His crush went from exciting to depressing, as if he'd gone from the first blush of infatuation to the terminal nostalgia of a former lover without even the temporary relief of an actual relationship in between.
Lev GrossmanRead
She still had her bad days, no question, when the black dog of depression sniffed her out and settled its crushing weight on her chest and breathed its pungent dog breath in her face. On those days she called in sick to the IT shop where, most days, she untangled tangled networks for a song. On those days she pulled down the shades and ran dark for twelve or twenty-four or seventy-two hours, however long it took for the black dog to go on home to its dark master.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote illustrates the struggle with depression and the importance of acknowledging one's bad days.
This quote metaphorically describes depression as a 'black dog' that visits unexpectedly and imposes its weight on the individual, highlighting the reality of mental health struggles. It emphasizes that even when one may lead a seemingly normal life, they can face overwhelming challenges that warrant taking time to rest and recover, showing that it's important to care for oneself during difficult times.
Themes
DepressionMental HealthBad DaysSelf-CareResilience
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about mental health awareness, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of recognizing and addressing depression.
More from Lev Grossman
All quotes →Magic: it was what happened when the mind met the world, and the mind won for a change.
Lev GrossmanRead
Fanfiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don't do it for money. That's not what it's about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.
Lev GrossmanRead
More than fantasy or even science fiction, Ray Bradbury wrote horror, and like so many great horror writers he was himself utterly without fear, of anything. He wasn't afraid of looking uncool - he wasn't scared to openly love innocence, or to be optimistic, or to write sentimentally when he felt that way.
Lev GrossmanRead
It didn’t matter where you were, if you were in a room full of books you were at least halfway home.
Lev GrossmanRead
Most people carry that pain around inside them their whole lives, until they kill the pain by other means, or until it kills them. But you, my friends, you found another way: a way to use the pain. To burn it as fuel, for light and warmth. You have learned to break the world that has tried to break you.
Lev GrossmanRead
Similar quotes
I'm not trying to counsel any of you to do anything really special except dare to think. And to dare to go with the truth. And to dare to really love completely.
R. Buckminster FullerRead
When a thought appears such as "Do the dishes" and you don't do them, notice how an internal war breaks out... The stress and weariness you feel are really mental combat fatigue.
Byron KatieRead
Every man can see things far off but is blind to what is near.
SophoclesRead
You can fool some of the people some of the time -- and that's enough to make a decent living.
W. C. FieldsRead
Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. A constant coming and going: wisdom lies in the momentary.
Octavio PazRead
Apt words have power to suage the tumors of a troubled mind.
John MiltonRead