Analysis Of Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind

Given her accreditation and awards for her work in her community, as well as her literature, it is easy to see why she continues to make an impact in her field. Throughout her college career, and thereafter, she has made monumental influences in the lives of others through her research. Moreover, her knowledge of those who have disorders helps people understand that she truly does know what they are going through. Jamison was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 28 years old. Not only does this allow her to empathize with others by allowing her to walk in the same shoes as them, she is still able to perform her duties as a psychologist. Not only does she understand others with bipolar disorder, she understands how she affects others with her disorder. Some may think that by “outing” herself as having a mood disorder, she may have hindered her career. In fact, it

Forney’s suffering arises not just from the symptoms of her bipolar disorder, but from the self-isolation that results from her fear of losing her creativity. After her diagnosis, Forney characterizes herself as a “rock star” cheerfully eating an energy bar and casually tossing Klonopin into her mouth (28). With the same carelessness, she begins reading Kay Jamison’s memoir, a story by a psychologist who suffers from the same disorder as she. Here, Forney’s face shows a dismissive skepticism, betraying her adamant refusal to let her disorder “dictate everything in [her] life” (27-28). Her reasons for this refusal become readily apparent when we

By definition, manic depression is otherwise known as bipolar disorder in modern times. It is “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, behavior, thinking and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.”(Introduction: Bipolar Disorder) This overall definition clearly supports the argument that Rose Mary carries bipolar disorder. Often times in the memoir, Rose Mary changes her mind and mood about doing something very quickly without any foreshadow. This brief explanation of bipolar disorder shows that Rose Mary possesses most of the traits of having bipolar disorder. From a greater perspective, bipolar disorder has two very distinctive phases ---- the manic phase and depressive phase. During a manic phase, patients are often “jumping quickly from one idea to the next” (Melinda and Jeanne), feeling energetic and having “unrealistic beliefs about one’s abilities or powers” (Melinda and Jeanne); during a depressive phase, patients are often “feeling hopeless, sad, empty”(Melinda and Jeanne) or irritable and unable to

The author, Kay Jamison talks about her life with bipolar I disorder in her book, An Unquiet Mind. Jamison was a Caucasian woman who at the age of forty seven wrote this memoir. Currently she is seventy years old and dealing with her disorder. She spent her life moving around a lot because her father was an air force pilot. She grew up with an older brother who was very caring and an older sister that she bumped heads with. Kay’s father was a really delightful person. His emotions were contagious. Her mother was always helpful and caring for her family no matter how busy she was. Kay’s parents were supporting in all her interests; such as pets, poetry, science, and medicine. When she was fifteen, things took a turn and her family moved to California for her father’s new job as a scientist. Her father began to show worsening signs of depression. Around the age of sixteen, Kay realized that she was having mood swings that were very drastic. In her senior year of high school, she had her first manic depressive attack. She started her undergraduate study at UCLA dealing with her constant depression and manic episodes. As she was studying as an undergraduate, Kay began to take an interest in psychology. She pursued her PhD in psychology at UCLA again studying mood disorders. As a graduate student, she also began working in the psychiatric ward and dealing with marital problems in her first marriage. She was slowly spiraling out of control until she had a terrifying

In this book, we are presented with the mental illness named ‘Manic Depression’ in which Mark was faced with as a freshman in college. Manic Depression is most commonly known as ‘Bipolar Illness’ and is usually confused with schizophrenia and unipolar depression. It causes huge shifts in mood, energy, thinking, and behavior. The manic depressive may have multiple mania behaviors at a time and depression the next second. For example, in the book, Mark showed one of the biggest signs of the bipolar disorder, uncontrolled sleepiness. This usually marks the beginning of a manic depressive episode which causes the person to become a total stranger to others. Manic depression can cause huge sex drives in the person that might even exhaust his/her partner. It can cause moods, such as fatigue, delusions,

One of the biggest myths about bipolar disorder is that it is a rare amongst many people but that is not true. According to statistics and research in a given year, bipolar disorder affects about 5.7 million American adults, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population 18 and older, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (Doheny, 2005). Bipolar disorder has been around for as long as the 1800 but it was not until the 1900 that German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, help to better defined what it takes to deal with bipolar disorder. It wasn’t until the 20th century that society began to normalize abnormal behavior. The silver lining playbook is an amazing movie sheds a light on abnormal behavior and mental illnesses. Society looks at abnormal behavior as a menace. This movie helps opens the minds of many people on what it means to function with abnormal behavior. The silver lining playbook is amazing romantic comedy about two individuals who are suffering with separate abnormal behaviors. The story line is based on a man by the name of Pat who has spent time in a mental institution who leaves the facility to stay with his parents; during this time he tries to rebuild his life as a function person with bipolar disorder. During this time of trying to get his ex-wife back where he was almost successful but things eventually get complicated when he means a woman by the name of Tiffany who also has some abnormal behavior behaviors but she has more control over it try to help

story in a memoir titled Madness: A Bipolar Life, in an attempt to shed some light and insight on the

Nusslock is a professor at Northwestern University. After graduating with a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison, he went on to study neuroscience at Pittsburg medical school. This journal focuses on how criteria regarding bipolar disorders may fail to include milder bipolar syndromes. The main argument is the criteria for diagnosing mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, is not adequate. He argues there is no reliable criteria equipped for diagnosing mild cases of bipolar disorder. Mild bipolar disorder is significant and should not go unnoticed, argues Nusslock. “Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) who display subsyndromal hypomanic features, not concurrent with a major depressive episode, have a more severe course compared to individuals with MDD and no hypomanic features, and more closely resemble individuals with bipolar disorder on a number of clinical validators,” claims Nusslock. His findings prove what he hypothesized. The article gives the reader an insight to how important subtle symptoms are and how no person or behavior deserves to go unnoticed. He suggests there is a fault with how we are diagnosing bipolar disorders. We tend to group patients into a larger category, rather than finding a diagnosis that fits properly. The evidence in this article is a combination of research and Nusslock’s own ideas. Because he is able to combine thoughts and ideas, the information is more reliable. This article may be biased because he seems to be solely talking about his perspective than the opposite perspective. Nusslock continuously reflects on his strong sense of opinion. He seems to be very passionate about bipolar disorder and wants to be a part of making a difference. In my opinion, the information is reliable for one side. It does not show reliability for an opposing opinion because there seems to be no other opinion present. This article is a

In her memoir, “Madness“, Marya Hornbacher  takes  the reader on  a journey  of her life with  Type I rapid cycle bipolar disorder. She explains the disorder as “when you are mad, mad like this, you don’t know it. Reality is what you see. When what you see shifts, departing from anyone else’s reality, it’s still reality to you” (Hornbacher, page 118).

As expressed in the documentary, bipolar disorder is a very misunderstood mental illness, and I was surely one of those who truly didn’t understand it. One fact that I learned was how the change from manic states to depressive ones are not easy gentle

At times, Kay wrongly felt like she could stop taking the Lithium and she was the

82)This emphasizes the book’s point of saying that some criteria are “abnormally increased activity or energy,” and “flight of ideas or subjective impression that thoughts are racing,” (Kring et al. 2016, p. 140). She mentions that during these episodes that her friends would tell her to slow down (Jamison 1995, p. 37). This can also be considered as the symptom characterized by unusual talkativeness and rapid speech (Kring et al. 2016, p. 140). According to the textbook, a decreased need for sleep also characterizes mania, which Jamison often refers to, saying that “Decreased sleep is both a symptom of mania and a cause,” (Jamison 1995, p. 69). During her manic episodes, Jamison also had a tendency to dress provocatively and overspend money, which the DSM-5 characterizes as “excessive involvement in activities that are likely to have painful consequences, such as reckless spending, sexual indiscretions, or unwise business investments,” (Kring et al. 2016, p. 140). She also mentions that during one of her manias, she bought snakebite kits because “God had chose me, and apparently only me, to alert the world to the wild proliferation of killer snakes in the Promised Land,” (Jamison 1995, p. 76), which can be classified as the DSM-5 criteria “increased self-esteem; belief that one has special talents, powers, or abilities,” (Kring et al. 2016, p. 140). As for her depressive

In the movie Silver Linings Playbook, we follow Pat Solitano Jr., a man recently released from a mental institution (Cohen et al., 2012). He is a Caucasian male, likely in his early to mid-thirties and of Italian descent. He was a high school history teacher, living with his wife, Nikki, an English teacher. Upon finding his wife in the shower with another man, he nearly beats the man to death leading him to be sent to a psychiatric facility for eight months with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. In this essay I will support the diagnosis of a Bipolar I disorder. A diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder, has specific criteria in the DSM-V that have to be met. I will be listing the criteria and through examples of Pat’s actions, thoughts and behaviours, he meets the criteria.

Bipolar disorder is typically a condition that affects people in their late teens and early adulthood. It is usually not thought to affect a child but it is something that, if present at a young age, can seriously affect the way a child grows up. Bipolar disorder affects every aspect of a person’s life and is not as understood as it should be. Researchers are still looking for the cause of this illness and how it can be treated but overall it is a condition that many people are undereducated on and that is something I’m hoping this paper might be able to change for some.

The purpose of this essay is to explain the definitions of mental health, mental illness and psychiatric disability, using bipolar disorder as an example to illustrate these points. Bipolar disorder will also be used to explain the concepts of the medical and social models of disability, highlight the influence these two models could have on people with the disorder and the experiences they might encounter. There will be a focus on some of the experiences a person suffering from mental illness might have in society, the effect these experiences can have on an individual and the influence of stigmas and stereotypes. This leads to the final discussion point, the action of self-disablement. This section discusses how a person with a mental health issue can be influenced by labels, stigmas and stereotypes, and how this can stop them from seeking help and achieving their goals.