--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A second of intense pain is the most…" description: "\"“A second of intense pain is the most profound thing you can live through. And another, and another, and another, and then you know what it is to feel,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/stacy-pershall-33606_mental-illness_a-second-of-intense-pain-is-the-most-pro_1306836.jpg" --- # A second of intense pain is the most profound thing you… ![“A second of intense pain is the most profound thing you can live through. And another, and another, and another, and then you know what it is to feel, and to struggle through that feeling one small agonizing increment at a time, and if you know that, you know what it is to live with mental illness.” quote by Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/stacy-pershall-33606_mental-illness_a-second-of-intense-pain-is-the-most-pro_1306836.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/stacy-pershall-33606_mental-illness_a-second-of-intense-pain-is-the-most-pro_1306836.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/stacy-pershall-33606_mental-illness_a-second-of-intense-pain-is-the-most-pro_1306836.jpg) > ““A second of intense pain is the most profound thing you can live through. And another, and another, and another, and then you know what it is to feel, and to struggle through that feeling one small agonizing increment at a time, and if you know that, you know what it is to live with mental illness.”” [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring repeated, intense emotional pain teaches the reality of mental illness and the slow, incremental struggle to cope. **In simple terms:** Mental illness is a series of small, painful steps. Key Takeaway Recognize and address each painful moment. Themes mental health resilience pain Mood empathetic hopeful Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - daily coping - support groups - self‑care routines Key Concepts incremental struggle awareness healing Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take today to ease your pain? - How does acknowledging each increment help you? A Different Perspective Focusing on tiny increments may overlook broader systemic support needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intense pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-pain/) [Know Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-feel/) [Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-profound-1219519/) [Second Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-intense-4310101/) ## Related quotes > [“The tattoo artist inflicts pain and I take it. With each breath I count to one again. Each inhale, each exhale, time passes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/the-tattoo-artist-inflicts-pain-and-i-take-it-with-each-breath-i/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“(I’m broken, Gris. I’m finally broken.) There is some pain in your life that, when you experience it, you’re shocked to the core that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-regnery/i-m-broken-gris-i-m-finally-broken-there-is-some-pain-in-your-life/) [Katy Regnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-regnery/) > [When I have found intense pain relieved, a weary brain soothed, and calm refreshing sleep obtained by a cigar, I have felt grateful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-i-have-found-intense-pain-relieved-a-weary-brain-soothed-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Yet many times I felt terribly alone and was convinced that no one else understood. And I still think that's true. When our pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-piper/yet-many-times-i-felt-terribly-alone-and-was-convinced-that-no-one/) [Don Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-piper/) > [Intense pain often pushed me to make changes. The pain of the eating disorder pushed me into recovering from eating-disordered behaviors, and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/intense-pain-often-pushed-me-to-make-changes-the-pain-of-the-eating/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Few things a doctor does are more important than relieving pain. . . pain is soul destroying. No patient should have to endure intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/few-things-a-doctor-does-are-more-important-than-relieving-pain-pain/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [He could feel it immediately when his shoulder snapped - the intense pain of his bones cracking. His skin tightened, as if it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/he-could-feel-it-immediately-when-his-shoulder-snapped-the-intense/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [Sensory experience does not offset the intense pain or pleasure we feel on a mental level; it may distract us, but doesn't overcome it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/sensory-experience-does-not-offset-the-intense-pain-or-pleasure-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“From the moment of my birth, I lived with pain at the center of my life. My only purpose in life was to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/from-the-moment-of-my-birth-i-lived-with-pain-at-the-center-of-my/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The deeper you love, the more intense the pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin/the-deeper-you-love-the-more-intense-the-pain/) [Alvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin/) > [“The softness and fragility of baby animals caused us the same intense pain. She wanted to be a nurse in some famished Asiatic country;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-softness-and-fragility-of-baby-animals-caused-us-the-same-intense/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Real fear is like intense pain. It's there to warn you something's truly wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/real-fear-is-like-intense-pain-it-s-there-to-warn-you-something-s/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [“Truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/truth-is-often-accompanied-by-intense-pain-and-almost-no-one-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The Dudleys are going to get the VIP treatment this Sunday-- Very Intense Pain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/the-dudleys-are-going-to-get-the-vip-treatment-this-sunday-very/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) ## More by Stacy Pershall > [“Cincinatti was where I learned that running away from your problems has a three-month statute of limitations, a lesson I have found repeatedly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/cincinatti-was-where-i-learned-that-running-away-from-your-problems/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“A depressed person is selfish because her self, the very core of who she is, will not leave her alone, and she can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/a-depressed-person-is-selfish-because-her-self-the-very-core-of-who/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“The singing stopped when I walked in. They all turned and stared at me, Bonne-Bell-Orange-Crush-glossed mouths hanging open, looking at me with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/the-singing-stopped-when-i-walked-in-they-all-turned-and-stared-at-me/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“I believed by age eleven that I was horribly ugly and undeserving of human companionship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/i-believed-by-age-eleven-that-i-was-horribly-ugly-and-undeserving-of/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“The tattoo artist inflicts pain and I take it. With each breath I count to one again. Each inhale, each exhale, time passes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/the-tattoo-artist-inflicts-pain-and-i-take-it-with-each-breath-i/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“One thing that pisses me off royally is hearing drug companies denounced as the devil. 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Example: You're at a party. The popular girls… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/eating-disorders-are-a-wonderful-tool-for-helping-you-reject-others/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“Not all deviance is negative; without it, we'd never change the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/not-all-deviance-is-negative-without-it-we-d-never-change-the-world/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“Nobody would commit suicide if the pain of being inside herself, the agony of the sleepless, tortured hours spent watching the world get smaller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/nobody-would-commit-suicide-if-the-pain-of-being-inside-herself-the/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“One of the things I’ve read about borderlines is that we alternate between a sense of entitlement and the belief that we’re lower than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/one-of-the-things-i-ve-read-about-borderlines-is-that-we-alternate/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [“To anyone who thinks eating disorders are something rich, bored white girls do to get attention, I bid you bite me. I have frequent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/to-anyone-who-thinks-eating-disorders-are-something-rich-bored-white/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) [Explore all 14 Stacy Pershall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) ## More Intense pain quotes > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/truth-is-often-accompanied-by-intense-pain-and-almost-no-one-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Real fear is like intense pain. It's there to warn you something's truly wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/real-fear-is-like-intense-pain-it-s-there-to-warn-you-something-s/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [“The softness and fragility of baby animals caused us the same intense pain. She wanted to be a nurse in some famished Asiatic country;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-softness-and-fragility-of-baby-animals-caused-us-the-same-intense/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The deeper you love, the more intense the pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin/the-deeper-you-love-the-more-intense-the-pain/) [Alvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin/) > [“From the moment of my birth, I lived with pain at the center of my life. My only purpose in life was to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/from-the-moment-of-my-birth-i-lived-with-pain-at-the-center-of-my/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Sensory experience does not offset the intense pain or pleasure we feel on a mental level; it may distract us, but doesn't overcome it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/sensory-experience-does-not-offset-the-intense-pain-or-pleasure-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [He could feel it immediately when his shoulder snapped - the intense pain of his bones cracking. His skin tightened, as if it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/he-could-feel-it-immediately-when-his-shoulder-snapped-the-intense/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [Few things a doctor does are more important than relieving pain. . . pain is soul destroying. No patient should have to endure intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/few-things-a-doctor-does-are-more-important-than-relieving-pain-pain/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [Intense pain often pushed me to make changes. The pain of the eating disorder pushed me into recovering from eating-disordered behaviors, and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/intense-pain-often-pushed-me-to-make-changes-the-pain-of-the-eating/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“Yet many times I felt terribly alone and was convinced that no one else understood. And I still think that's true. When our pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-piper/yet-many-times-i-felt-terribly-alone-and-was-convinced-that-no-one/) [Don Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-piper/) > [When I have found intense pain relieved, a weary brain soothed, and calm refreshing sleep obtained by a cigar, I have felt grateful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-i-have-found-intense-pain-relieved-a-weary-brain-soothed-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The Dudleys are going to get the VIP treatment this Sunday-- Very Intense Pain!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/the-dudleys-are-going-to-get-the-vip-treatment-this-sunday-very/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) > [He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-eareckson-tada/he-has-chosen-not-to-heal-me-but-to-hold-me-the-more-intense-the-pain/) [Joni Eareckson Tada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-eareckson-tada/) > [A joy as intense as pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/a-joy-as-intense-as-pain/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) [Browse all 18 Intense pain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-pain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A second of intense pain is the most profound thing you can live through. 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