--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know what the problem is, of course…" description: "\"I know what the problem is, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing - all classic Phase One signs of deliria. But I don..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lauren-oliver-109_bare-feet_i-know-what-the-problem-is-of-course-the_1359432.png" --- # I know what the problem is, of course. The disorientation… ![“I know what the problem is, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing - all classic Phase One signs of deliria. But I don't care. If pneumonia felt this good I'd stand out in the snow in the winter with bare feet and no coat, or march into the hospital and kiss…” quote by Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lauren-oliver-109_bare-feet_i-know-what-the-problem-is-of-course-the_1359432.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lauren-oliver-109_bare-feet_i-know-what-the-problem-is-of-course-the_1359432.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lauren-oliver-109_bare-feet_i-know-what-the-problem-is-of-course-the_1359432.png) > “I know what the problem is, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing - all classic Phase One signs of deliria. But I don't care. If pneumonia felt this good I'd stand out in the snow in the winter with bare feet and no coat, or march into the hospital and kiss pneumonia patients” [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## 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 describes a reckless, almost suicidal thrill‑seeking mindset, using illness as a metaphor for dangerous exhilaration. **In simple terms:** Seeking dangerous thrills despite risks. Key Takeaway Recognize when thrill‑seeking becomes self‑destructive. Themes risk self‑destruction psychology health recklessness Mood cynical intense Type literary psychological When to use this quote - adolescence - dangerous behavior - health crises Key Concepts addiction denial mental health Questions to Reflect On - Why do we romanticize risky experiences? - What healthier outlets replace self‑destructive thrills? A Different Perspective Glorifying harmful behavior can normalize danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bare feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bare-feet/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Disorientation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorientation/) [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Pneumonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pneumonia/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Standing out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing-out/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) ## Related quotes > [“I know part of the problem, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing-all classic Phase one signs of deliria. But I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-know-part-of-the-problem-of-course-the-disorientation-the/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing-all classic. Phase One signs of deliria.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/the-disorientation-the-distraction-the-difficulty-focusing-all/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Even when change is elective, it will disorient you. You may go through anxiety. You will miss aspects of your former life. It doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mackay/even-when-change-is-elective-it-will-disorient-you-you-may-go-through/) [Harvey Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mackay/) > [Future shock is the dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/future-shock-is-the-dizzying-disorientation-brought-on-by-the/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [One of my inspirations, Harry Houdini, remains an icon of the art because he defied our primal fears. His demonstrations in the early 20th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-angel/one-of-my-inspirations-harry-houdini-remains-an-icon-of-the-art/) [Criss Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-angel/) > [Every orientation presupposes a disorientation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-magnus-enzensberger/every-orientation-presupposes-a-disorientation/) [Hans Magnus Enzensberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-magnus-enzensberger/) > [Future shock is the disorientation that affects an individual, a corporation, or a country when he or it is overwhelmed by change and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/future-shock-is-the-disorientation-that-affects-an-individual-a/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [A long flight. Jetlag. Immigration. Customs. And then finally, that first step into a new place, that moment of exhilaration and disorientation, each feeding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/a-long-flight-jetlag-immigration-customs-and-then-finally-that-first/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“The only thing all the intended disorientation had accomplished was to familiarize her with the building. Idiots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/the-only-thing-all-the-intended-disorientation-had-accomplished-was/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [It feels like everything's been decided in advance that I'm following a path somebody else has already mapped out for me. It doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-feels-like-everything-s-been-decided-in-advance-that-i-m-following/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I felt the disorientation of a generous offer that in no way lines up with anything you want to do: like a promotion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/i-felt-the-disorientation-of-a-generous-offer-that-in-no-way-lines-up/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [“Let us say that science fiction is a kind of conceptual disorientation of the familiar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-roberts/let-us-say-that-science-fiction-is-a-kind-of-conceptual/) [Adam Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-roberts/) > [“In fact, I would suggest that what each moment produces is the inherently ambiguous affect of affective disorientation in general—what we might think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sianne-ngai/in-fact-i-would-suggest-that-what-each-moment-produces-is-the/) [Sianne Ngai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sianne-ngai/) > [The past is a stronger influence in the South. But I think everywhere you have this sense that the world changes faster than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/the-past-is-a-stronger-influence-in-the-south-but-i-think-everywhere/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [Transition is the natural process of disorientation and reorientation that marks the turning points in the path of growth...transitions are key times in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bridges/transition-is-the-natural-process-of-disorientation-and-reorientation/) [William Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bridges/) ## More by Lauren Oliver > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [This is what happens when you try to help people. You get screwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/this-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-help-people-you-get-screwed/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“At least when I'm sleeping I can dream myself back to Alex, can dream myself into a different world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/at-least-when-i-m-sleeping-i-can-dream-myself-back-to-alex-can-dream/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging, somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-stinging-somehow/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Julian is somewhere among those lights, in that blur of people and buildings. I wonder whether he's scared. I wonder whether he's thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/julian-is-somewhere-among-those-lights-in-that-blur-of-people-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“She’s the kind of person who makes you feel drunk just by being around her, like suddenly the world’s edges are dulled and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/she-s-the-kind-of-person-who-makes-you-feel-drunk-just-by-being/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Stop!” His voice rings out sharply, hard as a slap. He releases me and I stumble backward. “Alex is dead, do you hear me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/stop-his-voice-rings-out-sharply-hard-as-a-slap-he-releases-me-and-i/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You can't judge a book by its steel-toed combat boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-steel-toed-combat-boots/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) [Explore all 1,181 Lauren Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More Bare feet quotes > [“Her. Her. Her. Future breezes implore me to stay. But I'm no future. I'm no past. Only ever contemporary of this path. I'll sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/her-her-her-future-breezes-implore-me-to-stay-but-i-m-no-future-i-m/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [Because I'm on my own on stage and wear bare feet and look like a pixie, people always think I'm little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/because-i-m-on-my-own-on-stage-and-wear-bare-feet-and-look-like-a/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [The first four months of writing the book, my mental image is scratching with my hands through granite. My other image is pushing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-higgins-clark/the-first-four-months-of-writing-the-book-my-mental-image-is/) [Mary Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-higgins-clark/) > [“I don't understand, Jenna, why you couldn't give him a ride home?" Mom struck the archetypal Mom pose-hands on hips, perplexed look on face,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/i-don-t-understand-jenna-why-you-couldn-t-give-him-a-ride-home-mom/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [For me the bare feet are grounding. I'm connected to the Earth in a way that I cannot be any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/for-me-the-bare-feet-are-grounding-i-m-connected-to-the-earth-in-a/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > [“Oscar pushed a strand of her loose raven hair behind her ear, and Camille knew she hadn’t completely failed. The man she loved, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-frazier/oscar-pushed-a-strand-of-her-loose-raven-hair-behind-her-ear-and/) [Angie Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-frazier/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“Marcus woke again to find Sanga lying asleep on his bed, and he quietly climbed off his own mattress, standing still for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-riches/marcus-woke-again-to-find-sanga-lying-asleep-on-his-bed-and-he/) [Anthony Riches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-riches/) > [“Lego, however, is always opened and then left lying around so adults have something to tread on when they are prowling around around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/lego-however-is-always-opened-and-then-left-lying-around-so-adults/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [“His vulnerability allowed me to let my guard down, and gently and methodically, he tore apart my well-constructed dam. Waves of tender feelings were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/his-vulnerability-allowed-me-to-let-my-guard-down-and-gently-and/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [“Instead, I woke early the next morning, before sunrise, and went out into the world. I walked past my car. I stepped onto the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/instead-i-woke-early-the-next-morning-before-sunrise-and-went-out/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [What I wear is everything - from how I carry my hair to what I'm wearing on my feet. I have to feel comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mvula/what-i-wear-is-everything-from-how-i-carry-my-hair-to-what-i-m/) [Laura Mvula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mvula/) > [A cowboy, a lawyer, and a mechanic watched Queen of the Damned,” I murmured. Warren—who had once, a long time ago, been a cowboy—snickered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/a-cowboy-a-lawyer-and-a-mechanic-watched-queen-of-the-damned-i/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“Later they went outside, where a light rain was blowing in, mixed with salt spray feathering off the surf. Shasta wandered slowly down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/later-they-went-outside-where-a-light-rain-was-blowing-in-mixed-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“I know part of the problem, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing-all classic Phase one signs of deliria. But I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-know-part-of-the-problem-of-course-the-disorientation-the/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) [Browse all 216 Bare feet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bare-feet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know what the problem is, of course. The disorientation, the distraction, the difficulty focusing - all classic Phase One signs of deliria. But I don't care. 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