--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's this mental illness, right? It's…" description: "\"“There's this mental illness, right? It's called 'anhedonia.' It means 'without pleasure.' You can look it up, though all you really need to do is look..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/vicki-pettersson-10826_inspiration_there-s-this-mental-illness-right-it-s-c_181051.jpg" --- # There's this mental illness, right? It's called… ![“There's this mental illness, right? It's called 'anhedonia.' It means 'without pleasure.' You can look it up, though all you really need to do is look around." She motioned to the door the other women had disappeared through, and to the world at large. "A good deal of people, mostly women, spend…” quote by Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/vicki-pettersson-10826_inspiration_there-s-this-mental-illness-right-it-s-c_181051.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/vicki-pettersson-10826_inspiration_there-s-this-mental-illness-right-it-s-c_181051.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/vicki-pettersson-10826_inspiration_there-s-this-mental-illness-right-it-s-c_181051.jpg) > ““There's this mental illness, right? It's called 'anhedonia.' It means 'without pleasure.' You can look it up, though all you really need to do is look around." She motioned to the door the other women had disappeared through, and to the world at large. "A good deal of people, mostly women, spend their entire lives in this state. It's a sort of half-death. But if you recognize this, you can fix it...You focus on bliss. Small pleasures. Fill your day with as many as you can fit into twenty-four hours. You devote every possible moment not to fulfilling another person-a man-but yourself."-Suzanne "Sounds hedonistic"- Joanna "But once you can do this, you start attracting everyone to you. You dont need compare yourself to some other girl, no matter how young or firm or perky she is…Trust me. A woman like this, one at her best? We're the color of the world. We're the light and the beauty. So focus on your pleasure, and the man you want can't help but realize...that he may be a prince...but your a goddess.-Suzanne”” [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing and addressing anhedonia involves deliberately seeking small daily pleasures to restore personal fulfillment and confidence. **In simple terms:** Find joy in everyday moments to combat emptiness. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal pleasure daily. Themes self‑care mental health empowerment Mood hopeful motivational Type inspirational self‑help When to use this quote - daily routines - personal growth - relationship building Key Concepts anhedonia mindfulness self‑love Questions to Reflect On - What small pleasure can you add today? - How does self‑care affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Simply focusing on pleasure may overlook deeper emotional issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anhedonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anhedonia-8644/) [Anhedonia Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anhedonia-means-1936832/) [Called Anhedonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-anhedonia-1936831/) [Hedonistic Joanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonistic-joanna-1936834/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Small pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-pleasures/) [Sounds Hedonistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sounds-hedonistic-1936833/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [“Kate Gompert’s always thought of this anhedonic state as a kind of radical abstracting of everything, a hollowing out of stuff that used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/kate-gompert-s-always-thought-of-this-anhedonic-state-as-a-kind-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It’s of some interest that the lively arts of the millennial U.S.A. treat anhedonia and internal emptiness as hip and cool. 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I demurred, spoiled by the erotic revues of Anhedonia, where the performers remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/one-of-my-dinner-companions-invited-me-on-a-strip-club-excursion-i/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“It’s of some interest that the lively arts of the millennial U.S.A. treat anhedonia and internal emptiness as hip and cool. It’s maybe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-of-some-interest-that-the-lively-arts-of-the-millennial-u-s-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Everything else just kept picking and picking, hacking away. And nothing was interesting, nothing. The people were restrictive and careful, all alike. And I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/everything-else-just-kept-picking-and-picking-hacking-away-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It may be that true happiness lies in the conviction that one has irremediably lost happiness. Then we can begin to move through life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-luisa-bombal/it-may-be-that-true-happiness-lies-in-the-conviction-that-one-has/) [Maria Luisa Bombal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-luisa-bombal/) > [“for what is life, a good life, but the accumulation of small pleasures?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-maarten-troost/for-what-is-life-a-good-life-but-the-accumulation-of-small-pleasures/) [J. Maarten Troost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-maarten-troost/) > [Sometimes the small pleasures in life are the sweetest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/sometimes-the-small-pleasures-in-life-are-the-sweetest/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Solitude sharpens awareness of small pleasures otherwise lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-patterson/solitude-sharpens-awareness-of-small-pleasures-otherwise-lost/) [Kevin Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-patterson/) > [“Something had happened to him ove the past couple of years, something to do with being home with Aaron, sinking into the rhythm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/something-had-happened-to-him-ove-the-past-couple-of-years-something/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [Subtly, in the little ways, joy has been leaking out of our lives. The small pleasures of the ordinary day seem almost contemptible, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/subtly-in-the-little-ways-joy-has-been-leaking-out-of-our-lives-the/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [“as in Heinrich Heine’s (a contemporary of Kierkegaard’s) well-known saying that one should value above everything else ‘freedom, equality and crab soup’. ‘Crab soup’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/as-in-heinrich-heine-s-a-contemporary-of-kierkegaard-s-well-known/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [The chief secret of comfort lies in not suffering trifles to vex us, and in prudently cultivating our undergrowth of small pleasures, since very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sharp/the-chief-secret-of-comfort-lies-in-not-suffering-trifles-to-vex-us/) [Richard Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sharp/) > [We Japanese enjoy the small pleasures, not extravagance. I believe a man should have a simple lifestyle - even if he can afford more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaru-ibuka/we-japanese-enjoy-the-small-pleasures-not-extravagance-i-believe-a/) [Masaru Ibuka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaru-ibuka/) ## More by Vicki Pettersson > [“Next time," I said wryly, swinging open the door, "just give me a knife and ask for a vein.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/next-time-i-said-wryly-swinging-open-the-door-just-give-me-a-knife/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [ “Success, she \[Evie\] claimed, made people want to trust you.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/success-she-evie-claimed-made-people-want-to-trust-you/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [“Why the hell was she smiling like that?...Her mouth was blown so wide that the soft insides showed at the corners, like another grin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/why-the-hell-was-she-smiling-like-that-her-mouth-was-blown-so-wide/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [So. You're a fallen angel." She folded her arms. "I'm not fallen," he said roughly. "Then what are you?" He shrugged. "Busted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/so-you-re-a-fallen-angel-she-folded-her-arms-i-m-not-fallen-he-said/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [There’s something about seeing an adult you knew in childhood that makes them marginally vulnerable to you, and vice versa. There’s also something comforting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/there-s-something-about-seeing-an-adult-you-knew-in-childhood-that/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [“Chemistry was such a strange thing. 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The bright tang of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/i-didn-t-know-his-middle-name-or-his-favorite-color-but-i-knew-how/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [“I quickly found myself in the center of the room, trussed up to a sturdy, high-backed chair, which Joaquin happily assured me was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/i-quickly-found-myself-in-the-center-of-the-room-trussed-up-to-a/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) > [“All right," Marcus said, like he was doing me a grave favor. "But take it slow, sister. Any sudden moves and we'll drop you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/all-right-marcus-said-like-he-was-doing-me-a-grave-favor-but-take-it/) [Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) [Explore all 63 Vicki Pettersson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/) ## More Anhedonia quotes > [“Everything else just kept picking and picking, hacking away. And nothing was interesting, nothing. The people were restrictive and careful, all alike. And I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/everything-else-just-kept-picking-and-picking-hacking-away-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“It’s of some interest that the lively arts of the millennial U.S.A. treat anhedonia and internal emptiness as hip and cool. It’s maybe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-of-some-interest-that-the-lively-arts-of-the-millennial-u-s-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“One of my dinner companions invited me on a strip-club excursion. I demurred, spoiled by the erotic revues of Anhedonia, where the performers remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/one-of-my-dinner-companions-invited-me-on-a-strip-club-excursion-i/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“We Anhedonians have adapted to long periods between good news. Our national animal is the hope camel. We have no national bird. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/we-anhedonians-have-adapted-to-long-periods-between-good-news-our/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“It’s of some interest that the lively arts of the millennial U.S.A. treat anhedonia and internal emptiness as hip and cool. It’s maybe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-of-some-interest-that-the-lively-arts-of-the-millennial-u-s-a-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Kate Gompert’s always thought of this anhedonic state as a kind of radical abstracting of everything, a hollowing out of stuff that used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/kate-gompert-s-always-thought-of-this-anhedonic-state-as-a-kind-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Browse all 7 Anhedonia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anhedonia-8644/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There's this mental illness, right? It's called 'anhedonia.' It means 'without pleasure.' You can look it up, though all you really need to do is look around.\" She motioned to the door the other women had disappeared through, and to the world at large. \"A good deal of people, mostly women, spend their entire lives in this state. It's a sort of half-death. But if you recognize this, you can fix it...You focus on bliss. Small pleasures. Fill your day with as many as you can fit into twenty-four hours. You devote every possible moment not to fulfilling another person-a man-but yourself.\"-Suzanne \"Sounds hedonistic\"- Joanna \"But once you can do this, you start attracting everyone to you. You dont need compare yourself to some other girl, no matter how young or firm or perky she is…Trust me. A woman like this, one at her best? We're the color of the world. We're the light and the beauty. 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