--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This would be my torture: all that didn't…" description: "\"“This would be my torture: all that didn't bear thinking about would devote itself to forcing me to bear thinking about it.”\" — Glen Duncan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png" --- # This would be my torture: all that didn't bear thinking… ![“This would be my torture: all that didn't bear thinking about would devote itself to forcing me to bear thinking about it.” quote by Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png) > ““This would be my torture: all that didn't bear thinking about would devote itself to forcing me to bear thinking about it.”” [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being forced to think about something unbearable is a personal torment. **In simple terms:** Compulsory contemplation of pain is torture. Key Takeaway Allow thoughts to rest when needed. Themes mental health compulsion thought Mood introspective somber Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy - mindfulness - creative work - stress management Key Concepts cognitive overload psychological distress Questions to Reflect On - What thoughts are you forced to face? - How can you set mental boundaries? A Different Perspective Avoiding thoughts can also cause anxiety; balance required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) ## Related quotes > [To me, torture would be, "I can't think what to write in the next sentence. I'm stuck." Torture would be if you didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/to-me-torture-would-be-i-can-t-think-what-to-write-in-the-next/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I told the people before they tortured me, please, don't torture me. I didn't do anything. They say, we have to torture you very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamedou-ould-slahi/i-told-the-people-before-they-tortured-me-please-don-t-torture-me-i/) [Mohamedou Ould Slahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamedou-ould-slahi/) > [Just for the record, she still loves you. She wouldn't bother to torture you if she didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/just-for-the-record-she-still-loves-you-she-wouldn-t-bother-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“But a punishment like forced labour or even imprisonment – mere loss of liberty – has never functioned without a certain additional element of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/but-a-punishment-like-forced-labour-or-even-imprisonment-mere-loss-of/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [I'm a Midwesterner! Not being able to have a cheeseburger once in a while would be torture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-capshaw/i-m-a-midwesterner-not-being-able-to-have-a-cheeseburger-once-in-a/) [Jessica Capshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-capshaw/) > [But love is different for every person. For some it's hate, for some it's joy, for some it's fear, for some it's jealousy, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/but-love-is-different-for-every-person-for-some-it-s-hate-for-some-it/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [“Worry is the worst kind of torture, because it makes you realize that you are not in control. And, what I need most, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-wrights/worry-is-the-worst-kind-of-torture-because-it-makes-you-realize-that/) [D.S. Wrights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-wrights/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [“So, then I’ll just use Jesse’s to torture you some more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-jeanisse/so-then-i-ll-just-use-jesse-s-to-torture-you-some-more/) [Bella Jeanisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-jeanisse/) > [When history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-the-nazis-weren-t-able/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“No matter what torture they inflict, don’t let them see you suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sansa-rayne/no-matter-what-torture-they-inflict-don-t-let-them-see-you-suffer/) [Sansa Rayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sansa-rayne/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The silkiness of his voice was a torturous caress that I could have endured for the rest of my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-andrea/the-silkiness-of-his-voice-was-a-torturous-caress-that-i-could-have/) Melissa Andrea > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) ## More by Glen Duncan > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“For the longest time the romantic explanation for low rates of female infection endured: Possession of a womb, it was supposed, conferred a gentleness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-the-longest-time-the-romantic-explanation-for-low-rates-of-female/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The beauty spot by her lip was one of a dozen or so scattered over her body. My new constellations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-beauty-spot-by-her-lip-was-one-of-a-dozen-or-so-scattered-over/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Fairy tales read before bed tend to make me dream. They're all quite violent stories, as are my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/fairy-tales-read-before-bed-tend-to-make-me-dream-they-re-all-quite/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. I don’t know if the whole thing’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-don-t-know-where-the-universe-came-from-or-what-happens-to/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [In a fit of pique, I said to my agent, 'I'm going to write something you can sell.' The idea was to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/in-a-fit-of-pique-i-said-to-my-agent-i-m-going-to-write-something-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The Mortals are free, Lucifer. What they've done they've done from within themselves. - Raphael”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-mortals-are-free-lucifer-what-they-ve-done-they-ve-done-from/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [One day the ordinariness will be terminally punctuated by the extraordinary full stop of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/one-day-the-ordinariness-will-be-terminally-punctuated-by-the/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [When I see gurgling retarded children (that's God's doing, by the way, not mine) happily styling their hair with their own stinking mards, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/when-i-see-gurgling-retarded-children-that-s-god-s-doing-by-the-way/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“She understood the genre constraints, the decencies we were supposed to be observing. The morally cosy vision allows the embrace of monstrosity only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/she-understood-the-genre-constraints-the-decencies-we-were-supposed/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Show us the world's not the way we thought it was and part of us rejoices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/show-us-the-world-s-not-the-way-we-thought-it-was-and-part-of-us/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“It’s just what you’re stuck with, the lousy furniture you can’t change. The educated me knows hell’s nothing, a fiction I happened to inherit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/it-s-just-what-you-re-stuck-with-the-lousy-furniture-you-can-t-change/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Afterwards, sitting on my bunk, I cried. I read somewhere that when you’re a kid it’s people’s cruelty that makes you cry, then when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/afterwards-sitting-on-my-bunk-i-cried-i-read-somewhere-that-when-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The absurdity of it, she thought, this quest for the love of a man who was her equal. She loathed herself for it. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-absurdity-of-it-she-thought-this-quest-for-the-love-of-a-man-who/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) [Explore all 259 Glen Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## More Torture quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“The silkiness of his voice was a torturous caress that I could have endured for the rest of my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-andrea/the-silkiness-of-his-voice-was-a-torturous-caress-that-i-could-have/) Melissa Andrea > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“No matter what torture they inflict, don’t let them see you suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sansa-rayne/no-matter-what-torture-they-inflict-don-t-let-them-see-you-suffer/) [Sansa Rayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sansa-rayne/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-the-nazis-weren-t-able/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [“So, then I’ll just use Jesse’s to torture you some more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-jeanisse/so-then-i-ll-just-use-jesse-s-to-torture-you-some-more/) [Bella Jeanisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-jeanisse/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [“Worry is the worst kind of torture, because it makes you realize that you are not in control. And, what I need most, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-wrights/worry-is-the-worst-kind-of-torture-because-it-makes-you-realize-that/) [D.S. Wrights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-wrights/) > [But love is different for every person. For some it's hate, for some it's joy, for some it's fear, for some it's jealousy, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/but-love-is-different-for-every-person-for-some-it-s-hate-for-some-it/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [I'm a Midwesterner! Not being able to have a cheeseburger once in a while would be torture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-capshaw/i-m-a-midwesterner-not-being-able-to-have-a-cheeseburger-once-in-a/) [Jessica Capshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-capshaw/) > [“But a punishment like forced labour or even imprisonment – mere loss of liberty – has never functioned without a certain additional element of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/but-a-punishment-like-forced-labour-or-even-imprisonment-mere-loss-of/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Make no mistake: conversion therapy is not about 'praying away the gay.' It's an emotional torture against our most innocent citizens: our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/make-no-mistake-conversion-therapy-is-not-about-praying-away-the-gay/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You know, your sarcasm isn’t appreciated right now. I’ve been drugged, beaten, nearly raped, saved, drugged again, hijacked, and now threatened by you. Tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-know-your-sarcasm-isn-t-appreciated-right-now-i-ve-been-drugged/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) [Browse all 1,548 Torture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This would be my torture: all that didn't bear thinking about would devote itself to forcing me to bear thinking about it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Glen Duncan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t-bear-thinking-about-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Torture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t-bear-thinking-about-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/glen-duncan-1307_torture_this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t_662819.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This would be my torture: all that didn't bear thinking about would devote itself to forcing me to bear…” — Glen Duncan", "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": "Glen Duncan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This would be my torture: all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t-bear-thinking-about-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/this-would-be-my-torture-all-that-didn-t-bear-thinking-about-would/#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 } } ] } ```