373 Quotes by Irvin D. Yalom

Whereas the truth is that fullness of soul can sometimes over flow in utter vapidity of language, for none of us can ever express the exact measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.

None of my patients are really troubled by the idea that some part of what they say might be in a book in the future. Some have expressed the very opposite feeling – the fear that they would not be interesting enough to write about.

You wonder about a conversation with nothing concealed – its real name is hell, I believe. To disclose oneself to another is the prelude to betrayal, and betrayal makes one sick, does it not?

One of the great paradoxes of life is that self-awareness breeds anxiety.

Myrna. Listen hard to what I’m going to say. You’re collecting and hoarding. You’re accumulating information from me, but you’re not giving anything back! I believe you’re trying to relate to me differently now but I’m not experiencing it as engagement. I don’t feel yet that you’re relating to me as a person – it’s more like you regard me as a data bank from which you make withdrawals.

If you make a mistake, admit it. Any attempt at cover-up will ultimately backfire. At some level the patient will sense you are acting in bad faith, and therapy will suffer. Furthermore, an open admission of error is good model-setting for patients and another sign that they matter to you.

Absolutely, bring any kind of carrot cake you wish.

Partea intunecata a admiratiei este invidia combinata cu nemultumirea fata de modestia propriei conditii.

Trebuie sa ai in tine haos si frenezie pentru a da nastere unei stele care danseaza.