--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Real intimacy is only possible to the…" description: "\"Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can be honest about what we are doing and feeling.\" — Joyce Brothers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png" --- # Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can… ![“Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can be honest about what we are doing and feeling.” quote by Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png) > “Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can be honest about what we are doing and feeling.” [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True intimacy requires honest self‑disclosure about actions and feelings. **In simple terms:** Honesty enables deep connection. Key Takeaway Practice transparent communication. Themes intimacy honesty relationships Mood intimate reflective Type psychological advice When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - therapy Key Concepts vulnerability trust Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you holding back? - How can you share safely? A Different Perspective Honesty can be painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Degree Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-honest-2886010/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-doing-642550/) [Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy/) [Intimacy Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intimacy-possible-1718429/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Intimacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-intimacy-463144/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) ## Related quotes > [If there is no honesty, there is no relationship. The only degree to which there is a relationship is the degree to which you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/if-there-is-no-honesty-there-is-no-relationship-the-only-degree-to/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [Real intimacy depends on truth - lovingly told - especially in the bedroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/real-intimacy-depends-on-truth-lovingly-told-especially-in-the-bedroom/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [“Relationships take work. Hours and days and years of getting close to that person. That's real love, real intimacy. If your mind to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kingsbury/relationships-take-work-hours-and-days-and-years-of-getting-close-to/) [Karen Kingsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kingsbury/) > [Intimacy doesn't have all that much to do with backseats of cars. Real intimacy is brushing your teeth together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/intimacy-doesn-t-have-all-that-much-to-do-with-backseats-of-cars-real/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [You have to drop all your defenses, only then is intimacy possible. We are all hiding a thousand and on things, not only from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/you-have-to-drop-all-your-defenses-only-then-is-intimacy-possible-we/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“What is flirtation? One might say that it is behavior leading another to believe that sexual intimacy is possible, while preventing that possibility from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/what-is-flirtation-one-might-say-that-it-is-behavior-leading-another/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Real love and intimacy can be much more possible when you're older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/real-love-and-intimacy-can-be-much-more-possible-when-you-re-older/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I like to start my day off every morning, take the first half hour and just search my own heart, see if I'm on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-like-to-start-my-day-off-every-morning-take-the-first-half-hour-and/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [The reason Strapping Young Lad was such a good band was we were honest about what we were doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-townsend/the-reason-strapping-young-lad-was-such-a-good-band-was-we-were/) [Devin Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-townsend/) > [I've heard some people say that I'm selling out, but I'm not. If I hadn't done 'Black Radio', and just kept on doing just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-ve-heard-some-people-say-that-i-m-selling-out-but-i-m-not-if-i-hadn/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [This is what I believe about performing: There is no reason to be on stage - there is no reason to be there -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moschen/this-is-what-i-believe-about-performing-there-is-no-reason-to-be-on/) [Michael Moschen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moschen/) > [I just try to stay honest with myself and in doing that I feel like the songs are going to resonate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-smith/i-just-try-to-stay-honest-with-myself-and-in-doing-that-i-feel-like/) [Corey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-smith/) > [Not compromising the music, but there is a way, by just showing the people that you're sincere and honest with what you're doing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-mangione/not-compromising-the-music-but-there-is-a-way-by-just-showing-the/) [Chuck Mangione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-mangione/) > [I learned years ago that the more honest you are about anything you're doing in life, you can grow and learn from your mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poo-bear/i-learned-years-ago-that-the-more-honest-you-are-about-anything-you/) [Poo Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poo-bear/) > [Whatever I say is so honest when I'm doing interviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-5/whatever-i-say-is-so-honest-when-i-m-doing-interviews/) [John 5](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-5/) ## More by Joyce Brothers > [Those who are the most happy appear to know it the least; happiness is something that for the most part seems to mainly consist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/those-who-are-the-most-happy-appear-to-know-it-the-least-happiness-is/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Strong families use the word "we" a lot, but "I" is never forgotten. Family members know they have the freedom to go off on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/strong-families-use-the-word-we-a-lot-but-i-is-never-forgotten-family/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [There is such a thing as bad publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/there-is-such-a-thing-as-bad-publicity/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/no-matter-how-love-sick-a-woman-is-she-shouldn-t-take-the-first-pill/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [I watched the Trade Center buildings go down from my balcony, and it was a terrifying moment. I couldn't get my mind around it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/i-watched-the-trade-center-buildings-go-down-from-my-balcony-and-it/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Being taken for granted can be a compliment. It means that you've become a comfortable, trusted element in another person's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/being-taken-for-granted-can-be-a-compliment-it-means-that-you-ve/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Trust your hunches... Hunches are usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/trust-your-hunches-hunches-are-usually-based-on-facts-filed-away-just/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/the-person-interested-in-success-has-to-learn-to-view-failure-as-a/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Any man who watches more than three consecutive football games on TV in one day can be declared legally dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/any-man-who-watches-more-than-three-consecutive-football-games-on-tv/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery. . . . If you want to influence someone, listen to what he says.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/listening-not-imitation-may-be-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery-if-you/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [If a child is given love, he becomes loving ... If he's helped when he needs help, he becomes helpful. And if he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/if-a-child-is-given-love-he-becomes-loving-if-he-s-helped-when-he/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [In each of us there are places we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do you ever find them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/in-each-of-us-there-are-places-we-have-never-gone-only-by-pressing/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [Accept that all of us can be hurt, that all of us can and surely will at times fail. Other vulnerabilities, like being embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/accept-that-all-of-us-can-be-hurt-that-all-of-us-can-and-surely-will/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [The only people who don't make mistakes are the people who don't do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/the-only-people-who-don-t-make-mistakes-are-the-people-who-don-t-do/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) > [As a celebrity, you get a certain number of free passes. You're actually in a better position if you're a celebrity because people care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/as-a-celebrity-you-get-a-certain-number-of-free-passes-you-re/) [Joyce Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) [Explore all 80 Joyce Brothers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/) ## More Being honest quotes > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [An actor has to evaluate his own abilities and be honest with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/an-actor-has-to-evaluate-his-own-abilities-and-be-honest-with-himself/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) [Maynard Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-ferguson/) > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. It would bring a lot of excitement to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/i-m-going-to-be-honest-i-would-love-for-flava-flav-to-be-president-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I guess it has to be healthy, you have to be honest with yourself and I think that's when ego is okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-guess-it-has-to-be-healthy-you-have-to-be-honest-with-yourself-and/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [ The opening for solid waste is very small \[in the space ship\]. It's not toilet-bowl size. And aim is critical. To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-had-90-percent-rates-but-nobody-paid-them-and-so-you-had-all-these/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [We live in a world in which the only utopian visions arrive in commercial breaks: magical visions of an impossibly hospitable world, peopled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-the-only-utopian-visions-arrive-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Browse all 1,333 Being honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can be honest about what we are doing and feeling.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Brothers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-degree-that-we-can-be-honest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-degree-that-we-can-be-honest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85c/joyce-brothers-8516_being-honest_real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-de_1099682.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can be honest about what we are doing and feeling.” — Joyce Brothers", "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": "Joyce Brothers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-brothers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Real intimacy is only possible to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-degree-that-we-can-be-honest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-brothers/real-intimacy-is-only-possible-to-the-degree-that-we-can-be-honest/#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 } } ] } ```