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The David Lynch Quote Collection

David Lynch

Psychology

"It's better not to know so much about what things mean or how they might be interpreted or you'll be too afraid to let things keep happening. Psychology destroys the mystery, this kind of magic quality. It can be reduced to certain neuroses or certain things, and since it is now named and defined, it's lost its mystery and the potential for a vast, infinite experience."

"Well, like they say: ´People who go to psychiatrists ought to have their heads examined!´ I did go one day. I wanted to find out about something. I observed a circle , a pattern, in my life and I wanted to take a look at it. So I talked to this psychiatrist for a while. He was a very patient sort of person. I was doing all the talking - which is what you are supposed to do, I guess - and I realized some important things. But when I asked him if he thought the analysis could interfere with my creativity, he said ´Well, David, I have to be honest with you, I think it might,´ And so I said ´Thank you very much.´"

"It's a tricky business. People always say artists need to suffer, but they're not suffering when they are creating. The struggle can teach you something you can use when you are healthy, you can share that experience in some medium, but while you are in a depression, it doesn't free you to create. I think [psychiatrists] can help you to a point if you've stopped moving, but if you're moving about, then I'd say, if it's not really badly broken, don't fix it."

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