Phoebe

“If we were all given by magic the power to read each other’s thoughts, I suppose the first effect would be almost all friendships would be dissolved; the second effect, however, might be excellent, for a world without any friends would be felt to be intolerable, and we should learn to like each other without needing a veil of illusion to conceal from ourselves that we did not think each other absolutely perfect.”
― Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

“You don't have to be emaciated or vomiting to be suffering. All people who live their lives on a diet are suffering.”
― Portia de Rossi, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain

“Even with friends, I had difficulty giving or receiving physical affection, although I secretly craved it.”
― Kate M. Taylor, Going Hungry: Writers on Desire, Self-Denial, and Overcoming Anorexia

“This isn't a question of strength. Not the stoic, get-on-with-stuff-without-thinking-too-much kind of strength, anyway. It's more of a zooming-in. That sharpening. ... You know, before the age of twenty-four I hadn't realised how bad things could feel, but I hadn't realised how good they could feel either. That shell might be protecting you, but it's also stopping you feeling the full force of that good stuff. Depression might be a hell of a price to pay for waking up to life, ... But it is actually quite therapeutic to know that pleasure doesn't just help compensate for pain, it can actually grow out of it.”
― Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive