Do you struggle to put your feelings into words because no one seems to get you or that special someone in your life is oblivious to what you’re going through? You’re not alone.
Sometimes finding the right words to convey our innermost feelings can be difficult, but I’ve got you covered. I’ve gathered some powerful You Don’t Understand My Feelings quotes to help you express yourself.
I‘ll get into the quotes in a bit, but first, why do we feel emotional pain when people don’t get us? Are we selfish for expecting others to understand us?
Let’s explore the answers.
Why We Want to Be Understood
Being heard and understood are basic human needs essential to our personal and social well-being.
It is normal to want others to recognize your feelings. You want those in your life to not only get where you are coming from but also to get you ― to see your good intentions. You want them to empathize with you in your struggles and understand why you make your choices.
You are not selfish for feeling this way, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be heard or understood. Your desire to be understood only points to the need for validation.
As social creatures, feeling accepted and valued contributes to our sense of belonging, safety, and overall well-being. And it is normal to feel hurt when people don’t get us, especially those we care about.
It’s difficult to feel valued and accepted if you’re in a relationship with someone who doesn’t know how to treat people.
While a good spouse and partner will try to make amends when they realize they are hurting you, a manipulative person will minimize your feelings and make you believe you are weak and clingy. They might even try to spin the blame and make you think you overreact when expressing your feelings.
Bottom line: Your feelings are valid ― never let anyone tell you otherwise. And it is okay to want others to get you, especially if they hold a special place in your heart.
Popular You Don’t Understand My Feelings Quotes
Being in a relationship with someone who belittles you and makes you feel invalidated can feel unsafe, and it gets worse when they don’t care to understand you. That’s a sign you’re in a one-sided-effort relationship, and that’s bad news.
However, the good news is that you can express yourself and tell your partner how their behavior hurts you. Consider it a sign of an unhealthy relationship if your partner is unwilling to change.
If you feel the pain of not being understood, find comfort in these You Don’t Understand My Feelings quotes, knowing you’re not the only one who feels this way.
- “Nothing hurts a good soul and a kind heart more than to live amongst people who can’t understand it.” – Ali ibn Abi Talib
- “Communication feels like it should be the simplest thing, but it’s not. Sometimes you don’t even understand what you’re feeling. You don’t know how to put that into words, so how are you supposed to tell the person you love that you’re upset.” – Taissa Farmiga
- “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw
- “Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.” – Lemony Snicket
- “It’s a little bit magical how much people appreciate being heard and understood.” – Tania Israel
- “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” – Harper Lee
- “Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?” – Marcus Aurelius
- “We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding.” – Rudyard Kipling
- “You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” – Unknown
- “It’s dreadful what little things lead people to misunderstand each other.” – L. M. Montgomery
- “I have suffered from being misunderstood, but I would have suffered a hell of a lot more if I had been understood.” – Clarence Darrow
- “I think I get misinterpreted and misunderstood a lot.” – Macy Gray
Quotes to Help You Express Yourself
It’s normal to feel like crawling into your shell when the people you care about don’t understand your feelings.
But don’t let anyone dull your shine, nor should you do that to yourself just to make others happy. Remember, don’t be a people-pleaser just to remain in a relationship.
Let the following You Don’t Understand My Feelings quotes encourage you to express yourself, regardless of being misunderstood.
- “I have been misunderstood perhaps more than anyone else ever, but it has not affected me for the simple reason that there is no desire to be understood.” – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
- “I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large.” – Tony Hawk
- “Follow your heart, listen to your inner voice, stop caring about what others think.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” – Bernard M. Baruch
- “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou
- “The fact that I am misunderstood has always given me an added impetus to work on communication to bridge the gap.” – Yoko Ono
- “Nowadays, saying what you really think can be a serious error since one risks being misunderstood.” – Oscar Wilde
- “I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.” –Audre Lorde
- “When you feel abandoned, don’t let painful feelings fester. Tell someone; you have a right to feel better.” – Steve Tsuchiyama
- “What makes us lonely are the feelings that we never share with anyone.” – Bunny Naidu
- “I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t.” – Audre Lorde
- “People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names. So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored – the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.” – Austin Kleon
- “I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- “Pushing away unwanted feelings and situations equals inviting them to return back with a greater strength.” – Raphael Zernoff
Quotes About Not Expecting Too Much From People
Perhaps the greatest suffering comes from thinking everyone should understand our feelings and human emotion. But people won’t automatically understand you, even when they are dear to you. In fact, some might not treat you like a priority, even if you can take a bullet for them without hesitation.
It hurts when the important people in your life don’t get you, but that’s a potential outcome you must be willing to embrace, at least until they can put themselves in your shoes.
Here are some You Don’t Understand My Feelings quotes to help cushion the disappointment when people ― especially those you care about ― fail to get you.
- “You have to put up with the risk of being misunderstood if you are going to try to communicate. You have to put up with people projecting their own ideas, attitudes, misunderstanding you.” – Edie Sedgwick
- “Expect more, get less, and feel sadness. Or expect less, get more, and feel happiness.” – Vijay Dhameliya
- “Despite how understanding you attempt to be, people can only understand you as much as they’ve understood themselves.” – Nitya Prakash
- “People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.” – Søren Kierkegaard
- “I have nothing to explain. As for being misunderstood, I have grown accustomed to that.” – Fan Bingbing
- “When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.” – Donald Miller
- “I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep my expectations.” – Bill Watterson
- “Virtue isn’t demanding more of others; it’s expecting more of yourself.” – Frank Sonnenberg
- “Expectations actually make us focus on what we want, instead of being happy and content with what is.” – Ari Gunzburg
- “It’s all about how I feel about things. I never expect much; I always felt like I obey my heart.” – Rickson Gracie
- “Never assume that others have understood exactly what you mean.” – Steven Redhead
- “Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings, and emotions.” – Will Smith
