Karen Horney

"The pursuit of pleasure is often an escape from pain."

"We are most alive when we are moving toward something we value."

"The person who has no conflicts is not living fully."

"We must learn to love ourselves as we hope others will love us."

"The only person who can really hurt you is someone you love."

"Fortunately analysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a very effective therapist."

"We are not machines that can be repaired by fixing a bolt here and there."

"Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom."

"The person who does not know the value of loyalty has not yet learned the meaning of love."

"In the process of psychoanalysis, what matters most is not the content of what is said, but the feeling behind it."

"Moving against people is an essential defense mechanism against anxiety."

"One of the great optimistic errors is that if one is married a long time, one will eventually love one's spouse."

"Humanity's greatest need is to overcome the separation, loneliness and dividedness which has become the human condition."

"The hardest thing to admit is one's own incompleteness."

"Claiming to know yourself is less important than being willing to change."

"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, we feel them quiver."

"The neurotic is precisely the individual who is most disturbed in his capacity for friendship."

"Growth itself is the only moral purpose."

"Clarity about what is good for me is the basis of all that follows."

"Self-hate is the inevitable result of a lifetime of unconscious self-betrayal."

"We create characters out of our conflicts and then mistake them for destiny."

"The ability to be alone is, contrary to common belief, meant to develop the capacity to love others."

"Constructive solutions come from understanding what drives the conflict, not from suppressing it."

"Real freedom lies in recognizing our complicity in our own imprisonment."

"Feelings are the language of the unconscious mind."

"The pursuit of status is often a mask for the pursuit of safety."

"We do not grow unless we are willing to feel foolish."

"Idealization is often the cover for deep contempt."

"The greatest block to creativity is the fear of not being good enough."

"Self-awareness is not a destination but a practice."