---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother said the cure for thinking too…"
description: "\"My mother said the cure for thinking too much about yourself was helping somebody who was worse off than you.\" — Sylvia Plath"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg"
---

#  My mother said the cure for thinking too much about…

![“My mother said the cure for thinking too much about yourself was helping somebody who was worse off than you.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg)

> “My mother said the cure for thinking too much about yourself was helping somebody who was worse off than you.”

[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.

Helping others less fortunate redirects focus from self‑absorption, providing relief from over‑thinking.

**In simple terms:** Help others to quiet your mind.

Key Takeaway

Serve those in need to gain perspective.

Themes

selflessness perspective service mental health

Mood

thoughtful hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- volunteering
- community work
- support groups
- counseling

Key Concepts

altruism psychology mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- Who can you help today?
- How does service change your self‑view?

A Different Perspective

Self‑sacrifice can be unhealthy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Bell jar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bell-jar/) [Cure Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cure-thinking-5264612/) [Cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cures/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Helping Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-somebody-2162895/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-said/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Said Cure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-cure-5264613/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-helping-1386989/) [Thinking too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-too-much/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/)

## Related quotes

> [If we stop thinking of ourselves and only of helping others, you will start to see a dramatic improvement in the suffering we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-we-stop-thinking-of-ourselves-and-only-of-helping-others-you-will/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [What do you have in mind after you graduate?" What I always thought I had in mind was getting some big scholarship to graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/what-do-you-have-in-mind-after-you-graduate-what-i-always-thought-i/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [That afternoon my mother had brought me the roses. "Save them for my funeral," I'd said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/that-afternoon-my-mother-had-brought-me-the-roses-save-them-for-my/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I am made, crudely, for success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-made-crudely-for-success/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I wanted to be where nobody I knew could ever come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-wanted-to-be-where-nobody-i-knew-could-ever-come/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I collected men with interesting names. I already knew a Socrates. He was tall and ugly and intellectual and the son of some big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-collected-men-with-interesting-names-i-already-knew-a-socrates-he/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I need more than anything right now what is, of course, most impossible, someone to love me, to be with me at night when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-need-more-than-anything-right-now-what-is-of-course-most-impossible/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-neurotic-is-wanting-two-mutually-exclusive-things-at-one-and-the-2/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Life was not to be sitting in hot amorphic leisure in my backyard idly writing or not-writing, as the spirit moved me. It was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/life-was-not-to-be-sitting-in-hot-amorphic-leisure-in-my-backyard/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/there-is-something-demoralizing-about-watching-two-people-get-more/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Ready for a new life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/ready-for-a-new-life/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream. A bad dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/to-the-person-in-the-bell-jar-blank-and-stopped-as-a-dead-baby-the/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“...it wouldn't have made one scrap of difference to me, because wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-wouldn-t-have-made-one-scrap-of-difference-to-me-because-wherever/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [It was like the first time i saw a cadaver. For weeks afterward the cadavers head, or what was left of it - floated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-like-the-first-time-i-saw-a-cadaver-for-weeks-afterward-the/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [because wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/because-wherever-i-sat-on-the-deck-of-a-ship-or-at-a-street-caf-in/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## 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 &amp; 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 About yourself quotes

> [“they all have always loved you Will Herondale, for you cannot hide what is good about yourself, however har you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-all-have-always-loved-you-will-herondale-for-you-cannot-hide/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/)

[RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/)

> [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/)

[Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/)

> [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/)

[Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/)

> [Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/dreams-really-tell-you-about-yourself-more-than-anything-else-in-this/)

[Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/)

> [Celebrate all the things you don't like about yourself. love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/celebrate-all-the-things-you-don-t-like-about-yourself-love-yourself/)

[Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/)

> [Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-madden/start-enjoying-the-things-you-like-about-yourself-and-if-there-are/)

[Benji Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-madden/)

> [Always be yourself. There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/)

[Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/)

> [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/)

[Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/)

> [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/)

[Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/)

> [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/the-only-thing-a-master-can-teach-is-how-to-learn-about-yourself/)

[Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/)

> [I don't want to sell myself short. You hurt your spouse, not so much by the infidelity, but by the negative feelings about yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zaslow/i-don-t-want-to-sell-myself-short-you-hurt-your-spouse-not-so-much-by/)

[Michael Zaslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zaslow/)

> [A stranger can see in an instant something in you that you might spend years learning about yourself. How awful we all are when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elliott/a-stranger-can-see-in-an-instant-something-in-you-that-you-might/)

[Stephen Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elliott/)

> [Knowing is the most profound kind of love, giving someone the gift of knowledge about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/knowing-is-the-most-profound-kind-of-love-giving-someone-the-gift-of/)

[Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/)

> [Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

[Browse all 770 About yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My mother said the cure for thinking too much about yourself was helping somebody who was worse off than you.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sylvia Plath"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too-much-about-yourself-was/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "About yourself"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too-much-about-yourself-was/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/sylvia-plath-149_about-yourself_my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too_2271200.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My mother said the cure for thinking too much about yourself was helping somebody who was worse off than you.” — Sylvia Plath",
                "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": "Sylvia Plath",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My mother said the cure for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too-much-about-yourself-was/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/my-mother-said-the-cure-for-thinking-too-much-about-yourself-was/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
