--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the pain is great enough, we will…" description: "\"When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor.\" — Mignon McLaughlin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png" --- # When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor. ![“When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor.” quote by Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png) > “When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor.” [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When suffering is severe, people may accept any solution, even unqualified ones. **In simple terms:** Great pain makes us accept any help. Key Takeaway Seek qualified help despite desperation. Themes desperation trust authority health Mood concerned pragmatic Type advice caution When to use this quote - emergency care - mental health crisis - decision making Key Concepts psychology medical ethics Questions to Reflect On - How to maintain discernment under stress? - What safeguards protect against unqualified help? A Different Perspective Desperation can lead to poor choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-let-4117077/) [Let Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-doctor-4117076/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-great-1029748/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Racism is a disease. Go to your doctor with an ailment, and let the doctor tell you, 'Well, look, I'm not going to treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-sharpe/racism-is-a-disease-go-to-your-doctor-with-an-ailment-and-let-the/) [Shannon Sharpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-sharpe/) > [“Let me through – I’m a doctor.’ My heart beat a little faster, and I lingered just long enough to be sure he’d used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-malone/let-me-through-i-m-a-doctor-my-heart-beat-a-little-faster-and-i/) [Melody Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-malone/) > [“Touch pain with great curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorie-graham/touch-pain-with-great-curiosity/) [Jorie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorie-graham/) > [There's no agony or pain as great as loosing someone who loved you always no matter what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/there-s-no-agony-or-pain-as-great-as-loosing-someone-who-loved-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/there-is-no-pain-so-great-as-the-memory-of-joy-in-present-grief/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [We may have pain, but not as great as His name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-grace/we-may-have-pain-but-not-as-great-as-his-name/) [Jamie Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-grace/) > [Pain is a great teacher, but most of us would rather learn some other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-james/pain-is-a-great-teacher-but-most-of-us-would-rather-learn-some-other/) [Jennifer James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-james/) > [“The pain had to be great enough for me to accept my reality, to hope that something different, and hopefully better, was out there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-e-rainey/the-pain-had-to-be-great-enough-for-me-to-accept-my-reality-to-hope/) [Sharon E. Rainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-e-rainey/) > [The good face pain. But the great? They embrace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/the-good-face-pain-but-the-great-they-embrace-it/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Me and pain had a great relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bettis/me-and-pain-had-a-great-relationship/) [Jerome Bettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bettis/) > [“After the funeral Peter couldn’t find a way back out of himself—the pain became too great for him to move at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/after-the-funeral-peter-couldn-t-find-a-way-back-out-of-himself-the/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [The pain is not great. But the symbolism is disagreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-pain-is-not-great-but-the-symbolism-is-disagreeable/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“the severe pain and the great trials we go through teach us the real essence of great joy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/the-severe-pain-and-the-great-trials-we-go-through-teach-us-the-real/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [“Pain is the great equalizer, the cure to mental anguish, the antidote for a hopeful heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-estes/pain-is-the-great-equalizer-the-cure-to-mental-anguish-the-antidote/) [David Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-estes/) > [Pain is the great teacher of mankind. Beneath its breath souls develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/pain-is-the-great-teacher-of-mankind-beneath-its-breath-souls-develop/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) ## More by Mignon McLaughlin > [As we are human, we can't do what we can't do; as we're neurotic, we can't do what we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/as-we-are-human-we-can-t-do-what-we-can-t-do-as-we-re-neurotic-we-can/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Naturally, the neurotic wants you to love him twice as much, for he's going to cut it in half anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/naturally-the-neurotic-wants-you-to-love-him-twice-as-much-for-he-s/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [We have a terror of seeming to exert ourselves, lest it be noticed that we exerted ourselves and did not succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-have-a-terror-of-seeming-to-exert-ourselves-lest-it-be-noticed/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The three horrors of modern life - talk without meaning, desire without love, work without satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-three-horrors-of-modern-life-talk-without-meaning-desire-without/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [We are never more self-righteous than when giving up what we should have shunned all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-are-never-more-self-righteous-than-when-giving-up-what-we-should/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [One of life's few really reliable pleasures: to have a family you love, and to leave them for a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/one-of-life-s-few-really-reliable-pleasures-to-have-a-family-you-love/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [The total history of almost anyone would shock almost everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-total-history-of-almost-anyone-would-shock-almost-everyone/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [There are children born to be children, and others who must mark time till they can take their natural places as adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/there-are-children-born-to-be-children-and-others-who-must-mark-time/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [In life, as in restaurants, we swallow a lot of indigestible stuff just because it comes with the dinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/in-life-as-in-restaurants-we-swallow-a-lot-of-indigestible-stuff-just/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Neurotics always feel as though they were going way up or way down, which is odd in people going sideways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/neurotics-always-feel-as-though-they-were-going-way-up-or-way-down/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Even in the same family, one child will always instinctively know when to ask for things, and another won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/even-in-the-same-family-one-child-will-always-instinctively-know-when/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [People find it hard to be both comic and serious, though life manages it easily enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/people-find-it-hard-to-be-both-comic-and-serious-though-life-manages/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [No good neurotic finds it difficult to be both opinionated and indecisive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/no-good-neurotic-finds-it-difficult-to-be-both-opinionated-and/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) [Explore all 383 Mignon McLaughlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More Doctor quotes > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Every patient carries her or his own doctor inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/every-patient-carries-her-or-his-own-doctor-inside/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“As a special branch of general philosophy, pathogenesis had never been explored. In my opinion it had never been approached in a strictly scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/as-a-special-branch-of-general-philosophy-pathogenesis-had-never-been/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [A creative space is an important thing. There are so many studios that feel like doctor's offices in Nashville. I couldn't write there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-paisley/a-creative-space-is-an-important-thing-there-are-so-many-studios-that/) [Brad Paisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-paisley/) > [We ought to observe that practice which is the hardest of all-especially for young physicians-we ought to throw in no medicine at all-to abstain-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph-of-roanoke/we-ought-to-observe-that-practice-which-is-the-hardest-of-all/) [John Randolph of Roanoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-randolph-of-roanoke/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) > [“old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors should consider themselves businessmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician-unmoved-by-the-considerations/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [Thankfully, I found a doctor at Presbyterian Hospital in New York, Scott Hammer, who diagnosed my chronic fatigue as the Epstein-Barr virus, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-halpern/thankfully-i-found-a-doctor-at-presbyterian-hospital-in-new-york/) [Tucker Halpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-halpern/) > [My parents are so supportive of whatever we want to do and completely nurtured that, and they're so proud of that as well. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-john-kamen/my-parents-are-so-supportive-of-whatever-we-want-to-do-and-completely/) [Hannah John-Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-john-kamen/) > [Before we can wave the handkerchief, we have to have a cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-dangoor/before-we-can-wave-the-handkerchief-we-have-to-have-a-cold/) [Robert D Dangoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-dangoor/) > [Tuberculosis, starvation, fatigue, and there are many who have no desire to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/tuberculosis-starvation-fatigue-and-there-are-many-who-have-no-desire/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) [Browse all 3,922 Doctor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mignon McLaughlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-let-anyone-be-doctor/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doctor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-let-anyone-be-doctor/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4e/mignon-mclaughlin-742_doctor_when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-le_1277672.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor.” — Mignon McLaughlin", "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": "Mignon McLaughlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When the pain is great enough,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-let-anyone-be-doctor/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/when-the-pain-is-great-enough-we-will-let-anyone-be-doctor/#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 } } ] } ```