---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That’s what I did, though—I had angry…"
description: "\"“That’s what I did, though—I had angry, defensive conversations in my head, got mad at things that hadn’t even happened yet. Yet. I”\" — Gillian Flynn"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg"
---

#  That’s what I did, though—I had angry, defensive…

![“That’s what I did, though—I had angry, defensive conversations in my head, got mad at things that hadn’t even happened yet. Yet. I” quote by Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg)

> ““That’s what I did, though—I had angry, defensive conversations in my head, got mad at things that hadn’t even happened yet. Yet. I””

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker reflects on internal angry, defensive thoughts about imagined future events, highlighting anxiety and mental rehearsal.

**In simple terms:** Imagined future problems cause anxiety.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and calm mental chatter.

Themes

anxiety self‑talk anticipation

Mood

reflective introspective

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- therapy
- creative writing

Key Concepts

cognitive distortion defensive mindset

Questions to Reflect On

- How often do you imagine problems before they occur?
- What techniques calm your mind?

A Different Perspective

May overlook present realities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Angry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

## Related quotes

> [“Laine had been very proud of herself last night. Nicholas had talked about ghosts and magic and woven a bit of a spell himself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-irwin/laine-had-been-very-proud-of-herself-last-night-nicholas-had-talked/)

[Stephen M. Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-irwin/)

> [I just want to know what I did. What did I do that made you so angry? What did I do that made you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-want-to-know-what-i-did-what-did-i-do-that-made-you-so-angry/)

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

> [“I went to say no, but I winced as I pulled my tooth out of my lip. I was absolutely hopeless. In a two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-scott/i-went-to-say-no-but-i-winced-as-i-pulled-my-tooth-out-of-my-lip-i/)

[Kaitlin Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-scott/)

> [I can't get you out of my head. My friends are sick of hearing about you, and I think my brain might almost be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/i-can-t-get-you-out-of-my-head-my-friends-are-sick-of-hearing-about/)

Unkown

> [“You know what else is adorable? When I can clearly see you having a furious discussion in your own head.” “That’s visible ?” Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-stein/you-know-what-else-is-adorable-when-i-can-clearly-see-you-having-a/)

[Charlotte Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-stein/)

> [“Why am I so weird all the time? Then again, having conversations with myself in my head doesn’t help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kia-carrington-russell/why-am-i-so-weird-all-the-time-then-again-having-conversations-with/)

[Kia Carrington-Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kia-carrington-russell/)

> [She would make facial expressions as though she were having conversations with people in her head.They seemed to turn into debates more often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/she-would-make-facial-expressions-as-though-she-were-having/)

[Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/)

> [“I thought about him everyday until then. I started having these conversations with him in my head that you have when you meet someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/i-thought-about-him-everyday-until-then-i-started-having-these/)

[Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/)

> [I have more conversations in my head than I do in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-gattus/i-have-more-conversations-in-my-head-than-i-do-in-real-life/)

[Alisa Gattus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-gattus/)

> [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/)

[David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/)

> [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/)

Kirsten Gilchrist

> [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

## More by Gillian Flynn

> [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [The midwest is great because it hasn't been entirely claimed. There's more room to write about it; it's harder to write about New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-midwest-is-great-because-it-hasn-t-been-entirely-claimed-there-s/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“Sometimes it is all too loud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/sometimes-it-is-all-too-loud/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/there-s-something-disturbing-about-recalling-a-warm-memory-and/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“My life has begun to feel like an epilogue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-life-has-begun-to-feel-like-an-epilogue/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“The Victorians, especially southern Victorians, needed a lot of room to stray away from each other, to duck tuberculosis and flu, to avoid rapacious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-victorians-especially-southern-victorians-needed-a-lot-of-room-to/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“You think: Oh, here is the rest of my life. It’s finally arrived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-think-oh-here-is-the-rest-of-my-life-it-s-finally-arrived/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [What a generous thing that is, I realize, for a husband to try to make his wife laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/what-a-generous-thing-that-is-i-realize-for-a-husband-to-try-to-make/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [I am a great believer in jobs for teens. They teach important life lessons, build character, and inflict just the right amount of humiliation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-am-a-great-believer-in-jobs-for-teens-they-teach-important-life/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“you'd literally lie, cheat, and steal -hell, kill- to convince people you are a good guy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-d-literally-lie-cheat-and-steal-hell-kill-to-convince-people-you/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [My imagination is more tweaked by imagining the lives of the people who were there before us. I don't need to give myself the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-imagination-is-more-tweaked-by-imagining-the-lives-of-the-people/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“Given my druthers now, I’d prefer a snapshot of Warren Harding’s wife, “the Duchess,” who recorded the smallest offenses in a little red notebook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/given-my-druthers-now-i-d-prefer-a-snapshot-of-warren-harding-s-wife/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [A town so suffocating and small, you tripped over people you hated every day. People who knew things about you. It's the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/a-town-so-suffocating-and-small-you-tripped-over-people-you-hated/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [“For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see men - friends, coworkers, strangers - giddy over these awful pretender women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/for-a-long-time-cool-girl-offended-me-i-used-to-see-men-friends/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

[Explore all 668 Gillian Flynn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

## More Angry quotes

> [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/)

Kirsten Gilchrist

> [It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised - and it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/it-is-afraid-of-an-informed-angry-public-demanding-the-constitutional/)

[Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/)

> [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/)

[David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/)

> [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/)

[Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/)

> [When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/when-you-re-frustrated-with-people-when-they-ve-made-you-angry-it/)

[Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/)

> [When I was writing 'Black Panther,' on one level, I was angry because DC would never let me write 'Batman,' so I was doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-priest/when-i-was-writing-black-panther-on-one-level-i-was-angry-because-dc/)

[Christopher Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-priest/)

> [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/)

[Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/)

> [I'm an angry guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gandolfini/i-m-an-angry-guy/)

[James Gandolfini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gandolfini/)

> [Apparently, I'm the angriest man. I don't know. It's just an interpretation. If it was someone else, they might be called focused or competitive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alun-wyn-jones/apparently-i-m-the-angriest-man-i-don-t-know-it-s-just-an/)

[Alun Wyn Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alun-wyn-jones/)

> [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/)

[Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/)

> [Of course I get angry, but I want to use my brain a little bit and not just smash things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/of-course-i-get-angry-but-i-want-to-use-my-brain-a-little-bit-and-not/)

[Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/)

> [“Rather than being incensed by the nature of the bruise, maybe we should be inspired by the possibilities in the bruise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/rather-than-being-incensed-by-the-nature-of-the-bruise-maybe-we/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

[Browse all 3,857 Angry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angry/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“That’s what I did, though—I had angry, defensive conversations in my head, got mad at things that hadn’t even happened yet. Yet. I”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gillian Flynn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-defensive-conversations-in-my/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Angry"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-defensive-conversations-in-my/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c7/gillian-flynn-316_communication_that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-def_1880004.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“That’s what I did, though—I had angry, defensive conversations in my head, got mad at things that hadn’t…” — Gillian Flynn",
                "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": "Gillian Flynn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“That’s what I did, though—I had...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-defensive-conversations-in-my/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/that-s-what-i-did-though-i-had-angry-defensive-conversations-in-my/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
