It's quite common in popular media for characters with mental conditions to have a traumatizing childhood event be the only extant reason for their adult troubles. It's either the sexual abuse that happened when they were young or the broken home (just something tragic) that caused they're severe multiple personality disorder or tendency towards isolation or crippling anorexia. The list is endless. But this is not the case in An Unquiet Mind by Kay Jamison. Her memoir is such a perfect example of not being predisposed to any early environmental factors but still developing some type of disorder that may be hereditary or the product of an imbalance in the brain.
It's hard enough for people with mental disorders to be taken seriously but it's especially difficult when there's no apparent reason for it. It's easy to see an amputee's or a cancer survivor's problems because you can easily make the connection: "Oh, cancer" or "Oh, missing limb" but when it's not even palpably obvious to the person affected by the mental disorder, it becomes difficult. Jamison was blessed with a carefree childhood but still developed manic depression. Anyone struggling with this type of ailment can find solace in her account.
An Unquiet Mind by Kay R. Jamison
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This is a student-friendly place to discuss your summer reading assignment with your peers. Use this Blog only for matters related to the book - this is not a social networking outlet.
As you respond to the questions and postings related to the book you are reading, keep in mind that all blog postings will be monitored. If you use inappropriate language you will be reported.
This is for English class; therefore, you must write in full sentences and use correct punctuation and grammar. Please avoid texting or IM language, abbreviations, slang, emoticons, etc. In order to receive credit, blogs must be well thought out and at least three sentences in length.
2 comments:
I strongly agree with Ashley's opinion that Kay Jamison's memoir, An Unquiet Mind, is a very realistic account and experience with manic depressive illness. Jamison's experience highlights the important notion that mental illness or emotional distress does not always result from some kind of traumatic experience. Jamison acts as her own testament to the argument that mental illness is indeed a medical condition that can affect any life and ultimately offers hope that the illness can be kept in check through out one's life.
I also agree with Ashley, especially with the idea of how sometimes someone's mental disorder isn't obvious. Although Jamison's extreme impulses or deep depressions may have seemed out of the ordinary and could have caused some people to take notice in any "abnormal" behavior, most people wouldn't be able to tell that she, or any other person with a mental disorder, was suffering from an illness. Just as Ashley said about an amputee or a cancer survivor, it isn't as obvious that someone is dealing with a mental disorder since it is a chemical imbalance- which clearly, you can't see, as opposed to a missing limb. Therefore it is really difficult to deal with, especially if you can't explain something that you can't visibly and outwardly show.
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