--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes, when I talk to someone who has…" description: "\"Sometimes, when I talk to someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer or some other illness, I'll remind them: \"If you were honest with yourself, y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/marianne-williamson-90_cancer_sometimes-when-i-talk-to-someone-who-has_2131017.png" --- # Sometimes, when I talk to someone who has just been… ![“Sometimes, when I talk to someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer or some other illness, I'll remind them: "If you were honest with yourself, you were depressed before this happened. And if this were over you would be happy for a couple of weeks, a couple of months, and then something else…” quote by Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/marianne-williamson-90_cancer_sometimes-when-i-talk-to-someone-who-has_2131017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/marianne-williamson-90_cancer_sometimes-when-i-talk-to-someone-who-has_2131017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/marianne-williamson-90_cancer_sometimes-when-i-talk-to-someone-who-has_2131017.png) > “Sometimes, when I talk to someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer or some other illness, I'll remind them: "If you were honest with yourself, you were depressed before this happened. And if this were over you would be happy for a couple of weeks, a couple of months, and then something else would come along."” [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often feel depression before a crisis and temporary relief after, but life continues with new challenges. **In simple terms:** Depression can precede and follow serious illness, yet life moves on. Key Takeaway Recognize that emotional cycles are normal and seek lasting support. Themes mental health illness resilience Mood empathetic hopeful Type inspirational therapeutic When to use this quote - patient support groups - therapy sessions - personal journaling - mindfulness practice Key Concepts psychology grief counseling Questions to Reflect On - What lasting practices can sustain well‑being beyond short‑term relief? - How do you differentiate between temporary happiness and genuine recovery? A Different Perspective Hope can be fleeting; lasting healing requires deeper work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Depressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed/) [Depressed Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed-happened-4392892/) [Diagnosed Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagnosed-cancer-295859/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Depressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-depressed-4392891/) [Honest with yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-with-yourself/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Over you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-you/) [Remind Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remind-honest-2822116/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [I don't try to stop myself from becoming too personal. 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Because you were there,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/he-wasn-t-so-bad-when-the-two-of-us-came-to-see-you-though-he-was/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [When my sister was diagnosed with cancer in 1989, her doctor told her that the cancer had probably been in her system for 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/when-my-sister-was-diagnosed-with-cancer-in-1989-her-doctor-told-her/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [My dad was diagnosed with cancer, so we ended up burying him a year to the day that he was diagnosed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-dad-was-diagnosed-with-cancer-so-we-ended-up-burying-him-a-year-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dad was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in February 2012, and finding that out really messed me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-deeney/my-dad-was-diagnosed-with-cancer-of-the-oesophagus-in-february-2012/) [Troy Deeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-deeney/) > [In 1995, I was diagnosed with cancer, and I had to practice what I preached. 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It was only when he was diagnosed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-walters/my-dad-spent-most-of-my-childhood-behind-bars-he-went-to-jail-17-or/) [Ashley Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-walters/) > [If someone you know is diagnosed with cancer, give them a call or send them a letter to tell them how sorry you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/if-someone-you-know-is-diagnosed-with-cancer-give-them-a-call-or-send/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [Being diagnosed with cancer helped me identify all that was wrong in my life. It also helped me search for the solutions. I discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/being-diagnosed-with-cancer-helped-me-identify-all-that-was-wrong-in/) [Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/) > [I think obviously when you're first diagnosed with cancer you definitely panic and that your mind races and thinks the worst but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-boorman/i-think-obviously-when-you-re-first-diagnosed-with-cancer-you/) [Charley Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-boorman/) > [Being diagnosed with cancer really opened my eyes to the fact anyone can have it and that even though we think we have control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/being-diagnosed-with-cancer-really-opened-my-eyes-to-the-fact-anyone/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [Well even before she was diagnosed with the cancer, I would have said that she was a lot tougher than me and most guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-favre/well-even-before-she-was-diagnosed-with-the-cancer-i-would-have-said/) [Brett Favre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-favre/) ## More by Marianne Williamson > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Great people are not people who have never fallen down. Greatness has to do with how you get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/great-people-are-not-people-who-have-never-fallen-down-greatness-has/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I feel that if your soul was branded by the sixties, you never lost the brand. 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You are not too old. You are right on time-And you are better than you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/it-is-not-too-late-you-are-not-too-old-you-are-right-on-time-and-you/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I tell my mother I went to God in spite of my religious education. I feel that my religious education was inadequate, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-tell-my-mother-i-went-to-god-in-spite-of-my-religious-education-i/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [You don't have to be a spiritual seeker, you can be a businessman dealing with the revolution in computers. You could be a congressman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-spiritual-seeker-you-can-be-a-businessman/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Dear God, I surrender this thought to you, for I would see the miracle that lies behind it. Amen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/dear-god-i-surrender-this-thought-to-you-for-i-would-see-the-miracle/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Explore all 1,347 Marianne Williamson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. 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I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes, when I talk to someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer or some other illness, I'll remind them: \"If you were honest with yourself, you were depressed before this happened. 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