--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She is like a child picking at a scab…" description: "\"She is like a child picking at a scab, unable to stop herself even though she knows it will hurt.\" — Kristin Hannah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/kristin-hannah-1106_children_she-is-like-a-child-picking-at-a-scab-un_1865213.png" --- # She is like a child picking at a scab, unable to stop… ![“She is like a child picking at a scab, unable to stop herself even though she knows it will hurt.” quote by Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/kristin-hannah-1106_children_she-is-like-a-child-picking-at-a-scab-un_1865213.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/kristin-hannah-1106_children_she-is-like-a-child-picking-at-a-scab-un_1865213.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/kristin-hannah-1106_children_she-is-like-a-child-picking-at-a-scab-un_1865213.png) > “She is like a child picking at a scab, unable to stop herself even though she knows it will hurt.” [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She engages in self‑destructive behavior despite knowing the pain it causes. **In simple terms:** Self‑harm despite awareness. Key Takeaway Recognize and break harmful patterns. Themes self‑destruction awareness emotional pain Mood sad reflective Type cautionary psychological When to use this quote - relationships - mental health - personal growth Key Concepts psychology addiction self‑control Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your harmful habits? - How can you replace them with healthier actions? A Different Perspective Self‑destructive habits can be hard to stop even with knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child Picking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-picking-2536837/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Picking Scab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picking-scab-459612/) [Scab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scab-702379/) [Scab Unable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scab-unable-2536838/) [Scabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scabs/) [Unable Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unable-stop-1131676/) ## Related quotes > [If you keep picking a scab it will bleed and never heal. If you keep dragging the pain of the past up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-keep-picking-a-scab-it-will-bleed-and-never-heal-if-you-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The rhythm of researching and querying holds all the fascination, endorphins, and residual scarring of picking a scab. It's a habit I easily fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/the-rhythm-of-researching-and-querying-holds-all-the-fascination/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“ed. now. picking at the scab that was starting to heal over. why did guys do that? too little too late?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-noble/ed-now-picking-at-the-scab-that-was-starting-to-heal-over-why-did/) [Elizabeth Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-noble/) > [“If you keep picking at that scab on your heart, it won't heal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-perdu/if-you-keep-picking-at-that-scab-on-your-heart-it-won-t-heal/) [Antonia Perdu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-perdu/) > [Time can turn a scab into a beauty mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-vardalos/time-can-turn-a-scab-into-a-beauty-mark/) [Nia Vardalos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-vardalos/) > [I attribute a scab to the present state of society. The way the scab looks in its worst state is gross and chaotic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/i-attribute-a-scab-to-the-present-state-of-society-the-way-the-scab/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [The whole world is a scab. The point is to pick it constructively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-beard/the-whole-world-is-a-scab-the-point-is-to-pick-it-constructively/) [Peter Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-beard/) > [A scab'd horse cannot abide the comb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/a-scab-d-horse-cannot-abide-the-comb/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I don't remember a time when I wasn't waiting for a scab either to grow or to fall off my knee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-don-t-remember-a-time-when-i-wasn-t-waiting-for-a-scab-either-to/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [“...there is something demoniac in human nature that we are unable to stop revering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-nevill/there-is-something-demoniac-in-human-nature-that-we-are-unable-to/) [Adam Nevill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-nevill/) > [Either in conflict with others or in harmony with them, we go through life like a runaway horse, unable to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/either-in-conflict-with-others-or-in-harmony-with-them-we-go-through/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [That's Joe Biden right there - unbowed, unbroken and unable to stop talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/that-s-joe-biden-right-there-unbowed-unbroken-and-unable-to-stop/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [Going back to an ex...is like picking at a scab...unveiling the old wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/going-back-to-an-ex-is-like-picking-at-a-scab-unveiling-the-old-wound/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was a flaking scab on a fleshy field of neglect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-shea/it-was-a-flaking-scab-on-a-fleshy-field-of-neglect/) [Hunter Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-shea/) > [“Dillon was lucky, he had his mate, whose presence often held the scab in place. Who did Lilly have, he wondered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/dillon-was-lucky-he-had-his-mate-whose-presence-often-held-the-scab/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) ## More by Kristin Hannah > [She still felt shell-shocked by all of it, numb. Beneath the numbness, though, was a raw and terrible anger that was unlike anything she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-still-felt-shell-shocked-by-all-of-it-numb-beneath-the-numbness/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Terrible beautiful combination of happiness and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/terrible-beautiful-combination-of-happiness-and-pain/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [She waited for you in a thousand different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-waited-for-you-in-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Antoine took her in his arms. The scent of jasmine was intoxicating, and she knew suddenly, certainly, that from now on, whenever she smelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/antoine-took-her-in-his-arms-the-scent-of-jasmine-was-intoxicating/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [what shall we drink to?" "How about family?" Stacy said, showing up just in time to pour a fourth shot. "To those who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-shall-we-drink-to-how-about-family-stacy-said-showing-up-just-in/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [He is a man, and he is afraid. This is not a good combination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/he-is-a-man-and-he-is-afraid-this-is-not-a-good-combination/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [Goddamn, sometimes it hurt to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/goddamn-sometimes-it-hurt-to-be-free/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“I was not good at the whole making-death-a-positive-transition thing. How could I? I wanted her to fight to the last breath. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/i-was-not-good-at-the-whole-making-death-a-positive-transition-thing/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Kate heard the bravado in her friend’s voice and saw it in her eyes. “I prayed for you.” “You did?” Tully asked. “Wow. Thanks.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/kate-heard-the-bravado-in-her-friend-s-voice-and-saw-it-in-her-eyes-i/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“The trip from Portland to New York City was like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen. It went on and on, and by the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/the-trip-from-portland-to-new-york-city-was-like-climbing-mount/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“So now books were her only friends. She'd read Lord of the Rings so often she could recite whole scenes by memory. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/so-now-books-were-her-only-friends-she-d-read-lord-of-the-rings-so/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [She used to tell me that she couldn't feel the sunlight anymore, not even when she was standing in it, not even when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-used-to-tell-me-that-she-couldn-t-feel-the-sunlight-anymore-not/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Tragedy was like that, a razor that sliced through time, severing the now from the before, incising the what-might-have-been from reality as cleanly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/tragedy-was-like-that-a-razor-that-sliced-through-time-severing-the/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“I want to imagine there will be peace when I am gone, that I will see all of the people I have loved and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/i-want-to-imagine-there-will-be-peace-when-i-am-gone-that-i-will-see/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [What good did it do to light the world on fire if she had to watch the glow alone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-good-did-it-do-to-light-the-world-on-fire-if-she-had-to-watch/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) [Explore all 282 Kristin Hannah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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