--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not an abuser. It takes me a long…" description: "\"I'm not an abuser. It takes me a long time to assimilate each experience. And I never have lost my respect for it. I mean I really feel dread. It is on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/terence-mckenna-287_abuser_i-m-not-an-abuser-it-takes-me-a-long-tim_1430939.png" --- # I'm not an abuser. It takes me a long time to assimilate… ![“I'm not an abuser. It takes me a long time to assimilate each experience. And I never have lost my respect for it. I mean I really feel dread. It is one of the emotions I always feel as I approach it, because I have no faith that my sails won't be ripped this time.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/terence-mckenna-287_abuser_i-m-not-an-abuser-it-takes-me-a-long-tim_1430939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/terence-mckenna-287_abuser_i-m-not-an-abuser-it-takes-me-a-long-tim_1430939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/terence-mckenna-287_abuser_i-m-not-an-abuser-it-takes-me-a-long-tim_1430939.png) > “I'm not an abuser. It takes me a long time to assimilate each experience. And I never have lost my respect for it. I mean I really feel dread. It is one of the emotions I always feel as I approach it, because I have no faith that my sails won't be ripped this time.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of the unknown can paralyze action, yet confronting it is essential for authentic experience. **In simple terms:** Fear blocks action; face it. Key Takeaway Confront fear to move forward. Themes psychology risk adventure spirituality self-discovery Mood cautious introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - creative work - exploration - personal risk Key Concepts courage trust introspection Questions to Reflect On - What fears limit your pursuits? - How can you build trust in uncertainty? A Different Perspective Fear may be protective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuser/) [Abusers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abusers/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It's incredibly dangerous to leave an abuser, because the final step in the domestic violence pattern is: kill her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-morgan-steiner/it-s-incredibly-dangerous-to-leave-an-abuser-because-the-final-step/) [Leslie Morgan Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-morgan-steiner/) > [Objectification is a critical reason why an abuser tends to get worse over time. As his conscience adapts to one level of cruelty-he builds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/objectification-is-a-critical-reason-why-an-abuser-tends-to-get-worse-2/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [Only an abuser can make the decision to stop abusing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/only-an-abuser-can-make-the-decision-to-stop-abusing/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“The survivor movements were also challenging the notion of a dysfunctional family as the cause and culture of abuse, rather than being one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrix-campbell/the-survivor-movements-were-also-challenging-the-notion-of-a/) [Beatrix Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrix-campbell/) > [You are five times more likely to be killed by your abuser if your abuser can get their hands on a gun. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-harris-perry/you-are-five-times-more-likely-to-be-killed-by-your-abuser-if-your/) [Melissa Harris-Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-harris-perry/) > [“In projecting onto others their own moral sense, therapists sometimes make terrible errors. Child physical abusers are automatically labeled “impulsive," despite extensive evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-salter/in-projecting-onto-others-their-own-moral-sense-therapists-sometimes/) [Anna Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-salter/) > [The abuser knows where you work. Even if a woman goes underground at night, the abuser knows where to find her during the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-campbell/the-abuser-knows-where-you-work-even-if-a-woman-goes-underground-at/) [Gordon Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-campbell/) > [I feel very sorry for people who are trapped in an abusive relationship and keep making excuses for their abuser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-feel-very-sorry-for-people-who-are-trapped-in-an-abusive/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The number-one reason women say they returned to their abuser is financial insecurity. Often they have kids with them. They say half of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/the-number-one-reason-women-say-they-returned-to-their-abuser-is/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [If an 'animal abuser' were killed in a research lab firebombing, I would unequivocally support that, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-yourofsky/if-an-animal-abuser-were-killed-in-a-research-lab-firebombing-i-would/) [Gary Yourofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-yourofsky/) > [“When an abuser gaslights, he or she sets up situations to make the target doubt their own memories and assessments of situations. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/when-an-abuser-gaslights-he-or-she-sets-up-situations-to-make-the/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [ The getting out part \[of advise\] may well be true. Because if you have tried the tender love thing... typically the abuser is not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/the-getting-out-part-of-advise-may-well-be-true-because-if-you-have/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [Feminism exists so that no woman ever has to face her abuser in isolation, alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminism-exists-so-that-no-woman-ever-has-to-face-her-abuser-in/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Cocaine was different. It kept saying, "You haven't had enough." I became an abuser almost instantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/cocaine-was-different-it-kept-saying-you-haven-t-had-enough-i-became/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“One of the obstacles to recognizing chronic mistreatment in relationships is that most abusive men simply don’t seem like abusers. They have many good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/one-of-the-obstacles-to-recognizing-chronic-mistreatment-in/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Abuser quotes > [It's incredibly dangerous to leave an abuser, because the final step in the domestic violence pattern is: kill her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-morgan-steiner/it-s-incredibly-dangerous-to-leave-an-abuser-because-the-final-step/) [Leslie Morgan Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-morgan-steiner/) > [“Beating yourself up over every perceived mistake is the work of an internal abuser who must be restrained and reformed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/beating-yourself-up-over-every-perceived-mistake-is-the-work-of-an/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“When people conclude that anger causes abuse, they are confusing cause and effect. Ray was not abusive because he was angry; he was angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/when-people-conclude-that-anger-causes-abuse-they-are-confusing-cause/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“the abuser's desire to abuse is not created by the child - it is there before the child appears”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-ainscough/the-abuser-s-desire-to-abuse-is-not-created-by-the-child-it-is-there/) [Carolyn Ainscough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-ainscough/) > [“A psychological abuser will find a survivor’s emotional soft spots and exploit them for control and entertainment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/a-psychological-abuser-will-find-a-survivor-s-emotional-soft-spots/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [“I'm still not sure if I was a victim or not... and if I was, who was my abuser?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eskay-teel/i-m-still-not-sure-if-i-was-a-victim-or-not-and-if-i-was-who-was-my/) Eskay Teel > [“The woman knows from living with the abusive man that there are no simple answers. Friends say: “He’s mean.” But she knows many ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/the-woman-knows-from-living-with-the-abusive-man-that-there-are-no/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [Cocaine was different. It kept saying, "You haven't had enough." I became an abuser almost instantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/cocaine-was-different-it-kept-saying-you-haven-t-had-enough-i-became/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Feminism exists so that no woman ever has to face her abuser in isolation, alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/feminism-exists-so-that-no-woman-ever-has-to-face-her-abuser-in/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-situations-of-captivity-the-perpetrator-becomes-the-most-powerful/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [ The getting out part \[of advise\] may well be true. Because if you have tried the tender love thing... typically the abuser is not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/the-getting-out-part-of-advise-may-well-be-true-because-if-you-have/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“He who can deliberately inflict torture upon an animal, in order to heighten the pleasure his palate is to receive in eating it, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/he-who-can-deliberately-inflict-torture-upon-an-animal-in-order-to/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [“The symptoms of abuse are there, and the woman usually sees them: the escalating frequency of put-downs. Early generosity turning more and more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/the-symptoms-of-abuse-are-there-and-the-woman-usually-sees-them-the/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“When an abuser gaslights, he or she sets up situations to make the target doubt their own memories and assessments of situations. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/when-an-abuser-gaslights-he-or-she-sets-up-situations-to-make-the/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [“He knows he used to be able to control you with charm, affection and promises. He also remembers how well intimidation or aggression worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/he-knows-he-used-to-be-able-to-control-you-with-charm-affection-and/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) [Browse all 82 Abuser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuser/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not an abuser. It takes me a long time to assimilate each experience. And I never have lost my respect for it. I mean I really feel dread. 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