---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it is a luxury and privilege to…"
description: "\"I think it is a luxury and privilege to be sane and well and pessimistic. Because with depression, you have no other option. You don't want that pessim..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg"
---

#  I think it is a luxury and privilege to be sane and well…

![“I think it is a luxury and privilege to be sane and well and pessimistic. Because with depression, you have no other option. You don't want that pessimism, because it is crushing you and keeping you down at the bottom of the well.” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg)

> “I think it is a luxury and privilege to be sane and well and pessimistic. Because with depression, you have no other option. You don't want that pessimism, because it is crushing you and keeping you down at the bottom of the well.”

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Being sane and optimistic is a rare privilege; depression limits perspective, making pessimism feel inevitable.

**In simple terms:** Sane optimism is a privilege; depression restricts choices.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate mental resilience.

Themes

mental health optimism depression

Mood

empathetic hopeful

Type

personal inspirational

When to use this quote

- therapy
- daily journaling
- support networks
- mindfulness practice

Key Concepts

psychology existentialism well‑being

Questions to Reflect On

- What habits support a balanced outlook?
- How do you recognize when optimism becomes denial?

A Different Perspective

Optimism may be unsustainable without addressing underlying issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/)

## Related quotes

> [ \[However\], the sufferer from depression has no option, and therefore finds himself, like a walking casualty of war, thrust into the most intolerable social… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-styron/however-the-sufferer-from-depression-has-no-option-and-therefore/)

[William Styron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-styron/)

> [Today, luxury resides in everything that is becoming rare: communion with nature, silence, meditation, slowness rediscovered, the pleasure of living out of step with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-bruckner/today-luxury-resides-in-everything-that-is-becoming-rare-communion/)

[Pascal Bruckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-bruckner/)

> [This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-will-be-the-day-when-we-shall-bring-into-full-realization-the/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [“There is an inverse relationship between the time spent purchasing luxury items such as cars and clothes and the time spent planning one’s financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-stanley/there-is-an-inverse-relationship-between-the-time-spent-purchasing/)

[Thomas J. Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-stanley/)

> [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/)

[Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/)

> [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/)

[Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/)

> [From my experience, I don't have the luxury to trust anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sirivi/from-my-experience-i-don-t-have-the-luxury-to-trust-anyone/)

Sirivi

> [Our obsession with material things and lack of self-worth is evident in our need for an abundance of momentary luxuries and must-have amenities that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/our-obsession-with-material-things-and-lack-of-self-worth-is-evident/)

T.I

> [Is the minor convenience of allowing the present generation the luxury of doubling its energy consumption every 10 years worth the major hazard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/is-the-minor-convenience-of-allowing-the-present-generation-the/)

[David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/)

> [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/)

[William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/)

> [“I've always been after the trappings of great luxury. But all I've got hold of are the trappings of great poverty. I've got hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cook/i-ve-always-been-after-the-trappings-of-great-luxury-but-all-i-ve-got/)

[Peter Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cook/)

> [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/)

[Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/)

> [I had an idea for a technologically advanced luxury watch. I got involved in digital art and neon painting and put on shows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-moroder/i-had-an-idea-for-a-technologically-advanced-luxury-watch-i-got/)

[Giorgio Moroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-moroder/)

> [Let us have the luxury of silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/let-us-have-the-luxury-of-silence/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

## More by Matt Haig

> [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“It felt civilised and modern. It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. There are seven billion versions of strange on this freak wonder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/we-are-all-so-weird-that-really-none-of-us-are-there-are-seven/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“Sa asculti muzica, mi-am dat eu seama, nu era altceva decat placerea de a numara fara sa iti dai seama ca numeri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/sa-asculti-muzica-mi-am-dat-eu-seama-nu-era-altceva-decat-placerea-de/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [“Beauty--be not caused," said Emily Dickinson. "It is." In one way she was wrong. The scattering of light over a long distance creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/beauty-be-not-caused-said-emily-dickinson-it-is-in-one-way-she-was/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [I'm a firm believer in the connection between the body and the mind: feed one, feed both. I like to run, but only short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-m-a-firm-believer-in-the-connection-between-the-body-and-the-mind/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to see the smallness of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/look-at-the-sky-remind-yourself-of-the-cosmos-seek-vastness-at-every/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

> [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/)

[Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

[Explore all 294 Matt Haig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/)

## More Depression quotes

> [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/)

Kirsten Gilchrist

> [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/)

Heidi Ames

> [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/)

[Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/)

> [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/)

[Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/)

> [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/)

Yanilsa pena

> [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/)

Shayamalan

> [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/)

[Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/)

> [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/)

[Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/)

> [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/)

Hugh Williamson

> [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/)

[Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/)

> [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/)

James Buckham Kennedy

> [Scars by Papa Roach. &lt;3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/)

Sophielianne

[Browse all 4,965 Depression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think it is a luxury and privilege to be sane and well and pessimistic. Because with depression, you have no other option. You don't want that pessimism, because it is crushing you and keeping you down at the bottom of the well.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Matt Haig"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to-be-sane-and-well-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Depression"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to-be-sane-and-well-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/matt-haig-1036_depression_i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to_1440515.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think it is a luxury and privilege to be sane and well and pessimistic. Because with depression, you have…” — Matt Haig",
                "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": "Matt Haig",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think it is a luxury...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to-be-sane-and-well-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-think-it-is-a-luxury-and-privilege-to-be-sane-and-well-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
