Sharon Van Etten Quotes

I just think I've always been sensitive and had difficulty containing my feelings, and I've always searched for outlets for that, because otherwise those feelings come out in chaotic ways that aren't always great.

Sometimes, I have played something that psychologically sticks with me, that's opposite of where I am. I guess I have a lot of anger in me.

I had a really hard time when I was 16, 17, 18. I started with the eating disorder in high school.

As a teenager, you have so much energy and hormones and you feel powerless in your life.

Some days I'm in better control and can navigate my way through stuff, and other days, not so much.

Although I'm a retired teenager, I remember what it was like to be one. I could have sworn I was riding an emotional roller coaster most of the time. Looking back, I'm actually amazed that I survived. Barely.

I have a hard time being happy, and I think a lot of creative people suffer with that when life gets real happy.

I have some anger issues.

It is clear to me that one of the biggest obstacles we face as human beings is the pain we put ourselves through when we resist and wrestle with our emotions.

There was a three-year chunk as a teen where I should have been tranquilized and put in a cage.

But while mum and dad were incredibly caring, it was also a very chaotic household where everyone fought about everything. So I know what it's like to internalize all that chaos.

Almost every month, I have a day where I get stuck in the mud of me. I used to blame hormones and PMS. After I hit 50, I blamed the lack of hormones. But men get stuck, too, so it must simply be the human condition.

I'm really out of touch with myself emotionally. I've always had a hard time talking about how I feel.

Why am I so soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard?

I struggle with control.

Sometimes I want to party, sometimes I want to fight and sometimes I want to cry.

The truth is, I'm not a coper. I hate stress. I might appear calm externally but internally it's all going on.

In 'Next to Normal,' I had millions of breakdowns and panic attacks, but nobody ever heard about those.

I still have highs and lows, maybe I don't cry salty tears as much.

If you don't deal with your demons, they will deal with you, and it's gonna hurt.

For me, the bulimia was about stuffing my emotions. So I stopped suppressing my feelings.

Romantically, in my head, I'm Rambo, but if someone's shouting at me, I get adrenalin shakes and go red. When I'm really low, I have a good cry.

Puberty was very vague. I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar.

Sometimes I want to clean up my desk and go out and say, respect me, I'm a respectable grown-up, and other times I just want to jump into a paper bag and shake and bake myself to death.