--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is a socially acceptable form of…" description: "\"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.\" — E. L. Doctorow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/e-l-doctorow-4627_schizophrenia_writing-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of_1613023.png" --- # Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ![“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” quote by E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/e-l-doctorow-4627_schizophrenia_writing-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of_1613023.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/e-l-doctorow-4627_schizophrenia_writing-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of_1613023.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/913/e-l-doctorow-4627_schizophrenia_writing-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of_1613023.png) > “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing channels fragmented thoughts, allowing socially acceptable expression of inner chaos akin to schizophrenia. **In simple terms:** Writing lets chaotic minds be expressed safely. Key Takeaway Use writing to organize scattered ideas. Themes mental health creativity expression literature psychology Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary psychological When to use this quote - journaling - fiction writing - therapy sessions Key Concepts schizophrenia metaphor catharsis narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect stigma? - What are healthier coping tools? A Different Perspective Metaphor may romanticize serious mental illness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Schizophrenia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schizophrenia/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writing is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/writing-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of-getting-naked-in-public/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Most people, if you live in a big city, you see some form of schizophrenia every day, and it's always in the form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/most-people-if-you-live-in-a-big-city-you-see-some-form-of/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [“Creating stories is like breathing for me. With one foot or at least a toe always grounded in my imagination, I am never fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/y-l-cantrell/creating-stories-is-like-breathing-for-me-with-one-foot-or-at-least-a/) Y.L. Cantrell > [I have a son, who is a... not an ordinary form of schizophrenia, but clearly, cannot take care of himself. And the great fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/i-have-a-son-who-is-a-not-an-ordinary-form-of-schizophrenia-but/) [James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/) > [I guess music, particularly the blues, is the only form of schizophrenia that has organised itself into being both legal and beneficial to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-korner/i-guess-music-particularly-the-blues-is-the-only-form-of/) [Alexis Korner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-korner/) > [All the stereotypical ‘dude’ geeky things I like are socially acceptable, and all the stereotypical ‘lady’ geeky things I like are frowned upon….](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/all-the-stereotypical-dude-geeky-things-i-like-are-socially/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [I just want to watch Elf but have it be socially acceptable because its not Christmas time yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-want-to-watch-elf-but-have-it-be-socially-acceptable-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I think it's a rule that it's socially acceptable to wet yourself when aliens enter your mind for the first time. If it wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-it-s-a-rule-that-it-s-socially-acceptable-to-wet-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Ah, Facebook, where it is socially acceptable to talk to a wall¦](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jezreel-scott/ah-facebook-where-it-is-socially-acceptable-to-talk-to-a-wall/) [Jezreel Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jezreel-scott/) > [I think more things are becoming socially acceptable. I think that just by having more media, whether that's TV or Internet, we're able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-larson/i-think-more-things-are-becoming-socially-acceptable-i-think-that/) [Brie Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-larson/) > [I'll be ready to give up everything to right what I consider a wrong - even though I know that my response might not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/i-ll-be-ready-to-give-up-everything-to-right-what-i-consider-a-wrong/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [Comedy is a socially acceptable form of hostility and aggression. That is what comics do, stand the world upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/comedy-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of-hostility-and-aggression-that/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“Maybe we women gravitate toward comedy because it is a socially acceptable way to break rules and a release from our daily life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/maybe-we-women-gravitate-toward-comedy-because-it-is-a-socially/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [“Falling in love is kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-jonze/falling-in-love-is-kind-of-like-a-form-of-socially-acceptable-insanity/) [Spike Jonze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-jonze/) > [The government has once again made the right socially acceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elfriede-jelinek/the-government-has-once-again-made-the-right-socially-acceptable/) [Elfriede Jelinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elfriede-jelinek/) ## More by E. L. Doctorow > [Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/things-that-appear-on-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper-as-fact-are-far/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [There are moments when I cannot bear this unremitting consciousness. It knows only itself. Awake, I am in a continuum with my dreams. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/there-are-moments-when-i-cannot-bear-this-unremitting-consciousness/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Most people are quiet in the world, and live in it tentatively, as if it were not their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/most-people-are-quiet-in-the-world-and-live-in-it-tentatively-as-if/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this-country-alive-the-waves-of/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [A book begins as a private excitement of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-book-begins-as-a-private-excitement-of-the-mind/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I started on computers with 'Billy Bathgate,' a little orange screen with black letters. I thought it was really cool, but it actually slowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-started-on-computers-with-billy-bathgate-a-little-orange-screen/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [When I'm writing, I like to seal everything off and face the wall, not to look outside the window. The only way out is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/when-i-m-writing-i-like-to-seal-everything-off-and-face-the-wall-not/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Facts are the images of history, just as images are the facts of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/facts-are-the-images-of-history-just-as-images-are-the-facts-of/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [The nature of good fiction is that it dwells in ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/the-nature-of-good-fiction-is-that-it-dwells-in-ambiguity/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Uncharged with invisible meaning, the visible is nothing, mere clay; and without visible circumstance, a territory, to connect to, our spirit is shapeless, nameless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/uncharged-with-invisible-meaning-the-visible-is-nothing-mere-clay-and/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [“Writing a novel is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/writing-a-novel-is-like-driving-at-night-in-the-fog-you-can-only-see/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I did have a feeling then that the culture of factuality was so dominating that storytelling had lost all its authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-did-have-a-feeling-then-that-the-culture-of-factuality-was-so/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I got married very early, and in no time at all, we had three children. And it seemed to me I had an obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-got-married-very-early-and-in-no-time-at-all-we-had-three-children/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [When you're writing a book, you don't really think about it critically. You don't want to know too well what you're doing. First, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/when-you-re-writing-a-book-you-don-t-really-think-about-it-critically/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [A writer's life is so hazardous that anything he does is bad for him. Anything that happens to him is bad: failure's bad, success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-writer-s-life-is-so-hazardous-that-anything-he-does-is-bad-for-him/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) [Explore all 108 E. L. Doctorow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) ## More Schizophrenia quotes > [“A term came to her that they used on occasion at the shelter: the double bind...They used the expression in much the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/a-term-came-to-her-that-they-used-on-occasion-at-the-shelter-the/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“I'd ask you to think outside the box on this, but it's obvious your box is broken. And has schizophrenia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kosmatka/i-d-ask-you-to-think-outside-the-box-on-this-but-it-s-obvious-your/) [Ted Kosmatka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kosmatka/) > [“P.S. It's not schizophrenia, it's creativity, there is a difference. My voices go away after I let them tell their stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-newell/p-s-it-s-not-schizophrenia-it-s-creativity-there-is-a-difference-my/) [Ashley Newell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-newell/) > [“I am alone, but never lonely. I am lonely, but never alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-aubrey-myers/i-am-alone-but-never-lonely-i-am-lonely-but-never-alone/) [Benjamin Aubrey Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-aubrey-myers/) > [It seemed to me the basic definition of mental illness, this persistent, painful inability to simply be with someone else. It might be lifelong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-thompson/it-seemed-to-me-the-basic-definition-of-mental-illness-this/) [Tracy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-thompson/) > [Hauntings are memes, especially pernicious thought contagions, social contagions that need no viral or bacterial host and are transmitted in a thousand different ways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/hauntings-are-memes-especially-pernicious-thought-contagions-social/) [Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/) > [“When had I stopped being a person with Paranoid Schizophrenia, and become a Paranoid Schizophrenic; defined by my illness?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-haze/when-had-i-stopped-being-a-person-with-paranoid-schizophrenia-and/) [Michaela Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-haze/) > [Conventional psychiatry has emphasized the genetic roots of psychosis based on the claim that twin and other studies show that schizophrenia is 80% heritable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bentall/conventional-psychiatry-has-emphasized-the-genetic-roots-of-psychosis/) [Richard Bentall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bentall/) > [It's been insane. From Whitey Bulger to the Mad Hatter, you can imagine the schizophrenia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/it-s-been-insane-from-whitey-bulger-to-the-mad-hatter-you-can-imagine/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [Living with bipolar, schizophrenia or any other mental condition takes a recognition that one has a chronic condition that needs managing. The management can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/living-with-bipolar-schizophrenia-or-any-other-mental-condition-takes/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/if-the-national-mental-illness-of-the-united-states-is-megalomania/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Some call it schizophrenia, I call it a career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-greene/some-call-it-schizophrenia-i-call-it-a-career/) [Ellen Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-greene/) > [ACT psychology is a psychology of the normal. A lot of the psychologies that are out there are built on the psychology of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-c-hayes/act-psychology-is-a-psychology-of-the-normal-a-lot-of-the/) [Steven C. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-c-hayes/) > [Colds, ulcers, flu, and cancer are things we get. Schizophrenia is something we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-vonnegut/colds-ulcers-flu-and-cancer-are-things-we-get-schizophrenia-is/) [Mark Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-vonnegut/) > [“The World Health Organization has twice found that schizophrenia outcomes are much, much better in poor countries like India, Nigeria, and Colombia than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darby-penney/the-world-health-organization-has-twice-found-that-schizophrenia/) Darby Penney [Browse all 151 Schizophrenia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schizophrenia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. L. 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