--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's nothing serious,\" he said. \"It's…" description: "\"“It's nothing serious,\" he said. \"It's just an obsession.”\" — Mary Gaitskill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg" --- # It's nothing serious," he said. "It's just an obsession. ![“It's nothing serious," he said. "It's just an obsession.” quote by Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg) > ““It's nothing serious," he said. "It's just an obsession.”” [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An obsession is minimized as harmless, yet the speaker hints at deeper, potentially destructive fixation. **In simple terms:** Obsession may seem trivial but can be dangerous. Key Takeaway Recognize the seriousness of compulsions. Themes psychology obsession self‑awareness danger denial Mood cautious thoughtful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - therapy sessions - creative processes - risk assessment Key Concepts cognitive bias mental health self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate an obsession is escalating? - How does minimizing behavior affect accountability? A Different Perspective Denial can prevent early intervention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) ## Related quotes > [don't let jesus in. AA is just one obsession replaced with another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/don-t-let-jesus-in-aa-is-just-one-obsession-replaced-with-another/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [My little sister, the first thing she said was, 'Can we go shopping?' I said, 'Just because I am gay does not mean I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-evans/my-little-sister-the-first-thing-she-said-was-can-we-go-shopping-i/) [Scott Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-evans/) > [“I love you, Brew." "No you don't," he said. "Just shut up and take it," I told him. He smiled. "Okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/i-love-you-brew-no-you-don-t-he-said-just-shut-up-and-take-it-i-told/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“F--- off. It's not like that. Her and me. I'm just saying--" "That you hadn't left her for good. I never said you had.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/f-off-it-s-not-like-that-her-and-me-i-m-just-saying-that-you-hadn-t/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [“The show went live and we all filed out and sat down. The anchors started asking questions and I think they asked me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-galloway/the-show-went-live-and-we-all-filed-out-and-sat-down-the-anchors/) [Noah Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-galloway/) > [“Tony said just being here can be enough to turn someone crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/tony-said-just-being-here-can-be-enough-to-turn-someone-crazy/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [They said they were just friends , but friends don't look at each other like that !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj/they-said-they-were-just-friends-but-friends-don-t-look-at-each-other/) [Raj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj/) > [“i don't do promises, when i said it i just do it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luffy/i-don-t-do-promises-when-i-said-it-i-just-do-it/) Luffy > [“He said nothing, just pulled me down into his lap and wrapped his arms around me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/he-said-nothing-just-pulled-me-down-into-his-lap-and-wrapped-his-arms/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [“However…” he said. “Now see, that’s just a but with more meat on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-annino/however-he-said-now-see-that-s-just-a-but-with-more-meat-on-it/) [Barbra Annino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-annino/) > [“What is it that I’m doing again?” “You know that already,” she said. “You just think that you don’t, but you do. It’s what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-m-danforth/what-is-it-that-i-m-doing-again-you-know-that-already-she-said-you/) [Emily M. Danforth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-m-danforth/) > [Nobody run off with her,” Roscoe said. "She just run off with herself, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/nobody-run-off-with-her-roscoe-said-she-just-run-off-with-herself-i/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [I said it, just like that. No stupid jokes, no changing the subject. For once, I wasn't embarrassed, because it was the truth. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/i-said-it-just-like-that-no-stupid-jokes-no-changing-the-subject-for/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [“No one said anything. We all just looked up at the sky and we breathed out and in and we all thought the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/no-one-said-anything-we-all-just-looked-up-at-the-sky-and-we-breathed/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Everything that could be said already has; I'm just trying to say it differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hutchinson/everything-that-could-be-said-already-has-i-m-just-trying-to-say-it/) [Eric Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hutchinson/) ## More by Mary Gaitskill > [“I carry love wrapped in pain. That is my treasure and soon it will be yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-carry-love-wrapped-in-pain-that-is-my-treasure-and-soon-it-will-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“God famously doesn't afflict Job because of anything Job has done, but because he wants to prove a point to Satan. Twenty years later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/god-famously-doesn-t-afflict-job-because-of-anything-job-has-done-but/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When you're writing a story, you're creating something of an artificial ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-you-re-writing-a-story-you-re-creating-something-of-an/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Partly, I'm worried that no one is saying anything because they are afraid of being seen as politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/partly-i-m-worried-that-no-one-is-saying-anything-because-they-are/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “...loading your brain with subliminal messages… How loathsome to turn a sadistic murder into entertainment \[in the newspaper\] -- and yet how hard not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/loading-your-brain-with-subliminal-messages-how-loathsome-to-turn-a/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “The place Joanne is building inside \[herself\] has rooms for all of this. Not just rooms. Beautiful ones. For Karl and Jerry and Karen… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-place-joanne-is-building-inside-herself-has-rooms-for-all-of-this/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“Valiantly, he tried to bring his soul to life in the small thing through which it had to live, and it was crushed, again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/valiantly-he-tried-to-bring-his-soul-to-life-in-the-small-thing/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [The best definition I've heard is that guilt is about what you've done, shame is about who you are. If something's out of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-best-definition-i-ve-heard-is-that-guilt-is-about-what-you-ve/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When my first book came out, it was very disorienting. My health went south. I didn't know how to relate to people. I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-my-first-book-came-out-it-was-very-disorienting-my-health-went/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When he held her that way, she felt so happy that it disturbed her. After he left, it would take her hours to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-he-held-her-that-way-she-felt-so-happy-that-it-disturbed-her/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“But life can give a lot. If you can’t see inside the heart no matter how you look, then why not look? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/but-life-can-give-a-lot-if-you-can-t-see-inside-the-heart-no-matter/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Sexuality is a place where people are very vulnerable and can be experiencing and embodying very raw forces that they don't really understand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/sexuality-is-a-place-where-people-are-very-vulnerable-and-can-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“When boys get angry with each other, they just fight it out and it's all over. But girls are dirty. They pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-boys-get-angry-with-each-other-they-just-fight-it-out-and-it-s/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I think, life is miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-life-is-miserable/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) [Explore all 87 Mary Gaitskill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's nothing serious,\" he said. \"It's just an obsession.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Gaitskill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-an-obsession/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-an-obsession/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/mary-gaitskill-7551_desire_it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-a_2188277.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's nothing serious,\" he said. \"It's just an obsession.” — Mary Gaitskill", "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": "Mary Gaitskill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It's nothing serious,\" he said. \"It's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-an-obsession/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/it-s-nothing-serious-he-said-it-s-just-an-obsession/#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 } } ] } ```