--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can handle reality in small doses, but…" description: "\"I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle, it's much too confining.\" — Lily Tomlin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png" --- # I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle… ![“I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle, it's much too confining.” quote by Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png) > “I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle, it's much too confining.” [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She tolerates reality in small amounts, but a constant exposure feels restrictive. **In simple terms:** Small doses of reality are okay; constant exposure feels limiting. Key Takeaway Limit exposure to harsh realities. Themes mental health coping reality boundaries Mood thoughtful practical Type advice psychological When to use this quote - daily life - mental health strategies - personal limits Key Concepts stress management psychology Questions to Reflect On - How much reality is healthy? - What boundaries protect well‑being? A Different Perspective Avoiding reality can lead to denial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confining/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) ## Related quotes > [I made some studies, and reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it. I can take it in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/i-made-some-studies-and-reality-is-the-leading-cause-of-stress/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [“What is it you do, then? I'll tell you: You leave out whatever doesn't suit you. As the author himself has done before you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-it-you-do-then-i-ll-tell-you-you-leave-out-whatever-doesn-t/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [Literature, whether handed down by word or mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/literature-whether-handed-down-by-word-or-mouth-or-in-print-gives-us/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Between the approximation of the idea and the precision of reality there was a small gap of the unimaginable, and it was this hiatus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/between-the-approximation-of-the-idea-and-the-precision-of-reality/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Sand in reality is nothing else than very small stones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/axel-fredrik-cronstedt/sand-in-reality-is-nothing-else-than-very-small-stones/) Axel Fredrik Cronstedt > [Reality has always been too small for the human imagination. We're always trying to transcend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-laurel/reality-has-always-been-too-small-for-the-human-imagination-we-re/) [Brenda Laurel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-laurel/) > [Clearly, we were hoping to get some competitive proposals, but the reality is there are only a small number of firms that would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-perrin/clearly-we-were-hoping-to-get-some-competitive-proposals-but-the/) Michael Perrin > [“So the popular notion that “God will never give us more than we can handle” is in reality a blatant falsehood—a lie. He will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-j-bargerhuff/so-the-popular-notion-that-god-will-never-give-us-more-than-we-can/) [Eric J. Bargerhuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-j-bargerhuff/) > [“The real world isn’t ready to handle our reality. How could they accept that the gulags, the drugs, and the Blood Pit are real?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/the-real-world-isn-t-ready-to-handle-our-reality-how-could-they/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [Please don't think that I am one of those squishy types who can't handle reality. 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If you make it spontaneous, so that anything can happen, like we don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/if-you-confine-it-you-re-confining-a-whole-thing-if-you-make-it/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) ## More by Lily Tomlin > [If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/if-truth-is-beauty-how-come-no-one-has-their-hair-done-in-a-library/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“So if you've had a good time tonight, or if you've had a good time any night, for gosh sake's why not drop a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/so-if-you-ve-had-a-good-time-tonight-or-if-you-ve-had-a-good-time-any/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/forgiveness-means-giving-up-all-hope-for-a-better-past/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [I bought a box of animal crackers, but there was nothing inside. They'd eaten each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-bought-a-box-of-animal-crackers-but-there-was-nothing-inside-they-d/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [Wouldn't it be great if we all grew up to be what we wanted to be? The world would be full of nurses, firemen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/wouldn-t-it-be-great-if-we-all-grew-up-to-be-what-we-wanted-to-be-the/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [You know being relevant or coming up with something interesting, funny to say about what's current is just as hard as it might ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/you-know-being-relevant-or-coming-up-with-something-interesting-funny/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [I wanted to be a stage actress. I wanted to be a New York actress and have a community with other actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-wanted-to-be-a-stage-actress-i-wanted-to-be-a-new-york-actress-and/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his hands for masturbation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-have-reason-to-believe-that-man-first-walked-upright-to-free-his/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/we-don-t-care-we-don-t-have-to-we-re-the-phone-company/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/no-matter-how-cynical-i-get-i-can-t-keep-up/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [In the depths of the night, fear grips my heart. It paralyzes my mind. But most of all, I feel very, very alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/in-the-depths-of-the-night-fear-grips-my-heart-it-paralyzes-my-mind/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [“I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. And then I realized I was somebody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-always-wondered-why-somebody-didn-t-do-something-about-that-and/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/sometimes-i-worry-about-being-a-success-in-a-mediocre-world/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [And yet humanity is so not evolved that how can you expect anything absolutely major to happen? Look how long, we move ahead in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/and-yet-humanity-is-so-not-evolved-that-how-can-you-expect-anything/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [The whole idea of being in captivity in such limited space, especially in a zoo, causes elephants to suffer. They develop all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/the-whole-idea-of-being-in-captivity-in-such-limited-space-especially/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) [Explore all 135 Lily Tomlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) ## More Confining quotes > [If you confine it, you're confining a whole thing. If you make it spontaneous, so that anything can happen, like we don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/if-you-confine-it-you-re-confining-a-whole-thing-if-you-make-it/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [Over the past fifty years or so, scientists have allowed the conventions of expression available to them to become entirely too confining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mermin/over-the-past-fifty-years-or-so-scientists-have-allowed-the/) [David Mermin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mermin/) > [(P)eople’s good intentions can wind up putting us in boxes as confining as coffins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/p-eople-s-good-intentions-can-wind-up-putting-us-in-boxes-as/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [“My rather arrogant attitude deludes me into believing that my ability to understand something is the criteria for its legitimacy. And if there’s one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/my-rather-arrogant-attitude-deludes-me-into-believing-that-my-ability/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Names are so confining. They put you in a box. I'm me, and you can see who I am. I may change later. Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clockwork-angels/names-are-so-confining-they-put-you-in-a-box-i-m-me-and-you-can-see/) Clockwork Angels > [I guess the White House is kind of confining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/i-guess-the-white-house-is-kind-of-confining/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [There is nothing so confining as the prisons of our own perceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/there-is-nothing-so-confining-as-the-prisons-of-our-own-perceptions/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“From up here, the world doesn’t seem so small and confining.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgell/from-up-here-the-world-doesn-t-seem-so-small-and-confining/) John Edgell > [Over the past fifty years or so, scientists have allowed the conventions of expression available to them to become entirely too confining, too confining.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mermin/over-the-past-fifty-years-or-so-scientists-have-allowed-the-2/) [David Mermin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mermin/) > [I don't like anything that's too confining. I'm sort of a control freak, so anything that makes me feel like I'm out of control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisha-cuthbert/i-don-t-like-anything-that-s-too-confining-i-m-sort-of-a-control/) [Elisha Cuthbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisha-cuthbert/) > [“If you are having private thoughts and ask an intimate friend to listen to them in privacy or on a date will that be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/if-you-are-having-private-thoughts-and-ask-an-intimate-friend-to/) [Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/) > [Confining marine animals to tanks and separating them from their families and their natural surroundings, just so people can watch them swim in endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/confining-marine-animals-to-tanks-and-separating-them-from-their/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [“Maybe we should remember that logic constructs a box that is far too small for wonder to take up residence in. Therefore, the crucial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/maybe-we-should-remember-that-logic-constructs-a-box-that-is-far-too/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) [Browse all 14 Confining quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confining/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle, it's much too confining.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lily Tomlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but-as-a-lifestyle-it-s-much-too/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confining" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but-as-a-lifestyle-it-s-much-too/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/lily-tomlin-3278_confining_i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but_979819.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle, it's much too confining.” — Lily Tomlin", "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": "Lily Tomlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can handle reality in small...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but-as-a-lifestyle-it-s-much-too/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/i-can-handle-reality-in-small-doses-but-as-a-lifestyle-it-s-much-too/#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 } } ] } ```