Liz Phair Quotes

Most people think I am very nice; they think I'm their friend, which is lucky, but it means you're never allowed to be in a bad mood. They take it personally. The worst is when you're on holiday with your family.

I just need somewhere to dump all my negativity.

If a man be gloomy let him keep to himself. No one has the right to go croaking about society, or what is worse, looking as if he stifled grief.

I couldn't be with someone who is depressed all the time.

You shouldn't vent and open up to your husband, your boyfriend, your friend, because they're not professionals; they don't know the right thing to say to you, and putting them in that position is tricky. You have to look at it from their standpoint. It's so much pressure.

People don't want to see me having a bad morning. They have job problems, financial problems, family pressures, kids to get off to school. The last thing they want to wake up to is someone showing them the same problems. So maybe that's the one time I am forced to act.

My whole life, I've been the one in my family that's always too emotional and too sensitive. That's, like, my role in my family.

I'm a fixer, unfortunately. I'm like, 'Oh, I can fix you.' But it's not just guys I'm dating anymore. It's this entire legion of young girls who tell me they need me to maintain any sort of sanity or peace.

Empathy isn't the same thing as expressing emotions. It's not about sharing your feelings - it can be really uncomfortable if a parent cries or loses strength at the moment her daughter needs it most. The message sent is that you need to be taken care of, not the other way around.

Is it fair to have a bunch of kids help solve your emotional issues? Of course not.

Is my job as a child, even as an adult, is my job to heal the wounds of my parents' childhoods?

Most of my friends are male. And I've known some of them to literally go through mental breakdowns and still not talk about how they feel. Except to me. My shoulders are sodden with the tears of men.

My mom had the breakdown for the family, and I went into therapy for all of us.

When I'm really, really angry, if I'm privileged enough to be next to someone who can hold my anger, I'll definitely take them up on holding the bucket.

Many people, especially men, feel it is an admission of weakness to ask for help or to express a need. But there is absolutely no shame in needing others.

Silence comes in two varieties: One that nourishes and comforts; another that chokes, smothers, and isolates. Solitary confinement is the worst kind of imprisonment we can inflict on fellow humans, and if you are forced to keep silent about some dark secret, you live in solitary confinement. Without the bridge of communication connecting you to other human beings, you can’t share your burdens, can’t receive comfort, can’t confirm that you still belong. Silence is the abyss that separates you from hope.

We don't have time for tone. We have to go out and get the job done.

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

But man has other needs as well: emotional needs. These, too, are few, but every bit as important as his physical requirements, yet not so simple. If they aren't met, they can be as devastating as physical hunger, as uncomfortable as a lack of shelter, as incapacitating as thirst. The frustration, isolation and anxiety brought about by unmet emotional needs can, like physical privation, produce death or a degree of living death - neurosis and psychosis.

People are more open about seeking help these days. They recognise the fact that the alternative to having a shrink is that you bore your friends stupid. So I figured that I might as well give someone 100 bucks an hour to hear my woes. At least someone can make a living out of listening to my tedious problems.

It's okay to be sad. Everyone gets sad now and then. Even me.

I know men are delicate origami creatures who need women to unfold them, hold them when they cry. But I am tired of being your savior and I am tired of telling you why.

If necessary, I cry. I pray. I rest. I'm fortunate to have quite a few strong, independent, loving, and unbiased women in my life that I can talk things through with.

I just don't want you to worry about me, or think you've met me, or waste your time anymore.

Writers often write their best when they are feeling their worst