--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know something about dread myself, and…" description: "\"I know something about dread myself, and appreciate the elaborate systems with which some people fill the void, appreciate all the opiates of the peopl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/joan-didion-497_alcohol_i-know-something-about-dread-myself-and_2244410.jpg" --- # I know something about dread myself, and appreciate the… ![“I know something about dread myself, and appreciate the elaborate systems with which some people fill the void, appreciate all the opiates of the people, whether they are as accessible as alcohol and heroin and promiscuity or as hard to come by as faith in God or History.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/joan-didion-497_alcohol_i-know-something-about-dread-myself-and_2244410.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/joan-didion-497_alcohol_i-know-something-about-dread-myself-and_2244410.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/joan-didion-497_alcohol_i-know-something-about-dread-myself-and_2244410.jpg) > “I know something about dread myself, and appreciate the elaborate systems with which some people fill the void, appreciate all the opiates of the people, whether they are as accessible as alcohol and heroin and promiscuity or as hard to come by as faith in God or History.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People fill existential emptiness with various coping mechanisms, ranging from substances to belief systems. **In simple terms:** People use habits or faith to fill voids. Key Takeaway Seek healthy ways to address existential dread. Themes existential coping addiction faith culture psychology Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative expression - community building - education - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism addiction studies spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning beyond material comforts? - How do cultural narratives shape coping? A Different Perspective Not all coping mechanisms are equally harmful or effective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcohol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcohol/) [Appreciate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciate/) [Appreciate Opiates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciate-opiates-2957912/) [Dread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dread/) [Dread Appreciate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dread-appreciate-2957909/) [Faith in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-in-god/) [Fill the void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fill-the-void/) [Heroin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroin/) [Heroin Promiscuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroin-promiscuity-5101296/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Know Dread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-dread-867511/) [Opiates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opiates/) [Opiates People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opiates-people-5101295/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Promiscuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promiscuity/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [“As it happens I am comfortable with the Michael Laskis of this world, with those who live outside rather than in, those in whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/as-it-happens-i-am-comfortable-with-the-michael-laskis-of-this-world/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [There’s no conscious thing on the face of the world that doesn’t know dread more intimately than its own heartbeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/there-s-no-conscious-thing-on-the-face-of-the-world-that-doesn-t-know/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Those who would most scornfully repudiate Christianity as a mere "opiate of the people" have a contempt for the rich, that is, for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/those-who-would-most-scornfully-repudiate-christianity-as-a-mere/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Marx called religion an opiate, and all too often it is. But philosophy is an anaesthetic, a shot to keep the wonder away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/marx-called-religion-an-opiate-and-all-too-often-it-is-but-philosophy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [“It was a myth you couldn't function on opiates: shooting up was one thing but for someone like me-jumping at pigeons beating from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-was-a-myth-you-couldn-t-function-on-opiates-shooting-up-was-one/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [In 1844, Karl Marx said, "Religion is the opiate of the masses." He said this at a time when opium and opium derivatives were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/in-1844-karl-marx-said-religion-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses-he-said/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Mystery fiction is, after all, a substitute for tranquilizers, strong drink, and bad, if diverting, companions. One slips into bed ... onto the train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/mystery-fiction-is-after-all-a-substitute-for-tranquilizers-strong/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [I believe in detox. I think detox is smart. You've got a guy who's in an opiate cycle or a dope cycle or something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-believe-in-detox-i-think-detox-is-smart-you-ve-got-a-guy-who-s-in/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [Heterosexuality is the opiate of the masses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-labruce/heterosexuality-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses/) [Bruce LaBruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-labruce/) > [“Government agencies are trying to get doctors to cut back on prescribing opioids. I understand that they need to do something about the epidemic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moore/government-agencies-are-trying-to-get-doctors-to-cut-back-on/) [Alison Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moore/) > [Perhaps the perusal of such works may, without injustice, be compared with the use of opiates, baneful, when habitually and constantly resorted to, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/perhaps-the-perusal-of-such-works-may-without-injustice-be-compared/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [In America, it is sport that is the opiate of the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/in-america-it-is-sport-that-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Opiates: Perk 30s, Oxy Contins, Morphine, Heroin, and many more… Iits all over the high schools and they just suck the life out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/opiates-perk-30s-oxy-contins-morphine-heroin-and-many-more-iits-all/) [Kevin Mccarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [“In the debate over opioid addiction, there’s one group we aren’t hearing from: chronic pain patients, many of whom need to use the drugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-smith-2/in-the-debate-over-opioid-addiction-there-s-one-group-we-aren-t/) [S. E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-smith-2/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. 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In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. 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