--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing directly from a feeling of anger…" description: "\"Writing directly from a feeling of anger or sadness is difficult, but if you distract part of your brain with word games, the ignored emotion often tip..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg" --- # Writing directly from a feeling of anger or sadness is… ![“Writing directly from a feeling of anger or sadness is difficult, but if you distract part of your brain with word games, the ignored emotion often tiptoes in.” quote by Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg) > “Writing directly from a feeling of anger or sadness is difficult, but if you distract part of your brain with word games, the ignored emotion often tiptoes in.” [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using playful language can bypass emotional blocks, allowing hidden feelings to surface. **In simple terms:** Playful writing unlocks emotions. Key Takeaway Try word games to access tough feelings. Themes creativity emotional intelligence writing Mood introspective curious Type inspirational therapeutic When to use this quote - journaling - therapy - creative workshops Key Concepts cognitive distraction emotional processing mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - Which emotions emerge when you play with words? - How does humor affect emotional honesty? A Different Perspective Word games may trivialize deep pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'm really sensitive. And they don't understand that, because my most comfortable feeling is anger. So I'll get angry if you said something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/i-m-really-sensitive-and-they-don-t-understand-that-because-my-most/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Control your feeling of ANGER before you lost some important thing in your LIFE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-low/control-your-feeling-of-anger-before-you-lost-some-important-thing-in/) [Alex Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-low/) > [“Contrary to popular evangelical belief, feeling anger is not a sin—you’re allowed to feel angry. You should feel angry. Being outraged at mistreatment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-anderson/contrary-to-popular-evangelical-belief-feeling-anger-is-not-a-sin-you/) [Dianna Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-anderson/) > [“Anger is often blocked from conscious awareness and converted into more tolerable or family-authorized feelings, such as hurt or guilt. The person feeling anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradshaw/anger-is-often-blocked-from-conscious-awareness-and-converted-into/) [John Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradshaw/) > [“A feeling of anger, anxiety, or fear is often an indicator that something is out of line between your attached beliefs and your inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz-jr/a-feeling-of-anger-anxiety-or-fear-is-often-an-indicator-that/) [Miguel Ruiz Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz-jr/) > [“Mad. Sad. Bad. Glad. Those were the “check-in” words Dr. Nerves recommended to help me identify if I was feeling anger, grief, shame, or happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-shafransky/mad-sad-bad-glad-those-were-the-check-in-words-dr-nerves-recommended/) [Renee Shafransky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-shafransky/) > [“To keep yourself from feeling too much anger or hatred against other people... requires a strong heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/to-keep-yourself-from-feeling-too-much-anger-or-hatred-against-other/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Feeling someone else's anger is bad; being left alone is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/feeling-someone-else-s-anger-is-bad-being-left-alone-is-worse/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“For as long as wimmin have had the temerity to experience feelings of anger, sadness, frustration, and deep resentment, patriarchal society has denied them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisa-albert/for-as-long-as-wimmin-have-had-the-temerity-to-experience-feelings-of/) [Elisa Albert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisa-albert/) > [“My anger and sadness was my ocean, and I couldn’t carry it. Not anymore. No one could really love me. Not when they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/my-anger-and-sadness-was-my-ocean-and-i-couldn-t-carry-it-not-anymore/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [“Better that he gets used to it,' he said. Used to what, the feeling of uncontrolled anger? Or a sadness so deep, like your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/better-that-he-gets-used-to-it-he-said-used-to-what-the-feeling-of/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [Pretending you dont have feelings of anger, sadness, or loneliness can literally destroy you mentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pretending-you-dont-have-feelings-of-anger-sadness-or-loneliness-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When anger and sadness are your two main emotions for the past few weeks...You know it's about time to make an attitude adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-anger-and-sadness-are-your-two-main-emotions-for-the-past-few/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Crying is releasing the anger, sadness, frustration, hate, love, and every emotion your body has built up for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/crying-is-releasing-the-anger-sadness-frustration-hate-love-and-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't have to live with anger, or sadness, or jealousy. You don't have to judge yourself, make yourself guilty, and punish yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/you-don-t-have-to-live-with-anger-or-sadness-or-jealousy-you-don-t/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) ## More by Matthea Harvey > [I don't think that you can say by any stretch of the imagination that all Wisconsin or Brooklyn-based poets write in a particular way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-don-t-think-that-you-can-say-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-that/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Not everyone is going to like every carnival ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/not-everyone-is-going-to-like-every-carnival-ride/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I think poetry involves heightened noticing or imagining as well as creating a certain made shape. On the other hand, that shape can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-think-poetry-involves-heightened-noticing-or-imagining-as-well-as/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [When I get interested in a new topic I teach a class on it. There's a graduate seminar I teach in which the students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-get-interested-in-a-new-topic-i-teach-a-class-on-it-there-s-a/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > ["Confessional poetry" is another one of those labels. It goes in and out of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/confessional-poetry-is-another-one-of-those-labels-it-goes-in-and-out/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I don't think all poems need to be written in conversational language - those are often great poems but there should also be poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-don-t-think-all-poems-need-to-be-written-in-conversational-language/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I let my narrative embroidering impulses take over in prose poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-let-my-narrative-embroidering-impulses-take-over-in-prose-poems/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [When I have my students do erasures, I'm always amazed by the way their voice comes through, whether they're doing an erasure of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-have-my-students-do-erasures-i-m-always-amazed-by-the-way/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Whether you're talking about political borders or aesthetic divisions (and clearly, the political ones have much more tragic consequences), it seems like once they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/whether-you-re-talking-about-political-borders-or-aesthetic-divisions/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Usually form seems to find me in the process of writing a poem, though I have nothing against starting out with the form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/usually-form-seems-to-find-me-in-the-process-of-writing-a-poem-though/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I'm pretty lenient with myself about time - if I feel like taking photographs of small things inside ice cubes or making animal collages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-m-pretty-lenient-with-myself-about-time-if-i-feel-like-taking/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Recently, while I was in England, I saw a documentary on the BBC about the border between India and Pakistan at Wagah. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/recently-while-i-was-in-england-i-saw-a-documentary-on-the-bbc-about/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [A lot of people are writing poems and don't realize it. They have this limited idea of how the poem should sound or what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/a-lot-of-people-are-writing-poems-and-don-t-realize-it-they-have-this/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I am pretty interested in hybrid forms. I love graphic novels and I think there should be more graphic poems in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-am-pretty-interested-in-hybrid-forms-i-love-graphic-novels-and-i/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [I suppose it's useful in designating writing that tends to come from personal experience, work that delineates an "I," but it's a loose lasso,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-suppose-it-s-useful-in-designating-writing-that-tends-to-come-from/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) [Explore all 63 Matthea Harvey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [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/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing directly from a feeling of anger or sadness is difficult, but if you distract part of your brain with word games, the ignored emotion often tiptoes in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthea Harvey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger-or-sadness-is-difficult-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger-or-sadness-is-difficult-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b1/matthea-harvey-10757_anger_writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger_1558727.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing directly from a feeling of anger or sadness is difficult, but if you distract part of your brain…” — Matthea Harvey", "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": "Matthea Harvey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing directly from a feeling of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger-or-sadness-is-difficult-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/writing-directly-from-a-feeling-of-anger-or-sadness-is-difficult-but/#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 } } ] } ```