If I let myself sink into depression, I won't be able to get out. And then I'll be awfully unhappy. I just have to turn my face to the light and walk on. And trust that things will be all right.
I was anorexic in the 60s and 70s, although it wasn't called anorexia then. I thought people would be nicer to me if I looked very small and delicate, so food wasn't high on my agenda. But it is now.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle with body image and the misconception that being smaller would lead to better treatment by others.
Marianne Faithfull shares her personal experience of anorexia during a time when it was not recognized or understood as a disorder. She conveys how her desire to appear small and delicate stemmed from a belief that it would elicit kindness from those around her, emphasizing the deeper issues related to self-worth and societal expectations regarding body image and food. Her message illustrates a journey towards understanding the importance of nourishing oneself and the impact of societal perceptions on mental health.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a mental health awareness event to illustrate the importance of discussing body image issues.
More from Marianne Faithfull
All quotes →I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I want to be there for my friends. I want to be able to love the person in my life. I want to work. I want to do something I've never done, which is save money. I've never bought anything. I have nothing.
Similar quotes
If you would seek health, look first to the spine.
Both children and adults like me who live with type 1 diabetes need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dietitians all rolled into one.
Healthy people are those who live in healthy homes on a healthy diet; in an environment equally fit for birth, growth work, healing, and dying... Healthy people need no bureaucratic interference to mate, give birth, share the human condition and die.
What people need to know is that asthma isn't a minor 'wheeze-disease.' It kills over five thousand people in America every year, and I could've been one of them.
If you look at three diseases, the three major killers, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, the only disease for which we have really good drugs is HIV. And it's very simple: because there's a market in the United States and Europe.
Having an eating disorder doesn't show ‘strength.’ Strength is when are able to overcome your demons after being sick and tired for so long. Starving is not a ‘diet’ and throwing up isn't something that only extremely thin men or women do. Eating disorders do not discriminate..Neither does any other mental illness. These are deadly diseases that are taking lives daily. So please, let's be cautious of the words we use when discussing ED's and other mental illnesses.