By telling our woes we often assuage them.
By telling our woes we often assuage them.
Meaning in plain English
Putting a difficulty into words can sometimes make it feel less isolating or easier to examine. The saying values telling someone who can listen without promising that disclosure resolves the problem.
Example
A colleague explains an unmanageable workload to a trusted teammate, and together they identify which commitments need to be renegotiated.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Woes become something that can be shared in an account instead of carried entirely in silence. Often qualifies the result: speaking may help, but the listener, setting and problem matter. A useful reading respects the speaker’s choice about what to disclose and whether the other person can hear it responsibly. It is not a clinical claim or an instruction to reveal private matters to anyone. Practical help may still be needed after the account has been heard.
When to use it
Use it to invite a willing conversation with an appropriate listener.
Keep in mind
Disclosure is voluntary and does not guarantee relief or replace appropriate support.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 5; French section, paragraph 90; source wording: A raconter ses maux souvent on les soulage.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗