---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... And they are like a drug, one needs…"
description: "\"“... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and oftener and has to make them more and more exciting - until at last one's imagination won't w..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png"
---

#  ... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and…

![“... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and oftener and has to make them more and more exciting - until at last one's imagination won't work at all.” quote by Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png)

> ““... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and oftener and has to make them more and more exciting - until at last one's imagination won't work at all.””

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

## About This Quote

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

Addiction intensifies as novelty fades, leading to diminishing imagination.

**In simple terms:** Addiction dulls imagination.

Key Takeaway

Seek varied experiences.

Themes

addiction imagination novelty

Mood

reflective cautious

Type

observational philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative work
- relationships
- media consumption
- personal growth

Key Concepts

psychology habit formation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you keep creativity alive?
- What substitutes can refresh imagination?

A Different Perspective

Novelim may not fully replace imagination.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Drug Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-needs-953464/) [I-capture-the-castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-capture-the-castle-86892/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Like Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-drug-367347/) [Needs Oftener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-oftener-953465/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/)

## Related quotes

> [“But I can't see how anyone could believe that you killed the bear with a pitchfork,' I said. 'I didn't. I only wounded it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/but-i-can-t-see-how-anyone-could-believe-that-you-killed-the-bear/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“I don't want to miss anything. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-don-t-want-to-miss-anything/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Wakings are the worst times--almost before my eyes are open a great weight seems to roll on my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/wakings-are-the-worst-times-almost-before-my-eyes-are-open-a-great/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Every generation finds the drug it needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/every-generation-finds-the-drug-it-needs/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [Love is like a drug it either kills you or gives you the time of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dopeydasha/love-is-like-a-drug-it-either-kills-you-or-gives-you-the-time-of-your/)

[DopeyDasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dopeydasha/)

> [Flattery works like a drug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-regier/flattery-works-like-a-drug/)

[Willis Regier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-regier/)

> [I don't like drug, but drug like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammar-farini/i-don-t-like-drug-but-drug-like-me/)

[Ammar Farini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammar-farini/)

> [“I can see why people think love is like a drug. You can’t get enough of it. You need more.” Asher, Mia. “Arsen A Broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-asher/i-can-see-why-people-think-love-is-like-a-drug-you-can-t-get-enough/)

[Mia Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-asher/)

> [In life don't be like cigarette, so people can use and crush u when you're done. Be like a drug… Let them die to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/in-life-don-t-be-like-cigarette-so-people-can-use-and-crush-u-when/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [I often say fame is kind of like a drug or like sugar: when it's controlling you it doesn't feel good at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-d-lang/i-often-say-fame-is-kind-of-like-a-drug-or-like-sugar-when-it-s/)

[K. D. Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-d-lang/)

> [“She was warm and silky. Delicious, really. I wanted to take her like a drug. All at once, in one gulp. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-shen/she-was-warm-and-silky-delicious-really-i-wanted-to-take-her-like-a/)

[L.J. Shen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-shen/)

> [Its like a drug….falling in love...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-nwakama/its-like-a-drug-falling-in-love/)

[Anne Nwakama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-nwakama/)

> [“You can't deal with being odd? ... Become like them... Become drug delear... Live their lifes... have fun ... and be honest...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/you-can-t-deal-with-being-odd-become-like-them-become-drug-delear/)

[Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/)

> [“They say when you fall in love in love with someone that person becomes like a drug,an addiction you don't want to live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-fall-in-love-in-love-with-someone-that-person/)

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

## More by Dodie Smith

> [“I glanced through another page in case I had missed something, and came to the description of Simon's face as he lay on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-glanced-through-another-page-in-case-i-had-missed-something-and/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“Now, paper and pencils," said Miss Marcy, clapping her hands. Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/now-paper-and-pencils-said-miss-marcy-clapping-her-hands-writing/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [The tea was a comfort - and by that time I more than needed comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-tea-was-a-comfort-and-by-that-time-i-more-than-needed-comfort/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/like-many-other-much-loved-humans-they-believed-that-they-owned-their/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“And I suspect that, to the eyes of love, love shows. I knew about you as well as about myself, almost from the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-i-suspect-that-to-the-eyes-of-love-love-shows-i-knew-about-you-as/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“What I'd really hate would be the settled feeling, with nothing but happiness to look forward to. Of course no life is perfectly happy-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/what-i-d-really-hate-would-be-the-settled-feeling-with-nothing-but/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Truthfulness so often goes with ruthlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/truthfulness-so-often-goes-with-ruthlessness/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [Am I really admitting that my sister is determined to marry a man she has only seen once and doesn't much like the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/am-i-really-admitting-that-my-sister-is-determined-to-marry-a-man-she/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/there-are-some-people-who-always-find-beauty-makes-them-feel-sadder/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [When things mean a very great deal to you, exciting anticipation just isn't safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/when-things-mean-a-very-great-deal-to-you-exciting-anticipation-just/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

> [I could marry the Devil himself if he had some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-could-marry-the-devil-himself-if-he-had-some-money/)

[Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

[Explore all 211 Dodie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/)

## More Drug quotes

> [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/)

[David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/)

> [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/)

[Robbin Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbin-crosby/)

> [I saw this anti-drug commercial that showed a kid smoking pot in his dad's room with his friend. This kid finds a gun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-saw-this-anti-drug-commercial-that-showed-a-kid-smoking-pot-in-his/)

[Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/)

> [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/)

[Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/)

> [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/)

[Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/)

> [I've always considered making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/i-ve-always-considered-making-it-legal-for-americans-to-import-their/)

[Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/)

> [There is a nationwide shortage of drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder. The FDA says they're not sure how it happened. I guess somebody wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/there-is-a-nationwide-shortage-of-drugs-for-attention-deficit/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [Antidepressants are the biggest fraud in the world. Number one, Prozac gives you a royal soft-on like you wouldn't believe, and number two you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-evans/antidepressants-are-the-biggest-fraud-in-the-world-number-one-prozac/)

[Robert Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-evans/)

> [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/)

[Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/)

> [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [You find out so many interesting things when you're not on drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/you-find-out-so-many-interesting-things-when-you-re-not-on-drugs/)

[Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/)

[Browse all 3,904 Drug quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and oftener and has to make them more and more exciting - until at last one's imagination won't work at all.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dodie Smith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them-oftener-and-oftener-and-has/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Drug"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them-oftener-and-oftener-and-has/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2b/dodie-smith-1724_drug_and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them_871197.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“... And they are like a drug, one needs them oftener and oftener and has to make them more and more exciting…” — Dodie Smith",
                "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": "Dodie Smith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“... And they are like a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them-oftener-and-oftener-and-has/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-they-are-like-a-drug-one-needs-them-oftener-and-oftener-and-has/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
