--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During first grade, I spent nearly every…" description: "\"During first grade, I spent nearly every afternoon for months in the school nurse's office, sick with psychosomatic headaches, begging to go home; by t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png" --- # During first grade, I spent nearly every afternoon for… ![“During first grade, I spent nearly every afternoon for months in the school nurse's office, sick with psychosomatic headaches, begging to go home; by third grade, stomachaches had replaced the headaches, but my daily trudge to the infirmary remained the same.” quote by Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png) > “During first grade, I spent nearly every afternoon for months in the school nurse's office, sick with psychosomatic headaches, begging to go home; by third grade, stomachaches had replaced the headaches, but my daily trudge to the infirmary remained the same.” [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chronic psychosomatic illness can persist despite changing symptoms, reflecting underlying anxiety and coping mechanisms. **In simple terms:** Physical symptoms mask emotional distress. Key Takeaway Address underlying stress, not just symptoms. Themes health psychosomatics anxiety coping childhood mindbody Mood frustrated reflective Type personal medical When to use this quote - school - medical visits - family dynamics - mental health treatment Key Concepts Somatization psychosomatic disorder stress response Questions to Reflect On - What emotions were you avoiding? - How can you recognize early signs of stress? A Different Perspective Physical pain may not fully resolve without emotional work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Begging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begging/) [Daily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily/) [Every](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Go home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go-home/) [Grade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grade/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Headaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/headaches/) [Headaches Daily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/headaches-daily-250913/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Psychosomatic Headaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychosomatic-headaches-2058050/) [Remained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remained/) [Replaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replaced/) [Same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [School nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-nurse/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Sick Psychosomatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick-psychosomatic-2058052/) [Spent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent/) [Stomachaches Replaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomachaches-replaced-2058051/) [Third](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/third/) [Third grade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/third-grade/) ## Related quotes > [I live with very serious headaches, even though I am on daily medication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-johnson/i-live-with-very-serious-headaches-even-though-i-am-on-daily/) [Abby Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-johnson/) > [“The little girl knew if she bit any member of her family, they would get rabies too, and she died without ever having been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/the-little-girl-knew-if-she-bit-any-member-of-her-family-they-would/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [“and nails done, right after she visited the school nurse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-ren-e-russell/and-nails-done-right-after-she-visited-the-school-nurse/) [Rachel Renée Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-ren-e-russell/) > [My experience as a school nurse taught me that we need to make a concerted effort, all of us, to increase physical fitness activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-capps/my-experience-as-a-school-nurse-taught-me-that-we-need-to-make-a/) [Lois Capps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-capps/) > [“During his two-year term, Hunt introduced the inspections of tenement houses, appointed school nurses, provided food inspection and dental services for school children, closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-williams/during-his-two-year-term-hunt-introduced-the-inspections-of-tenement/) [R. Scott Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-williams/) > [“I had to go to the school nurse yesterday because my stomach hurt..." "You worry too much, Charlie Brown... No wonder your stomach hurts...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/i-had-to-go-to-the-school-nurse-yesterday-because-my-stomach-hurt-you/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [My dad was the 10th of 11 children. My mother has three brothers. My dad was a salesman, my mum was a school nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-helin/my-dad-was-the-10th-of-11-children-my-mother-has-three-brothers-my/) [Sofia Helin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-helin/) > [Napoleon Dynamite: Can you bring me my chapstick? Kip: No, Napoleon. Napoleon Dynamite: But my lips hurt real bad! Kip: Just borrow some from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-dynamite-kip/napoleon-dynamite-can-you-bring-me-my-chapstick-kip-no-napoleon/) [Napoleon Dynamite Kip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-dynamite-kip/) > [All four of my grandparents were educators, my mom was a school nurse, and I went through the public school system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-cummings/all-four-of-my-grandparents-were-educators-my-mom-was-a-school-nurse/) [Erin Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-cummings/) > [We are talking about one of the greatest threats of all. But people can stand up to the school nurse; you can stand up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/we-are-talking-about-one-of-the-greatest-threats-of-all-but-people/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“The school nurse had seen what Aunt Petunia’s eyes – so sharp when it came to spotting fingerprints on her gleaming walls, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/the-school-nurse-had-seen-what-aunt-petunia-s-eyes-so-sharp-when-it/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [“You can do better than that." He loops his arms around my waist and pulls me to him. "Where are your gloves?" "Better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huntley-fitzpatrick/you-can-do-better-than-that-he-loops-his-arms-around-my-waist-and/) [Huntley Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huntley-fitzpatrick/) > [“It is so much more threatening to have something out of hand than to believe that at any moment I can stop (I started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-rheta-schreiber/it-is-so-much-more-threatening-to-have-something-out-of-hand-than-to/) [Flora Rheta Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-rheta-schreiber/) > [“Anyway I was in the school nurse’s office now recovering from my slit wrists. Snap and Loopin and HAHRID were there too. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-gilesbie/anyway-i-was-in-the-school-nurse-s-office-now-recovering-from-my-slit/) [Tara Gilesbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-gilesbie/) > [Pissing in jars, they had never been handed a fifteen-year-old Kotex product by the school nurse. But they trusted me and Paula, so I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/pissing-in-jars-they-had-never-been-handed-a-fifteen-year-old-kotex/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) ## More by Scott Stossel > [“According to recent epidemiological data, the “lifetime incidence” of anxiety disorder is more than 25 percent—which, if true, means that one in four of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/according-to-recent-epidemiological-data-the-lifetime-incidence-of/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [I wanted to put a human face on anxiety disorders. 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So you need a therapist who is sympathetic and understanding but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/all-the-textbooks-talk-about-avoidance-as-a-classic-hallmark-of/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [During high school, I would purposely lose tennis and squash matches to escape the agony of anxiety that competitive situations would provoke in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/during-high-school-i-would-purposely-lose-tennis-and-squash-matches/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [“The truth is that anxiety is at once a function of biology and philosophy, body and mind, instinct and reason, personality and culture. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/the-truth-is-that-anxiety-is-at-once-a-function-of-biology-and/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [It's possible that I would have been better suited to being a penguin keeper. Starting out, I thought being a writer would enable me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/it-s-possible-that-i-would-have-been-better-suited-to-being-a-penguin/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [Generally speaking, the anxiety will pass, which is easy for me to say when I'm not in the middle of an anxiety attack. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/generally-speaking-the-anxiety-will-pass-which-is-easy-for-me-to-say/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [I have, since the age of about 2, been a twitchy bundle of phobias, fears, and neuroses. And I have, since the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/i-have-since-the-age-of-about-2-been-a-twitchy-bundle-of-phobias/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [When I was 5 and my sister was 3, we went on a family trip, and she ate cheese off the floor at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/when-i-was-5-and-my-sister-was-3-we-went-on-a-family-trip-and-she-ate/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [People who suffer from anxiety are very good at hiding it. 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Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "During first grade, I spent nearly every afternoon for months in the school nurse's office, sick with psychosomatic headaches, begging to go home; by third grade, stomachaches had replaced the headaches, but my daily trudge to the infirmary remained the same.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Scott Stossel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every-afternoon-for-months-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every-afternoon-for-months-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/scott-stossel-12031_afternoon_during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every_1804196.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During first grade, I spent nearly every afternoon for months in the school nurse's office, sick with…” — Scott Stossel", "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": "Scott Stossel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "During first grade, I spent nearly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every-afternoon-for-months-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/during-first-grade-i-spent-nearly-every-afternoon-for-months-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```