"There is no fun in psychiatry. If you try to get fun out of it, you pay a considerable price for your unjustifiable optimism"

This quote by Harry Stack Sullivan is a pointer that psychiatry is a serious discipline and practice. It is not a source of entertainment or amusement, and any attempt to make it so will be consulted with a heavy cost. Sullivan is alerting versus the dangers of being overly optimistic about the field of psychiatry, as it can result in impractical expectations and frustration. He is emphasizing the value of taking a practical method to the field, and understanding that it is a severe and intricate discipline. Sullivan is also reminding us that psychiatry is not a source of enjoyable, which any attempt to make it so will be met with a heavy cost.