The 100 best phrases of despair

Despair is a feeling that arises in us when we are faced with a situation that is a great challenge and makes our emotions overwhelm us. It can be an emotional conflict, an obstacle to self-improvement, or a problem that grows bigger that takes away our hope and leaves only worry in its wake.

To better understand the nuances and characteristics of this experience, there are many relevant historical figures and thinkers who have reflected on it. Here you will find a selection of those reflections, through various reflections and phrases about despair.

• Related article: "90 phrases of sadness and emotional pain"

The most memorable phrases about despair

Desperation can lead us to act impulsively, but it can also lead us to solve problems. Therefore, it is important to understand this feeling. In this sense, here you will find a compilation of reflections and quotes about despair, commented.

1. Don't confuse despair with loyalty. (Michelle Obama)

Desperation leads people to seek an immediate solution, without measuring the long-term consequences.

2. Many live in silent despair. (Robin Williams)

There are those who drown in their problems without first talking to anyone for help.

• You may be interested in: "Anguish: symptoms, causes and possible treatments"

3. Do not despair, not even for the fact that you do not despair. When all seems over, new forces arise. This means that you live. (Franz Kafka)

Problems are not always solved in one way.

4. Do you know what to do when you can't take it anymore? It changes. (Alberto Moravia)

When you see that you cannot go any further, look for a different path.

5. Who promised that? Who said there must be good news? (Clive Barker)

Not all the time there is good news; you have to accept it.

6. Desperation is the raw material for drastic change. (William S. Burroughs)

Sometimes it happens that, when a good change comes, we first enter a phase of worry.

7. The most common form of despair is not being who you are. (Soren Kierkegaard)

Not being able to do what we want, despairs.

8. The habit of despair is worse than despair itself. (Albert Camus)

When we normalize concerns, they show no mercy.

9. When I despair, I remember that throughout history the path of truth and love has always won. (Mahatma Gandhi)

Faced with despair, you have to stay calm and look for positive things to get ahead.

10. Every age longs for a more beautiful world; the deeper the despair and depression about the present, the more intense the longing. (Johan Huizinga)

About the desire to want a better world.

11. His secret is not to resign himself, not to consider himself a victim, not to show others sadness or despair. (Oriana Fallaci)

Falling into despair leads us to a world of negativity.

12. The root of all passions is love. Sadness, joy, happiness and despair are born from him. (Lope de Vega)

When love is not what we think, we fall into despair.

13. Lost in oblivion. Dark, silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom. (Edward Norton)

Losing what binds us gives us a feeling of freedom.

14. A situation becomes hopeless when you start to think that it is hopeless. (Willy Brandt)

The problems get bigger in our mind.

15. In despair, human beings turn to animals. (Dan Brown)

Low instincts are awakened by a desperate situation.

16. Buddha says that there are two types of suffering: the type that leads to more suffering and the type that ends suffering. (Terry Tempest Williams)

Every problem has a solution if we focus on it.

17. Despair gives courage to the coward. (Thomas Fuller)

Sometimes despair can be an efficient engine for success.

• You may be interested in:

18. The road built with hope is more pleasant to travel than the one built with desperation, even if both lead to the same place. (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

It is always better to maintain a positive attitude in the face of a negative one.

19. Once upon a time, but not anymore. (Anonymous)

When something is finished, we can fall into a spiral of unease.

20. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way. (Paulo Coelho)

When we take despair as a weapon to continue on our way.

21. There are no desperate situations, only desperate people. (Heinz Guderian)

Many of the difficulties we go through are the product of our mind.

22. Impossible to attend more than a quarter of an hour without impatience to someone's despair. (Emil Cioran)

Stress can attack us at any time of the day.

23. All well-governed states and all intelligent princes have been careful not to reduce the nobility to despair, nor the people to discontent. (Nicholas Machiavelli)

Good health keeps people of all walks of life happy.

24. On the outside, she was what every well-educated girl should be. Inside, he was screaming. (Gloria Stweart)

Sometimes our ills are locked up until they explode.

25. Almost all people live life in silent despair. (Henry David Thoreau)

Stress is always the order of the day.

26. Self-ignorance generates pride; but ignorance of God generates despair. (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)

There are people who need to hold onto faith in order to have a meaning of life.

27. Schizophrenia cannot be understood without understanding despair. (Roland Laing)

Many people with schizophrenia experience a lot of anxiety derived from the symptoms of this pathology.

28. Not expecting a remedy, nor despairing of it, is usually the remedy for desperate cases. (Diego de Saavedra Fajardo)

Do not expect someone to solve your problems, he seeks the solution on your own.

• You may be interested in: "Atkinson's Expectation-Value Theory: What is he and what does he propose"

29. Desperation is like stealing from the mob: you will most likely end up attracting the wrong people. (Douglas Horton)

An interesting way of looking at despair.

30. Anyone who is desperate or just will agree that there is comfort in routine. (Simon Van Booy)

Falling low can be a relief for some.

31. Desperation has its own calms. (Bram Stoker)

A calm that comes from leaving everything that hurts us.

32. Despair can be as great an inspiration as genius.

There are those who use hopelessness as a muse for their creations.

33. She almost never cried, and when it happened it was out of desperation, helplessness in the face of something that she would not give up. (José Agustín)

It is important to know how to distinguish between what we can control and what we cannot.

• Related article: "The benefits of tears: crying is good for your health"

34. Despair takes most people, but awakens others completely. (William James)

Sometimes this experience leads us to question beliefs that paralyzed us.

35. The wisest are characterized by not doing things desperately. (Henry David Thoreau)

When you can control despair.

36. My only hope lies in my despair. (Jean Racine)

Desperation also works as a source of motivation.

37. Patience: minor form of despair disguised as virtue. (Ambrose Bierce)

Despair disguised as self-denial.

38. Aren't you uncomfortable with her naked despair?

It is important to support those who are in a dark moment, so that they do not feel alone.

39. Never despair, even being in the darkest afflictions, because clean and fertile water falls from the black clouds. (Miguel de Unamuno)

Despair can be the start of a good change.

40. When memories torture the soul, the pleasures reveal only despair. (Robert Burns)

Pleasures are upset when they are used to silence pain.

41. When the pain comes, spies do not come alone, but in battalions. (William Shakespeare)

Evil never comes alone.

42. Isak Dinesen said that she wrote a little bit each day, without hope and without despair. I want that. (Raymond Carver)

A perfect balance to achieve a goal.

43. Action is the antidote to despair. (Joan Baez)

Standing still won't solve anything.

44. Despair is the smallest of our mistakes. (Count of Lautréamont)

It can be part of our day to day. But it doesn't need to become unmanageable.

• You may be interested in: "How to learn from mistakes: 9 effective tips"

45. Despair often breeds illness. (Sophocles)

Despair affects us emotionally.

46. In life you are either an inspiration or a despair.

What do you choose to be?

47. You cannot be disappointed by something that does not exist.

Be careful with the thoughts that inhabit your mind.

48. Love drives away fear and, reciprocally, fear drives away love. (Aldous Huxley)

A cycle that everyone chooses.

49. You gave me the best gift anyone has ever given me, despair. (Guy Pearce)

What remains after a failed love.

50. When all else is lost, the future will always remain. (Christian Bovee)

There is a new and different path you can take.

51. Desperation is perfectly compatible with a good dinner, I assure you. (William Thackeray)

When it becomes normal to be in a constant state of stress.

• Related article: "Hedonic adaptation: how do we modulate our pursuit of well-being?"

52. We have to go through despair and go further, using it to help others. (Elie Wiesel)

A great way to take despair as your motivation.

53. We are all subject to fate, but we must pretend it is not so or die of despair. (Philip Pullman)

The destination may be written, but we can make some modifications.

54. Despair is meaningless suffering. (Viktor E. Frankl)

Hopelessness can be felt on the surface.

55. Disappointment is just the action of your brain readjusting to reality after discovering that things are not the way you thought they were. (Brad Warner)

Disappointment arises when we set very high expectations for something.

56. I fear falling into hopeless despair because of the uselessness of my life. (Margaret Atwood)

When we feel bad about ourselves, it's easy to despair.

57. How can you live after someone to whom you swore eternal love, tells you that they never loved you, how do you learn to breathe again.

It may seem impossible, but in time you will find relief.

58. When a man is desperate, it means that he still believes in something. (Dimitri Shostakovich)

A reaction that shows our vulnerable side.

59. All passion is lost now. The world is mediocre, weak, without strength. And madness and despair are a force. And force is a crime in the eyes of the foolish, the weak, and the foolish. (Joseph Conrad)

A critique of what passions have become today.

60. What we call despair is sometimes just the aching longing for unnourished hope. (George Eliot)

Despair and disappointment go hand in hand.

61. Time and hope sow the seeds of despair. (Harlan Coben)

When we let things happen, we will regret it soon.

62. Hope and despair ignore the cries of others. (Mason Cooley)

When someone falls into despair, he withdraws into himself.

63. People seem to believe that despair is the same as anguish, but it is not. (Elizabeth Kostova)

Desperation can go further or fade in an instant. Depending on the person.

64. There can be a lot of magic in a desperate act. (Zedd)

This if desperation is taken as an inspiration.

65. Do not press a desperate enemy. An exhausted animal will continue to fight, for that is the law of nature. (Sun Tzu)

When you put pressure on someone who is hurt, they can show their worst side.

66. It is true that despair is surrounded by anguish, but in essence, despair is a silent and blank page. (Elizabeth Kostova)

It is like being lost even when surrounded by people.

67. You have to wait when you are desperate, and walk when you wait. (Gustave Flaubert)

Stay calm, find a break, and move on.

• You may be interested in: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"

68. I must lose myself doing something before despair consumes me. (Alfred Tennyson)

Distracting ourselves can be an excellent antidote to stress.

69. Our policy is not directed against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, despair and chaos. (George Catlett Marshall)

The way in which all political promises should be directed.

70. Despair is our ability to fight the fire and prevail. (Christina Baldwin)

Despair can bring the strength we need.

71. Those who cry out for help are almost always silent.

Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

72. Those who feel desperate see empathy slowly clouding over.

In this state, many can isolate themselves from others, believing that they are a nuisance.

• Related article: "Empathy, much more than putting yourself in someone else's shoes"

73. Trust the man who promises the least; he will be the least disappointing. (Bernard M. Baruch)

Try to keep your expectations as realistic as possible.

74. I am alone with the pain and I have no choice but to savor it to the core. I've been close to despair. (Václav Havel)

When we feel alone, it is easier to fall into a state of darkness.

75. It is well known to dare, who has nothing to lose.

When you're at the bottom, take the risk of jumping out of there.

76. Uninspired education is just a recipe for despair. (Ernest Agyemang Yeboah)

Education can become a torment when more than necessary is demanded of us.

77. The history of humanity is almost entirely a narrative of failed projects, disappointments, and disappointed hopes. (Samuel Johnson)

The dark side of human history.

78. Despair is fury with no place to go. (Mignon McLaughlin)

A feeling of being infinitely lost and trapped.

79. A sadness full of despair had nested in his soul like a zoophagus worm. With increasing rapidity, it began to devour her helpless heart. (Nikolai Gogol)

The way despair escalates in people's hearts.

80. In everything it is better to hope than to despair. (Goethe)

Patience is a virtue that leads us to achieve goals.

• You may be interested in: "How to be more patient with others and in projects: 7 tips"

81. Despair will lead you to do things that will never make you feel whole again and even lose what you are desperate for. (Laura Miller)

A very positive way of looking at despair.

82. Excessive desire is a form of despair and a declaration that something is missing. (Bryant McGill)

No whim will be able to solve that emptiness that is carried within.

83. Hopelessness is founded on what we know, which is nothing, and hope on what we ignore, which is everything. (Maurice Maeterlinck)

Desperation attacks and questions all of our beliefs.

84. Only in our utmost desperation can we come to know who we really are.

Self-knowledge in the midst of chaos.

85. Desperation makes Sunday and Monday, and smells breakfast every morning. (Martin Adam)

Despair can sow discomfort at every moment.

86. Desperation exaggerates not only our misery but our weaknesses. (Luc de Clapiers)

Bringing out the worst in us.

87. Disappointment is preferable to staying in suspense. (Anonymous)

It is better to know the real intentions of a person, than to live forever deceived.

88. Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair about the future of the human race. (H. G. Wells)

A hope about being able to achieve the impossible.

89. Despair gives the mind the amazing tranquility that mortification gives the body. (Sir Fulke Greville)

In a moment of darkness, we can understand many things.

90. If the most desperate moments call for desperate measures, I am free to act as desperately as I please. (Suzanne Collins)

An interesting resolution to a moment of despair.

91. There is no love in life, without despair in it. (Albert Camus)

Restlessness as a natural part of love.

92. There are two wolves that are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which one wins? The one you feed. (Britt Robertson)

Be careful which wolf you feed.

93. Writers are desperate people and when they stop being desperate, they start to be writers. (Charles Bukowski)

Despair as an inexhaustible source of literary inspiration.

94. It's so easy to get into the game of "If only ...", and practicing it is a quick, slippery slide into despair. (William P. Young)

Repentance can lead us to fall into a well of gloom.

95. You are as young as your hope and as old as your despair. (Samuel Ullman)

Are you getting younger or older every day?

96. What we usually call despair is just our aching hunger for hope. (George Eliot)

That is why it is important to feed our spirits every day.

97. One of the greatest dangers of big dreams in your youth is waking up to despair as an adult. (Tice Davids)

Adulthood can hit us very hard.

• Related article: "The 3 stages of adolescence"

98. She wondered if hope was much more difficult than despair. (Patricia Briggs)

It may happen that having a good mood is more complicated than staying in sadness.

99. Only the person who has felt the greatest despair is capable of feeling the greatest happiness. (Alexandre Dumas)

Without suffering, we are not able to appreciate the good times.

100. We are born crying, we regret living and we die in disappointment. (Thomas Fulle)

All forms of despair accompanying us in life.