--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it…" description: "\"It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated everything, everything was a problem, everything made her cry - school, homework, boyfriends, the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png" --- # It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated… ![“It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated everything, everything was a problem, everything made her cry - school, homework, boyfriends, the future, the lack of future, the uncertainty of future, fear of future, fear in general - but it was so hard to say exactly what the problem was in…” quote by Melanie Thernstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png) > “It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated everything, everything was a problem, everything made her cry - school, homework, boyfriends, the future, the lack of future, the uncertainty of future, fear of future, fear in general - but it was so hard to say exactly what the problem was in the first place.” [Melanie Thernstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-thernstrom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A pervasive sense of unhappiness can seep into every aspect of life, making ordinary concerns feel overwhelming and undefined. **In simple terms:** Unhappiness can spread to all parts of life. Key Takeaway Identify and address the root cause of pervasive sadness. Themes mental health overwhelm uncertainty emotional distress Mood anxious melancholic reflective Type observational personal When to use this quote - school stress - relationship issues - career anxiety - future planning Key Concepts psychology existential anxiety cognitive distortion Questions to Reflect On - What underlying belief fuels this pervasive unhappiness? - How can you differentiate between general anxiety and specific problems? A Different Perspective The description may be vague, making it hard to pinpoint specific solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Homework](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homework/) [Infiltrated Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infiltrated-problem-3000102/) [Like Sawdust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sawdust-3000101/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Sawdust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sawdust/) [Sawdust Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sawdust-unhappiness-3000100/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Uncertainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncertainty/) [Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness/) [Unhappiness Infiltrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness-infiltrated-3000099/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [“Grief is when you feel so helpless and stupid that you think nothing will ever be right again, and your macaroni and cheese tastes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/grief-is-when-you-feel-so-helpless-and-stupid-that-you-think-nothing/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Ozzy's cage is now sparkling but there is a problem. It seems that if you put vast quantities of sawdust down a toilet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-buckle/ozzy-s-cage-is-now-sparkling-but-there-is-a-problem-it-seems-that-if/) [J.A. Buckle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-buckle/) > [It had grown darker as they talked, and the wind was sawing and the sawdust was whirling outside paler windows. The underlying churchyard was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-had-grown-darker-as-they-talked-and-the-wind-was-sawing-and-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I wish that the circuses that were around now felt like they did then. They're not quite as elegant or as magical as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lawrence/i-wish-that-the-circuses-that-were-around-now-felt-like-they-did-then/) [Francis Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-lawrence/) > [Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table; Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-go-then-you-and-i-when-the-evening-is-spread-out-against-the-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you've ever done something you love and go do something you like, it's like chewing on sawdust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbal-musk/if-you-ve-ever-done-something-you-love-and-go-do-something-you-like/) [Kimbal Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbal-musk/) > [Humor is a hole that lets the sawdust out of a stuffed shirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mckeithen/humor-is-a-hole-that-lets-the-sawdust-out-of-a-stuffed-shirt/) [John McKeithen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mckeithen/) > [Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, / The muttering retreats / Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels / And sawdust restaurants with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/let-us-go-through-certain-half-deserted-streets-the-muttering/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put the past together again. So let's remember: Don't try to saw sawdust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/all-the-king-s-horses-and-all-the-king-s-men-can-t-put-the-past/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Astrology is the sheerest hokum. This pseudoscience has been around since the day of the Chaldeans and Babylonians. It is as phony as numerology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-j-kilpatrick/astrology-is-the-sheerest-hokum-this-pseudoscience-has-been-around/) [James J. Kilpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-j-kilpatrick/) > [“No matter how good he looks right now, Josh Bennett without work boots & the smell of sawdust is all sorts of wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/no-matter-how-good-he-looks-right-now-josh-bennett-without-work-boots/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [If you can eat sawdust without butter, you can be a success in the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/if-you-can-eat-sawdust-without-butter-you-can-be-a-success-in-the-law/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [Have you ever tried to split sawdust?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mccarthy/have-you-ever-tried-to-split-sawdust/) [Eugene McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mccarthy/) > [I've had my best times when trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I've always loved high style in low company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-loos/i-ve-had-my-best-times-when-trailing-a-mainbocher-evening-gown-across/) [Anita Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-loos/) > [It (suicide) became a possibility like Maybe when I grow up, I will be dead. Life was a cake that looked good on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/it-suicide-became-a-possibility-like-maybe-when-i-grow-up-i-will-be/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) ## More by Melanie Thernstrom > [“He's like a lake. You assume it has great depths, pure undisturbed undiscoverable depths. You assume depths must be there because the surface is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-thernstrom/he-s-like-a-lake-you-assume-it-has-great-depths-pure-undisturbed/) [Melanie Thernstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-thernstrom/) > [Tests of love always end badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-thernstrom/tests-of-love-always-end-badly/) [Melanie Thernstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-thernstrom/) [Explore all 3 Melanie Thernstrom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-thernstrom/) ## More Cry quotes > [Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. 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But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/it-is-easy-to-speak-words-of-love-or-to-meditate-lovingly-upon-those/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [I had rather be a Kitten, and cry mew, Than one of these same Meeter Ballad-mongers: I had rather heare a Brazen Candlestick turn'd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-had-rather-be-a-kitten-and-cry-mew-than-one-of-these-same-meeter/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 4,998 Cry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated everything, everything was a problem, everything made her cry - school, homework, boyfriends, the future, the lack of future, the uncertainty of future, fear of future, fear in general - but it was so hard to say exactly what the problem was in the first place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Melanie Thernstrom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-thernstrom/it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-infiltrated-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-thernstrom/it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-infiltrated-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f37/melanie-thernstrom-79730_cry_it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-i_2737176.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was like sawdust, the unhappiness: it infiltrated everything, everything was a problem, everything made…” — Melanie Thernstrom", "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": "Melanie Thernstrom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-thernstrom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was like sawdust, the unhappiness:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-thernstrom/it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-infiltrated-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-thernstrom/it-was-like-sawdust-the-unhappiness-it-infiltrated-everything/#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 } } ] } ```