--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...brooding only feeds the strange…" description: "\"“...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy...”\" — Patricia O'Brien" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg" --- # ...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy... ![“...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy...” quote by Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg) > ““...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy...”” [Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indulging in melancholy can become a self‑reinforcing habit that fuels a strange, addictive pleasure. **In simple terms:** Dwelling on sadness can become oddly enjoyable. Key Takeaway Balance emotional reflection with positive actions. Themes emotion mental health philosophy Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - artistic pursuits - therapy - journaling Key Concepts melancholy addiction self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - Why do people sometimes seek out sadness? - How can one channel melancholy productively? A Different Perspective Excessive melancholy may hinder well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brooding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooding/) [Brooding Feeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooding-feeds-1770841/) [Melancholy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melancholy/) [Pleasure Melancholy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-melancholy-1770840/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-pleasure-1770842/) ## Related quotes > [Abraham Lincoln was not all brooding and melancholy and patient understanding. There was a hard core in him, and plenty of toughness. He could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/abraham-lincoln-was-not-all-brooding-and-melancholy-and-patient/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [The melancholy river bears us on. When the moon comes through the trailing willow boughs, I see your face, I hear your voice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-melancholy-river-bears-us-on-when-the-moon-comes-through-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“There's a special quality to the loneliness of dusk, a melancholy more brooding even than the night's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gorman/there-s-a-special-quality-to-the-loneliness-of-dusk-a-melancholy-more/) [Ed Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gorman/) > [“A desire of desires: the melancholy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-desire-of-desires-the-melancholy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's this charge in the air, and it takes me awhile to get it at first, to really put it all together. It's melancholy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/there-s-this-charge-in-the-air-and-it-takes-me-awhile-to-get-it-at/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [Improve every opportunity to be melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/improve-every-opportunity-to-be-melancholy/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“You're back where you swore yourself you wouldn't be The familiar shackles you can't tell from your own skin Your head's under water when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/you-re-back-where-you-swore-yourself-you-wouldn-t-be-the-familiar/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) > [Melancholy: an appetite no misery satisfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/melancholy-an-appetite-no-misery-satisfies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A great melancholy was hanging in the air, giving their love a more languid, more tender feeling. It was like the love one feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/a-great-melancholy-was-hanging-in-the-air-giving-their-love-a-more/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“I’ve always been a fan of the melancholy, like Morrissey. I grew up playing classical nocturnes like Chopin and Debussy on piano, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lewis/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-the-melancholy-like-morrissey-i-grew-up/) [Blake Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lewis/) > [Melancholy has ceased to be an individual phenomenon, an exception. It has become the class privilege of the wage earner, a mass state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-has-ceased-to-be-an-individual-phenomenon-an-exception-it/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“He presses two fingers against each eye and attempts to account for this crippling melancholy, but is having trouble with rational thought. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-presses-two-fingers-against-each-eye-and-attempts-to-account-for/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“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/) ## More by Patricia O'Brien > [“I was seeing what a writer can do with the tatters of truth, the unfinished stories that give us no rest. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-was-seeing-what-a-writer-can-do-with-the-tatters-of-truth-the/) [Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/) > [“The women who went to the field, you say... A few names were writ, and by chance live to-day; But's a perishing record fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/the-women-who-went-to-the-field-you-say-a-few-names-were-writ-and-by/) [Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/) > [“He had illuminated the heartbreaking cruelty of war: When men who fight become nothing, only packages of bones and blood deposited in the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/he-had-illuminated-the-heartbreaking-cruelty-of-war-when-men-who/) [Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/) > [“I continued up the stairs, this time on wings, suspecting for the first time that Louisa's book might outlive us all. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/i-continued-up-the-stairs-this-time-on-wings-suspecting-for-the-first/) [Patricia O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/) [Explore all 5 Patricia O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/) ## More Brooding quotes > [Do not look down, brooding over your weakness! Do not look back upon your past, strewn with failure! Look up to the living Christ!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/do-not-look-down-brooding-over-your-weakness-do-not-look-back-upon/) [F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [Rest you well, beloved Jesus, Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King, In the brooding of the Spirit, in the darkness of the spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/rest-you-well-beloved-jesus-caesar-s-lord-and-israel-s-king-in-the/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [People are incredibly literal sometimes in how they view you. You have dark hair and pale skin? You must be brooding. The second you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-paquin/people-are-incredibly-literal-sometimes-in-how-they-view-you-you-have/) [Anna Paquin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-paquin/) > [You can rake the muck this way, rake the muck that way-- it will always be muck. Have I sinned or have I not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-can-rake-the-muck-this-way-rake-the-muck-that-way-it-will-always/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [The brooding is better than the joy because even if the heart fills with happiness, it still mourns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/the-brooding-is-better-than-the-joy-because-even-if-the-heart-fills/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Lately you are brooding too much about rights. Give up this dangerous habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/lately-you-are-brooding-too-much-about-rights-give-up-this-dangerous/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [The end of spring- the poet is brooding about editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosa-buson/the-end-of-spring-the-poet-is-brooding-about-editors/) [Yosa Buson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yosa-buson/) > [“Darkness lingered in those blue eyes, like ghosts haunted him despite only the two of them standing in this cabin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/darkness-lingered-in-those-blue-eyes-like-ghosts-haunted-him-despite/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [I've always wanted to be a brooding, deep, dark artist, but I can never keep that facade going for more than 15 minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-a-brooding-deep-dark-artist-but-i-can-never/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [Ideas come when we do not expect them, and not when we are brooding and searching at our desks. Yet ideas would certainly not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/ideas-come-when-we-do-not-expect-them-and-not-when-we-are-brooding/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [Lights of ships moved in the fairway-a great stir of lights going up and going down. And farther west on the upper reaches the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/lights-of-ships-moved-in-the-fairway-a-great-stir-of-lights-going-up/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [We are all prone to brood on the evil done us. That brooding becomes as a gnawing and destructive canker. Is there a virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/we-are-all-prone-to-brood-on-the-evil-done-us-that-brooding-becomes/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“Great flocks of raindrops swelled and folded, and fell upon her like insects to a feast. She hadn’t thought to bring a raincoat; she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-tompkins/great-flocks-of-raindrops-swelled-and-folded-and-fell-upon-her-like/) [J.R. Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-tompkins/) > [I would like to break out of this dark, brooding image, cause I'm actually not like that at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-byrne/i-would-like-to-break-out-of-this-dark-brooding-image-cause-i-m/) [Gabriel Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-byrne/) [Browse all 176 Brooding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brooding/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure-of-melancholy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brooding" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure-of-melancholy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e8/patricia-o-brien-63409_sad_brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure_960220.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure of melancholy...” — Patricia O'Brien", "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": "Patricia O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...brooding only feeds the strange pleasure...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure-of-melancholy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-o-brien/brooding-only-feeds-the-strange-pleasure-of-melancholy/#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 } } ] } ```