--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you…" description: "\"Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you cannot walk or eat or sleep. The sickness is entire, the body and the spirit.\" — Zelda Popkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg" --- # Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you cannot walk or… ![“Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you cannot walk or eat or sleep. The sickness is entire, the body and the spirit.” quote by Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg) > “Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you cannot walk or eat or sleep. The sickness is entire, the body and the spirit.” [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief overwhelms body and spirit, causing physical and mental dysfunction. **In simple terms:** Grief is a debilitating illness. Key Takeaway Seek support to heal. Themes grief health mental health spirituality Mood somber empathetic Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - personal reflection - spiritual practice Key Concepts psychosomatic illness coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What coping strategies help you? - How can you support others grieving? A Different Perspective Not all grief leads to illness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-illness-909798/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Illness Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-breathe-3843396/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) [Sickness Entire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness-entire-3843397/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [“Grief is one illness that defies all remedies; it must ever run its course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandy-purdy/grief-is-one-illness-that-defies-all-remedies-it-must-ever-run-its/) [brandy purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandy-purdy/) > [grief is an illness I can't recover from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/grief-is-an-illness-i-can-t-recover-from/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“Grief was an illness with me. Unfortunately it’s incurable. I’ve just learned to live with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-brown/grief-was-an-illness-with-me-unfortunately-it-s-incurable-i-ve-just/) [Sandra Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-brown/) > [“I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-t-bernier-grand/i-am-not-sick-i-am-broken-but-i-am-happy-to-be-alive/) [Carmen T. Bernier-Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-t-bernier-grand/) > [“I don’t understand hospital chaplains that try to rob my patients of their anger. Sometimes anger is a key motivator that gets people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/i-don-t-understand-hospital-chaplains-that-try-to-rob-my-patients-of/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Being HIV positive doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to die before each and every person who is HIV negative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/being-hiv-positive-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-that-you-are-going-to-die/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If a culture treats a particular illness with compassion and enlightened understanding, then sickness can be seen as a challenge, as a healing crisis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-a-culture-treats-a-particular-illness-with-compassion-and/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [“THE MAXIMS OF MEDICINE Before you examine the body of a patient, Be patient to learn his story. For once you learn his story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-maxims-of-medicine-before-you-examine-the-body-of-a-patient-be/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Sickness begets chaos, which, through hard work and a touch of grace, leads to growth and resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/sickness-begets-chaos-which-through-hard-work-and-a-touch-of-grace/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [I do not find illness an eminence, and I do not understand how people can use it to draw attention to themselves since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-do-not-find-illness-an-eminence-and-i-do-not-understand-how-people/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The supplement industry is the biggest threat to the pharmaceutical industry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-supplement-industry-is-the-biggest-threat-to-the-pharmaceutical/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Illness reduces man to his basic state: a cloaca in which the chemical processes continue. The meaningless hegemony of the involuntary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/illness-reduces-man-to-his-basic-state-a-cloaca-in-which-the-chemical/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“You are no ruin sir--no lighting-struck tree: you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots, whether you ask them or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/you-are-no-ruin-sir-no-lighting-struck-tree-you-are-green-and/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“There should be an age limit for patients, he thinks as he takes off his shoes. You just have to say to them, "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/there-should-be-an-age-limit-for-patients-he-thinks-as-he-takes-off/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [It seems an insult to nature and to the Creator to imagine that pregnancy was ever intended to be a sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-bisbee-duffey/it-seems-an-insult-to-nature-and-to-the-creator-to-imagine-that/) [Eliza Bisbee Duffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-bisbee-duffey/) ## More by Zelda Popkin > [Each husband gets the infidelity he deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/each-husband-gets-the-infidelity-he-deserves/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [Inspiration is just one requirement for being a writer. Another is keeping regular working hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/inspiration-is-just-one-requirement-for-being-a-writer-another-is/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [New York's the place where you can have a private life. You can do anything, be anything you please. New Yorkers mind their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/new-york-s-the-place-where-you-can-have-a-private-life-you-can-do/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [Every door opens to something and it is better to go toward that something than to sit staring at the blank wall of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/every-door-opens-to-something-and-it-is-better-to-go-toward-that/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [The newer education put stress on culture ... Saturday mornings, the young were brushed and washed, forced into blue cheviot suits, and dragged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/the-newer-education-put-stress-on-culture-saturday-mornings-the-young/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [You do not conceive a novel as easily as you conceive a child, nor even half as easily as you create nonfiction work. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/you-do-not-conceive-a-novel-as-easily-as-you-conceive-a-child-nor/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [of all the deprivations which afflict humankind, none is more dreadful than loneliness. A corrosive, it eats the heart out. People were meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/of-all-the-deprivations-which-afflict-humankind-none-is-more-dreadful/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [Destiny is thrifty. To weave her tapestry, she uses even the tiniest snips of thread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/destiny-is-thrifty-to-weave-her-tapestry-she-uses-even-the-tiniest/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [No war can end war except a total war which leaves no human creature on earth. Each war creates the causes of war: hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/no-war-can-end-war-except-a-total-war-which-leaves-no-human-creature/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [“What he found impossible was to shut off his brain, to detach himself from the intriguing problems with which (he) was involved, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/what-he-found-impossible-was-to-shut-off-his-brain-to-detach-himself/) [zelda popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [A country inn is a percolator. News seeps, simmers, and bubbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/a-country-inn-is-a-percolator-news-seeps-simmers-and-bubbles/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [There's no privacy for the violently dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/there-s-no-privacy-for-the-violently-dead/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) > [pity runs its course. An hour comes when no hand but your own can build your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/pity-runs-its-course-an-hour-comes-when-no-hand-but-your-own-can/) [Zelda Popkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) [Explore all 14 Zelda Popkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you cannot walk or eat or sleep. The sickness is entire, the body and the spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zelda Popkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you-cannot-walk-or-eat-or-sleep/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you-cannot-walk-or-eat-or-sleep/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/zelda-popkin-33601_body_grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you_2858458.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Grief is illness. You cannot breathe; you cannot walk or eat or sleep. The sickness is entire, the body and…” — Zelda Popkin", "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": "Zelda Popkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-popkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Grief is illness. You cannot breathe;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you-cannot-walk-or-eat-or-sleep/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-popkin/grief-is-illness-you-cannot-breathe-you-cannot-walk-or-eat-or-sleep/#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 } } ] } ```