--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the…" description: "\"Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the survivor all through my work.\" — Robert Jay Lifton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg" --- # Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the survivor all… ![“Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the survivor all through my work.” quote by Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg) > “Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the survivor all through my work.” [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The survivor theme dominates the author’s work, reflecting an ongoing preoccupation with trauma and resilience. **In simple terms:** Survivor theme pervades his work. Key Takeaway Explore trauma and resilience. Themes psychology trauma resilience Mood thoughtful introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - writing workshops - education curricula Key Concepts survivor narrative collective memory Questions to Reflect On - How does survivor focus shape audience perception? - What alternative narratives could balance the discourse? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on survivors may overlook other experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-feel-domesticity-just-slipping-off-me-it-is-a-choice-either-one-can/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [“The reason he could do none of the necessary things to take care of himself, on the few occasions when he thought of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/the-reason-he-could-do-none-of-the-necessary-things-to-take-care-of/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [Just the fact that I've lived more, and I'm not concerned about when I am going to get my next job anymore. This business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-julia/just-the-fact-that-i-ve-lived-more-and-i-m-not-concerned-about-when-i/) [Raul Julia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-julia/) > [I am not preoccupied about my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-tevez/i-am-not-preoccupied-about-my-future/) [Carlos Tevez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-tevez/) > [When you make movies, you have to be preoccupied with the social problems, otherwise there is no point in making a movie. To have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/when-you-make-movies-you-have-to-be-preoccupied-with-the-social/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [“I'm more preoccupied with furnishing my head than the place where I live. The most beautiful rooms I have entered have been empty ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-m-more-preoccupied-with-furnishing-my-head-than-the-place-where-i/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/consider-any-individual-at-any-period-of-his-life-and-you-will-always/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Of course, you see your body changing as you age, but it's more important to live than be too preoccupied with that sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-bisset/of-course-you-see-your-body-changing-as-you-age-but-it-s-more/) [Jacqueline Bisset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-bisset/) > [“But like many who are lonely, I was more preoccupied with others than were those who lived to socialize...Everyone I hated was always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arbinger-institute/but-like-many-who-are-lonely-i-was-more-preoccupied-with-others-than/) [Arbinger Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arbinger-institute/) > [When you stand up there and do a press conference, it's a very preoccupied moment. You're standing in front of cameras; people are watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-quinn/when-you-stand-up-there-and-do-a-press-conference-it-s-a-very/) [Christine Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-quinn/) > [I think there is a rage against women. I've come to see that now although at the time I did not notice it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/i-think-there-is-a-rage-against-women-i-ve-come-to-see-that-now/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) > [To keep yourself preoccupied, thousand excuses.but havent reason to meet themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/to-keep-yourself-preoccupied-thousand-excuses-but-havent-reason-to/) Mak\_786 > [Everywhere I go, everyone I talk with, everyone I think about - their salvation is what is on my mind. I love fellowship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/everywhere-i-go-everyone-i-talk-with-everyone-i-think-about-their/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [Without deadlines and restrictions I just tend to become preoccupied with other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/without-deadlines-and-restrictions-i-just-tend-to-become-preoccupied/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [“Preoccupied with a single leaf you won't see the tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vagabond/preoccupied-with-a-single-leaf-you-won-t-see-the-tree/) Vagabond ## More by Robert Jay Lifton > [As a kid I was fascinated with sports, and I loved sports more than anything else. The first books I read were about sports,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/as-a-kid-i-was-fascinated-with-sports-and-i-loved-sports-more-than/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [There's more and more recognition that a carbon economy is dangerous to us economically. And there is increasing recognition that renewable fuels have economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/there-s-more-and-more-recognition-that-a-carbon-economy-is-dangerous/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [I struggled with each of these studies and I was uncertain about what they meant, and often confused, and then I tried to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/i-struggled-with-each-of-these-studies-and-i-was-uncertain-about-what/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [And I was troubled by the heavy-handed prose of so much psychoanalytic writing, which seemed drowned in its own concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/and-i-was-troubled-by-the-heavy-handed-prose-of-so-much/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [Donald Trump gives the impression that he would like to govern by decree. He has that impulse in him and he wants to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/donald-trump-gives-the-impression-that-he-would-like-to-govern-by/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [There are people who believe that there should be a standard psychiatric examination for every presidential candidate and for every president. But these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/there-are-people-who-believe-that-there-should-be-a-standard/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [One reason that I embarked on a study of Nazi doctors was that in this personal journey, I had the feeling increasingly that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/one-reason-that-i-embarked-on-a-study-of-nazi-doctors-was-that-in/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [We have a duty to warn on an individual basis if we are treating someone who may be dangerous to herself or to others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/we-have-a-duty-to-warn-on-an-individual-basis-if-we-are-treating/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [“The ditties blend Japanese popular culture themes of saccharine, childlike goodness and viciously detached sadism, which Aum drew upon as it tapped the barely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/the-ditties-blend-japanese-popular-culture-themes-of-saccharine/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [The scientists who made the atomic bomb are, in my sense, people with a tragic destiny. You know, there was the US race with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/the-scientists-who-made-the-atomic-bomb-are-in-my-sense-people-with-a/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [“Psychologically, nothing is darker or more menacing, or harder to accept, than the participation of physicians in mass murder. However technicized or commercial the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/psychologically-nothing-is-darker-or-more-menacing-or-harder-to/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [That is, we are bombarded by all kinds of images and influences and we have to fend some of them off if we're to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/that-is-we-are-bombarded-by-all-kinds-of-images-and-influences-and-we/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [Donald Trump doesn't have clear contact with reality, though I'm not sure it qualifies as a bona fide delusion. He needs things to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/donald-trump-doesn-t-have-clear-contact-with-reality-though-i-m-not/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/the-language-of-the-totalist-environment-is-characterized-by-the/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [People with what we call mental illness can indeed serve well, and people who have no discernible mental illness - and that may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/people-with-what-we-call-mental-illness-can-indeed-serve-well-and/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) [Explore all 48 Robert Jay Lifton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) ## More Preoccupied quotes > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-feel-domesticity-just-slipping-off-me-it-is-a-choice-either-one-can/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Without deadlines and restrictions I just tend to become preoccupied with other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/without-deadlines-and-restrictions-i-just-tend-to-become-preoccupied/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [Everywhere I go, everyone I talk with, everyone I think about - their salvation is what is on my mind. I love fellowship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/everywhere-i-go-everyone-i-talk-with-everyone-i-think-about-their/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [To keep yourself preoccupied, thousand excuses.but havent reason to meet themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/to-keep-yourself-preoccupied-thousand-excuses-but-havent-reason-to/) Mak\_786 > [I think there is a rage against women. I've come to see that now although at the time I did not notice it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/i-think-there-is-a-rage-against-women-i-ve-come-to-see-that-now/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) > [When you stand up there and do a press conference, it's a very preoccupied moment. You're standing in front of cameras; people are watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-quinn/when-you-stand-up-there-and-do-a-press-conference-it-s-a-very/) [Christine Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-quinn/) > [“But like many who are lonely, I was more preoccupied with others than were those who lived to socialize...Everyone I hated was always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arbinger-institute/but-like-many-who-are-lonely-i-was-more-preoccupied-with-others-than/) [Arbinger Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arbinger-institute/) > [Of course, you see your body changing as you age, but it's more important to live than be too preoccupied with that sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-bisset/of-course-you-see-your-body-changing-as-you-age-but-it-s-more/) [Jacqueline Bisset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-bisset/) > [Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/consider-any-individual-at-any-period-of-his-life-and-you-will-always/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I'm more preoccupied with furnishing my head than the place where I live. The most beautiful rooms I have entered have been empty ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-m-more-preoccupied-with-furnishing-my-head-than-the-place-where-i/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [When you make movies, you have to be preoccupied with the social problems, otherwise there is no point in making a movie. To have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/when-you-make-movies-you-have-to-be-preoccupied-with-the-social/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [I am not preoccupied about my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-tevez/i-am-not-preoccupied-about-my-future/) [Carlos Tevez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-tevez/) > [Just the fact that I've lived more, and I'm not concerned about when I am going to get my next job anymore. This business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-julia/just-the-fact-that-i-ve-lived-more-and-i-m-not-concerned-about-when-i/) [Raul Julia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-julia/) > [“The reason he could do none of the necessary things to take care of himself, on the few occasions when he thought of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/the-reason-he-could-do-none-of-the-necessary-things-to-take-care-of/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [“Preoccupied with a single leaf you won't see the tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vagabond/preoccupied-with-a-single-leaf-you-won-t-see-the-tree/) Vagabond Browse all 77 Preoccupied quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the survivor all through my work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Jay Lifton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the-survivor-all-through-my-work/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Preoccupied" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the-survivor-all-through-my-work/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/782/robert-jay-lifton-13917_preoccupied_yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the_2306820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yes, I've been very preoccupied with the survivor all through my work.” — Robert Jay Lifton", "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": "Robert Jay Lifton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Yes, I've been very preoccupied with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the-survivor-all-through-my-work/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/yes-i-ve-been-very-preoccupied-with-the-survivor-all-through-my-work/#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 } } ] } ```