--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you feel strain, keep your mouth…" description: "\"When you feel strain, keep your mouth shut if you can.\" — Thomas Harris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/thomas-harris-1874_feel_when-you-feel-strain-keep-your-mouth-shu_1515693.png" --- # When you feel strain, keep your mouth shut if you can. ![“When you feel strain, keep your mouth shut if you can.” quote by Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/thomas-harris-1874_feel_when-you-feel-strain-keep-your-mouth-shu_1515693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/thomas-harris-1874_feel_when-you-feel-strain-keep-your-mouth-shu_1515693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/thomas-harris-1874_feel_when-you-feel-strain-keep-your-mouth-shu_1515693.png) > “When you feel strain, keep your mouth shut if you can.” [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates staying silent under pressure to avoid revealing weakness. **In simple terms:** Stay quiet when stressed. Key Takeaway Guard your thoughts in tense moments. Themes self‑control communication stress management Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - negotiations - conflict resolution - high‑stakes interviews - public speaking Key Concepts psychology strategic silence Questions to Reflect On - When is speaking up more beneficial? - How does silence affect trust? A Different Perspective Silence can be misinterpreted as weakness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Strain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-strain-636041/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Mouth Shut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouth-shut/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [Strain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strain/) [Strain Mouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strain-mouth-5590019/) ## Related quotes > [I hadn't even released my first proper single when I started to feel the strain of attention. But I don't believe that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/i-hadn-t-even-released-my-first-proper-single-when-i-started-to-feel/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [Today whenever women gather together it is not necessarily nurturing. It is coalition building. And if you feel the strain, you may be doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-johnson-reagon/today-whenever-women-gather-together-it-is-not-necessarily-nurturing/) [Bernice Johnson Reagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-johnson-reagon/) > [Interacting with other people does not come naturally to me; it is a strain and requires effort, and since it does not come naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cameron/interacting-with-other-people-does-not-come-naturally-to-me-it-is-a/) [Peter Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cameron/) > [I was a weird kid because I liked to be alone, but I craved attention. It was important for me to be cool, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-was-a-weird-kid-because-i-liked-to-be-alone-but-i-craved-attention/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [There might be people out there who wouldn't hire me because they thought I should keep my mouth shut, but I'm not aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/there-might-be-people-out-there-who-wouldn-t-hire-me-because-they/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) > [Keep your mouth shut, and close up the doors of sight and sound, and as long as you live you will have no vexation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/keep-your-mouth-shut-and-close-up-the-doors-of-sight-and-sound-and-as/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I grew up on a farm in a small town where you do or say one thing and everybody knows about it. 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Knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/some-people-as-a-result-of-adversity-are-sadder-wiser-kinder-more/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [X + Y + Z X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/x-y-z-x-is-work-y-is-play-z-is-keep-your-mouth-shut/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [marriage is a great strain upon love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/marriage-is-a-great-strain-upon-love/) [Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/) > [There is a strain of loneliness infecting many Christians, which only the presence of God can cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/there-is-a-strain-of-loneliness-infecting-many-christians-which-only/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [America has always had an apocalyptic strain. Yet it also seems to believe that if, or when, The End comes, it will still come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/america-has-always-had-an-apocalyptic-strain-yet-it-also-seems-to/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More by Thomas Harris > [“Don't think you can persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/don-t-think-you-can-persuade-me-with-appeals-to-my-intellectual-vanity/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [“He liked the Leedses. He was sorry that he had been to the morgue. He thought the madman who visited them might have liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/he-liked-the-leedses-he-was-sorry-that-he-had-been-to-the-morgue-he/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [On a related subject, Signore Pazzi, I must confess to you: I'm giving serious thought to eating your wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/on-a-related-subject-signore-pazzi-i-must-confess-to-you-i-m-giving/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [ “\[T\]here is no consensus in the psychiatric community that Dr. Lecter should be termed a man. 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First principles. Of each particular thing, ask: What is it in itself, in its own constitution? What is its causal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/the-emperor-counsels-simplicity-first-principles-of-each-particular/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [What do you look at while you’re making up your mind? 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If at first appearance a person seems dull, then look harder, look into him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/every-person-is-worth-your-time-hannibal-if-at-first-appearance-a/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [What he has in addition is pure empathy and projection,” Dr. Bloom said. “He can assume your point of view, or mine – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/what-he-has-in-addition-is-pure-empathy-and-projection-dr-bloom-said/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) [Explore all 197 Thomas Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) ## More Feel quotes > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. 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And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I feel as though I've fooled the world into thinking I'm an adult and now they're letting me procreate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/i-feel-as-though-i-ve-fooled-the-world-into-thinking-i-m-an-adult-and/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I like to wear bodysuits and things that make me feel really active and athletic and also really sensual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hawley-weld/i-like-to-wear-bodysuits-and-things-that-make-me-feel-really-active/) [Sophie Hawley-Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hawley-weld/) > [You can't force people to feel in a certain way, and the sooner you understand that,the better. I feel everything has its way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidharth-malhotra/you-can-t-force-people-to-feel-in-a-certain-way-and-the-sooner-you/) [Sidharth Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidharth-malhotra/) > [You make me feel brand new today. 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