Shame on me for making such a mockery of myself. Blame it on my wounded pride. The fact is that my fear of being ridiculed is so intense I'd rather beat my critics to the punch. That's the epitome of cowardice.

They say their patients don’t have those issues and don’t want you to screen them because they don't want it to be known that the patients they care for may have an alcohol problem or depression,”

Some people think it’s an insult to the glory of their sickness to get well.

It is one of the problems we have; people die of stigma.

I speak to issues that people would rather not talk about and it makes them very uncomfortable.

Doubtless there are times when controversy becomes a necessary evil. But let us remember that it is an evil.

"The incurable sufferer is given very little opportunity to be proud of his suffering and to consider it ennobling rather than degrading" so that "he is not only unhappy, but also ashamed of being unhappy."

I'm always embarrassed when people say that I'm courageous. Soldiers are courageous. Policemen are courageous. Firemen are courageous. I just have a thick hide and disregard what silly people say.

The medical profession is unconsciously irritated by lay knowledge.

Nothing creates trouble between allies so often or so easily as unnecessary talk — particularly when it belittles one of them. A family squabble is always exaggerated beyond its true importance.

If you aren’t willing to be mocked, you’ll never be able to lead.

The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren't in a very good mood.

I hate publicity, celebrity, fame, and notoriety, all of which are associated with controversy in its public form. But, in fairness, all my life I've been rather upfront with my opinions and never hidden them on grounds of conformity or (I fear) politesse. However, until the wretched Polish consulate affair, I don't think I was ever controversial—I was certainly not known outside of the hermetic little world of the academy, and my contrarian scholarly writings aroused no great fuss.

Certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities ... This can have serious consequences for peoples’ lives and livelihoods.