--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There wasn't a clear, identifiable…" description: "\"“There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and possibly, total disgust. I had all the characteristics of a human being - f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg" --- # There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me… ![“There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and possibly, total disgust. I had all the characteristics of a human being - flesh, blood, skin, hair - but my depersonalization was so intense, had gone so deep, that the normal ability to feel compassion had been eradicated…” quote by Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg) > ““There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and possibly, total disgust. I had all the characteristics of a human being - flesh, blood, skin, hair - but my depersonalization was so intense, had gone so deep, that the normal ability to feel compassion had been eradicated, the victim of a slow, purposeful erasure. I was simply imitating reality, a rough resemblance of a human being, with only a dim corner of my mind functioning. Something horrible was happening and yet I couldn't figure out why - I couldn't put my finger on it. The only thing that calmed me was the satisfying sound of ice being dropped into a glass of J&B.”” [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator experiences extreme depersonalization, feeling only greed and disgust, with compassion erased, finding brief relief in a sensory ritual. **In simple terms:** Feeling empty and numb, only a small habit comforts. Key Takeaway Seek genuine connection and self‑awareness. Themes alienation identity compassion addiction Mood detached distressed reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - mindfulness - creative expression - support groups - substance awareness Key Concepts psychology existentialism sensory coping Questions to Reflect On - What does the ice ritual symbolize for you? - How can one rebuild empathy after profound numbness? A Different Perspective The narrator’s coping mechanism may mask deeper issues rather than resolve them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Depersonalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depersonalization/) [Depersonalization Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depersonalization-intense-1638169/) [Disgust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgust/) [Emotion Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-greed-431991/) [Hair Depersonalization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair-depersonalization-1638170/) ## Related quotes > [“Everything failed to subdue me. Soon everything seemed dull: another sunrise, the lives of heroes, falling in love, war, the discoveries people made about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/everything-failed-to-subdue-me-soon-everything-seemed-dull-another/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [I had all the characteristics of a human being—flesh, blood, skin, hair—but my depersonalization was so intense, had gone so deep, that my normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-had-all-the-characteristics-of-a-human-being-flesh-blood-skin-hair-2/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“I had all the characteristics of a human being-- flesh, blood, skin, hair-- but my depersonalization was so intense, had gone so deep, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-had-all-the-characteristics-of-a-human-being-flesh-blood-skin-hair/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“Louise often feels like part of her is "acting." At the same time , "there is another part 'inside' that is not connecting with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-simeon/louise-often-feels-like-part-of-her-is-acting-at-the-same-time-there/) [Daphne Simeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-simeon/) > [I guess I kinda lost control, because in the middle of the play I ran up and lit the evil puppet villain on fire.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-guess-i-kinda-lost-control-because-in-the-middle-of-the-play-i-ran/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was the geography around which my reality revolved: it did not occur to me, ever, that people were good or that a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/this-was-the-geography-around-which-my-reality-revolved-it-did-not/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-have-all-the-characteristics-of-a-human-being-blood-flesh-skin-hair-2/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“Dissociative symptoms—primarily depersonalization and derealization—are elements in other DSM-IV disorders, including schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, and in the neurologic syndrome of temporal lobe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-chu/dissociative-symptoms-primarily-depersonalization-and-derealization/) [James A. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-chu/) > [“Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum. What is to be insisted upon is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/shakespeare-acquired-more-essential-history-from-plutarch-than-most/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“ You’re in shock. You can’t afford to be in shock. Two parts of himself were having a conversation. You were probably meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-grimwood/you-re-in-shock-you-can-t-afford-to-be-in-shock-two-parts-of-himself/) [Jack Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-grimwood/) > [For a machine to run smoothly and predictably, its parts must be standard and hence replaceable, features which contribute, respectively, to modern depersonalization and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/for-a-machine-to-run-smoothly-and-predictably-its-parts-must-be/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [In achieving the depersonalization of childbirth and at the same time solving the problem of pain, our society may have lost more than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kitzinger/in-achieving-the-depersonalization-of-childbirth-and-at-the-same-time/) [Sheila Kitzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kitzinger/) > [“As a teenager and young adult, I found being mute intensely isolating and dehumanizing. I felt truly like I was just a pair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sutton/as-a-teenager-and-young-adult-i-found-being-mute-intensely-isolating/) [Carl Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sutton/) > [“Being stress and anxiety free is a human preset, I just show you how to 'flick the switch' to off. Permanent stress and anxiety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-linden/being-stress-and-anxiety-free-is-a-human-preset-i-just-show-you-how/) [Charles Linden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-linden/) > [“... on the historical scale, the damages wrought by individual violence for selfish motives are insignificant compared to the holocausts resulting from self-transcending devotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/on-the-historical-scale-the-damages-wrought-by-individual-violence/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) ## More by Bret Easton Ellis > [“he looked at me with such vehemence that I felt like a blip, a fart, in the course of his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/he-looked-at-me-with-such-vehemence-that-i-felt-like-a-blip-a-fart-in/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“This isn't a script," Julian says. "It's not going to add up. Not everything's going to come together in the third act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/this-isn-t-a-script-julian-says-it-s-not-going-to-add-up-not/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“I want to watch it again tonight even though I know I won't have enough time to masturbate over the scene where the woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-want-to-watch-it-again-tonight-even-though-i-know-i-won-t-have/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“On my way over to Park Avenue to find a cab I pass an ugly, homeless bum-- a member of the genetic underclass-- and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/on-my-way-over-to-park-avenue-to-find-a-cab-i-pass-an-ugly-homeless/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [I've forgotten who I had lunch with earlier, and even more important, where.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-ve-forgotten-who-i-had-lunch-with-earlier-and-even-more-important/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Every book for me is an exorcism in some way or another, working through my feelings at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/every-book-for-me-is-an-exorcism-in-some-way-or-another-working/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Why was I holding on to something that would never be mine? But isn't that what people do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/why-was-i-holding-on-to-something-that-would-never-be-mine-but-isn-t/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [The seeds of love have taken hold and if we won't burn together, I'll burn alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/the-seeds-of-love-have-taken-hold-and-if-we-won-t-burn-together-i-ll/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“It wasn't until the show was almost over that I figured out what it was: the crack above my David Onica that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/it-wasn-t-until-the-show-was-almost-over-that-i-figured-out-what-it/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [What do you do?' she asks, holding out the vest. 'What do you do?' 'What do you do?' she asks, her voice shaking. 'Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/what-do-you-do-she-asks-holding-out-the-vest-what-do-you-do-what-do/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“Sometimes when you’re standing in a crowd I feel those sultry dark eyes of yours stop on me. Are you too afraid to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/sometimes-when-you-re-standing-in-a-crowd-i-feel-those-sultry-dark/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“Scientists peered into data and concluded that we should all be worried. -Lunar planet”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/scientists-peered-into-data-and-concluded-that-we-should-all-be/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“You can't get dyslexia from pussy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/you-can-t-get-dyslexia-from-pussy/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Open the hood of a car and it will tell you something about the people who designed it, is just one of many phrases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/open-the-hood-of-a-car-and-it-will-tell-you-something-about-the/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [I kept staring into the blackness of the woods, drawn into the darkness as I always had been. I suddenly realized how alone I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/i-kept-staring-into-the-blackness-of-the-woods-drawn-into-the/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) [Explore all 286 Bret Easton Ellis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and possibly, total disgust. I had all the characteristics of a human being - flesh, blood, skin, hair - but my depersonalization was so intense, had gone so deep, that the normal ability to feel compassion had been eradicated, the victim of a slow, purposeful erasure. I was simply imitating reality, a rough resemblance of a human being, with only a dim corner of my mind functioning. Something horrible was happening and yet I couldn't figure out why - I couldn't put my finger on it. The only thing that calmed me was the satisfying sound of ice being dropped into a glass of J&B.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bret Easton Ellis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotion-within-me-except-for-greed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotion-within-me-except-for-greed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/bret-easton-ellis-1028_compassion_there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotio_1159975.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and possibly, total disgust. I had…” — Bret Easton Ellis", "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": "Bret Easton Ellis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotion-within-me-except-for-greed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/there-wasn-t-a-clear-identifiable-emotion-within-me-except-for-greed/#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 } } ] } ```