---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I wrote the previous letter, I had…"
description: "\"“When I wrote the previous letter, I had made up my mind I would show you how I could be very composed and cool and not need to ask you to listen to me..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/flora-rheta-schreiber-26719_denial_when-i-wrote-the-previous-letter-i-had-m_1306353.png"
---

#  When I wrote the previous letter, I had made up my mind I…

![“When I wrote the previous letter, I had made up my mind I would show you how I could be very composed and cool and not need to ask you to listen to me nor to explain anything to me nor need any help. By telling you that all this about the multiple personalities was not really true but just put on…” quote by Flora Rheta Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/flora-rheta-schreiber-26719_denial_when-i-wrote-the-previous-letter-i-had-m_1306353.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/flora-rheta-schreiber-26719_denial_when-i-wrote-the-previous-letter-i-had-m_1306353.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/flora-rheta-schreiber-26719_denial_when-i-wrote-the-previous-letter-i-had-m_1306353.png)

> ““When I wrote the previous letter, I had made up my mind I would show you how I could be very composed and cool and not need to ask you to listen to me nor to explain anything to me nor need any help. By telling you that all this about the multiple personalities was not really true but just put on, I could show, or so I thought, that I did not need you. Well, it would have been easier if it were put on.””

[Flora Rheta Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-rheta-schreiber/)

## About This Quote

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

The narrator pretends composure to avoid dependence, but the façade is fragile and ultimately unsustainable.

**In simple terms:** Pretending to be strong hides true needs.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address genuine vulnerabilities.

Themes

psychology authenticity dependence

Mood

reflective introspective

Type

psychological literary

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- therapy sessions
- conflict resolution
- self‑help contexts

Key Concepts

self‑presentation emotional labor

Questions to Reflect On

- What are the costs of maintaining a false front?
- When is vulnerability beneficial?

A Different Perspective

The mask can damage trust and hinder growth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Denial of reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial-of-reality/) [Dissociative-identity-disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociative-identity-disorder/) [Multiple personalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-personalities/) [Multiple personality disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-personality-disorder/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sybil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sybil/)

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> [“They feel guilty for having survived so they pretend the bad things never happened Exodus (1960) screenplay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/they-feel-guilty-for-having-survived-so-they-pretend-the-bad-things/)

[Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/)

> [“Life is your teacher. How can you learn to understand your truth, if you deny your reality?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-nilon/life-is-your-teacher-how-can-you-learn-to-understand-your-truth-if/)

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> [Life is worthy of the name only when it reflects Reality in action. No university will teach you how to live so that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/life-is-worthy-of-the-name-only-when-it-reflects-reality-in-action-no/)

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## More by Flora Rheta Schreiber

> [i have no point in procrastinating any longer..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-rheta-schreiber/i-have-no-point-in-procrastinating-any-longer/)

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> [I’m not fit to occupy space. Excuse me for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-rheta-schreiber/i-m-not-fit-to-occupy-space-excuse-me-for-living/)

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> [“God fearing and man hating. Sugar sugar. There was so much sugar in the way they pretended to treat each other that I suffered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-rheta-schreiber/god-fearing-and-man-hating-sugar-sugar-there-was-so-much-sugar-in-the/)

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[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/)

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> [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/)

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[Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/)

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[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/)

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> [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/)

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[Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/)

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