--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only way to stop the tears was to…" description: "\"“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”\" — Kate Atkinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg" --- # The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the… ![“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.” quote by Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg) > ““The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”” [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A coping mechanism where alcohol is used to numb emotional pain, implying that avoidance prolongs suffering. **In simple terms:** Numbing grief with alcohol Key Takeaway Avoidance delays healing Themes grief addiction avoidance self‑medication emotional suppression Mood somber reflective melancholic Type proverbial cautionary literary When to use this quote - after a loss - during heartbreak - in a depressive episode - while facing trauma Key Concepts coping strategies psychological avoidance substance dependence Practical Applications - therapy focusing on healthy coping - support groups for grief Questions to Reflect On - What healthier alternatives could replace this coping method? - How does avoidance affect long‑term emotional health? A Different Perspective Relying on alcohol can exacerbate underlying issues and lead to dependency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Whisky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whisky/) ## Related quotes > [I don't make cocktails with whisky. I'll always drink it with a little bit of water. 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Is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/weeping-willow-with-your-tears-running-down-why-do-you-always-weep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't tell me not to cry. Not this time, don't tell me to stop my tears, just let me get them out. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-tell-me-not-to-cry-not-this-time-don-t-tell-me-to-stop-my-tears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Its sad when your just smiling to stop the tears from falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-sad-when-your-just-smiling-to-stop-the-tears-from-falling/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Miss me?” he asks. “No,” I say, unable to stop more tears from falling. “Liar,” he says. “Yes,” I respond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-christy/miss-me-he-asks-no-i-say-unable-to-stop-more-tears-from-falling-liar/) [Samantha Christy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-christy/) > [Sometimes the pain becomes too much and you can't stop the tears. the pain is unbearable as it destroys you. you hope no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-the-pain-becomes-too-much-and-you-can-t-stop-the-tears-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [May be I am wrong but the Person who Loves yoU, will Fight with yoU more but if yoU drop a tear he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/may-be-i-am-wrong-but-the-person-who-loves-you-will-fight-with-you/) Azgraybebly Joslan > [On a quiet night when I'm alone, I think of you until break of dawn I miss your face, I miss your smile I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/on-a-quiet-night-when-i-m-alone-i-think-of-you-until-break-of-dawn-i/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I cant stop the tears from falling down my face I try and hold them back but I cant...He really is over me &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cant-stop-the-tears-from-falling-down-my-face-i-try-and-hold-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Kate Atkinson > [“Sweet sixteen," Hugh said, kissing her affectionately. "Happy birthday, little bear. Your future's all ahead of you." Ursula still harbored the feeling that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/sweet-sixteen-hugh-said-kissing-her-affectionately-happy-birthday/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. 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The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“she could see Sylvie and her friends on the lawn below, their dresses fluttering like moths in the encroaching dusk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-could-see-sylvie-and-her-friends-on-the-lawn-below-their-dresses/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“misquote Edmund Burke rather than Milton. 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Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [Got those moods a swinging, tears a slinging, nothing fits me, when it hits me, ranting, raving, misbehaving, PMS blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/got-those-moods-a-swinging-tears-a-slinging-nothing-fits-me-when-it/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I've seen every one, from Motley Crue to John Denver, with tears running down my face. I had no idea everyone had such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-ve-seen-every-one-from-motley-crue-to-john-denver-with-tears/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The past is only making you to spill tears, tears of joy or tears pain. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-winegar/she-allowed-herself-the-luxury-of-a-good-cry-figuring-that-her-tears/) [Tracy Winegar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-winegar/) [Browse all 6,956 Tears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Atkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/kate-atkinson-1265_tears_the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-ke_81766.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.” — Kate Atkinson", "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": "Kate Atkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The only way to stop the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/#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 } } ] } ```