--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot stand small talk, because I feel…" description: "\"“I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there’s an elephant standing in the room shitting all over everything and nobody is saying anything. I’..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/paul-gilmartin-268635_emptiness-inside_i-cannot-stand-small-talk-because-i-feel_2940464.jpg" --- # I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there’s an… ![“I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there’s an elephant standing in the room shitting all over everything and nobody is saying anything. I’m just dying to say, 'Hey, do you ever feel like jumping off a bridge?' or 'Do you feel an emptiness inside your chest at night that is going to…” quote by Paul Gilmartin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/paul-gilmartin-268635_emptiness-inside_i-cannot-stand-small-talk-because-i-feel_2940464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/paul-gilmartin-268635_emptiness-inside_i-cannot-stand-small-talk-because-i-feel_2940464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/paul-gilmartin-268635_emptiness-inside_i-cannot-stand-small-talk-because-i-feel_2940464.jpg) > ““I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there’s an elephant standing in the room shitting all over everything and nobody is saying anything. I’m just dying to say, 'Hey, do you ever feel like jumping off a bridge?' or 'Do you feel an emptiness inside your chest at night that is going to swallow you?' But you can’t say that at a cocktail party.”” [Paul Gilmartin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilmartin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Small talk masks deep emptiness; honest expression is often suppressed in social settings. **In simple terms:** Small talk hides deep feelings. Key Takeaway Find safe spaces for genuine sharing. Themes small talk emptiness authenticity social anxiety communication Mood awkward reflective hopeful Type Emptiness inside:1 Small talk:1 Like Elephant:0 Talk Feel:0 Feel Emptiness:1 Shitting Saying:0 When to use this quote - cocktail parties - work meetings - family gatherings Key Concepts psychology sociology mental health Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from speaking your mind? - How can you create a supportive environment? A Different Perspective Not everyone wants to share deep feelings publicly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-inside/) [Feel Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-emptiness-1295281/) [Like Elephant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-elephant-255776/) [Shitting Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shitting-saying-4381106/) [Small talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-talk/) [Talk Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-feel/) ## Related quotes > [Bridge is nowhere; over the bridge, you feel an emptiness inside you. Bridge is nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bridge-is-nowhere-over-the-bridge-you-feel-an-emptiness-inside-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [There's a disappointment there because I still feel there's an emptiness in my career that just wasn't filled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alonzo-mourning/there-s-a-disappointment-there-because-i-still-feel-there-s-an/) [Alonzo Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alonzo-mourning/) > [Sometimes I look at the crowds of people at my shows and feel an emptiness within myself that infuriates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-kahan/sometimes-i-look-at-the-crowds-of-people-at-my-shows-and-feel-an/) [Noah Kahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-kahan/) > [I feel emptiness, and he probably won't be able to close his eyes for two or three days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/i-feel-emptiness-and-he-probably-won-t-be-able-to-close-his-eyes-for/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [“My main goal is to stay alive. To keep fooling myself into hanging around. To keep getting up every day. Right now I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/my-main-goal-is-to-stay-alive-to-keep-fooling-myself-into-hanging-2/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“A month has passed since I’ve written, but it has seemed to pass much more slowly. Life passes by now like the scenery outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/a-month-has-passed-since-i-ve-written-but-it-has-seemed-to-pass-much/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“You ever feel the emptiness? You ever feel an emptiness so bad, you've got to fill it or you'll die, but you don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/you-ever-feel-the-emptiness-you-ever-feel-an-emptiness-so-bad-you-ve/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [When you are a footballer, you eat, sleep, and breathe football. If I have a bad training session, I can go home and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divock-origi/when-you-are-a-footballer-you-eat-sleep-and-breathe-football-if-i/) [Divock Origi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divock-origi/) > [“God has only to give you what you want to make you feel the emptiness of it!...You will generally notice that when the believer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/god-has-only-to-give-you-what-you-want-to-make-you-feel-the-emptiness/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul, I find myself searching the crowds for your face. I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-you-in-my-arms-i-feel-an-emptiness-in-my-soul-i-find-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I talk to people who feel this emptiness and lack of fulfillment, I recommend they find a source of balance in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/when-i-talk-to-people-who-feel-this-emptiness-and-lack-of-fulfillment/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [I always thought my place was in your arms where I felt loved, but now I only feel emptiness. I miss you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-always-thought-my-place-was-in-your-arms-where-i-felt-loved-but-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyday I wait and wait to feel something, but all I feel is emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyday-i-wait-and-wait-to-feel-something-but-all-i-feel-is-emptiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm never feel emptiness in my life becausep I have you here with me. Ya, that's enough :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayun-rezkiana/i-m-never-feel-emptiness-in-my-life-becausep-i-have-you-here-with-me/) [Ayun Rezkiana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayun-rezkiana/) > [You have trouble feeling alive, so you stab your own heart just to feel something. It was the emptiness that was killing you. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/you-have-trouble-feeling-alive-so-you-stab-your-own-heart-just-to/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) ## More Emptiness inside quotes > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“All my life, I've been trying to fill an emptiness inside. But that emptiness...I've built myself around it. Filling it in would be like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-charlton/all-my-life-i-ve-been-trying-to-fill-an-emptiness-inside-but-that/) [Blake Charlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-charlton/) > [I'm still trying to figure out how to tell you I was wrong. I can't fill the emptiness inside since you've been gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-trying-to-figure-out-how-to-tell-you-i-was-wrong-i-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Away I turned, from the ghosts that brought me to this place. From an insatiable desperation to be wanted and my urge to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-irwin/away-i-turned-from-the-ghosts-that-brought-me-to-this-place-from-an/) [Jennifer Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-irwin/) > [“pretend to feel emotions that they don’t actually feel, as well as pretend they don’t feel ones that they actually do. They often believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-parker/pretend-to-feel-emotions-that-they-don-t-actually-feel-as-well-as/) [Emily Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-parker/) > [As if to build a fence around the fatal emptiness inside her, she had to create a sunny person that she became. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/as-if-to-build-a-fence-around-the-fatal-emptiness-inside-her-she-had/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Like the stars that shine brightly in the night sky, you came shining into my life. There was so much emptiness inside me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/like-the-stars-that-shine-brightly-in-the-night-sky-you-came-shining/) [Superman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/superman/) > [I can hear the emptiness inside my heart... As I turn away… with my back against u I cry the tears that no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/i-can-hear-the-emptiness-inside-my-heart-as-i-turn-away-with-my-back/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [Addiction beggins whith the hope that something 'out there' can instantly fill up the emptiness inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kilbourne/addiction-beggins-whith-the-hope-that-something-out-there-can/) [Jean Kilbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kilbourne/) > [“Love, our love, had been a shooting star, burning in the darkness, unseen until it got too close, too bright and too quick to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/love-our-love-had-been-a-shooting-star-burning-in-the-darkness-unseen/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“It was a very special feeling to wake up in the morning, all alone in a flat, it was as though emptiness were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/it-was-a-very-special-feeling-to-wake-up-in-the-morning-all-alone-in/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Sometimes there are just too many words filling up space and not enough emptiness left for thinking. I keep a little emptiness inside for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/sometimes-there-are-just-too-many-words-filling-up-space-and-not/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [You try hard to hide, the emptiness inside, ooh I can tell I'm losing you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-temptations/you-try-hard-to-hide-the-emptiness-inside-ooh-i-can-tell-i-m-losing/) [The Temptations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-temptations/) > [“In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an underground cavern in southern France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique-le-guen-volunteered-for-an/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“Mary tells herself that if only she could have a child she could carry around like an extra lung, the emptiness inside her would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-szybist/mary-tells-herself-that-if-only-she-could-have-a-child-she-could/) [Mary Szybist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-szybist/) [Browse all 62 Emptiness inside quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-inside/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I cannot stand small talk, because I feel like there’s an elephant standing in the room shitting all over everything and nobody is saying anything. 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