90 Hurt Quotes For When A Friend is in Pain & Suffering

Chances are, we all know someone who is currently hurting, and these hurt quotes for a friend might be just the thing they need. Pain is a human experience we all must live through as a necessary part of life.

Whether it’s a broken heart, disease, a shattered dream, or a terrible loss, we all know what it is to endure suffering. And these hurt quotes will help you love your friends hard, and encourage them through their dark times.

When those around us are hurting, sometimes it can be difficult to know what to do or say. But even if you have not experienced the same trials and tribulations they’re going through, you can be still be a good friend to those close to you that are hurting.

How do we help a friend who is hurting? Sometimes we feel like we can’t help because what they’re enduring is something that frightens us, or something that we just don’t understand.

That said, there are times when we want to be an encouragement to our hurting friends but we just can’t find the right words to express what we want to say. In such cases, sharing with them inspiring words of encouragement can help ease their pain. And not only this, but it shows them that someone truly cares.

In that respect, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and comforting hurt quotes, hurt sayings, and hurt proverbs, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Hurt quotes for a friend who needs your encouragement

1. “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching. Love like you’ll never be hurt. Sing like there’s nobody listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth.”  – William W. Purkey

2. “To hurt is as human as to breathe.”  – J.K. Rowling

3. “If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you’re allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.” –  Shannon L. Alder

4. “Listen to God with a broken heart. He is not only the doctor who mends it, but also the father who wipes away the tears.” –  Criss Jami

5. “The hardest thing in life is to forgive. But hate is self-destructive. If you hate somebody you’re not hurting the person you hate, you’re hurting yourself. Forgiveness is healing.” – Louis Zamperini

6. “No one can continually insult you or hurt your feelings without your permission.” – Les Brown

7. “You can set a boundary with your words when you are honest and when you establish a consequence for another’s hurtful actions.” – Henry Cloud

8. “Keep in mind, hurting people often hurt other people as a result of their own pain… The last thing they need is for you to make matters worse by responding angrily.” – Joel Osteen

9. “No matter how much it hurts now, someday you will look back and realize your struggles changed your life for the better.” – Unknown

10. “Withhold a smile only when the smile can hurt someone. Otherwise, let it bloom forth in a riot.” – Vera Nazarian

You might also like these fake friends quotes that will give you perspective on the difference between those who are real and those who aren’t.

Hurt quotes to make them feel better

11. “We cannot choose to have a life free of hurt. But we can choose to be free, to escape the past, no matter what befalls us, and to embrace the possible.” – Edith Eva Eger

12. “The greatest sympathy gift you can give a hurting friend or loved one is you. Your presence, compassion, patience and caring are the greatest gifts you could ever give to help them get through a difficult time.” – Michelle Pommells

13. “When we finally repent of our sin and forgive those who have hurt us – as God calls us to do over and over again in his Word – then the light of God shines like a bright, healing beam in our hearts and clears the vision of God before us.” – Matt Brown

14. “A pencil can correct any mistakes it makes and a person is also charged with the responsibility to make right that which has been done poorly, or to make amends if you have done wrong or hurt someone else.” – Byron Pulsifer

15. “The best way to heal a broken heart, it turns out, is to find a way to move past the hurt.” –  Mary Kay Andrews

16. “Never hold onto a hurt, because resentment tears you up. Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it’s going to kill someone else. It doesn’t work. You have to decide that, before anything else happens, you are going to forgive that person.” – Rick Warren

17. “Chances are someone has hurt you really bad and the only way you will be free from the anger is to forgive them.” – James Robor

18. “Forgiveness is the key to unlocking all the anger and hurt, the emptiness and darkness within. To unleash love, joy, fulfillment, and light inside. Why did I wait so long? I could’ve been feeling like this all along, you say to yourself.” – Zaneta Beverford

19. “Stop flogging yourself over the past mistakes and hurtful memories of the past.” –  Kellie Sullivan

20. “Good people make mistakes and hurt others – then they learn from their mistakes and TRY not to make them again.” – Bob Anderson

If you’re enjoying this article, you might also like our collection of happy birthday quotes and wishes for your best friend.

Hurt quotes for him or her

21. “Many of us don’t realize the power words have. The words we use impact and influence the people around us more than we realize. They can hurt, they can encourage, they can change a person, they can inspire, and they can offer support and comfort.” – Catherine Pulsifer

22. “Broken hearts hurt but they will make you strong.” – Unknown

23. “When hardship occurs, it is easy to focus on hurt feelings attributed to the individuals you thought would show up that don’t – but I encourage you to instead embrace all the individuals that come out of the woodwork and surprise you.” – Steph Gold

24. “Develop compassion for someone who hurt you rather showing bitterness that will enable you to forgive them and make you feel comfortable.” – Lisa Adams

25. “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” – Mahatma Gandhi

26. “Do talk about what needs to change, but try to find a positive way to go about it, this should help to lessen the chances of feelings being hurt, and still resolve the problems.” – Lesley Harriot

27. “There are times when it seems your heart is open to hurt but remember that every heart that is real also has the ability to recover and be stronger than before.” – Byron Pulsifer

28. “Nothing feels blessed about being broken. In fact, certain circumstances in life hurt so intensely that we think we will never heal. But blessing can come in the wake of our being broken.” – Charles Stanley

29. “When you hold a grudge, you want someone else’s sorrow to reflect your level of hurt but the two rarely meet.”  – Steve Maraboli

30. “You cannot be with someone just because you don’t want to hurt him. You have your own happiness to think about.” –  Melissa de la Cruz

Hurt quotes to help you demonstrate care and concern

31. “Take it from me: If you hear the past speaking to you, feel it tugging up your back and running its fingers up your spine, the best thing to do-the only thing-is run.”  – Lauren Oliver

32. “There will always be someone willing to hurt you, put you down, gossip about you, belittle your accomplishments and judge your soul. It is a fact that we all must face. However, if you realize that God is a best friend that stands beside you when others cast stones you will never be afraid, never feel worthless and never feel alone.”  – Shannon Alder

33. “Those who really love you don’t mean to hurt you and if they do, you can’t see it in their eyes but it hurts them too.” – Holly Black

34. “Warriors should suffer their pain silently.”  – Erin Hunter

35. “Yes, I understand why things had to happen this way. I understand his reason for causing me pain. But mere understanding does not chase away the hurt. It does not call upon the sun when dark clouds have loomed over me. Let the rain come then if it must come! And let it wash away the dust that hurt my eyes!”  – Jocelyn Soriano

36. “Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will.”  – Cheryl Strayed

37. “People who love themselves, don’t hurt other people. The more we hate ourselves, the more we want others to suffer.” – Dan Pearce

38. “Live and allow others to live; hurt no one; life is dear to all living beings.” – Mahavira

39. “Yet I also believe that when you do unto others, blessings come to you as well. So if you don’t have a friend, be a friend. If you are having a bad day, make someone else’s day. If your feelings are hurt, heal those of another.” – Nick Vujici
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of inspirational quotes for friends to show just how much they mean to you.

40. “Sadly, some folks want others to feel their pain, to hurt as much as they do – or more. My grandmother once told me to avoid colds and angry people whenever I could. It’s sound advice.” – Walter Anderson

Comforting hurt quotes

41. “If someone decides they’re not going to be happy, it’s not your problem. You don’t have to spend your time and energy trying to cheer up someone who has already decided to stay in a bad mood. Believe it or not, you can actually hurt people by playing into their self-pity.” – Joyce Meyer

42. “Cruelty is all out of ignorance. If you knew what was in store for you, you wouldn’t hurt anybody, because whatever you do comes back much more forceful than you send it out.” – Willie Nelson

43. “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama

44. “Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life.” – Joan Lunden

45. “Work hard and have patience. Because no matter who you are, you’re going to get hurt in your career and you have to be patient to get through the injuries.” – Randy Johnson

46. “The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” –  Max Lerner

47. “Anybody who succeeds is helping people. The secret to success is find a need and fill it; find a hurt and heal it; find a problem and solve it.” – Robert H. Schuller

48. “At the end of a marathon, it’s going to hurt whether you’re speeding up or slowing down. You may as well push.” – Summer Sanders

49. “No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.” – Sheryl Swoopes

50. “A stiff apology is a second insult… The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

Other insightful hurt quotes

51. “Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching.” – Satchel Paige

52. “Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.” – George R.R. Martin

53. “The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected.” – Nicholas Sparks

54. “I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” – C. S. Lewis

55. “You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it.” – J.K. Rowling

56. “If you don’t give power to the words that people throw at you to hurt you, they don’t hurt you anymore. And you actually have power over those people.” – Stephen Colbert

57. “The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. It sometimes causes us difficulties at home and abroad. It is sometimes used by our enemies in attempts to hurt us. But the American people are entitled to it, nonetheless.” – John McCain
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of John McCain quotes about character, America and more.

58. “You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.” – Lewis B. Smedes

59. “Hurt leads to bitterness, bitterness to anger, travel too far that road and the way is lost.” – Terry Brooks

60. “We hurt people, when we give ourselves more value than others.” – Junaid Raza

Hurt quotes for a friend that can help get through tough times

61. “Forgive those who have hurt you.” — Les Brown

62. “We can feel sad, hurt, demoralized. But we can’t give up.” — Patrisse Cullors

63. “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” — Charles M. Schulz

64. “Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for.” — Bob Marley

65. “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” — Erma Bombeck

66. “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” — Mother Teresa

67. “Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.” — Lawrence G. Lovasik

68. “There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with.” — Harry Crews

69. “Using social media to hurt and destroy is callous, acted out by cowards hiding behind computers. My advice is to ignore negativity. Focus on the love around.” — Martin Garrix

70. “You see, we are here, as far as I can tell, to help each other; our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our enemies. That is to help each other and not hurt each other.” — Stevie Ray Vaughan

Hurt quotes to enlighten you and offer perspective on what hurts people

71. “Of what use is a philosopher who doesn’t hurt anybody’s feelings?” — Diogenes

72. “With love, you should go ahead and take the risk of getting hurt because love is an amazing feeling.” — Britney Spears

73. “We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

74. “There’s a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out of their way to hurt others, will end up broke and alone.” — Sylvester Stallone

75. “Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness.” — Rumi

76. “I am a simple man who comes from a village, and villagers like us speak our mind. Now, in the process, if unknowingly my words came across as disrespectful or insulting, then I am deeply sorry. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” — Arijit Singh

77. “Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don’t let yourself believe it will happen to you.” — Muhammad Ali

78. “When we believe the best of people, we let go of each thing they do that is hurtful to us. And we choose to think things like, ‘I don’t believe they meant to hurt me.’ ‘Maybe they’re having a bad day or don’t feel well.’ ‘They probably don’t even realize how they sound.’” — Joyce Meyer

79. “Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” — Yehuda Berg

80. “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don’t function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.” — Brene Brown

Hurt quotes to make you feel better

81. “Honesty is the cruelest game of all, because not only can you hurt someone – and hurt them to the bone – you can feel self-righteous about it at the same time.” – Dave Van Ronk

82. I think we’ve all been kind of… everyone’s been hurt, everyone’s felt loss, everyone has exultation, everyone has a need to be loved, or to have lost love, so when you play a character, you’re pulling out those little threads and turning them up a bit.” – Mark Ruffalo

83. “I really believe I’ve been a good person. Not perfect – forget about perfect – but just learning by what I was taught and living by my own values. I might have stepped on a few ants – and a few other things as well – but I’ve never hurt anybody.” – Kiri Te Kanawa

84. “I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people that I cared about the most, and I am terribly sorry. I am deeply ashamed of my terrible judgment and my actions.” – Anthony Weiner

85. “I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.” – Kobe Bryant

86. “There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take… The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” – Rosa Parks

87. “I have never been hurt by what I have not said.” – Calvin Coolidge

88. “Don’t waste your time on revenge. Those who hurt you will eventually face their karma.” – Matava Pearl

89. “Many times, the decisions we make the effect and hurt your closest friends and family the most. I have a lot of regrets in that regard. But God has forgiven me, which I am very thankful for. It has enabled me to forgive myself and move forward one day at a time.” – Lex Luger

90. “It’s always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it’s just hilarious.” – Bill Hicks

Which of these hurt quotes resonated with you best?

Chances are you know someone who is currently hurting and enduring a difficult trial. When those close to us are suffering, it’s upon us to help ease their pain and inspire them to see just how strong they really are.

You may not have experienced the same pain they’re enduring but you can be a helpful friend to them. Hopefully, the above quotes will inspire you to be helpful to those hurting.

Which of these pain quotes resonated with you best? Do you have any other inspiring quotes to add? Tell us in the comment section below. Also, don’t forget to share and inspire others.