/)

> [“All that damn therapy you made me go through — and sometimes, Dad, it takes going through hell to reach your heaven.” I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/all-that-damn-therapy-you-made-me-go-through-and-sometimes-dad-it/)

[Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/)

> [“He had a trio of fears that sat in his gut like swallowed teeth, and when he was too quiet with his own thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/he-had-a-trio-of-fears-that-sat-in-his-gut-like-swallowed-teeth-and/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [I feel like I swallowed a Magritte. Like on the inside, I'm made of clouds and floating eyes, green apples, and slowly rising men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-feel-like-i-swallowed-a-magritte-like-on-the-inside-i-m-made-of-2/)

[Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/)

## More by James A. Hunter

> [“Holy shit balls. This was Hell’s version of the friggin’ Sarlacc Pit. Perfect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-hunter/holy-shit-balls-this-was-hell-s-version-of-the-friggin-sarlacc-pit/)

[James A. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-hunter/)

[Explore all 2 James A. Hunter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-hunter/)

## More Like Swallowed quotes

> [I've been told I looked like I swallowed an elephant or a pig, whichever was more fitting that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katelyn-ohashi/i-ve-been-told-i-looked-like-i-swallowed-an-elephant-or-a-pig/)

[Katelyn Ohashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katelyn-ohashi/)

> [“He had a trio of fears that sat in his gut like swallowed teeth, and when he was too quiet with his own thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/he-had-a-trio-of-fears-that-sat-in-his-gut-like-swallowed-teeth-and/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [“All that damn therapy you made me go through — and sometimes, Dad, it takes going through hell to reach your heaven.” I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/all-that-damn-therapy-you-made-me-go-through-and-sometimes-dad-it/)

[Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/)

> [“Kissing her was like being swallowed alive. Now I can't sleep until you devour me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-joshua-shaw/kissing-her-was-like-being-swallowed-alive-now-i-can-t-sleep-until/)

[Mr. Joshua Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-joshua-shaw/)

> [“I feel like I swallowed a Magritte. Like on the inside, I'm made of clouds and floating eyes, green apples, and slowly rising men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-feel-like-i-swallowed-a-magritte-like-on-the-inside-i-m-made-of/)

[Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/)

> [What was wrong with me? I had a decent life. I was healthy. I wasn't starving or maimed by a land mine or orphaned.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-was-wrong-with-me-i-had-a-decent-life-i-was-healthy-i-wasn-t/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“Judith, you sound horrible. What's the matter with your voice? Are you coming down with something?" Judith shook her head. "I'm all right." "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/judith-you-sound-horrible-what-s-the-matter-with-your-voice-are-you/)

[Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/)

> [I had something in my throat. It felt like I had swallowed the whole world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-had-something-in-my-throat-it-felt-like-i-had-swallowed-the-whole/)

[Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/)

> [“And must I not conceal myself like one who has swallowed gold- lest my soul should be ripped up?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/and-must-i-not-conceal-myself-like-one-who-has-swallowed-gold-lest-my/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Look at that drum of a stomach, it’s like he has swallowed a country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noviolet-bulawayo/look-at-that-drum-of-a-stomach-it-s-like-he-has-swallowed-a-country/)

[NoViolet Bulawayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noviolet-bulawayo/)

> [He was the one she was doing all this for, but sometimes she missed him so much it felt like she swallowed broken glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-was-the-one-she-was-doing-all-this-for-but-sometimes-she-missed/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [“I knew how he felt, how it was like being swallowed by winter, so that even your insides were too stark and too cold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyxandra-harvey/i-knew-how-he-felt-how-it-was-like-being-swallowed-by-winter-so-that/)

[Alyxandra Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyxandra-harvey/)

> [“see it is because her tongue is glinting with metal. Metal studs, metal rings, metal wires: all of it looping on and around her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/see-it-is-because-her-tongue-is-glinting-with-metal-metal-studs-metal/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [“This is what it felt like to have a broken heart. It felt less like a cracking down the middle and more like she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/this-is-what-it-felt-like-to-have-a-broken-heart-it-felt-less-like-a/)

[Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/)

> [I feel like I swallowed a Magritte. Like on the inside, I'm made of clouds and floating eyes, green apples, and slowly rising men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-feel-like-i-swallowed-a-magritte-like-on-the-inside-i-m-made-of-2/)

[Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/)

[Browse all 21 Like Swallowed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-swallowed-429419/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It felt like I’d swallowed an angry badger, which had then given birth to a million cell-sized micro-badgers who were currently mauling my insides. Even”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "James A. Hunter"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-hunter/it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badger-which-had-then-given-birth/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Like Swallowed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-hunter/it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badger-which-had-then-given-birth/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/james-a-hunter-92942_quote_it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badg_1135695.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It felt like I’d swallowed an angry badger, which had then given birth to a million cell-sized micro-badgers…” — James A. Hunter",
                "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": "James A. Hunter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-hunter/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It felt like I’d swallowed an...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-hunter/it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badger-which-had-then-given-birth/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-hunter/it-felt-like-i-d-swallowed-an-angry-badger-which-had-then-given-birth/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```