--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anger and depression are not diseases or…" description: "\"Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg" --- # Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or… ![“Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in a thoroughly irrational hope.” quote by Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg) > “Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in a thoroughly irrational hope.” [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anger and depression are rational reactions to preventable disappointments caused by unrealistic hopes. **In simple terms:** Unrealistic hopes cause rational negative emotions. Key Takeaway Adjust expectations to reduce suffering. Themes expectations mental health rational emotions Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationship setbacks - career failures - personal setbacks - mental health management Key Concepts psychology cognitive bias hope Questions to Reflect On - What hopes are unrealistic in your life? - How can you reframe expectations? A Different Perspective Not all disappointments are avoidable; some are systemic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Anomalies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anomalies/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Dysfunction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dysfunction/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) ## Related quotes > [“We are rational creatures, Professor Jove explained; hope is irrational. We thus set ourselves up for one dispiriting fall after the next. Anger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/we-are-rational-creatures-professor-jove-explained-hope-is-irrational/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [What looks like resistance in many cases is rational responses to incentives and ingrained resource-allocation processes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-anthony/what-looks-like-resistance-in-many-cases-is-rational-responses-to/) [Scott D. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [In a noted 1943 Harvard study, there were no cases of toxemia, congenital anomalies, or neonatal deaths among a group of well-fed woman. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brewer/in-a-noted-1943-harvard-study-there-were-no-cases-of-toxemia/) Tom Brewer > [I think political parties can be funded in a perfectly rational way without being corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-patnaik/i-think-political-parties-can-be-funded-in-a-perfectly-rational-way/) [Naveen Patnaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-patnaik/) > [The First Aphorism of Religion Cases: Only the religious convictions of other people are weird. Yours are perfectly rational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lithwick/the-first-aphorism-of-religion-cases-only-the-religious-convictions/) [Dahlia Lithwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lithwick/) > [“If everyone always knows what they’re doing and acts in a perfectly rational way, how did most of world history happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-carey/if-everyone-always-knows-what-they-re-doing-and-acts-in-a-perfectly/) [M.R. Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-carey/) > [And it happened all the time that the compromise between two perfectly rational alternatives was something that made no sense at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/and-it-happened-all-the-time-that-the-compromise-between-two/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Insanity - a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/insanity-a-perfectly-rational-adjustment-to-an-insane-world/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/to-my-mathematical-brain-the-numbers-alone-make-thinking-about-aliens/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [For me, I want to see diversity in storytelling sources because we live in a very diverse society, and the stories are for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/for-me-i-want-to-see-diversity-in-storytelling-sources-because-we/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [“It's in the anomalies that nature reveals its secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-s-in-the-anomalies-that-nature-reveals-its-secrets/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I see that women still have self-doubt, and at the same time I feel like I see all these fantastic young women, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-harron/i-see-that-women-still-have-self-doubt-and-at-the-same-time-i-feel/) [Mary Harron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-harron/) > [An anomaly is not an abnormality. Diversity does not signify sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-canguilhem/an-anomaly-is-not-an-abnormality-diversity-does-not-signify-sickness/) [Georges Canguilhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-canguilhem/) > [I'm definitely an anomaly, but I'm making things. They're selling, say, martinis, and I'm kind of making vintage Riesling. People aren't going to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/i-m-definitely-an-anomaly-but-i-m-making-things-they-re-selling-say/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most necessary to our survival as choosers of our own way, should be a commodity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/it-is-an-anomaly-that-information-the-one-thing-most-necessary-to-our/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) ## More by Shalom Auslander > [“Every Jew was the last Jew; Tevye the Terminal, every single one. Yet, Kugel couldn't help but observe, in all that time - no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/every-jew-was-the-last-jew-tevye-the-terminal-every-single-one-yet/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“I spent the best years of my life atoning for something I didn't do, something my parents didn't do, something done just about before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/i-spent-the-best-years-of-my-life-atoning-for-something-i-didn-t-do/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“The Kugels, Kugel hated to admit, might just have to, in the event of genocide, rely on the kindness of strangers. Mother used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/the-kugels-kugel-hated-to-admit-might-just-have-to-in-the-event-of/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Vans are the vehicles of murderers. Serial Killers. Rapists. Thieves. Nothing good ever happens in a van. Police should be allowed to arrest van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/vans-are-the-vehicles-of-murderers-serial-killers-rapists-thieves/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Roads are no place for naive chickens dreaming of nirvana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/roads-are-no-place-for-naive-chickens-dreaming-of-nirvana/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“I kind of like it up here, Kugel said. It's got a certain fatalistic charm, a certain je ne sais fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/i-kind-of-like-it-up-here-kugel-said-it-s-got-a-certain-fatalistic/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“He could pull this off. He was sure of it. It would have been one thing to protect Anne Frank from the Nazis; he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/he-could-pull-this-off-he-was-sure-of-it-it-would-have-been-one-thing/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“He took the diary from Mother's hand and turned it over. The heartbreaking something, he read, of a tragic whatever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/he-took-the-diary-from-mother-s-hand-and-turned-it-over-the/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Write something dangerous. Say something you shouldn’t. Blow something up. But well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/write-something-dangerous-say-something-you-shouldn-t-blow-something/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [His intelligence only exacerbated the guilt Kugel felt for bringing him into the world. It was one thing to have condemned a child to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/his-intelligence-only-exacerbated-the-guilt-kugel-felt-for-bringing/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [Kugel was a firm believer that death was not always a bad thing - that life often reached such levels of crapitude that dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/kugel-was-a-firm-believer-that-death-was-not-always-a-bad-thing-that/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“There is hurt in this world. There is pain. Hoping there won't be only makes it worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/there-is-hurt-in-this-world-there-is-pain-hoping-there-won-t-be-only/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“… It was the knowing that there had been a happier time, a place of joy and peace and security, that made the sudden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/it-was-the-knowing-that-there-had-been-a-happier-time-a-place-of-joy/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [...the greatest source of misery in the world, the greatest cause of anguish and hatred and sadness and death, was neither disease nor race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/the-greatest-source-of-misery-in-the-world-the-greatest-cause-of/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) > [“Remember your grandfather's last words, Jonah would tell his children: Life is nothing more than a little why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/remember-your-grandfather-s-last-words-jonah-would-tell-his-children/) [Shalom Auslander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) [Explore all 39 Shalom Auslander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [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/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to the myriad avoidable disappointments that begin in a thoroughly irrational hope.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shalom Auslander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or-dysfunctions-or-anomalies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or-dysfunctions-or-anomalies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/shalom-auslander-16035_anger_anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or_3164874.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anger and depression are not diseases or dysfunctions or anomalies; they are perfectly rational responses to…” — Shalom Auslander", "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": "Shalom Auslander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shalom-auslander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Anger and depression are not diseases...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or-dysfunctions-or-anomalies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shalom-auslander/anger-and-depression-are-not-diseases-or-dysfunctions-or-anomalies/#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 } } ] } ```