--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was unhappiness really so invisible? Or…" description: "\"“Was unhappiness really so invisible? Or did people simply prefer to turn away, as if from lepers?”\" — Sherry Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/sherry-thomas-2738_sadness_was-unhappiness-really-so-invisible-or-d_1659325.jpg" --- # Was unhappiness really so invisible? Or did people simply… ![“Was unhappiness really so invisible? Or did people simply prefer to turn away, as if from lepers?” quote by Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/sherry-thomas-2738_sadness_was-unhappiness-really-so-invisible-or-d_1659325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/sherry-thomas-2738_sadness_was-unhappiness-really-so-invisible-or-d_1659325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/sherry-thomas-2738_sadness_was-unhappiness-really-so-invisible-or-d_1659325.jpg) > ““Was unhappiness really so invisible? Or did people simply prefer to turn away, as if from lepers?”” [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often ignore suffering because it is uncomfortable, preferring denial over confronting pain. **In simple terms:** We avoid pain by pretending it isn’t there. Key Takeaway Acknowledge hidden suffering to address it. Themes empathy denial human suffering Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family conflict - mental health stigma - workplace bullying - social injustice Key Concepts psychology social awareness compassion Questions to Reflect On - What hidden pain might you be overlooking? - How does denial affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Denial can protect mental health in the short term, making confrontation risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away Lepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away-lepers-741264/) [Invisible Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible-did-741266/) [Lepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lepers-741265/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness/) [Unhappiness Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness-really-741263/) ## Related quotes > [I wish you wusses would stop whining about your unhappiness. I'm really fed up with it. Pour yourself a scotch and pull yourself together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/i-wish-you-wusses-would-stop-whining-about-your-unhappiness-i-m/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [“From beyond, the Eretz stars glimmered visible-invisible, visible-invisible, and he did the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/from-beyond-the-eretz-stars-glimmered-visible-invisible-visible/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“And that was the real truth of it, wasn't it? Whether you were visible or invisible, it was all about how other people reacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gratz/and-that-was-the-real-truth-of-it-wasn-t-it-whether-you-were-visible/) [Alan Gratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gratz/) > [Unhappiness really meant something back then. Now it's just a drag, like a cold or having no money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/unhappiness-really-meant-something-back-then-now-it-s-just-a-drag/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [At times, I've been incapacitated by anxiety and unhappiness. You really know what joy is if you have experienced the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/at-times-i-ve-been-incapacitated-by-anxiety-and-unhappiness-you/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [“Those days are gone, and good fucking riddance to them; unhappiness really meant something back then. Now it's just a drag, like a cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/those-days-are-gone-and-good-fucking-riddance-to-them-unhappiness/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Unhappiness is really an incorrect way of seeing. When we are unhappy we don't see life as it really is. We are in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/unhappiness-is-really-an-incorrect-way-of-seeing-when-we-are-unhappy/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Even more than this, however, the sick - like lepers - were often reviled because people believed that they had brought their torments upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lewis-allen/even-more-than-this-however-the-sick-like-lepers-were-often-reviled/) [Peter Lewis Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lewis-allen/) > [“Perhaps the bereaved ought to be isolated in special settlements like lepers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/perhaps-the-bereaved-ought-to-be-isolated-in-special-settlements-like/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I was like a social worker for lepers. My clients had a chunk of their body they wanted to give away; for a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tama-janowitz/i-was-like-a-social-worker-for-lepers-my-clients-had-a-chunk-of-their/) [Tama Janowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tama-janowitz/) > [“They’re a jolly lot, the lepers,” said Father Liam. “People who’ve suffered don’t have time to grumble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/they-re-a-jolly-lot-the-lepers-said-father-liam-people-who-ve/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“In life, not everyone you help would remember to appreciate it. The search still continues for the other 9 lepers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faithful-akpaloo/in-life-not-everyone-you-help-would-remember-to-appreciate-it-the/) [Faithful Akpaloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faithful-akpaloo/) > [Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/jesus-specialized-in-menial-tasks-that-everyone-else-tried-to-avoid/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [ \[Naaman\] dipped himself," it says, "seven times in Jordan." It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/naaman-dipped-himself-it-says-seven-times-in-jordan-it-was-not-for/) [Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/) > [I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/father-damien/i-make-myself-a-leper-with-the-lepers-to-gain-all-to-jesus-christ/) [Father Damien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/father-damien/) ## More by Sherry Thomas > [“Sometimes people change, said a voice inside him. And sometimes they don’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/sometimes-people-change-said-a-voice-inside-him-and-sometimes-they/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“I always think I cannot love you more if I tried, but I always do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/i-always-think-i-cannot-love-you-more-if-i-tried-but-i-always-do/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“For the thousandth time he wished he’d just met her. That they were but two strangers traveling together, that such lovely, filthy thoughts did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/for-the-thousandth-time-he-wished-he-d-just-met-her-that-they-were/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“This is the story of a girl who fooled a thousand boys, a boy who fooled an entire country, a partnership that would change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/this-is-the-story-of-a-girl-who-fooled-a-thousand-boys-a-boy-who/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“Outwardly, other than her hair, she had not changed much. She was still more or less the same cool, aloof woman who garnered more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/outwardly-other-than-her-hair-she-had-not-changed-much-she-was-still/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“The buttons on her back gave way as if before a Mongol horde.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/the-buttons-on-her-back-gave-way-as-if-before-a-mongol-horde/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“Humans, herself included, held no interest for her except as living machines, mind-bogglingly intricate, beautiful systems that somehow housed individuals not quite worthy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/humans-herself-included-held-no-interest-for-her-except-as-living/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“...So far I have restrained myself. For how much longer, I do not know. I have never known such happiness, shot through with such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/so-far-i-have-restrained-myself-for-how-much-longer-i-do-not-know-i/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“You are asking me to give up everything for a cause that isn't mine. I don't want to be part of any revolution. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/you-are-asking-me-to-give-up-everything-for-a-cause-that-isn-t-mine-i/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“Friendship is untenable for people in our position.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/friendship-is-untenable-for-people-in-our-position/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“Just before the start of Summer Half, in April 1883, a very minor event took place at Eton College, that venerable and illustrious English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/just-before-the-start-of-summer-half-in-april-1883-a-very-minor-event/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“A reflection of their story: imperfect, but to him the most beautiful of stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/a-reflection-of-their-story-imperfect-but-to-him-the-most-beautiful/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“For the next three seconds, he still dared to let himself hope. Perhaps she was making a grand entrance. Perhaps she would be carried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/for-the-next-three-seconds-he-still-dared-to-let-himself-hope-perhaps/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“He smiled at her. And it hit her like a mallet to the temple, the realization that she was in love with him. Stupidly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/he-smiled-at-her-and-it-hit-her-like-a-mallet-to-the-temple-the/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“We will never accomplish anything worthwhile in life if we require the guarantee of success at the onset.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/we-will-never-accomplish-anything-worthwhile-in-life-if-we-require/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) [Explore all 150 Sherry Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) ## More Sadness quotes > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) [Kirsten Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gilchrist/) > [One must not let oneself be overwhelmed by sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-must-not-let-oneself-be-overwhelmed-by-sadness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Got those moods a swinging, tears a slinging, nothing fits me, when it hits me, ranting, raving, misbehaving, PMS blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/got-those-moods-a-swinging-tears-a-slinging-nothing-fits-me-when-it/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [But I saw the pain and sadness in everything, and swirled it round my mouth like a fine wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/but-i-saw-the-pain-and-sadness-in-everything-and-swirled-it-round-my/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [I'd think the house was the source of great sadness or pressure. I knew it wasn't. I knew it was just where I lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-granduciel/i-d-think-the-house-was-the-source-of-great-sadness-or-pressure-i/) [Adam Granduciel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-granduciel/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“Today, our view of genuine reality is increasingly clouded by professionals whose technical expertise often introduces a superficial and soulless model of the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kleinman/today-our-view-of-genuine-reality-is-increasingly-clouded-by/) [Arthur Kleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kleinman/) [Browse all 6,768 Sadness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Was unhappiness really so invisible? 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