--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That’s pretty much how we get through our…" description: "\"“That’s pretty much how we get through our own lives, watching television. Smoking crap. Self-medicating. Redirecting our own attention. Jacking off. D..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/chuck-palahniuk-37_denial_that-s-pretty-much-how-we-get-through-ou_389908.jpg" --- # That’s pretty much how we get through our own lives… ![“That’s pretty much how we get through our own lives, watching television. Smoking crap. Self-medicating. Redirecting our own attention. Jacking off. Denial.” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/chuck-palahniuk-37_denial_that-s-pretty-much-how-we-get-through-ou_389908.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/chuck-palahniuk-37_denial_that-s-pretty-much-how-we-get-through-ou_389908.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62a/chuck-palahniuk-37_denial_that-s-pretty-much-how-we-get-through-ou_389908.jpg) > ““That’s pretty much how we get through our own lives, watching television. Smoking crap. Self-medicating. Redirecting our own attention. Jacking off. Denial.”” [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often escape reality through passive or harmful habits, avoiding confronting deeper issues. **In simple terms:** Escaping life via distractions and vices. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront avoidance patterns. Themes distraction addiction denial self‑medication Mood cynical reflective Type observational critical When to use this quote - personal stress - boredom - loneliness - habit formation Key Concepts existentialism psychology media influence Questions to Reflect On - What underlying need are you avoiding? - How can healthier outlets replace harmful distractions? A Different Perspective Escaping can become a cycle that deepens the underlying problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self medicating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-medicating/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Watching television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-television/) ## Related quotes > [Get through the moment. Avoid confrontation. Run away. That's pretty much how we get through our own lives, watching television. Smoking crap. Self-medicating. Redirecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/get-through-the-moment-avoid-confrontation-run-away-that-s-pretty/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Actually, watching television and surfing the Internet are really excellent practice for being dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/actually-watching-television-and-surfing-the-internet-are-really/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I don't have a drinking problem. I've got a shitty life problem and I'm self medicating because we've lost our only real doctor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/strong-hold-publishing/i-don-t-have-a-drinking-problem-i-ve-got-a-shitty-life-problem-and-i/) [Strong Hold Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/strong-hold-publishing/) > [Сertainly there are people for whom anti-depression medication has allowed them to use difficulty to wake up, and I don't deny that at all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/ertainly-there-are-people-for-whom-anti-depression-medication-has/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [I don't know if there is any specific way to handle emotional pain. Loved ones, music, and self-medicating seem to help me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mpho-koaho/i-don-t-know-if-there-is-any-specific-way-to-handle-emotional-pain/) [Mpho Koaho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mpho-koaho/) > [I have noticed that people tend to stop maturing when they start self-medicating. Everyone has very tough seasons of life, but by persevering through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/i-have-noticed-that-people-tend-to-stop-maturing-when-they-start-self/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [If I was having a bad day, eating was like self-medicating. But if you abuse food, you still have to use that substance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-roker/if-i-was-having-a-bad-day-eating-was-like-self-medicating-but-if-you/) [Al Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-roker/) > [We are becoming a nation of sissies and hypochondriacs, a self medicating society easily intimidated by pain and prone to panic. We understand almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/we-are-becoming-a-nation-of-sissies-and-hypochondriacs-a-self/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [“He wasn't an addict. He was a self-medicating nut job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-godwin/he-wasn-t-an-addict-he-was-a-self-medicating-nut-job/) [Pam Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-godwin/) > [I was over self-medicating back when I was a kid and didn't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-clark/i-was-over-self-medicating-back-when-i-was-a-kid-and-didn-t-know-it/) [Larry Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-clark/) > [I wonder when someone will grow the testicles to say to americans everywhere, 'Enough with the self-medicating.' Seriously. What ever happened to dealing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-beal/i-wonder-when-someone-will-grow-the-testicles-to-say-to-americans/) [Anthony Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-beal/) > [“we try to quell the mental chatter by self-medicating with too much food, alcohol, drugs, work, sex, or exercise. But these are temporary solutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-scott/we-try-to-quell-the-mental-chatter-by-self-medicating-with-too-much/) [S.J. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-scott/) > [I don't like going to football games. I like watching them on television. When you go to a game, it's hard to focus. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-don-t-like-going-to-football-games-i-like-watching-them-on/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [My friends and I would get up early and take our horses through the national forest. My mom was very free. It was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-torv/my-friends-and-i-would-get-up-early-and-take-our-horses-through-the/) [Anna Torv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-torv/) ## More by Chuck Palahniuk > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [His saliva tasted like the wet dicks of ten thousand lonely truck drivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/his-saliva-tasted-like-the-wet-dicks-of-ten-thousand-lonely-truck/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“shoulder. They weigh that much. Tyler’s a banquet waiter,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/shoulder-they-weigh-that-much-tyler-s-a-banquet-waiter/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Just for the record, how I feel right now is very terrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/just-for-the-record-how-i-feel-right-now-is-very-terrific/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Nobody's told me anything to date that I've been completely reviled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nobody-s-told-me-anything-to-date-that-i-ve-been-completely-reviled-by/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/then-you-re-trapped-in-your-lovely-nest-and-the-things-you-used-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Waiters will always pee in soup, people will always fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/waiters-will-always-pee-in-soup-people-will-always-fall-in-love/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Branch Bacardi, star of The Da Vinci Load, To Drill a Mockingbird, The Postman Always Cums Twice, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, The Twilight Bone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/branch-bacardi-star-of-the-da-vinci-load-to-drill-a-mockingbird-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Every unkind remark or crude gesture by others is a blessing, an opportunity to exercise our own capacity to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/every-unkind-remark-or-crude-gesture-by-others-is-a-blessing-an/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Nuestro deber es enseñar a esos hombres y mujeres la libertad a través de la esclavitud; y el coraje a través del miedo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nuestro-deber-es-ense-ar-a-esos-hombres-y-mujeres-la-libertad-a-trav/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) [Explore all 2,041 Chuck Palahniuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More Denial quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [What you try to bury just ends up burying you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/what-you-try-to-bury-just-ends-up-burying-you/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [Its up to any government to decide how to react to the denial of basic human rights anywhere in the world, including Egypt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/its-up-to-any-government-to-decide-how-to-react-to-the-denial-of/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Living in denial only makes finding the truth that much harder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-f/living-in-denial-only-makes-finding-the-truth-that-much-harder/) Jules F > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) > [Denial leads to closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/denial-leads-to-closure/) Aruho Marwin Machiaveli > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [What’s looming in the shadows of our ignorance and denial is a critique of civilization itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lierre-keith/what-s-looming-in-the-shadows-of-our-ignorance-and-denial-is-a/) [Lierre Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lierre-keith/) > [“You can hold on to the smallest doubt and take comfort in it, stay in denial and go on with your carefree life, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/you-can-hold-on-to-the-smallest-doubt-and-take-comfort-in-it-stay-in/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) [Browse all 1,463 Denial quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That’s pretty much how we get through our own lives, watching television. 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