--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The strips are nearly effortless unless I…" description: "\"The strips are nearly effortless unless I am really emotionally upset, a wreck.\" — Lynda Barry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg" --- # The strips are nearly effortless unless I am really… ![“The strips are nearly effortless unless I am really emotionally upset, a wreck.” quote by Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg) > “The strips are nearly effortless unless I am really emotionally upset, a wreck.” [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes that her creative work flows easily unless she is emotionally overwhelmed, then it collapses. **In simple terms:** Emotional upset blocks creative flow. Key Takeaway Manage emotions for creativity. Themes creativity emotional health artistic process mental state Mood reflective vulnerable Type artistic personal When to use this quote - writing sessions - art therapy - stress management Key Concepts graphic memoir psychology Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your emotional upset? - How do you restore creative flow? A Different Perspective Creative blocks may persist despite coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effortless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effortless/) [Effortless Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effortless-unless-3621313/) [Emotionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotionally/) [Emotionally Upset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotionally-upset-3621311/) [Nearly Effortless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly-effortless-3621312/) [Really Emotionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-emotionally-639610/) [Upset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upset/) ## Related quotes > [I don't know if we even mentioned UFOs. It was to find out why Barney was emotionally upset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-hill/i-don-t-know-if-we-even-mentioned-ufos-it-was-to-find-out-why-barney/) [Betty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-hill/) > [You have to be so willing to hug and say 'I love you' so much. And you have to talk to every single person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-marais/you-have-to-be-so-willing-to-hug-and-say-i-love-you-so-much-and-you/) [Jonah Marais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-marais/) > [But you're not really emotionally mature in your 20s. Well, we weren't. You don't say anything, you just bottle it up and then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keren-woodward/but-you-re-not-really-emotionally-mature-in-your-20s-well-we-weren-t/) [Keren Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keren-woodward/) > [It turned out to be exactly that, but more challenging emotionally. I looked at it in a more physical way, having to act in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-hines/it-turned-out-to-be-exactly-that-but-more-challenging-emotionally-i/) [Gregory Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-hines/) > [The song 'Innocent' is a song that I wrote about something that really, really emotionally impacted me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-song-innocent-is-a-song-that-i-wrote-about-something-that-really/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Interventions are really emotionally exhausting and I would never ever want to have one. In the same way, I would never want to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/interventions-are-really-emotionally-exhausting-and-i-would-never/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [All of the things I've directed, I'm really emotionally close to. That's why I choose to direct them and spend years on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-stoller/all-of-the-things-i-ve-directed-i-m-really-emotionally-close-to-that/) [Nicholas Stoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-stoller/) > [I'm really passionate about music - I get really emotionally connected, probably in a weird way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-page/i-m-really-passionate-about-music-i-get-really-emotionally-connected/) [Ellen Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-page/) > [I really emotionally invest in everything that I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-carter-iii/i-really-emotionally-invest-in-everything-that-i-do/) [Ethan Carter III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-carter-iii/) > [My experience, with both my parents, is that grief has a lot of down, sad things, but I was also really emotionally raw, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mills/my-experience-with-both-my-parents-is-that-grief-has-a-lot-of-down/) [Mike Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mills/) > [It's extremely important for women to be writing their own stories and giving them to people to really be emotionally impacted by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosario-dawson/it-s-extremely-important-for-women-to-be-writing-their-own-stories/) [Rosario Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosario-dawson/) > [But I think a song that is really emotionally packed, with a great melody that just will soar, that's the keeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/but-i-think-a-song-that-is-really-emotionally-packed-with-a-great/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I had the idea to become really emotionally detached, and a lot of the time I've treated people that I've cared about a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/i-had-the-idea-to-become-really-emotionally-detached-and-a-lot-of-the/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [I wanted to make a film that wasn't just a biography. When you watched it, you actually felt that you watched a movie, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamra-davis/i-wanted-to-make-a-film-that-wasn-t-just-a-biography-when-you-watched/) [Tamra Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamra-davis/) > [When you start a company, you become really emotionally involved in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-kelman/when-you-start-a-company-you-become-really-emotionally-involved-in-it/) [Glenn Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-kelman/) ## More by Lynda Barry > [ “i believe \[images\] are the soul's immune system and transit system.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-believe-images-are-the-soul-s-immune-system-and-transit-system/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [The happy ending is hardly important, though we may be glad its there. The real joy is knowing that if you felt the trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-happy-ending-is-hardly-important-though-we-may-be-glad-its-there/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I found myself compelled - like this weird, shameful compulsion - to draw cute animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-found-myself-compelled-like-this-weird-shameful-compulsion-to-draw/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“As I enter the small intestine I get squeezed by muscles. Its dark and the walls look like slimey crushed velvet theres pancreas juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/as-i-enter-the-small-intestine-i-get-squeezed-by-muscles-its-dark-and/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I look crazy. I know I do. Been true since I was a kid!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-look-crazy-i-know-i-do-been-true-since-i-was-a-kid/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [In life there are always these things happening if you can just get the joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/in-life-there-are-always-these-things-happening-if-you-can-just-get/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [You may be a lady but you are still the man!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/you-may-be-a-lady-but-you-are-still-the-man/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [The minute you understand racism, you're responsible for being racist. It's like eating from the tree of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-minute-you-understand-racism-you-re-responsible-for-being-racist/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“Same circus, different clowns, and without a doubt I'm one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/same-circus-different-clowns-and-without-a-doubt-i-m-one-of-them/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“Above me soft footsteps, the sound through the ceiling of a teenager haunted by a door to the night. My cousin Maybonne lights up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/above-me-soft-footsteps-the-sound-through-the-ceiling-of-a-teenager/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Dear Anyone Who Finds This, Do not blame the drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/dear-anyone-who-finds-this-do-not-blame-the-drugs/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [There was a beautiful time in the beginning when I just did it and didn't analyze the consequences, but I think that time ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/there-was-a-beautiful-time-in-the-beginning-when-i-just-did-it-and/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [The library was open for one hour after school let out. I hid there, looking at art books and reading poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-library-was-open-for-one-hour-after-school-let-out-i-hid-there/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“Mr. Harmong is the cheapest chinztiest most pig-lipped tightwad skanked-out lardo king landlord of all time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/mr-harmong-is-the-cheapest-chinztiest-most-pig-lipped-tightwad/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Love will make a way out of no way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/love-will-make-a-way-out-of-no-way/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) [Explore all 133 Lynda Barry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) ## More Effortless quotes > [People want to feel effortless about their clothes. I don't always get it, I make a lot of mistakes, but that's my goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-michael/people-want-to-feel-effortless-about-their-clothes-i-don-t-always-get/) [Keith Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-michael/) > [To propel our Louisiana culture into the future seems to be quite a task, but if one lives for the music as Cedric does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-doucet/to-propel-our-louisiana-culture-into-the-future-seems-to-be-quite-a/) [Michael Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-doucet/) > [I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us — comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-m-exactly-right-for-you-bella-it-would-have-been-effortless-for-us/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [I could see how easy it would be to fall into loving Bella. It would be exactly like falling: effortless. Not letting myself love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-see-how-easy-it-would-be-to-fall-into-loving-bella-it-would/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Be as light as a feather and when they reach for you — you will blow right by their grip; you will effortlessly flow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/be-as-light-as-a-feather-and-when-they-reach-for-you-you-will-blow/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Many people think passion is a fuzzy feeling that makes taking action effortless. In fact, it's the gritty courage and tenacity to forge onward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/many-people-think-passion-is-a-fuzzy-feeling-that-makes-taking-action/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [My idea of beauty is somebody that doesn't have to try too much, someone who is effortless and fresh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-ennis/my-idea-of-beauty-is-somebody-that-doesn-t-have-to-try-too-much/) [Jessica Ennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-ennis/) > [Channel a bohemian state of mind with an effortless dress paired with a must have embroidered moto jacket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lubov-azria/channel-a-bohemian-state-of-mind-with-an-effortless-dress-paired-with/) [Lubov Azria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lubov-azria/) > [“Now that I’ve made the commitment to myself, to enjoy my ride…everything seems so effortless. In a way, I think it has set me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicci-martinez/now-that-i-ve-made-the-commitment-to-myself-to-enjoy-my-ride/) [Vicci Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicci-martinez/) > [We spend a lot of effort trying to make things look effortless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-isley/we-spend-a-lot-of-effort-trying-to-make-things-look-effortless/) [Alexander Isley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-isley/) > [When we become quiet and introduce our intentions into the field of pure potentiality, we harness the universe's infinite organizing power, which can manifest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/when-we-become-quiet-and-introduce-our-intentions-into-the-field-of/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I feel grateful that the person I end up working with a lot is Paul Rudd. He's a prince among men, and so talented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-hahn/i-feel-grateful-that-the-person-i-end-up-working-with-a-lot-is-paul/) [Kathryn Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-hahn/) > [“It is so easy and effortless for Christians to just join a church and follow its leadership and practices without seeking the Lord for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hon/it-is-so-easy-and-effortless-for-christians-to-just-join-a-church-and/) [Henry Hon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hon/) > [The Difference Between Dreams & Success Is, Dreams Need Effortless Sleep & Success Needs Sleepless Efforts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akon/the-difference-between-dreams-success-is-dreams-need-effortless-sleep/) [Akon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akon/) > [You have to read scripts and audition and develop relationships. It takes a long time to develop a body of work but over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-connick-jr/you-have-to-read-scripts-and-audition-and-develop-relationships-it/) [Harry Connick, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-connick-jr/) [Browse all 256 Effortless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effortless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The strips are nearly effortless unless I am really emotionally upset, a wreck.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lynda Barry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless-i-am-really-emotionally-upset/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Effortless" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless-i-am-really-emotionally-upset/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/lynda-barry-3343_effortless_the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless_2825617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The strips are nearly effortless unless I am really emotionally upset, a wreck.” — Lynda Barry", "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": "Lynda Barry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The strips are nearly effortless unless...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless-i-am-really-emotionally-upset/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-strips-are-nearly-effortless-unless-i-am-really-emotionally-upset/#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 } } ] } ```