--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But sometimes living in denial was the…" description: "\"But sometimes living in denial was the only way to keep a man from going on a killing spree.\" — Eric Jerome Dickey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png" --- # But sometimes living in denial was the only way to keep a… ![“But sometimes living in denial was the only way to keep a man from going on a killing spree.” quote by Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png) > “But sometimes living in denial was the only way to keep a man from going on a killing spree.” [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Denial can be a protective mental shield that prevents violent actions. **In simple terms:** Denial may stop dangerous behavior. Key Takeaway Recognize when denial protects you. Themes psychology violence self‑preservation Mood reflective cautious Type advice cautionary When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health - conflict resolution Key Concepts defense mechanisms cognitive coping Questions to Reflect On - When does denial become harmful? - How can you safely address underlying issues? A Different Perspective Denial can also hinder confronting real problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Denial Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial-way-1629335/) [Going Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-killing-1629336/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Killing Spree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-spree-1629337/) [Living Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-denial-367759/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Every religion has had people going out and killing in the name of it. But that's not what religion is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abderrahmane-sissako/every-religion-has-had-people-going-out-and-killing-in-the-name-of-it/) [Abderrahmane Sissako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abderrahmane-sissako/) > [Denial has been a way of life for me for many years. I actually believe in denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/denial-has-been-a-way-of-life-for-me-for-many-years-i-actually/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [All good art cannot help but confront denial on its way to truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-townshend/all-good-art-cannot-help-but-confront-denial-on-its-way-to-truth/) [Pete Townshend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-townshend/) > [Some days, a killing spree seems like a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/some-days-a-killing-spree-seems-like-a-good-idea/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-f/) > [“What were they going to do after killing the president, declare themselves king?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/what-were-they-going-to-do-after-killing-the-president-declare/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [“Sorry, ma’am, but we need a big damn army right now, and there’s no better way to make one than to gather up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-shaara/sorry-ma-am-but-we-need-a-big-damn-army-right-now-and-there-s-no/) [Jeff Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-shaara/) > [“Denial is the way people handle what they cannot handle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/denial-is-the-way-people-handle-what-they-cannot-handle/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Egos and denial can get in the way of a clear vision for success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/egos-and-denial-can-get-in-the-way-of-a-clear-vision-for-success/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If I went on a killing spree that left thousands of people dead, I'd be branded as the worst kind of criminal. So why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/if-i-went-on-a-killing-spree-that-left-thousands-of-people-dead-i-d/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Next time you two decide to go on a bloody killing spree, at least send me an invitation so I know that you care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/next-time-you-two-decide-to-go-on-a-bloody-killing-spree-at-least/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [I am the president of the sorority and I'm sure there are plenty of people I've pissed off enough to go on a killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-roberts/i-am-the-president-of-the-sorority-and-i-m-sure-there-are-plenty-of/) [Emma Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-roberts/) > [You can't pretend that certain negative things didn't happen to you.You can't be set free while living in denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/you-can-t-pretend-that-certain-negative-things-didn-t-happen-to-you/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [I just cant fake a smile while I'm living denial. Everything goes by so fast except the past. It lingers around like broken glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/i-just-cant-fake-a-smile-while-i-m-living-denial-everything-goes-by/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [“I want to believe every single lie of hers so I can gladly continue living in denial. I love her that fucking much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-asher/i-want-to-believe-every-single-lie-of-hers-so-i-can-gladly-continue/) [Mia Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-asher/) ## More by Eric Jerome Dickey > [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [love is a mental illness, an obsessive-compulsive disorder romanticized!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/love-is-a-mental-illness-an-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-romanticized/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“. . . Your hair--it's kind of wavy. Indian in your blood, or are you a hypocrite and texturize your hair?" He hesitated, appeared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/your-hair-it-s-kind-of-wavy-indian-in-your-blood-or-are-you-a/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Rainwater diluted redness, created a pink death, his matter mixing through mud and grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/rainwater-diluted-redness-created-a-pink-death-his-matter-mixing/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“. . . I had on . . . black jeggings under a fitted, sleeveless, flowered dress, so he could see my true shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/i-had-on-black-jeggings-under-a-fitted-sleeveless-flowered-dress-so/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“We disconnected. And I wondered if we had ever truly connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-disconnected-and-i-wondered-if-we-had-ever-truly-connected/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [For a lot of people, becoming an author is a change in occupation... they are coming from something that totally has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/for-a-lot-of-people-becoming-an-author-is-a-change-in-occupation-they/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [We see what we want to see. We idealize each other with our own fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-see-what-we-want-to-see-we-idealize-each-other-with-our-own/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [It’s scary telling someone you care about, someone you love who you really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/it-s-scary-telling-someone-you-care-about-someone-you-love-who-you/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Ownership, even in love, is an illusion. No woman owned any man and no man owned any woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/ownership-even-in-love-is-an-illusion-no-woman-owned-any-man-and-no/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [hate isn't healthy, it damages the hater more than the one who's hated!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/hate-isn-t-healthy-it-damages-the-hater-more-than-the-one-who-s-hated/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Losing your job is like having your identity stolen, like having what defined you run through a paper shredder. After a while the despair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/losing-your-job-is-like-having-your-identity-stolen-like-having-what/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“you had to have happiness to miss happiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/you-had-to-have-happiness-to-miss-happiness/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“It is silent, an anagram for listen. That is what I do. Listen while she remains silent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/it-is-silent-an-anagram-for-listen-that-is-what-i-do-listen-while-she/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) [Explore all 142 Eric Jerome Dickey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "But sometimes living in denial was the only way to keep a man from going on a killing spree.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Jerome Dickey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-only-way-to-keep-a-man-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Denial" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-only-way-to-keep-a-man-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_denial_but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-o_943469.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But sometimes living in denial was the only way to keep a man from going on a killing spree.” — Eric Jerome Dickey", "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": "Eric Jerome Dickey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But sometimes living in denial was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-only-way-to-keep-a-man-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/but-sometimes-living-in-denial-was-the-only-way-to-keep-a-man-from/#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 } } ] } ```