---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Prison left me with some strange little…"
description: "\"“Prison left me with some strange little tics.' She has taken all the door off their hinges in all the apartments she has lived in since. It's not that..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png"
---

#  Prison left me with some strange little tics.' She has…

![“Prison left me with some strange little tics.' She has taken all the door off their hinges in all the apartments she has lived in since. It's not that she has anxiety attacks about small spaces, she says, it's just that she starts to sweat and go cold. 'This apartment is perfect for me,' she says…” quote by Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png)

> ““Prison left me with some strange little tics.' She has taken all the door off their hinges in all the apartments she has lived in since. It's not that she has anxiety attacks about small spaces, she says, it's just that she starts to sweat and go cold. 'This apartment is perfect for me,' she says, looking around the open space. 'How about elevators?' I ask, recalling the schlepp up the stairs. 'Exactly,' she replies, 'I don't like them much either.' One day, years later, her husband Charlie was fooling around at home, playing the guitar. Miriam said something provocative and he stood up suddenly, lifting his arm to take off the guitar strap. He was probably just going to say 'That's outrageous', or tickle her or tackle her. But she was gone. She was already down in the courtyard of the building. She does not remember getting down the stairs-it was an automatic flight reaction.””

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The narrator describes a compulsive need for open spaces and avoidance of confined areas, reflecting deep anxiety.

**In simple terms:** She prefers open spaces and avoids elevators.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address underlying anxiety triggers.

Themes

anxiety space phobias behavior psychology

Mood

reflective empathetic

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- living in apartments
- using elevators
- social interactions
- stress management

Key Concepts

claustrophobia automatic flight response environmental triggers

Questions to Reflect On

- What triggers your need for open spaces?
- How can you safely confront confined environments?

A Different Perspective

Avoidance can limit life choices and increase isolation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Anxiety Attack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety-attack/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight/) [Looking Around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-around/) [Open space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-space/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Ptsd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ptsd/) [Small spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-spaces/) [Trauma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trauma/)

## Related quotes

> [I keep a very cold apartment - I tend to crank my AC just about as low as it can go. I sleep with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-nef/i-keep-a-very-cold-apartment-i-tend-to-crank-my-ac-just-about-as-low/)

[Hari Nef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-nef/)

> [My husband and Charlie Sheen played Little League together. Theyve always been best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-langenkamp/my-husband-and-charlie-sheen-played-little-league-together-theyve/)

[Heather Langenkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-langenkamp/)

> [My husband and Charlie Sheen played Little League together. They've always been best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-langenkamp/my-husband-and-charlie-sheen-played-little-league-together-they-ve/)

[Heather Langenkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-langenkamp/)

> [When you're in prison, and we're left to our own devices, you're stripped of everything, and you really get to see who these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-prepon/when-you-re-in-prison-and-we-re-left-to-our-own-devices-you-re/)

[Laura Prepon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-prepon/)

> [Each time I left prison, I left with the resolve to get my life together, to get a job, to get back on track.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/each-time-i-left-prison-i-left-with-the-resolve-to-get-my-life/)

[Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/)

> [“Over months of being with him, my prison had become my sanctuary, and now that I was free, the world was my prison. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-thomas/over-months-of-being-with-him-my-prison-had-become-my-sanctuary-and/)

[Kitty Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-thomas/)

> [With anxiety and depression, what's been most helpful to me has been learning a toolbox - a set of skills I can use when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/with-anxiety-and-depression-what-s-been-most-helpful-to-me-has-been/)

[Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/)

> [If there's an adrenaline rush, I will find it; if there's an anxiety attack, I will have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-kreischer/if-there-s-an-adrenaline-rush-i-will-find-it-if-there-s-an-anxiety/)

[Bert Kreischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-kreischer/)

> [Avoiding problems doesn't make them go away - you think it does, but it really doesn't. They're just postponed. Those problems just stay inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sully-erna/avoiding-problems-doesn-t-make-them-go-away-you-think-it-does-but-it/)

[Sully Erna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sully-erna/)

> [I'm that virgin that talks about fucking band members but get an anxiety attack when a guy even make an eye contact with me .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsumi-aka-leila/i-m-that-virgin-that-talks-about-fucking-band-members-but-get-an/)

Natsumi Aka LEila

> [“Look at it this way: there are many here among us for whom the life force is best represented by the livid twitching of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/look-at-it-this-way-there-are-many-here-among-us-for-whom-the-life/)

[Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/)

> [I'm scared of audiences. One show in Amsterdam I was so nervous, I escaped out the fire exit. I've thrown up a couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/i-m-scared-of-audiences-one-show-in-amsterdam-i-was-so-nervous-i/)

[Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/)

> [Why do I have an anxiety attack everytime I step on an airplane? I juat gotta remember what Tish Cyrus says...'Angels are under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/why-do-i-have-an-anxiety-attack-everytime-i-step-on-an-airplane-i/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [I remember being onstage once when I didn't have fear: I got so scared I didn't have fear that it brought on an anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/i-remember-being-onstage-once-when-i-didn-t-have-fear-i-got-so-scared/)

[Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/)

> [I was a grade B housewife, maybe a B minus. But when I got time to write, I would be unable to finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-was-a-grade-b-housewife-maybe-a-b-minus-but-when-i-got-time-to/)

[Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/)

## More by Anna Funder

> [At the end of our lives it is our loves we remember most, because they are what shaped us. We have grown to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/at-the-end-of-our-lives-it-is-our-loves-we-remember-most-because-they/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“The blue-eyed rabbi in our village at Samotschin used to talk to me as though I were a grown person, even when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/the-blue-eyed-rabbi-in-our-village-at-samotschin-used-to-talk-to-me/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“History was so quickly remade, and so successfully, that it can truly be said that the easterners did not feel then, and do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/history-was-so-quickly-remade-and-so-successfully-that-it-can-truly/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [ “The penalties for being an accessory to the attempt to flee the \[GDR\] were greater than the crime of trying to flee itself.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/the-penalties-for-being-an-accessory-to-the-attempt-to-flee-the-gdr/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“Such applications were sometimes granted because the GDR, unlike any other eastern European country, could rid itself of malcontents by ditching them into West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/such-applications-were-sometimes-granted-because-the-gdr-unlike-any/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“anti-fascist protective measure’. I have always been fond of this term which has something of the prophylactic about it, protecting easterners from the western…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/anti-fascist-protective-measure-i-have-always-been-fond-of-this-term/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“Lately, a study has suggested that depressed people have a more accurate view of reality, though this accuracy is not worth a bean because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/lately-a-study-has-suggested-that-depressed-people-have-a-more/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“Julia and her family, like many others in the GDR, trod this line between seeing things for what they were in the GDR, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/julia-and-her-family-like-many-others-in-the-gdr-trod-this-line/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [The cynic sees only cynicism, the depressive can taint creation with one glance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/the-cynic-sees-only-cynicism-the-depressive-can-taint-creation-with/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“And I think about those Stasi men. They would never in their lives have imagined that they would cease to exist and that their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/and-i-think-about-those-stasi-men-they-would-never-in-their-lives/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [Per capita the East Germans drank more than twice as much as their West German counterparts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/per-capita-the-east-germans-drank-more-than-twice-as-much-as-their/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [Most people have no imagination. If they could imagine the sufferings of others, they would not make them suffer so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/most-people-have-no-imagination-if-they-could-imagine-the-sufferings/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“Mielke and Honecker grew up fighting the real evil of Nazism. And they kept on fighting the west, which they saw as Nazism’s successor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/mielke-and-honecker-grew-up-fighting-the-real-evil-of-nazism-and-they/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“Beyond all of that, I could see the wall I had seen from inside the train, the wall that runs along the train line.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/beyond-all-of-that-i-could-see-the-wall-i-had-seen-from-inside-the/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

> [“In August, the Hungarians cut the barbed wire at their border with Austria, creating the first hole in the Eastern Bloc.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/in-august-the-hungarians-cut-the-barbed-wire-at-their-border-with/)

[Anna Funder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

[Explore all 72 Anna Funder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/)

## More Anxiety quotes

> [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/)

Nagisa Tatsumi

> [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/)

[Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/)

> [I get nervous when I don't get nervous. If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/)

[Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/)

> [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/)

[Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/)

> [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. If you really want to come out of your stressful situation than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/nothing-happens-on-its-own-you-have-to-make-things-happen-if-you/)

[Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/)

> [“I guess if we're talking about my anxiety, the even truthier truth is it started way before that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-winfrey/i-guess-if-we-re-talking-about-my-anxiety-the-even-truthier-truth-is/)

[Kerry Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-winfrey/)

> [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/)

[Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [As you know, I have been very open about my struggle with social anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-walker/as-you-know-i-have-been-very-open-about-my-struggle-with-social/)

[Summer Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-walker/)

> [Anxiety is not to be managed it is a sin that needs to be repented of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/anxiety-is-not-to-be-managed-it-is-a-sin-that-needs-to-be-repented-of/)

[Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/)

> [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/)

[Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/)

[Browse all 4,944 Anxiety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Prison left me with some strange little tics.' She has taken all the door off their hinges in all the apartments she has lived in since. It's not that she has anxiety attacks about small spaces, she says, it's just that she starts to sweat and go cold. 'This apartment is perfect for me,' she says, looking around the open space. 'How about elevators?' I ask, recalling the schlepp up the stairs. 'Exactly,' she replies, 'I don't like them much either.' One day, years later, her husband Charlie was fooling around at home, playing the guitar. Miriam said something provocative and he stood up suddenly, lifting his arm to take off the guitar strap. He was probably just going to say 'That's outrageous', or tickle her or tackle her. But she was gone. She was already down in the courtyard of the building. She does not remember getting down the stairs-it was an automatic flight reaction.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anna Funder"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little-tics-she-has-taken-all-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anxiety"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little-tics-she-has-taken-all-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/anna-funder-9522_anxiety_prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little_1774033.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Prison left me with some strange little tics.' She has taken all the door off their hinges in all the…” — Anna Funder",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anna Funder",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-funder/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Prison left me with some strange...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little-tics-she-has-taken-all-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-funder/prison-left-me-with-some-strange-little-tics-she-has-taken-all-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
