---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt…"
description: "\"It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt, it's that I'm scared of falling in love and not being able to get out of it.\" — Lena Karesh"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg"
---

#  It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt, it's that I'm…

![“It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt, it's that I'm scared of falling in love and not being able to get out of it.” quote by Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg)

> “It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt, it's that I'm scared of falling in love and not being able to get out of it.”

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

## About This Quote

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

Fear of emotional vulnerability can dominate over fear of physical pain, causing avoidance of deep relationships.

**In simple terms:** Scared of love more than pain.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address emotional fears.

Themes

love vulnerability relationships

Mood

anxious reflective

Type

personal emotional

When to use this quote

- dating
- long‑term partnership
- friendship
- self‑reflection

Key Concepts

attachment theory emotional risk

Questions to Reflect On

- What does love mean to you?
- How can you safely explore vulnerability?

A Different Perspective

Emotions can be complex and not always rational.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Falling in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-in-love/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Sad love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-love/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm not scared of getting hurt. I'm not scared of, pretty much, anything. If you live your life scared, what's the fun in living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zupan/i-m-not-scared-of-getting-hurt-i-m-not-scared-of-pretty-much-anything/)

[Mark Zupan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zupan/)

> [It's like once you've been hurt, you're so scared to get attached again. Like you have this fear that every person you start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-like-once-you-ve-been-hurt-you-re-so-scared-to-get-attached-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm not afraid to love. I'm just afraid of not being loved back. And I'm not afraid to try again. I'm just afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-afraid-to-love-i-m-just-afraid-of-not-being-loved-back-and-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Ive always wanted to tell you how I really feel about you, but I'm afraid to make that big move, because I'm afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ive-always-wanted-to-tell-you-how-i-really-feel-about-you-but-i-m/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm not afraid of getting hurt, I just don't like wasting time. But something's are meant to happen, and not last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-afraid-of-getting-hurt-i-just-don-t-like-wasting-time-but/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm so afraid to like people because I'm afraid of getting hurt and I'm afraid they won't like me back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-so-afraid-to-like-people-because-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt-and-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When you like a guy, but don't wanna get in a relationship because you're afraid of getting hurt; don't be. Not all guys are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-like-a-guy-but-don-t-wanna-get-in-a-relationship-because-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There are so many things I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I'm not sure if you would ever understand because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archie/there-are-so-many-things-i-wish-i-could-tell-you-but-i-can-t-i-m-not/)

[Archie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archie/)

> [If you're always too afraid of getting hurt again, you'll never be able to give someone else the 100% they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-always-too-afraid-of-getting-hurt-again-you-ll-never-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [She wants to fall in love with you but she's afraid of getting hurt, afraid of lies, and afraid she'll end up with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-wants-to-fall-in-love-with-you-but-she-s-afraid-of-getting-hurt/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm not afraid of getting hurt, I'm afraid of being alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-afraid-of-getting-hurt-i-m-afraid-of-being-alone/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Life's too short to hide who you are because you're afraid of getting hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-asher/life-s-too-short-to-hide-who-you-are-because-you-re-afraid-of-getting/)

Lauren Asher

> [The reason I push people away is because I'm afraid of getting hurt again. I know how it feels, and I don't want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reason-i-push-people-away-is-because-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I moved around so much when I was younger that I sort of had to have this type of exterior; you know, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/i-moved-around-so-much-when-i-was-younger-that-i-sort-of-had-to-have/)

[Kristin Cavallari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cavallari/)

> [If you hold back your feelings becuase your afraid of getting hurt...you'll end up hurting anyway. &lt;/3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naye-naye/if-you-hold-back-your-feelings-becuase-your-afraid-of-getting-hurt/)

[Naye-Naye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naye-naye/)

## More by Lena Karesh

> [You will know if someone is your best friend because they will always know that you are hurt without you even saying something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/you-will-know-if-someone-is-your-best-friend-because-they-will-always/)

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

> [If they don't know the simplest things about you then they really don't give a damn about you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/if-they-don-t-know-the-simplest-things-about-you-then-they-really-don/)

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

> [Just keep trying because one day you will be amazing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/just-keep-trying-because-one-day-you-will-be-amazing/)

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

> [When all your friends stop talking to you and you don't even know what you did wrong. Then they make fun of you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/when-all-your-friends-stop-talking-to-you-and-you-don-t-even-know/)

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

> [One day everything that you worried about before will be gone and all that you will be thinking about is the good times that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/one-day-everything-that-you-worried-about-before-will-be-gone-and-all/)

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

> [Never keep your feelings inside because one day you will end up crying over nothing because of what you kept inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/never-keep-your-feelings-inside-because-one-day-you-will-end-up/)

[Lena Karesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

[Explore all 7 Lena Karesh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/)

## More Fall quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/)

[Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/)

> [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/)

[Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/)

> [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/)

[Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/)

[Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/)

> [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/)

[Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/)

> [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/)

[Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/)

> [Life will knock you down &amp; it's tough, but you are strong enough. Get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-will-knock-you-down-it-s-tough-but-you-are-strong-enough-get/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/)

[Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/)

> [“If you ever falling but can't see the bottom be glad you can't because at the bottom it's either a soft land or rocks!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelseigh-ashton/if-you-ever-falling-but-can-t-see-the-bottom-be-glad-you-can-t/)

Kelseigh Ashton

> [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/)

[Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/)

Browse all 13,401 Fall quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt, it's that I'm scared of falling in love and not being able to get out of it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lena Karesh"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt-it-s-that-i-m-scared-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fall"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt-it-s-that-i-m-scared-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/lena-karesh-49812_falling-in-love_it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt_1088214.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt, it's that I'm scared of falling in love and not being able to get…” — Lena Karesh",
                "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": "Lena Karesh",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-karesh/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's not that I'm afraid of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt-it-s-that-i-m-scared-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-karesh/it-s-not-that-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt-it-s-that-i-m-scared-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
