--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wanted to tell her that if only…" description: "\"I wanted to tell her that if only something were wrong with my body it would be fine, I would rather have anything wrong with my body than something wr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/sylvia-plath-149_bed_i-wanted-to-tell-her-that-if-only-someth_1068357.jpg" --- # I wanted to tell her that if only something were wrong… ![“I wanted to tell her that if only something were wrong with my body it would be fine, I would rather have anything wrong with my body than something wrong with my head, but the idea seemed so involved and wearisome that I didn’t say anything. I only burrowed down further in the bed.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/sylvia-plath-149_bed_i-wanted-to-tell-her-that-if-only-someth_1068357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/sylvia-plath-149_bed_i-wanted-to-tell-her-that-if-only-someth_1068357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/sylvia-plath-149_bed_i-wanted-to-tell-her-that-if-only-someth_1068357.jpg) > “I wanted to tell her that if only something were wrong with my body it would be fine, I would rather have anything wrong with my body than something wrong with my head, but the idea seemed so involved and wearisome that I didn’t say anything. I only burrowed down further in the bed.” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker prefers physical pain over mental anguish, fearing the complexity of confronting inner turmoil. **In simple terms:** Physical suffering feels simpler than mental distress. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mental health rather than ignore it. Themes mental health pain avoidance fear self‑reflection Mood melancholic introspective Type literary personal philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal crises - nighttime anxiety - depression episodes Key Concepts psychology existentialism stigma Questions to Reflect On - What fears keep you from addressing mental pain? - How can you make confronting inner turmoil less overwhelming? A Different Perspective Physical pain may be more visible but not necessarily less harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) ## Related quotes > [I have no idea. I get involved because I think there's value in the project and because I love the character that is presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/i-have-no-idea-i-get-involved-because-i-think-there-s-value-in-the/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [You have no idea what you get involved in when you start a role. You just hope that it's going to be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-fairley/you-have-no-idea-what-you-get-involved-in-when-you-start-a-role-you/) [Michelle Fairley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-fairley/) > [I felt like the sample size was right, and my body was wrong. I basically ended up going into battle with my body, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iskra-lawrence/i-felt-like-the-sample-size-was-right-and-my-body-was-wrong-i/) [Iskra Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iskra-lawrence/) > [As I tell my children, the first thing is always health. Get sleep, don't party, don't do drugs or drink. If your body is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/as-i-tell-my-children-the-first-thing-is-always-health-get-sleep-don/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [“Sometimes I look in the mirror and think I'm really good looking. Then other times I think my body's all wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-sanchez/sometimes-i-look-in-the-mirror-and-think-i-m-really-good-looking-then/) [Alex Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-sanchez/) > [“Continued pain is a signal to the body that there's something wrong, not right. Lucy Scarborough Nancy Werlin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-werlin/continued-pain-is-a-signal-to-the-body-that-there-s-something-wrong/) [Nancy Werlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-werlin/) > [I felt like I was in the wrong body, especially when you're considered a sex symbol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tawny-kitaen/i-felt-like-i-was-in-the-wrong-body-especially-when-you-re-considered/) [Tawny Kitaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tawny-kitaen/) > [U.S. surgeons operate on the wrong body part as often as 40 times a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-makary/u-s-surgeons-operate-on-the-wrong-body-part-as-often-as-40-times-a/) Marty Makary > [I was born with the wrong body, being feminine by gender but male by sex, and I could achieve completeness only when the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-morris/i-was-born-with-the-wrong-body-being-feminine-by-gender-but-male-by/) [Jan Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-morris/) > [It's something you're born with, and you realize that you're trapped in the wrong body. It's not like one day you're like, 'I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazz-jennings/it-s-something-you-re-born-with-and-you-realize-that-you-re-trapped/) [Jazz Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazz-jennings/) > [Your mind is like, oh my God, I know this is wrong, but your body just gives in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/your-mind-is-like-oh-my-god-i-know-this-is-wrong-but-your-body-just/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [There are few things harder than being born into the wrong body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/there-are-few-things-harder-than-being-born-into-the-wrong-body/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“He thinks it's because he was born in the wrong body, but we want to whisper in his ears that many of us were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/he-thinks-it-s-because-he-was-born-in-the-wrong-body-but-we-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Trauma or no, I would have been trans no matter what body I'd been born with. Tell the doctors that we exist for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein-s-bear-bergman/trauma-or-no-i-would-have-been-trans-no-matter-what-body-i-d-been/) Kate Bornstein S. Bear Bergman > [“Do you know what it's like," he said, "to feel that you're in the wrong body?" "Well actually..." the Doctor began, wiggling his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-rayner/do-you-know-what-it-s-like-he-said-to-feel-that-you-re-in-the-wrong/) [Jacqueline Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-rayner/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. 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