--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was like a dam breaking, its walls…" description: "\"“It was like a dam breaking, its walls giving way all at once under the crushing weight of his emotions.”\" — Terry Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/terry-brooks-3252_emotion_it-was-like-a-dam-breaking-its-walls-giv_1649793.png" --- # It was like a dam breaking, its walls giving way all at… ![“It was like a dam breaking, its walls giving way all at once under the crushing weight of his emotions.” quote by Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/terry-brooks-3252_emotion_it-was-like-a-dam-breaking-its-walls-giv_1649793.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/terry-brooks-3252_emotion_it-was-like-a-dam-breaking-its-walls-giv_1649793.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/terry-brooks-3252_emotion_it-was-like-a-dam-breaking-its-walls-giv_1649793.png) > ““It was like a dam breaking, its walls giving way all at once under the crushing weight of his emotions.”” [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emotions can become overwhelming, collapsing internal barriers like a dam under pressure. **In simple terms:** Strong feelings can break down mental walls. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage intense emotions before they overwhelm. Themes emotion pressure breakdown selfcontrol Mood tense reflective Type narrative descriptive When to use this quote - personal crisis - conflict resolution - mental health counseling - high stress work environments Key Concepts psychology stress response emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - How do you notice early signs of emotional overload? - What strategies help you release pressure safely? 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If you’re hiding behind a wall, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/it-s-funny-by-putting-up-walls-you-think-you-re-protecting-yourself-2/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [“Stop pretending to be happy! If the relationship isn’t working let it go, and save you both from tolerating each other. Release the drama,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keishorne-scott/stop-pretending-to-be-happy-if-the-relationship-isn-t-working-let-it/) Keishorne Scott > [“When you can identify the behaviors that led to too much in your home, you can begin protecting the space between your things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-vraa/when-you-can-identify-the-behaviors-that-led-to-too-much-in-your-home/) Mary Vraa > [“We tend to overpack. If it does not add value to your life journey, don’t bring it along for the ride.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/we-tend-to-overpack-if-it-does-not-add-value-to-your-life-journey-don/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) ## More by Terry Brooks > [“a kaleidoscopic, fragmented rush of images that exploded out of memory. They careened into her like an avalanche and swept her away,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/a-kaleidoscopic-fragmented-rush-of-images-that-exploded-out-of-memory/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“You spend so much time wondering who you are, don't you think? 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This is a book no one should miss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-golden-compass-is-one-of-the-best-fantasy-adventure-stories-that/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [I am incomplete without my work. I am so closely bound to it, so much identified by it, that without it I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/i-am-incomplete-without-my-work-i-am-so-closely-bound-to-it-so-much/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We must nurture and love, if life is to have any real meaning. But First we must find a way to survive against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-must-nurture-and-love-if-life-is-to-have-any-real-meaning-but/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [When she cried, he would say, "there is nothing wrong with crying. Your feelings tell you who are. They tell what is important. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-she-cried-he-would-say-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-crying-your/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [Fiction writing is a twenty-four-hou r-a-day occupation. You never leave your work behind. It is always with you, and to some extent, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/fiction-writing-is-a-twenty-four-hou-r-a-day-occupation-you-never/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [It's better to die in pursuit of your dreams than to live a life without hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/it-s-better-to-die-in-pursuit-of-your-dreams-than-to-live-a-life/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-you-do-not-hear-music-in-your-words-you-have-put-too-much-thought/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If I have the means, I have the responsibility to employ them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-i-have-the-means-i-have-the-responsibility-to-employ-them/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) [Explore all 133 Terry Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) ## More Emotion quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Of course I like you. 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All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [“Emotion as well as reason belongs to the very stuff of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-smalley/emotion-as-well-as-reason-belongs-to-the-very-stuff-of-history/) Beryl Smalley > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [There cannot be any communication except through form. 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