--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's no narcotic like exhaustion." description: "\"There's no narcotic like exhaustion.\" — Octavia Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg" --- # There's no narcotic like exhaustion. ![“There's no narcotic like exhaustion.” quote by Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg) > “There's no narcotic like exhaustion.” [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exhaustion is a unique, powerful state that can dominate one’s perception and behavior. **In simple terms:** Exhaustion is a distinct, overwhelming feeling. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage exhaustion wisely. Themes exhaustion mental health energy Mood tired reflective Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - long work hours - caregiver duties - intense study - creative marathons Key Concepts Burnout stress self‑care Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate you’re exhausted? - How can you restore energy sustainably? A Different Perspective Exhaustion can be a symptom of deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exhaustion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustion/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Exhaustion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-exhaustion-4717820/) [Narcotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcotic/) [Narcotic Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcotic-like-588442/) [Narcotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcotics/) ## Related quotes > [Next to a shot of some good, habit-forming narcotic, there is nothing like travelling alone as a 'builder-upper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/next-to-a-shot-of-some-good-habit-forming-narcotic-there-is-nothing/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Hollywood is a narcotic, not a stimulant. It wants to sell you something. Literature wants to tell you something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-murphy/hollywood-is-a-narcotic-not-a-stimulant-it-wants-to-sell-you/) [Rex Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-murphy/) > [I like the idea of generalizing the narcotic thing by making it black meat addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-like-the-idea-of-generalizing-the-narcotic-thing-by-making-it-black/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Poetry is no more a narcotic than a stimulant; it is a universal bittersweet mixture for all possible household emergencies and its action varies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/poetry-is-no-more-a-narcotic-than-a-stimulant-it-is-a-universal/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) > [Narcotic greens narcotic greens like reeling firmaments disclose in their appearing randomness the sweetest means that you or she or any wandering Thales might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-bluger/narcotic-greens-narcotic-greens-like-reeling-firmaments-disclose-in/) [Marianne Bluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-bluger/) > [By empowering people to initiate a conversation prior to surgery regarding their pain control options, we hope to reduce the incidence of narcotic addiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-funk/by-empowering-people-to-initiate-a-conversation-prior-to-surgery/) [Kristi Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-funk/) > [The most powerful narcotic in the world is the promise of belonging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/the-most-powerful-narcotic-in-the-world-is-the-promise-of-belonging/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) > [Books are a narcotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/books-are-a-narcotic/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ego is the world's worst narcotic”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mekael-shane/ego-is-the-world-s-worst-narcotic/) [Mekael Shane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mekael-shane/) > [Travel is no more than a relatively healthy form of narcotic, after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-stasiuk/travel-is-no-more-than-a-relatively-healthy-form-of-narcotic-after-all/) [Andrzej Stasiuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-stasiuk/) > [Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-form-of-addiction-is-bad-no-matter-whether-the-narcotic-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Pluralism is a merciful narcotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saki/pluralism-is-a-merciful-narcotic/) [Saki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saki/) > [Storytelling has a narcotic power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/storytelling-has-a-narcotic-power/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“If only religion were an opiate. No known narcotic rots the brain so fast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-only-religion-were-an-opiate-no-known-narcotic-rots-the-brain-so/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Why are online games so addictive? It's mostly the narcotic appeal of 'leveling.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/why-are-online-games-so-addictive-it-s-mostly-the-narcotic-appeal-of/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) ## More by Octavia Butler > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Life is getting better, but that won't stop a war if politicians and business people decide it's to their advantage to have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/life-is-getting-better-but-that-won-t-stop-a-war-if-politicians-and/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I talked to members of my family, and did some personal research that didn't really have anything to do with the time and place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-talked-to-members-of-my-family-and-did-some-personal-research-that/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/first-forget-inspiration-habit-is-more-dependable-habit-will-sustain/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Belief initiates and guides action - or it does nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/belief-initiates-and-guides-action-or-it-does-nothing/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Ignorance Protects itself, And protected, Ignorance grows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/ignorance-protects-itself-and-protected-ignorance-grows/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [But my problem with fantasy, and horror, and related genres, is that sometimes the problems are illogical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/but-my-problem-with-fantasy-and-horror-and-related-genres-is-that/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [“In order to rise From its own ashes A phoenix First Must Burn. Earthseed: The Books of the Living Lauren Oya Olamina”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/in-order-to-rise-from-its-own-ashes-a-phoenix-first-must-burn/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm a fifty-three-year-old writer who can remember being a ten-year-old writer and who expects someday to be an eighty-year-old writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-a-fifty-three-year-old-writer-who-can-remember-being-a-ten-year/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I'm me, and I'm here, and I'm writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/i-m-me-and-i-m-here-and-i-m-writing/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Most of what I do is science fiction. Some of the things I do are fantasy. I don't like the labels, they're marketing tools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/most-of-what-i-do-is-science-fiction-some-of-the-things-i-do-are/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [The only black people you found were occasional characters or characters who were so feeble-witted that they couldn't manage anything, anyway. I wrote myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-only-black-people-you-found-were-occasional-characters-or/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [He was like me - a kindred spirit crazy enough to keep on trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/he-was-like-me-a-kindred-spirit-crazy-enough-to-keep-on-trying/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/to-be-led-by-a-fool-is-to-be-led-by-the-opportunists-who-control-the/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Helpless lust and unreasoning anxiety were just part of growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/helpless-lust-and-unreasoning-anxiety-were-just-part-of-growing-up/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) [Explore all 79 Octavia Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More Exhaustion quotes > [“And though I feel an unfathomable exhaustion, I feel compelled to keep at it, as though to give up working would be to concede…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-laffoley/and-though-i-feel-an-unfathomable-exhaustion-i-feel-compelled-to-keep/) [Steven Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-laffoley/) > [“Remember what I done for you here today,' he shouted and passed out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-higson/remember-what-i-done-for-you-here-today-he-shouted-and-passed-out/) [Charlie Higson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-higson/) > [“...and, without once looking back, walk down the road through the forest. If the Germans want to shoot me, let them. I am too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audie-murphy/and-without-once-looking-back-walk-down-the-road-through-the-forest/) [Audie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audie-murphy/) > [… but only because exhaustion is a life-sign; it is at least a form of being human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/but-only-because-exhaustion-is-a-life-sign-it-is-at-least-a-form-of/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-would-do-well-to-ask-themselves-how-many-of-their-ambitions/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Everything that these folks are saying that they're trying to move away from, like comparison, perfectionism, judgement, and exhaustion as a status symbol -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/everything-that-these-folks-are-saying-that-they-re-trying-to-move/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The downfall of civilized states tends to come not from the direct assaults of foes, but from internal decay combined with the consequences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-downfall-of-civilized-states-tends-to-come-not-from-the-direct/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [“Death is the expression of exhaustion, a solution arrived at rationally once one has known the deepest depths of tiredness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hui-wei/death-is-the-expression-of-exhaustion-a-solution-arrived-at/) [Hui Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hui-wei/) > [It is not the dream of what you're feeling laziness, if not, the sleep of exhaustion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-the-dream-of-what-you-re-feeling-laziness-if-not-the-sleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Write to exhaustion so that you can no longer manage to avoid writing the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-schappell/write-to-exhaustion-so-that-you-can-no-longer-manage-to-avoid-writing/) [Elissa Schappell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-schappell/) > [Enthusiasm is always connected with the senses, whatever be the object that excites it. The true strength of virtue is serenity of mind, combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/enthusiasm-is-always-connected-with-the-senses-whatever-be-the-object/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The sort of the template of being a mother is that you're endlessly giving to the point of exhaustion. You know, that's amazing if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-sort-of-the-template-of-being-a-mother-is-that-you-re-endlessly/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [We fought a military war; our opponents fought a political one. We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-fought-a-military-war-our-opponents-fought-a-political-one-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I lived in New York, and I was the guy who was flying home almost every week, so there was a physical exhaustion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jacobson/i-lived-in-new-york-and-i-was-the-guy-who-was-flying-home-almost/) [Peter Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jacobson/) > [Patience is the most valuable trait of the endgame player. In the endgame, the most common errors, besides those resulting from ignorance of theory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pal-benko/patience-is-the-most-valuable-trait-of-the-endgame-player-in-the/) [Pal Benko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pal-benko/) [Browse all 329 Exhaustion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's no narcotic like exhaustion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Octavia Butler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exhaustion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/octavia-butler-8606_exhaustion_there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion-1370_1370527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's no narcotic like exhaustion.” — Octavia Butler", "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": "Octavia Butler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's no narcotic like exhaustion.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/there-s-no-narcotic-like-exhaustion/#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 } } ] } ```