--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Please. Don’t switch off my mind by…" description: "\"Please. Don’t switch off my mind by attempting to straighten me out. Listen and understand, and when you feel contempt don’t express it, at least not v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/sarah-kane-9287_attempting_please-don-t-switch-off-my-mind-by-attem_2049560.jpg" --- # Please. Don’t switch off my mind by attempting to… ![“Please. Don’t switch off my mind by attempting to straighten me out. Listen and understand, and when you feel contempt don’t express it, at least not verbally, at least not to me.” quote by Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/sarah-kane-9287_attempting_please-don-t-switch-off-my-mind-by-attem_2049560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/sarah-kane-9287_attempting_please-don-t-switch-off-my-mind-by-attem_2049560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca7/sarah-kane-9287_attempting_please-don-t-switch-off-my-mind-by-attem_2049560.jpg) > “Please. Don’t switch off my mind by attempting to straighten me out. Listen and understand, and when you feel contempt don’t express it, at least not verbally, at least not to me.” [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ask for empathy rather than judgment; avoid contemptuous responses. **In simple terms:** Seek understanding, not criticism. Key Takeaway Listen before judging. Themes empathy communication mental health boundaries Mood intense vulnerable Type dramatic emotional When to use this quote - therapy sessions - friendship conflicts - family discussions - support groups Key Concepts psychology interpersonal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from expressing contempt? - How can you foster safe dialogue? A Different Perspective People may resist vulnerability despite invitations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attempting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempting/) [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Contempt Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt-don-3855142/) [Feel Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-contempt-1296872/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Listen Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-understand-251589/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Please](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/please/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Switch Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/switch-mind-1492161/) ## Related quotes > [ I occasionally feel contempt for that attitude \[degree of sexual desire towards me\] when I perceive it, but maybe that's not fair. By our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cris-mazza/i-occasionally-feel-contempt-for-that-attitude-degree-of-sexual/) [Cris Mazza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cris-mazza/) > [Man is more sensitive to the contempt that others feel towards him than to the contempt that he feels towards himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-is-more-sensitive-to-the-contempt-that-others-feel-towards-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Renown? I've already got more of it than those I respect, and will never have as much as those for whom I feel contempt..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/renown-i-ve-already-got-more-of-it-than-those-i-respect-and-will/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [“- Please. Don't switch off my mind by attempting to straighten me. Listen and understand, and when you feel contempt don't express it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/please-don-t-switch-off-my-mind-by-attempting-to-straighten-me-listen/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“When the switch in my mind finally flipped in early February 2009, I told Shane that I was leaving the priesthood. When it didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-benedict/when-the-switch-in-my-mind-finally-flipped-in-early-february-2009-i/) [Charles Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-benedict/) > [Switch off the mind and let the heart decide who you were meant to be Flick to remote and let the body glide There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/switch-off-the-mind-and-let-the-heart-decide-who-you-were-meant-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What I feel for you is contempt. But it's nothing, compared to the contempt I feel for myself. I don't love you. I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/what-i-feel-for-you-is-contempt-but-it-s-nothing-compared-to-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“If someone can enjoy marching to music in rank and file, I can feel only contempt for him; he has received his large brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-someone-can-enjoy-marching-to-music-in-rank-and-file-i-can-feel/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I do not feel any contempt for an atheist, who is often a man limited and constrained by his own logic to a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-feel-any-contempt-for-an-atheist-who-is-often-a-man-limited/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are some surely whom you like and whom you dislike, for whom you entertain esteem and for whom you feel contempt? Have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bourget/there-are-some-surely-whom-you-like-and-whom-you-dislike-for-whom-you/) [Paul Bourget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bourget/) > [There is a common emotion we all recognize and have not yet named -- the happy anticipation of being able to feel contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/there-is-a-common-emotion-we-all-recognize-and-have-not-yet-named-the/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [To observe a profoundly stupid individual can be very enriching, and that's why we should never feel contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-chabrol/to-observe-a-profoundly-stupid-individual-can-be-very-enriching-and/) [Claude Chabrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-chabrol/) > [In order to feel contempt, you generally need to cherish some kind of feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/in-order-to-feel-contempt-you-generally-need-to-cherish-some-kind-of/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [It’s very difficult to feel contempt for others when you see yourself in the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/it-s-very-difficult-to-feel-contempt-for-others-when-you-see-yourself/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [Politics resemble religion; attempting to divest either of ceremony is the most certain mode of bringing either into contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/politics-resemble-religion-attempting-to-divest-either-of-ceremony-is/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) ## More by Sarah Kane > [“Some will call this self-indulgence (They are lucky not to know its truth) Some will know the simple fact of pain This is becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/some-will-call-this-self-indulgence-they-are-lucky-not-to-know-its/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“And when I don’t feel it, it’s pointless. Think about getting up it’s pointless. Think about eating it’s pointless. Think about dressing it’s pointless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/and-when-i-don-t-feel-it-it-s-pointless-think-about-getting-up-it-s/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [To create something beautiful about despair or out of a feeling of despair is for me the most hopeful life affirming thing a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/to-create-something-beautiful-about-despair-or-out-of-a-feeling-of/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [Death is my lover and he wants to move in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/death-is-my-lover-and-he-wants-to-move-in/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [I'm not a brand name, I'm a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/i-m-not-a-brand-name-i-m-a-person/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“I am much fucking angrier than you think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/i-am-much-fucking-angrier-than-you-think/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“As a child I liked to piss on the carpet. The carpet rotted and I blamed it on the dog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/as-a-child-i-liked-to-piss-on-the-carpet-the-carpet-rotted-and-i/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [I have no interest in trying to manipulate people's emotions or opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/i-have-no-interest-in-trying-to-manipulate-people-s-emotions-or/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [Your hair is an act of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/your-hair-is-an-act-of-god/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“Long before I had the chance to adore all of you, I adored the bits of you I could see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/long-before-i-had-the-chance-to-adore-all-of-you-i-adored-the-bits-of/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“the capture the rapture the rupture of a soul a solo symphony”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/the-capture-the-rapture-the-rupture-of-a-soul-a-solo-symphony/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [I am the beast at the end of the rope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/i-am-the-beast-at-the-end-of-the-rope/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“Phaedra: I wanted to see your face when you came. Hippolytus: Why? Phaedra: I'd like to see you lose yourself. Hippolytus: It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/phaedra-i-wanted-to-see-your-face-when-you-came-hippolytus-why/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“don't say no to me you can't say no to me because it's such a relief to have love again and to lie in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/don-t-say-no-to-me-you-can-t-say-no-to-me-because-it-s-such-a-relief/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) > [“And I want to play hide-and-seek and give you my clothes and tell you I like your shoes and sit on the steps while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kane/and-i-want-to-play-hide-and-seek-and-give-you-my-clothes-and-tell-you/) [Sarah Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) [Explore all 74 Sarah Kane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kane/) ## More Attempting quotes > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [In terms of style, too, I think I've been working with a somewhat limited -- although intentionally limited -- set of tools. So I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/in-terms-of-style-too-i-think-i-ve-been-working-with-a-somewhat/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. 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She sat down opposite him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm so insensitive,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/daphne-he-said-with-controlled-gentleness-what-is-wrong-she-sat-down/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [I'm a dreamer and continue to dream of what can and will be, "Expecting great things from God, Attempting great things for God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/i-m-a-dreamer-and-continue-to-dream-of-what-can-and-will-be-expecting/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [I swear you’re a woman. (Devyn) I would respond to that, but I don’t want to distract you while you’re attempting to drive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-swear-you-re-a-woman-devyn-i-would-respond-to-that-but-i-don-t-want/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [To approach a city, or even a city neighborhood, as if it were a larger architectural problem, capable of being given order by converting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/to-approach-a-city-or-even-a-city-neighborhood-as-if-it-were-a-larger/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [I have told you of the Spaniard who always put on his spectacles when about to eat cherries, that they might look bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/i-have-told-you-of-the-spaniard-who-always-put-on-his-spectacles-when/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [The danger to which the success of revolutions is most exposed, is that of attempting them before the principles on which they proceed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-danger-to-which-the-success-of-revolutions-is-most-exposed-is/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Politics resemble religion; attempting to divest either of ceremony is the most certain mode of bringing either into contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/politics-resemble-religion-attempting-to-divest-either-of-ceremony-is/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“failure is not an outcome, but involves a lack of trying—not stretching yourself far enough out of your comfort zone and attempting to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-wiseman/failure-is-not-an-outcome-but-involves-a-lack-of-trying-not/) [Liz Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-wiseman/) > [It is strange to reflect how much energy is thrown away in attempting to know the unknowable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/it-is-strange-to-reflect-how-much-energy-is-thrown-away-in-attempting/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) > [I am not attempting to preserve culture, or record actual events or stories. Instead I bow my head in gratitude to those storytellers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-not-attempting-to-preserve-culture-or-record-actual-events-or/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) [Browse all 513 Attempting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Please. Don’t switch off my mind by attempting to straighten me out. 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