J. D. Salinger

I think Viagra is wonderful if you need it, if you have medical issues, if you’ve had surgery. I’ve just never needed it. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if there were an anti-Viagra, something with the opposite effect. I’m not bragging. I’m just lucky. I don’t need it.

There’s not shame in dealing with these things. There’s no shame in having to fight everyday.

The patient is not likely to recover who makes the doctor his heir.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

Yes. I am mentally ill. I’m not embarrassed about it. And I have written my best work not when flirting with the brink, but when treating my chronic health problem with consistency and care.

Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It is a necessary thing to feel. Depression is very different.

I believe we have to nip Ebola in the bud before it spreads through Africa and to other countries.

My advice would be to talk to people about [your anxiety]. Don’t feel alone in it. Treat your body as if you are another person that you need to take care of and heal.

My brain and my heart are really important to me, I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?

At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distraction.

If today I can practice a sport, and move around 90% of the time without a cane, it’s because of the love and support of my producers, record labels and above all my audience who have always believed in me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have made much more progress than I did in the hospital.

A lot of people undermine their own anxiety because they’re like…nothing’s necessarily going wrong. It just happens and it’s just inside of you and that’s not something you should be ashamed of. It’s justified because it’s happening.

I have a form of Parkinson’s disease, which I don’t like. My legs don’t move when my brain tells them to. It’s very frustrating.

Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we’re scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don’t have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.

Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself.