From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcannot/could not bring yourself to do somethingcannot/could not bring yourself to do somethingCAN'Tto feel unable to do something because it would upset you or someone else too much She still can’t bring herself to talk about it. → bring
Examples from the Corpus
cannot/could not bring yourself to do something• But I just couldn't bring myself to do it.• The New-York Historical Society couldn't bring itself to do that.• This little subterfuge the guard put into motion somehow he could not bring himself to do it.• She could not bring herself to fall down the house stairs.• He had died somewhere on the way to his next case, and Quinn could not bring himself to feel sorry.• The teakettle made a brisk whistling sound, but John Wade could not bring himself to move.• I debated with myself but in the end, I could not bring myself to pack up and leave.• Rain could not bring herself to put this to the test. 