Opinion of an unquiet mind

I enjoyed reading An Unquiet Mind. It was very interesting learning about the mental illness of manic depression that Kay Jamison had. That topic has always been interesting to me and I love learning more about how they got through their problems and what their life was like. The book was written in two perspectives from the same person which caught my attention. I was able to see two sides of the story and it helped me understand the story. Being able to see how hard life is for some people really opened my eyes. Kay jamison sharing her story i'm aure helped many others with the same problems that she encountered and I would reccomend this book to people.

Lithium

I believe that Kay's desire to rely on lithium began when she went to the psychiatric hospital in high school. She saw the patients, and she was able to understand their pain and know how they were feeling. Then, when she goes to California and drinks vodka before school everyday, that's when it really starts. After that, everything goes downhill. She has her first manic episode and comes to the realization that she has manic depression. It's sad to think about because it must be excruciatingly painful to watch yourself grow more and more familiar with an illness so tragic.

Who is harmed most?

Kay suffered a lot during this book and as a reader it was hard to know exactly how she felt but the book did make me realize that the people around the person with the depression are affected just as much and maybe even more than that person.

The life of moods

When reading this book I was facinated by the fact that people live theirs lives with all these different moods, I think that Kay, the author has felt so many different moods and feelings she was troubled with know who she really was inside

Kay's Life With the Illness

Although, in the end, Kay showed the reader that anything is possible no matter what. It still was extremely difficult for her to go through life with this type of disease and not really knowing whether or not her medication will work somedays. Kay's illness definitely effected some of her personal relationships with others. For example Kay's relationship with David. David and Kay had a very nice relationship but Kay was stuck when she didn't know whether or not to tell David about her illness. It must have been hard for her because she didn't know how she would react to certain situations because of her manic depressive illness. It was definitely hard to keep herself in check when it comes to her illness. But, when she finally told David about her illness a year later it must have made it a lot easier for her to talk to him because she knew that he was now aware of how she may act the reason behind that. It was extremely unfortunate for her to have to go through David's unexpected death. Especially with the added difficulty that her illness brought to the situation.

Kay's illness

Kay Redfield Jamison the author of An Unquiet Mind, shares her own battle with manic depressive illness. She shares the story about her initial denial and then resistance to receive any treatment for this illness. This story opened my eyes to this illness because it gave me an inside look on how hard it is to deal with something as serious as manic depressive illness. I completely admire Kay for her ability to go through something that was as challenging as dealing with this disease. I also admire Kay for "coming out of the closet" with her illness. It is always risky to openly come out with a illness like this. There is always a chance that people won't accept her for who she is and what she is living with. Although the story dragged during some parts I really enjoyed the overall message and really see Kay Redfield Jamison as a role model for those with mental illnesses such as hers.

Visiting the Grave

When Kay first met David, it was obvious that they instantly clicked. I could also tell that it killed her that she could not tell him about her manic depression, but I don't blame her. It must be incredibly difficult to open up to someone about that, especially with the thought in your head that they could respond in a very negative way and never speak to you again. But when David shows up about a year later, and she finally tells him, it brought her much closer to him. Their relationship progresses, but then David dies out of nowhere. It must have  been so hard for her to cope with the fact that an amazing person came around that actually accepted her for who she is, and was, without notice, taken away from her. Visiting his grave couldn't have been easy, and I'm sure it added a lot of weight onto her in addition to everything else that she had going on in her life.

Kay the Psychiatrist

Although sometimes redundant, I enjoyed the fact that in An Unquiet Mind, Kay Jamison describes manic-depression through the perspective of a psychiatrist and a patient, in a way. Struggling with bi-polar disorder, Kay accounts all the highs and lows that she faced, but also views it from a psychiatric stand point. Seeing that she works with other individuals who suffer from mental disorders while working in the field of medicine, it would be expected for Kay to be understanding of the concept of her mental illness, however the different perspective led her to resist medications (for the most part). I thought it was interesting that it was narrated in two completely opposite sides of the disorder- literally- which provided a better understanding on the disorder.

Kay and David

After reading about David and Kay's relationship i didnt think Kay could push through it and be able to stand on her own. David helped Kay through her illness more then other people did.

Writing Style

I found An Unquiet Mind dull at times on both sides of the spectrum: the need to describe the technicalities of her illness by bullet-pointing events and the flowery language that covered everything in sight. I understand the purpose of it being a "narrative" account, but it seemed a little contrived when the different techniques did not flow into each other. For example, she opens the second part "A Not So Fine Madness" with prose and existential ruminations, questioning what caused her descent into mental illness but transitions straight to her experience in the psychiatry faculty. This method is often used throughout the memoir, causing the style to become repetitive and ultimately disappointing. The perpetual juxtaposition of perception versus perspective was a successful technique at first but saw no variation. That is not to say it was not a fascinating read but her writing style was not unique or memorable.

Leading by Example

I greatly admire Jamison's courage to write about her own experience with manic depression and to open up about many personal hardships she's faced through out her life. Often those suffering from manic depression will not talk about how they are feeling for fear that they will be labeled as crazy by society. Jamison offers solace to those suffering from this illness and shows through her life that it's okay to open up and ask for help. She shows that there are many medication such as lithium and different kinds of therapies that can help keep a manic depressive's life in check. She shows through her own life that manic depression is not the end of one's professional or social life and that ultimatly life will go on for those suffering this illness.

Battling Stigma

One of the most powerful messages I felt Jamison expressed in her writing was the need to battle the stigma held against those battling with depression and mental illness such as manic depressive illness. In the introduction of her book Jamison expresses how too often manic depressive illness and various types of depression are seen as a weakness in one's character and not as an actual illness. Through reading her experience one can see that manic depressive illness, like any other sickness, can affect even the most stable individual. It is not a matter of getting over it and not feeling sad anymore, it is an actual sickness that creeps up on someone and needs to be treated with medicine and therapy. If the stigma against those suffering from manic depression can be lifted than more people will feel comfortable admitting they have this illness and seek out the help they need so that they can recover.

Controlling mental illness

Through out the book we read about Kay's struggles with illness. Everyday is a challenge for her and the medication is the only thing that keeps her in check with reality and its not always 100 percent successful. Kay learned how to control her mental illness by taking the right dosage of lithium and going to her psychotherapist. You cannot overcome a mental illness but you can learn how to control it as Kay did and live a healthy normal life.

Kay's Struggle

Every day was a struggle for Kay. Her mental illness made her life extremely hard and complicated. The medication she took had side effects and the smallest overdose of her medication was toxic. Kay said when she felt better, she would stop taking her medication because she hated the fact that she had to take it. When she would stop taking it, she would get extremely depressed and the cycle would start all over again. The illness made her life very tough.

Kay Jamison's writing style

I really enjoyed "An Unquiet Mind", I'm really into learning more about mental illness' which was the main subject of this novel. Another aspect that I really enjoyed about "An Unquiet Mind"was Jamison's writing style. She wrote the book from two perspectives which was an interesting component--one as a healthcare professional and the other as someone suffering from bipolar disorder. I also loved that the book was a memoir because it made me connect with the author more. The book gave a lot of insight on what it's like to have this disease. I overall would rate the book a 4 out of 5, I really enjoyed it!

Hanging On

Kay's strength showed throughout the book and it never failed. She was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and get past the road blocks in her life. Being able to succeed in life, going to school and starting a career, shows the great amount of strength she had. I didn't think once at all while reading this book that Kay was a weak link. She proved how headstrong she was. 

Kay's Struggles

Being that Kay suffers from depression, there are many obstacles in Kay's life. The one part of the book that stuck out to me was the fact that Kay had the strength and ability to talk to someone about her troubles. The ability to realize that you need help is a huge step to healing your problem. Even though a mental illness like that will never fully go away, she had the power to make it better and easier to handle. 

Overcoming Mental Illness

Kay learned to control most of her depression, but mental illness never just goes away. Kay became very successful as an author and at Johns Hopkins University. Kay's story makes me think that maybe other people with mental illnesses who have struggled socially or emotionally can find resources that will help them overcome there own disorders. Between dealing with medications and other complications to life that were made to help her get over her disorder Kay started to understand even more about herself and that's what really helped her conquer her disorder. If Kay can do it, hopefully her story will inspire others to do it too.

Kay's world

Manic depression is made a reality for me in this book. I don't have the personal experiences with depression and Kay's story made me more aware of the lifestyle that is forced upon people with this disorder. She has to take medication, which of course come with side effects. She experiences upward spirals in mood only to be brought down again, even lower. Kay's story really connected with me on a personal level because of real her situation was and how much she had to go through. I enjoyed getting further into the book because i felt like a proud parent watching Kay slowly conquer her disability only to become a successful author.

About Mental Illness

Kay explains, obviously from personal experience, how tough it is to deal, cope with, and accept mental illness. Not only is it difficult for the person suffering from the illness, it affects the people around the person as well. To be able to live a happy and healthy life with a mental illness, you must not only have the appropriate medication (in Kay’s case, lithium), but also a positive attitude otherwise the illness can get the worst of you.