--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. I had…" description: "\"“I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. I had learned not to feel, or at least not to tell anyone about my feelings. It was a matter of survival, avoiding ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/john-e-monaco-249138_feelings_i-couldn-t-tell-anyone-how-i-felt-i-had_125124.jpg" --- # I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. I had learned not to… ![“I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. I had learned not to feel, or at least not to tell anyone about my feelings. It was a matter of survival, avoiding and enduring.” quote by John E. Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/john-e-monaco-249138_feelings_i-couldn-t-tell-anyone-how-i-felt-i-had_125124.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/john-e-monaco-249138_feelings_i-couldn-t-tell-anyone-how-i-felt-i-had_125124.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/john-e-monaco-249138_feelings_i-couldn-t-tell-anyone-how-i-felt-i-had_125124.jpg) > ““I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. I had learned not to feel, or at least not to tell anyone about my feelings. It was a matter of survival, avoiding and enduring.”” [John E. Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-monaco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suppressing emotions becomes a survival tactic; learning not to feel or share feelings to endure hardship. **In simple terms:** Hiding feelings can be a survival strategy. Key Takeaway Allow yourself safe emotional expression. Themes survival emotional suppression resilience psychology self-protection Mood guarded reflective somber Type Feelings:1 Felt Learned:0 Feel Tell:0 Tell Feelings:0 Avoiding Enduring:1 When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - personal journaling Key Concepts trauma response coping mechanisms mental health Questions to Reflect On - When did you first learn to hide feelings? - How can you safely express emotions? A Different Perspective Emotional suppression can cause long‑term harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoiding Enduring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoiding-enduring-1450712/) [Feel Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-tell-376191/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Felt Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-learned-352901/) [Tell Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-feelings-403752/) ## Related quotes > [“It can be said that we are built by many things. Biology and lineage. 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It's hard to describe, but you know it when you feel it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wu-ming-yi/it-s-kind-of-elusive-whatever-it-is-that-s-communicated-through-the/) [Wu Ming-Yi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wu-ming-yi/) > [I feel down when you tell me you like her, when you tell me you know she's the one,when I see you hugging her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-need-you-back/i-feel-down-when-you-tell-me-you-like-her-when-you-tell-me-you-know/) [I Need You Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-need-you-back/) > [I do think how two people dance with each other is indicative of how they feel about each other. It can tell a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/i-do-think-how-two-people-dance-with-each-other-is-indicative-of-how/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [I never thought that I would get the chance to tell this girl how I feel, tell her how I feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jls/i-never-thought-that-i-would-get-the-chance-to-tell-this-girl-how-i/) [JLS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jls/) > [Never bite your tounge for nobody,let peoples know whats on your mind in a professional way , 'IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN' ,it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fq/never-bite-your-tounge-for-nobody-let-peoples-know-whats-on-your-mind/) [Fq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fq/) > [When someone tells you that they love you.. You don't really feel it.. But when they tell you they don't love you anymore you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/when-someone-tells-you-that-they-love-you-you-don-t-really-feel-it/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“I love you beyond paint, beyond melodies, beyond words. And I hope you will always feel that, even when I'm not around to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/i-love-you-beyond-paint-beyond-melodies-beyond-words-and-i-hope-you/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) ## More Feelings quotes > [I have a strong feeling about this quick movement and changing of society and populations growing - something scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/i-have-a-strong-feeling-about-this-quick-movement-and-changing-of/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [We never realize the importance of any our action until we be the hunt of same situation in reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fadi/we-never-realize-the-importance-of-any-our-action-until-we-be-the/) [Fadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fadi/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If someone really loves you, no matter how many other people they meet, their feelings for you wouldn't change. A real lover cant be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-really-loves-you-no-matter-how-many-other-people-they-meet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. 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It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 21,172 Feelings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt. I had learned not to feel, or at least not to tell anyone about my feelings. It was a matter of survival, avoiding and enduring.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John E. 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