--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It occurred to me that grief is like a…" description: "\"“It occurred to me that grief is like a tunnel. You enter it without a choice because you must get to the other side. The darkness of it plays tricks o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/loretta-nyhan-106377_depression_it-occurred-to-me-that-grief-is-like-a-t_948601.jpg" --- # It occurred to me that grief is like a tunnel. You enter… ![“It occurred to me that grief is like a tunnel. You enter it without a choice because you must get to the other side. The darkness of it plays tricks on you and sometimes you can even forget where you are or what your purpose is. I believe that people, now and again, get lost or stuck in that…” quote by Loretta Nyhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/loretta-nyhan-106377_depression_it-occurred-to-me-that-grief-is-like-a-t_948601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/loretta-nyhan-106377_depression_it-occurred-to-me-that-grief-is-like-a-t_948601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/091/loretta-nyhan-106377_depression_it-occurred-to-me-that-grief-is-like-a-t_948601.jpg) > ““It occurred to me that grief is like a tunnel. You enter it without a choice because you must get to the other side. The darkness of it plays tricks on you and sometimes you can even forget where you are or what your purpose is. I believe that people, now and again, get lost or stuck in that tunnel and never find their way out.”” [Loretta Nyhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-nyhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief is likened to a tunnel that forces entry without choice, where darkness can cause disorientation and a loss of purpose, sometimes trapping people indefinitely. **In simple terms:** Grief feels like a dark tunnel that can trap you. Key Takeaway Seek support to navigate and exit the grief tunnel. Themes grief depression darkness disorientation purpose Mood somber hopeful reflective Type Depression:1 Grief:1 Lost:0 Stuck:0 Tunnels:0 Grief Like:0 Like Tunnel:0 Occurred Grief:0 Choice Darkness:0 When to use this quote - counseling - support groups - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology mental health metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize you are stuck? - What guides you toward the tunnel’s end? A Different Perspective Not everyone will find a way out without help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choice Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-darkness-1673937/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-like/) [Like Tunnel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-tunnel-1274623/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Occurred Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occurred-grief-1673936/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Tunnels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunnels/) ## Related quotes > [Your mind is like a tunnel that has no end, and a baloon, that even too much air cannot burst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey/your-mind-is-like-a-tunnel-that-has-no-end-and-a-baloon-that-even-too/) [Michael Bassey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey/) > [A window within the soul to see Light and Magick I send with thee Be strong, be brave, make the right choice Though Darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-window-within-the-soul-to-see-light-and-magick-i-send-with-thee-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was like I was in a tunnel. Not only the tunnel under the hotel but the whole circuit was a tunnel. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayrton-senna/it-was-like-i-was-in-a-tunnel-not-only-the-tunnel-under-the-hotel-but/) [Ayrton Senna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayrton-senna/) > [“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/there-is-no-grief-like-the-grief-that-does-not-speak-henry-wadsworth/) [Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/) > [Total grief is like a minefield. No knowing when one will touch the tripwire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/total-grief-is-like-a-minefield-no-knowing-when-one-will-touch-the/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [“We wore that grief like one wears one's underclothes. An invisible skin, unseen to prying eyes, but knitted to us all the same. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-richman/we-wore-that-grief-like-one-wears-one-s-underclothes-an-invisible/) [Alyson Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-richman/) > [“You know, some people say grief is like an ocean,” I said. “I think that’s true. It’s deep and dark and bigger than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-rothert/you-know-some-people-say-grief-is-like-an-ocean-i-said-i-think-that-s/) [Brenda Rothert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-rothert/) > [“I wonder if I were to have an X-ray at the little hospital, would the machine see my grief? Is it like rust, arheum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/i-wonder-if-i-were-to-have-an-x-ray-at-the-little-hospital-would-the/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [“I picture Cully tromping through that high, deep snow. That's how I feel physically from all of this. Moving through grief like it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaui-hart-hemmings/i-picture-cully-tromping-through-that-high-deep-snow-that-s-how-i/) [Kaui Hart Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaui-hart-hemmings/) > [Don't make it sound like that. Like some ordinary sort of grief. It's not like that. They say time heals all wounds, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/don-t-make-it-sound-like-that-like-some-ordinary-sort-of-grief-it-s/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [There is no grief like heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/there-is-no-grief-like-heartbreak/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grief-is-like-a-long-valley-a-winding-valley-where-any-bend-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Grief is like an ocean. It comes in waves - some waves are bigger than others and you cannot prepare for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-lane/grief-is-like-an-ocean-it-comes-in-waves-some-waves-are-bigger-than/) [Summer Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-lane/) > [“She could no longer feel grief. She was now like a Geiger counter that had been subjected to too much radiation, no longer capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/she-could-no-longer-feel-grief-she-was-now-like-a-geiger-counter-that/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More by Loretta Nyhan > [“She'd come running up the driveway and into the kitchen, bringing the spring morning behind her like a trail of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-nyhan/she-d-come-running-up-the-driveway-and-into-the-kitchen-bringing-the/) [Loretta Nyhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-nyhan/) [Explore all 2 Loretta Nyhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-nyhan/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/) [Yanilsa pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanilsa-pena/) > [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/) [Shayamalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shayamalan/) > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) [Hugh Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-williamson/) > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Scars by Papa Roach. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/) [Sophielianne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophielianne/) [Browse all 4,965 Depression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It occurred to me that grief is like a tunnel. You enter it without a choice because you must get to the other side. 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