--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All along, she had given him the sort of…" description: "\"“All along, she had given him the sort of On-Off treatment scientists use to drive rats insane. In humans, this merely leads to a state of high anxiety..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/lucy-ellmann-40140_high-anxiety_all-along-she-had-given-him-the-sort-of_217365.png" --- # All along, she had given him the sort of On-Off treatment… ![“All along, she had given him the sort of On-Off treatment scientists use to drive rats insane. In humans, this merely leads to a state of high anxiety. She was a mystery to him. A mystery banana.” quote by Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/lucy-ellmann-40140_high-anxiety_all-along-she-had-given-him-the-sort-of_217365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/lucy-ellmann-40140_high-anxiety_all-along-she-had-given-him-the-sort-of_217365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/lucy-ellmann-40140_high-anxiety_all-along-she-had-given-him-the-sort-of_217365.png) > ““All along, she had given him the sort of On-Off treatment scientists use to drive rats insane. In humans, this merely leads to a state of high anxiety. She was a mystery to him. A mystery banana.”” [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes a relationship where erratic, unpredictable behavior causes intense anxiety, likening it to scientific experiments that destabilize subjects. **In simple terms:** Unpredictable behavior creates anxiety. Key Takeaway Recognize and address erratic patterns. Themes relationships anxiety communication Mood tense conflicted Type observational literary When to use this quote - dating - workplace interactions - friendships - family dynamics Key Concepts psychology behavioral dynamics uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - How does inconsistency affect trust? - What strategies can calm anxiety in unpredictable relationships? A Different Perspective Such volatile behavior can also stem from deeper insecurity, not just cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety-mystery-2228628/) [Drive Rats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drive-rats-2228630/) [High anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-anxiety/) [Mystery Banana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-banana-2228629/) [Rats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rats/) [Rats Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rats-insane-2228627/) ## Related quotes > [I remember that in the past I was overwhelmed with the mystery of anxiety, or the mystery of depression, but now when you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-granduciel/i-remember-that-in-the-past-i-was-overwhelmed-with-the-mystery-of/) [Adam Granduciel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-granduciel/) > [I only work out because I have high anxiety, and if I don't I tend to... I say I'm like a border collie. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-abel/i-only-work-out-because-i-have-high-anxiety-and-if-i-don-t-i-tend-to/) [Jake Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-abel/) > [The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-place-between-your-comfort-zone-and-your-dream-is-where-life/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I'm generally a people-pleaser so I get high anxiety from any sort of confrontation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-byrne/i-m-generally-a-people-pleaser-so-i-get-high-anxiety-from-any-sort-of/) [Rose Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-byrne/) > [“Ivy League bumblers and drunks who had once pulled the levers of secret gov't in an age of high anxiety...These were the bastards who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bromell/ivy-league-bumblers-and-drunks-who-had-once-pulled-the-levers-of/) [Henry Bromell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bromell/) > [“If words come upon our minds, we should express them in order to free ourselves from high anxiety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saaif-alam/if-words-come-upon-our-minds-we-should-express-them-in-order-to-free/) [Saaif Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saaif-alam/) > [I had a heart issue, and a lot of it was caused by stress and anxiety. I know that my father had really high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-frye/i-had-a-heart-issue-and-a-lot-of-it-was-caused-by-stress-and-anxiety/) [Channing Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-frye/) > [Mr. Bucchino occupies a special niche. His flowing, finely made piano ballads describe an urban single life in which relationships come and go... with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-holden/mr-bucchino-occupies-a-special-niche-his-flowing-finely-made-piano/) [Stephen Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-holden/) > [Every writer knows that unless you were born gifted with either supreme confidence or outsize ego, handing in your work holds, in some cases,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/every-writer-knows-that-unless-you-were-born-gifted-with-either/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [At one of the largest advertising agencies in America psychologists on the staff are probing sample humans in an attempt to find how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-packard/at-one-of-the-largest-advertising-agencies-in-america-psychologists/) [Vance Packard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-packard/) > [I got a chance to work with Mel Brooks on two of his films: Silent Movie and High Anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/i-got-a-chance-to-work-with-mel-brooks-on-two-of-his-films-silent/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I think making any art requires a certain degree of high anxiety and total abandon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crabb/i-think-making-any-art-requires-a-certain-degree-of-high-anxiety-and/) [David Crabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crabb/) > [“Learning is retarded in conditions of high anxiety and low acceptance. For most tasks, people have the intellectual knowledge to perform well; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gallwey/learning-is-retarded-in-conditions-of-high-anxiety-and-low-acceptance/) [Tim Gallwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gallwey/) > [Who does not recall school at least in part as endless dreary hours of boredom punctuated by moments of high anxiety?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/who-does-not-recall-school-at-least-in-part-as-endless-dreary-hours/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Risk, then, is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/risk-then-is-not-just-part-of-life-it-is-life-the-place-between-your/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) ## More by Lucy Ellmann > [“What is the point of labeling each individual piece of fruit? Buy the fruit, EAT the ad! We've carved a chunk out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/what-is-the-point-of-labeling-each-individual-piece-of-fruit-buy-the/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [The secret idea she was forming of an afterlife gave her the foothold she needed to endure the agonies to come, a newfound courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/the-secret-idea-she-was-forming-of-an-afterlife-gave-her-the-foothold/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“And they dare to rule the world! They have made it so ugly. Square houses! Their obsession with straight lines and right angles has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/and-they-dare-to-rule-the-world-they-have-made-it-so-ugly-square/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [I was sorting through my mother's things. All the letters from friends had to go. I don't know why she kept them, and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/i-was-sorting-through-my-mother-s-things-all-the-letters-from-friends/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“She stood eating soup in her overgrown garden, looking up at stars she could not name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/she-stood-eating-soup-in-her-overgrown-garden-looking-up-at-stars-she/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“The fact that I try to bear grudges but in the end the original reason for it drifts away and I´m left with just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/the-fact-that-i-try-to-bear-grudges-but-in-the-end-the-original/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“The whole world organizes itself around the fact that people manage to get their awkward bodies in position to fuck, an achievement honored by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/the-whole-world-organizes-itself-around-the-fact-that-people-manage/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“Unable to make babies, they make bombs instead. Men menstruate by shedding other people's blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/unable-to-make-babies-they-make-bombs-instead-men-menstruate-by/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“One of my cats reminds me of my mother. I pat my mother in her. Reincarnation of evaporated mother.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/one-of-my-cats-reminds-me-of-my-mother-i-pat-my-mother-in-her/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) > [“GENERAL STATEMENT FOR ALL CONCERNED: I do not wish you to be perturbed in any way by my current uncommunicative behaviour. I wish it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-ellmann/general-statement-for-all-concerned-i-do-not-wish-you-to-be-perturbed/) [Lucy Ellmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) [Explore all 11 Lucy Ellmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-ellmann/) ## More High anxiety quotes > [I only work out because I have high anxiety, and if I don't I tend to... I say I'm like a border collie. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-abel/i-only-work-out-because-i-have-high-anxiety-and-if-i-don-t-i-tend-to/) [Jake Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-abel/) > [Who does not recall school at least in part as endless dreary hours of boredom punctuated by moments of high anxiety?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/who-does-not-recall-school-at-least-in-part-as-endless-dreary-hours/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [“Learning is retarded in conditions of high anxiety and low acceptance. For most tasks, people have the intellectual knowledge to perform well; they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gallwey/learning-is-retarded-in-conditions-of-high-anxiety-and-low-acceptance/) [Tim Gallwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gallwey/) > [I think making any art requires a certain degree of high anxiety and total abandon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crabb/i-think-making-any-art-requires-a-certain-degree-of-high-anxiety-and/) [David Crabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crabb/) > [I got a chance to work with Mel Brooks on two of his films: Silent Movie and High Anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/i-got-a-chance-to-work-with-mel-brooks-on-two-of-his-films-silent/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [At one of the largest advertising agencies in America psychologists on the staff are probing sample humans in an attempt to find how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-packard/at-one-of-the-largest-advertising-agencies-in-america-psychologists/) [Vance Packard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-packard/) > [Every writer knows that unless you were born gifted with either supreme confidence or outsize ego, handing in your work holds, in some cases,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/every-writer-knows-that-unless-you-were-born-gifted-with-either/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Mr. Bucchino occupies a special niche. His flowing, finely made piano ballads describe an urban single life in which relationships come and go... with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-holden/mr-bucchino-occupies-a-special-niche-his-flowing-finely-made-piano/) [Stephen Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-holden/) > [I had a heart issue, and a lot of it was caused by stress and anxiety. I know that my father had really high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-frye/i-had-a-heart-issue-and-a-lot-of-it-was-caused-by-stress-and-anxiety/) [Channing Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-frye/) > [“If words come upon our minds, we should express them in order to free ourselves from high anxiety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saaif-alam/if-words-come-upon-our-minds-we-should-express-them-in-order-to-free/) [Saaif Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saaif-alam/) > [“Ivy League bumblers and drunks who had once pulled the levers of secret gov't in an age of high anxiety...These were the bastards who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bromell/ivy-league-bumblers-and-drunks-who-had-once-pulled-the-levers-of/) [Henry Bromell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bromell/) > [I'm generally a people-pleaser so I get high anxiety from any sort of confrontation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-byrne/i-m-generally-a-people-pleaser-so-i-get-high-anxiety-from-any-sort-of/) [Rose Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-byrne/) > [The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-place-between-your-comfort-zone-and-your-dream-is-where-life/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Risk, then, is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/risk-then-is-not-just-part-of-life-it-is-life-the-place-between-your/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [It is quite possible that societies - much like individuals - collectively repress information, concepts, and ideas which would produce high anxiety levels if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-bryan-key/it-is-quite-possible-that-societies-much-like-individuals/) [Wilson Bryan Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-bryan-key/) [Browse all 16 High anxiety quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-anxiety/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All along, she had given him the sort of On-Off treatment scientists use to drive rats insane. In humans, this merely leads to a state of high anxiety. She was a mystery to him. 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