Sometimes people go through hard or painful times. These moments can leave a big impact on how someone feels or acts. Instead of always saying “it was hard” or “it hurt,” people often use idioms. Idioms are special phrases that don’t mean exactly what the words say, but they help explain tough feelings in a clearer way.
In this article, you will learn idioms that people use to talk about trauma or emotional pain. These idioms can help you understand others and also describe your own feelings when something feels heavy or hurtful. Let’s look at 30 idioms that show deep and difficult emotions.
Idioms for Trauma
1. Carry a heavy load
Meaning: To feel like something sad or painful is always with you.
Samples: He carries a heavy load after losing his pet. / She carries a heavy load from the past.
To Put it Another Way: He feels really sad. / She still hurts inside.
2. Scarred for life
Meaning: A very bad experience that stays with you.
Samples: The accident scarred him for life. / She was scarred for life by what she saw.
To Put it Another Way: It changed her in a painful way. / He’ll always remember that hurt.
3. A wound that never heals
Meaning: An emotional hurt that doesn’t go away.
Samples: Losing her grandma was a wound that never healed. / His heart holds a wound that never healed.
To Put it Another Way: It still hurts deeply. / The pain hasn’t gone away.
4. Relive the moment
Meaning: To keep thinking about a bad memory.
Samples: I relive the moment every time I hear that sound. / He relives the moment when he sees that place.
To Put it Another Way: The memory comes back. / I keep remembering that time.
5. Haunted by the past
Meaning: Can’t stop thinking about a bad memory.
Samples: He’s haunted by the past after the accident. / She’s haunted by the past and can’t sleep.
To Put it Another Way: The memory won’t leave. / She keeps thinking about it.
6. A shadow over your heart
Meaning: Feeling sad or heavy inside.
Samples: There’s been a shadow over her heart since the news. / He walks with a shadow over his heart.
To Put it Another Way: She feels deep sadness. / He’s not the same anymore.
7. Pick up the pieces
Meaning: Try to feel better after something painful.
Samples: After the fire, we tried to pick up the pieces. / She’s picking up the pieces after the loss.
To Put it Another Way: We’re trying to move on. / She’s trying to heal.
8. Break down
Meaning: To suddenly cry or feel very upset.
Samples: He broke down after hearing the news. / She broke down when she saw the photo.
To Put it Another Way: She couldn’t hold her tears. / He felt overwhelmed.
9. Hold it all in
Meaning: To hide your pain and not talk about it.
Samples: He held it all in until he couldn’t anymore. / She holds it all in even when she’s hurting.
To Put it Another Way: He keeps his feelings inside. / She doesn’t show her sadness.
10. A lump in your throat
Meaning: Feeling like you want to cry but trying not to.
Samples: I got a lump in my throat during the sad movie. / She had a lump in her throat thinking about her dog.
To Put it Another Way: I almost cried. / I was trying not to cry.
11. Bury the pain
Meaning: To try to forget something that hurt.
Samples: He buried the pain deep inside. / She tries to bury the pain with a smile.
To Put it Another Way: He pretends it didn’t happen. / She hides how she feels.
12. A weight on your chest
Meaning: A feeling of sadness or stress.
Samples: I felt a weight on my chest all day. / The news put a weight on her chest.
To Put it Another Way: It made me feel heavy inside. / She felt pressure and pain.
13. Lost in thought
Meaning: Thinking deeply, often about something sad.
Samples: He was lost in thought after the argument. / She sat quietly, lost in thought.
To Put it Another Way: He was thinking about something hard. / She couldn’t stop thinking.
14. Bottle it up
Meaning: To hide your feelings instead of letting them out.
Samples: He bottles up his sadness. / She bottles it up and doesn’t talk.
To Put it Another Way: He doesn’t share his feelings. / She keeps it all inside.
15. Walk through fire
Meaning: Go through something very hard or painful.
Samples: She walked through fire to get here. / He walked through fire after the storm.
To Put it Another Way: She went through a very hard time. / It wasn’t easy for him.
16. Drowning in emotion
Meaning: Feeling overwhelmed by feelings.
Samples: He was drowning in emotion after the news. / She felt like she was drowning in sadness.
To Put it Another Way: He was full of strong feelings. / She felt like crying all day.
17. Cry your heart out
Meaning: Cry a lot because of deep sadness.
Samples: She cried her heart out after losing her pet. / He cried his heart out that night.
To Put it Another Way: She cried a lot. / He was very sad.
18. Wounds run deep
Meaning: Some pain goes very deep inside.
Samples: His wounds run deep from the past. / Her wounds run deep after the breakup.
To Put it Another Way: The pain still affects him. / It still hurts her inside.
19. Broken inside
Meaning: Feeling hurt emotionally.
Samples: She looked fine, but she was broken inside. / He smiled, but he felt broken inside.
To Put it Another Way: He was hurting deep down. / She felt really sad.
20. Stuck in the past
Meaning: Can’t stop thinking about what already happened.
Samples: He’s stuck in the past and can’t move forward. / She’s still stuck in the past after what happened.
To Put it Another Way: He can’t forget. / She’s still thinking about it.
21. Shake to the core
Meaning: Feel deeply upset or scared.
Samples: The storm shook her to the core. / The accident shook me to the core.
To Put it Another Way: I was really scared. / She felt deeply afraid.
22. Heart sinks
Meaning: Feeling sudden sadness or disappointment.
Samples: My heart sank when I saw the news. / Her heart sank when he walked away.
To Put it Another Way: I felt sad fast. / She felt really low.
23. Lost for words
Meaning: Can’t speak because of strong emotion.
Samples: He was lost for words when he saw the damage. / She stood there lost for words.
To Put it Another Way: He didn’t know what to say. / She was too upset to speak.
24. Torn apart
Meaning: Deeply hurt by something.
Samples: She was torn apart by the loss. / He felt torn apart inside.
To Put it Another Way: She was very sad. / He was hurting badly.
25. Cry over spilled milk
Meaning: To be upset about something that can’t be changed.
Samples: Don’t cry over spilled milk—it’s already done. / He keeps crying over spilled milk.
To Put it Another Way: Don’t be sad about the past. / Let it go.
26. Wear your heart on your sleeve
Meaning: Show your feelings openly.
Samples: She wears her heart on her sleeve. / He wears his heart on his sleeve when he’s sad.
To Put it Another Way: She shows her feelings. / He doesn’t hide his emotions.
27. Tear at your heart
Meaning: Something that makes you feel deeply sad.
Samples: Her story tore at my heart. / The goodbye letter tore at his heart.
To Put it Another Way: It made me feel really sad. / It hurt to hear.
28. Choked up
Meaning: Feeling like you can’t talk because you’re about to cry.
Samples: I got choked up during the speech. / He was choked up after the hug.
To Put it Another Way: I couldn’t speak from emotion. / I almost cried.
29. Open old wounds
Meaning: Remind someone of past pain.
Samples: Talking about it opened old wounds. / That question opened old wounds.
To Put it Another Way: It brought back sad memories. / It made me feel hurt again.
30. Hurts like yesterday
Meaning: Pain that still feels fresh.
Samples: Even after a year, it hurts like yesterday. / That moment still hurts like yesterday.
To Put it Another Way: It still feels new. / The pain hasn’t faded.
Find the Topics: Idioms for Trauma
Story Title: “The Day Everything Changed”
Last spring, Kayla’s dog ran away during a storm. She looked everywhere but never found him. Since then, she’s been carrying a heavy load. At school, she smiled, but inside, she was broken.
One day during class, a loud noise outside made her shake to the core. It reminded her of that stormy day. She was lost in thought for the rest of the afternoon.
Later, when a friend asked about her dog, it opened old wounds. Kayla got choked up and had a lump in her throat. She didn’t want to cry, but the pain was still there. “It still hurts like yesterday,” she whispered.
That night, she sat quietly, haunted by the past. Her mom gave her a hug and said, “You’ll feel better, one piece at a time.”
Your Task:
Underline or list all 8 idioms for trauma used in the story.
Answer Key
- Carrying a heavy load
- Broken
- Shake to the core
- Lost in thought
- Opened old wounds
- Choked up
- A lump in her throat
- Hurts like yesterday
- Haunted by the past
Conclusion
Talking about pain and hard times can be difficult. Idioms for trauma help people describe those deep feelings in a softer, more thoughtful way. When someone says “I’m carrying a heavy load” or “I’m haunted by the past,” they’re sharing something important.
These idioms can help you understand others better and talk about your own feelings, too. They are strong tools that make hard emotions a little easier to express.
