--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were to sum up the negative…" description: "\"If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there is discourse about anxiety it is nece..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/harold-bloom-3350_anxiety_if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactio_230623.jpg" --- # If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I… ![“If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there is discourse about anxiety it is necessarily going to induce anxiety. It will represent a return of the repressed for a great many people.” quote by Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/harold-bloom-3350_anxiety_if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactio_230623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/harold-bloom-3350_anxiety_if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactio_230623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/513/harold-bloom-3350_anxiety_if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactio_230623.jpg) > “If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there is discourse about anxiety it is necessarily going to induce anxiety. It will represent a return of the repressed for a great many people.” [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discussing anxiety shows that talking about it can trigger the feeling itself, revealing suppressed emotions. **In simple terms:** Talking about anxiety may cause anxiety. Key Takeaway Be mindful of discussing anxiety. Themes psychology anxiety communication self-awareness Mood cautious reflective Type psychological advisory When to use this quote - therapy sessions - public speaking - self-help workshops Key Concepts repression cognitive feedback emotional triggers Questions to Reflect On - Is anxiety always self‑fulfilling? - When is discussion helpful? A Different Perspective May not apply to everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Negative reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-reactions/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I try and keep an open mind to peoples paths. The only thing that annoys me is negative poopy people and they come from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-golightly/i-try-and-keep-an-open-mind-to-peoples-paths-the-only-thing-that/) [Holly Golightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-golightly/) > [Generalists, people with moderately strong attachments to many ideas, should be hard to interrupt, and once interrupted, should have weaker, shorter negative reactions since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-e-weick/generalists-people-with-moderately-strong-attachments-to-many-ideas/) [Karl E. Weick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-e-weick/) > [Complexity is looking at interacting elements and asking how they form patterns and how the patterns unfold. It's important to point out that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-brian-arthur/complexity-is-looking-at-interacting-elements-and-asking-how-they/) [W. Brian Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-brian-arthur/) > [You always get negative reactions. If you worry about that, you would never do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-monaghan/you-always-get-negative-reactions-if-you-worry-about-that-you-would/) [Tom Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-monaghan/) > [The negative reactions to 'The Number of the Beast' were strange. When we wrote it, we never expected anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harris/the-negative-reactions-to-the-number-of-the-beast-were-strange-when/) [Steve Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harris/) > [I guess in general, because it's such a popular trend in mainstream American pop, that there's been some kind of negative reaction to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-baio/i-guess-in-general-because-it-s-such-a-popular-trend-in-mainstream/) [Chris Baio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-baio/) > [I saw it on the Twitter of today, on the online boards. There was a huge amount of negative reaction that's been forgotten because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-espenson/i-saw-it-on-the-twitter-of-today-on-the-online-boards-there-was-a/) [Jane Espenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-espenson/) > [A lot of people are just really confused by me; they don’t know what to think of me, so they try to compartmentalize me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/a-lot-of-people-are-just-really-confused-by-me-they-don-t-know-what/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [I was scared that no one would hire me. At that time, there was still a stigma attached to it. A big stigma. Actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/i-was-scared-that-no-one-would-hire-me-at-that-time-there-was-still-a/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [I seem to have made my friends proud of me/proud to know me. I also feel I've learned and grown a lot even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-calloway/i-seem-to-have-made-my-friends-proud-of-me-proud-to-know-me-i-also/) [Marie Calloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-calloway/) > [Look fair enough, she was stupid, she made a few mistakes, walked a few wrong paths and lived a life lost in the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carniel-dunlop/look-fair-enough-she-was-stupid-she-made-a-few-mistakes-walked-a-few/) [Carniel Dunlop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carniel-dunlop/) > [If you have only been around people who use power in cruel and petty ways, then when you hear the very word, you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-have-only-been-around-people-who-use-power-in-cruel-and-petty/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You get more negative reactions than positive reactions as you go through life, and the big lesson is nobody counts you out but yourself...I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-ebsen/you-get-more-negative-reactions-than-positive-reactions-as-you-go/) [Buddy Ebsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-ebsen/) > [Football is a team sport. I'm proud of what I achieved in my career, but I also know that I wouldn't have achieved any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schmeichel/football-is-a-team-sport-i-m-proud-of-what-i-achieved-in-my-career/) [Peter Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schmeichel/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) ## More by Harold Bloom > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-would-say-that-there-is-no-future-for-literary-studies-as-such-in/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/brecht-was-a-cynical-bohemian-bogey-of-the-middle-classes-but-also/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The morality of scholarship, as currently practiced, is to encourage everyone to replace difficult pleasures by pleasures universally accessible precisely because they are easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-morality-of-scholarship-as-currently-practiced-is-to-encourage/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“We read frequently if unknowingly, in quest of a mind more original than our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/we-read-frequently-if-unknowingly-in-quest-of-a-mind-more-original/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“You can read merely to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but eventually you will read against the clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/you-can-read-merely-to-pass-the-time-or-you-can-read-with-an-overt/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [In the finest critics one hears the full cry of the human. They tell one why it matters to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/in-the-finest-critics-one-hears-the-full-cry-of-the-human-they-tell/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The idea of Herman Melville in a writing class is always distressing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-idea-of-herman-melville-in-a-writing-class-is-always-distressing/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Aesthetic value emanates from the struggle between texts: in the reader, in language, in the classroom, in arguments within a society. Aesthetic value rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/aesthetic-value-emanates-from-the-struggle-between-texts-in-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Shakespeare will not make us better, and he will not make us worse, but he may teach us how to overhear ourselves when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/shakespeare-will-not-make-us-better-and-he-will-not-make-us-worse-but/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Criticism starts - it has to start - with a real passion for reading. It can come in adolescence, even in your twenties, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/criticism-starts-it-has-to-start-with-a-real-passion-for-reading-it/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“No one has yet managed to be post-Shakespearean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/no-one-has-yet-managed-to-be-post-shakespearean/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [What is supposed to be the very essence of Judaism - which is the notion that it is by study that you make yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/what-is-supposed-to-be-the-very-essence-of-judaism-which-is-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Urging the need for community upon American religionists is a vain enterprise; the experiential encounter with Jesus or God is too overwhelming for memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/urging-the-need-for-community-upon-american-religionists-is-a-vain/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) [Explore all 127 Harold Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More Anxiety quotes > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I get nervous when I don't get nervous. If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/) [Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. If you really want to come out of your stressful situation than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subodh-gupta/nothing-happens-on-its-own-you-have-to-make-things-happen-if-you/) [Subodh Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subodh-gupta/) > [“I guess if we're talking about my anxiety, the even truthier truth is it started way before that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-winfrey/i-guess-if-we-re-talking-about-my-anxiety-the-even-truthier-truth-is/) [Kerry Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-winfrey/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As you know, I have been very open about my struggle with social anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-walker/as-you-know-i-have-been-very-open-about-my-struggle-with-social/) [Summer Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-walker/) > [Anxiety is not to be managed it is a sin that needs to be repented of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/anxiety-is-not-to-be-managed-it-is-a-sin-that-needs-to-be-repented-of/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) [Browse all 4,944 Anxiety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there is discourse about anxiety it is necessarily going to induce anxiety. 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