--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can hear myself whining again 'Why does…" description: "\"“I can hear myself whining again 'Why does God torture me?' - But anybody who's never had a delirium tremens even in their early stages may not underst..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg" --- # I can hear myself whining again 'Why does God torture me?'… ![“I can hear myself whining again 'Why does God torture me?' - But anybody who's never had a delirium tremens even in their early stages may not understand that it's not so much a physical pain but a mental anguish indescribable to those ignorant people who don't drink and accuse drinkers of…” quote by Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg) > ““I can hear myself whining again 'Why does God torture me?' - But anybody who's never had a delirium tremens even in their early stages may not understand that it's not so much a physical pain but a mental anguish indescribable to those ignorant people who don't drink and accuse drinkers of irresponsibility - The mental anguish is so intense that you feel you have betrayed your very birth, the efforts nay the birth pangs of your mother when she bore you and delivered you to the world, you've betrayed every effort your father ever made to feed you and raise you and make you strong and my God even 'educate' you for life, you feel a guilt so deep you identify yourself with the devil and God seems far away abandoning you to your sick silliness - You feel sick in the greatest sense of the world, breathing without believing it, sicksicksick, your soul groans, you look at your helpless hands as tho they were on fire and you can't move to help, you look at the world with dead eyes, there's on your face an expression of incalculable repining like a constipated angel on a cloud - In fact it's actually a cancerous look you throw on the world, through browngray wool fuds over your eyes - Your tongue is white and disgusting, your teeth are stained, your hair seems to have dried out overnight, there are huge mucks in the corners of your eyes, greases on your nose, froth at the sides of your moth: in short that very disgusting and well-known hideousness everybody knows who's walked past a city street drunk in the Boweries of the world”” [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes the overwhelming mental torment of addiction, feeling alienated from self and society, and the profound guilt that accompanies it. **In simple terms:** Addiction brings deep mental anguish and self‑betrayal. Key Takeaway Seek help and self‑compassion. Themes addiction mental anguish guilt alienation Mood desperate raw introspective Type personal emotional When to use this quote - rehabilitation - support groups - personal reflection - creative expression Key Concepts psychology existential crisis substance abuse Questions to Reflect On - What steps can break the cycle of self‑destruction? - How does society’s judgment affect recovery? A Different Perspective Recovery is possible but requires confronting painful truths and societal stigma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholism/) [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [God Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-torture-2865799/) [Guilt Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt-deep-2323558/) [Ignorant people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-people/) [Mental Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-anguish-1614504/) [Pain Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-mental-1204939/) [Physical pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-pain/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [“But anybody who's never had delirium tremens even in their early stages may not understand that it's not so much a physical pain but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-anybody-who-s-never-had-delirium-tremens-even-in-their-early/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I'm an ardent tennis player. I'm like an overenthusiastic child out there and I've damaged my back. It's not that it's crippling pain, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/i-m-an-ardent-tennis-player-i-m-like-an-overenthusiastic-child-out/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [We can alleviate physical pain, but mental pain - grief, despair, depression, dementia - is less accessible to treatment. It's connected to who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eyre/we-can-alleviate-physical-pain-but-mental-pain-grief-despair/) [Richard Eyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eyre/) > [I felt along with her - not the physical pain, of course, but all her mental anguish. You can't be detached. She needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bronson/i-felt-along-with-her-not-the-physical-pain-of-course-but-all-her/) [Charles Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bronson/) > [What kind of man would I have been if I had not been there to help her? I felt along with her - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bronson/what-kind-of-man-would-i-have-been-if-i-had-not-been-there-to-help/) [Charles Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bronson/) > [Teach me, 0 God, not to torture myself, not to make a martyr out of myself through stifling reflection, but rather teach me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/teach-me-0-god-not-to-torture-myself-not-to-make-a-martyr-out-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“I fully grant that mysterious invisible room-cleaning is in a way great, every true slob’s fantasy, somebody materializing and deslobbing your room and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-fully-grant-that-mysterious-invisible-room-cleaning-is-in-a-way/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [When people suffer from depression or anxiety or any sort of pain/mental anguish combo, being able to take the power out of it through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruston-kelly/when-people-suffer-from-depression-or-anxiety-or-any-sort-of-pain/) [Ruston Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruston-kelly/) > [“There is always someone smarter than you; you’d think we die from the constant pain of our mental inferiority, except that most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-clarke/there-is-always-someone-smarter-than-you-you-d-think-we-die-from-the/) [Brock Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-clarke/) > [Pray to God with tears in your eyes whenever you want illumination or find yourself faced with any doubt or difficulty. The Lord will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarada-devi/pray-to-god-with-tears-in-your-eyes-whenever-you-want-illumination-or/) [Sarada Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarada-devi/) > [“All pain seemed to come with lots of blood, and lots of mental anguish, too. I already knew about that. Maybe that was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/all-pain-seemed-to-come-with-lots-of-blood-and-lots-of-mental-anguish/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [I always found myself trying to cover the mental anguish and the torment and the abuse that I was dealing with. That made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-smith/i-always-found-myself-trying-to-cover-the-mental-anguish-and-the/) [Tasha Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-smith/) > [Mental anguish always results from the avoidance of legitimate suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/mental-anguish-always-results-from-the-avoidance-of-legitimate/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [No matter what you would like to believe, you have zero control over others. Realize this and you will free yourself from a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/no-matter-what-you-would-like-to-believe-you-have-zero-control-over/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More by Jack Kerouac > [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/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“For when you realized that God is Everything you know that you've got to love everything no matter how bad it is, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/for-when-you-realized-that-god-is-everything-you-know-that-you-ve-got/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“I'm an idealist who has outgrown my idealism I have nothing to do the rest of my life but do it and the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-an-idealist-who-has-outgrown-my-idealism-i-have-nothing-to-do-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Most of them were running away from something―usually the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/most-of-them-were-running-away-from-something-usually-the-law/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“Non lo so, non importa e non fa nessuna differenza.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/non-lo-so-non-importa-e-non-fa-nessuna-differenza/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“And in the flush of the first few days of joy I confidently tell myself (not expecting what I'll do in three weeks only)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/and-in-the-flush-of-the-first-few-days-of-joy-i-confidently-tell/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I want a blaze of light to flame in me forever in a timeless, dear love of everything. 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Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) [David Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-norman/) > [If you decide on having an alcoholic at your party, make sure it's a large gathering. 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But anybody who's never had a delirium tremens even in their early stages may not understand that it's not so much a physical pain but a mental anguish indescribable to those ignorant people who don't drink and accuse drinkers of irresponsibility - The mental anguish is so intense that you feel you have betrayed your very birth, the efforts nay the birth pangs of your mother when she bore you and delivered you to the world, you've betrayed every effort your father ever made to feed you and raise you and make you strong and my God even 'educate' you for life, you feel a guilt so deep you identify yourself with the devil and God seems far away abandoning you to your sick silliness - You feel sick in the greatest sense of the world, breathing without believing it, sicksicksick, your soul groans, you look at your helpless hands as tho they were on fire and you can't move to help, you look at the world with dead eyes, there's on your face an expression of incalculable repining like a constipated angel on a cloud - In fact it's actually a cancerous look you throw on the world, through browngray wool fuds over your eyes - Your tongue is white and disgusting, your teeth are stained, your hair seems to have dried out overnight, there are huge mucks in the corners of your eyes, greases on your nose, froth at the sides of your moth: in short that very disgusting and well-known hideousness everybody knows who's walked past a city street drunk in the Boweries of the world”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Kerouac" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does-god-torture-me-but-anybody/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alcoholism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does-god-torture-me-but-anybody/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fe/jack-kerouac-182_alcoholism_i-can-hear-myself-whining-again-why-does_2718762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can hear myself whining again 'Why does God torture me?' - 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