Support Group Quotes

“Support Group featured a rotating cast of characters in various states of tumor-driven unwellness. Why did the cast rotate? A side effect of dying.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“so if the inevitability of oblivion worries you, than I suggest you ignore it. God knows that's what the rest of the world does.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“I didn’t want to upset my loved ones, but I couldn’t carry this alone.”
― Julie Flygare, Wide Awake and Dreaming: A Memoir

“While in principle groups for survivors are a good idea, in practice it soon becomes apparent that to organize a successful group is no simple matter. Groups that start out with hope and promise can dissolve acrimoniously, causing pain and disappointment to all involved. The destructive potential of groups is equal to their therapeutic promise. The role of the group leader carries with it a risk of the irresponsible exercise of authority.
Conflicts that erupt among group members can all too easily re-create the dynamics of the traumatic event, with group members assuming the roles of perpetrator, accomplice, bystander, victim, and rescuer. Such conflicts can be hurtful to individual participants and can lead to the group’s demise. In order to be successful, a group must have a clear and focused understanding of its therapeutic task and a structure that protects all participants adequately against the dangers of traumatic reenactment. Though groups may vary widely in composition and structure, these basic conditions must be fulfilled without exception.
Commonality with other people carries with it all the meanings of the word common. It means belonging to a society, having a public role, being part of that which is universal. It means having a feeling of familiarity, of being known, of communion. It means taking part in the customary, the commonplace, the ordinary, and the everyday. It also carries with it a feeling of smallness, or insignificance, a sense that one’s own troubles are ‘as a drop of rain in the sea.’ The survivor who has achieved commonality with others can rest from her labors. Her recovery is accomplished; all that remains before her is her life.”
― Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

“When I looked a little closer, I noticed a guy sitting in the dark, tapping his leg in slow, deliberate movements. His head was cast down, but his eyes...his eyes looked directly at me. My breath caught. I tried to focus on what was being said, but the penetrating gaze from the guy in shadows made my heart pound wildly. When my eyes found their way back to him, I noticed the scowl on his face and immediately looked away. My goodness, this was going to be a long meeting.”
― Maayan Nahmani, Underwater

“Most would live into adulthood, as Patrick had.
(Which meant there was quite a lot of competitiveness about it, with everybody wanting to beat not only cancer itself, but also the other people in the room. Like, I realize that this is irrational, but when they tell you that you have, say, a 20 percent chance of living five years, the math kicks in and you figure that’s one in five…so you look around and think, as any healthy person would: I gotta outlast four of these bastards.)”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“Fights were recounted, battles won amid wars sure to be lost; hope was clung to; families were both celebrated and denounced; it was agreed that friends just didn't get it; tears were shed; comfort proffered.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“Do not mess with this man's threads!”
― Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Effect

“I am building a healthy support system and learning to use it readily.”
― Maureen Brady, Daybreak: Meditations for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse

“Do you know what cools the fiery heart and smashes the rock-hard heart into grains of sand?

It's doubt. Doubt toward yourself.

I must say it's natural. Your heart can't always stay the same. The burning passion you once had disappears and when your body becomes heavy, you start to have worthless thoughts. If that happens, your thoughts tend to flow in a negative direction.

Which is why you shouldn't do it alone, but together.
When you can't believe in yourself try believing in those who believe in you. And later on when their own spirits are crushed, pay them back by believing in them the same way!

When you move forward together you'll be able to do so with more strength!”
― Dodomoon, The Lazy Lord Masters the Sword