The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
Elyn R. Saks
Top 10 Best Quotes
“My good fortune is not that I've recovered from mental illness. I have not, nor will I ever. My good fortune lies in having found my life.”
“in my experience, the words “now just calm down” almost inevitably have the opposite effect on the person you are speaking to.”
“If you are walking on a path thick with brambles and rocks, a path that abruptly twists and turns, it's easy to get lost, or tired, or discouraged. You might be tempted to give up entirely. But if a kind and patient person comes along and takes your hand, saying, "I see you're having a hard time- here, follow me, I'll help you find your way," the path becomes manageable, the journey less frightening.”
“Dropping in and out of your own life (for psychotic breaks, or treatment in a hospital) isn’t like getting off a train at one stop and later getting back on at another. Even if you can get back on (and the odds are not in your favor), you’re lonely there. The people you boarded with originally are far, far ahead of you, and now you’re stuck playing catch-up.”
“All my life, books had been the life raft, the safe haven, the place I ran to when nothing else worked.”
“The humanity we all share is more important than the mental illnesses we may not”
“Don’t focus on it,” she said. “Don’t define yourself in terms of something which even many highly trained and gifted professionals do not fully understand.”
“I needed to put two critical ideas together: that I could both be mentally ill and lead a rich and satisfying life.”
“some truths that were too difficult and frightening to know.”
“Or try this: Place yourself in the middle of the room. Turn on the stereo, the television, and a beeping video game, and then invite into the room several small children with ice cream cones. Crank up the volume on each piece of electrical equipment, then take away the children’s ice cream. Imagine these circumstances existing every day and night of your life. What would you do?”
Except where otherwise noted, all rights reserved to the author(s) of this book (mentioned above). The content of this page serves solely as promotional material for the aforementioned book. If you enjoyed these quotes, you can support the author(s) by acquiring the full book from Amazon.
Book Keywords:
mental-illness, panicky, panic-attacks, eating-disorder, mental-health, treatment, life, relationships, anxiety, psychology, mental-disorder, depression, panic-and-anxiety, schizophrenia
