An Unquiet Mind - Book Report/Review Example

An Unquiet Mind The most moving stories are not always the ones that have the prettiest characters or have the happily-ever-after ending. Often times, the most moving stories are filled with flawed people who are struggling to survive in the midst of extreme difficulties and anguish. Such is the case in the autobiography of Kay Redfield Jamison entitled An Unquiet Mind. Dr. Jamison is a renowned Professor of Psychiatry at John Hopkins School of Medicine. Although Dr. Jamison is an extremely educated individual, she has profound insight into mental illness due to her own lifelong struggle with manic-depressive disorder. Manic-depressive disorder, also known as bipolar disorder, is a mental illness, which is often covered in most general psychology courses. Within her memoir, Dr. Jamison presents her life and the progression of her illness while imparting valuable psychological information along the way. As with most memoirs, Dr. Jamison provides an account of her life to the reader beginning with her childhood as an army brat, which she describes as being fairly normal. She was interested in medicine from a young age and was a very curious and disciplined person. In her teen years, she developed an extreme temper. She states, “I had a terrible temper , after all, and though it rarely erupted, when it did it frightened me…It was the only crack, but a disturbing one, in the otherwise vacuum sealed casting of my behavior”(Jamison, 1995, p23). It appears that her illness might have been somewhat genetic as she describes her father’s severe depression after retiring from the air force and moving to California. “My father’s moods were further blackening…they had given way to anger, despair, and bleak emotional withdrawal”(Jamison, 1995, p34). She talks about his own rage and alcoholism, which would happen in between the times of severe depression. Not long after, Jamison experienced her first manic-depressive episode as a senior in high school. “Once the siege began, I lost my mind rather rapidly”(Jamison, 1995, p36). Her early episodes consisted of mania, which she thought were pleasant to a certain extent because they were more mild than ones she would experience later on. Her mania, at this time in her life, manifested itself as an abundant supply of energy. Jamison describes herself as “racing about like a crazed weasel, bubbling with plans and enthusiasm”(Jamison, 1995, p36). Her mania eventually turned to severe depression which heralded extremely dark and deadly thoughts and exhaustion. Jamison’s manic depressive disorder continues to grow worse through her college years as her manic and depressive episodes became more frequent, which Jamison was only beginning to understand was a real problem. She completed graduate school where she studied clinical psychology. It was not until she became a professor; however, that her illness began to take over her life. She describes herself as “mad” during this period (Jamison, 1995, p68). According to Jamison, she sometimes couldn’t remember certain things that occurred during her manic episodes. “Credit cards revoked, bounced checks to cover, explanations due at work, friendships gone or drained…”(Jamison, 1995, p68). As she grew worse, she began to take medications such as lithium and began to see a psychiatrist who diagnosed Jamison with manic-depressive disorder. It was the first time that Jamison was finally able to really define what was wrong with her; however, at the same time, when she was going through a stable period, she was quick to come to the conclusion that she wasn’t really sick and tried to go off her medication, which would only cause the episodes to grow more frequent or more severe. A few times, Jamison tried to commit suicide as well by overdosing on lithium. Even with her mental illness, Jamison managed to rise in the ranks of her profession as she worked and taught at hospitals and clinics. She also became a frequent lecturer on manic-depressive disorders as well because of her own experience with the illness and because of her extensive studies on the subject. For the most part, due to medication and psychotherapy, she has been able to gain control of her manic-depressive disorder and lead a relatively normal life. The final part of the memoir consists of Dr. Jamison discussing some of her opinions on manic depressive disorder such as her dislike of the term “bipolar” and the ethical issues which accompany the illness. She believes that the term “bipolar” is not medically accurate because the “polarization of two clinical states flies in the face of everything that we know about the cauldronous, fluctuating nature of manic-depressive illness”(Jamison, 1995, p182). The ethical issues that Jamison discusses is whether or not a person with mental illness should have children as genetics will predispose the child to the same illness. In addition, Jamison addresses some of the stigma which is attached to those with mental illness. Although much of the book is focused on telling the story of Jamison’s life, it is clear that the author’s overall purpose is to educate and inform readers about mental illness, specifically manic-depressive disorder. Even though her own experiences with the disorder may not completely match other people’s experiences with this illness, her own journey showcases many of the classic manifestations and symptoms of the illness, which makes this book a valuable source for those wanting to learn more about manic-depressive disorder. Overall, Jamison successfully completes this goal to educate the audience by providing an up-close and personal look at the illness, in addition to including psychological analysis and facts to supplement the personal aspects. An Unquiet Mind is both an interesting autobiography and a fantastic case study for manic-depressive disorder. Many psychology courses teach students about such illnesses as this, but often times, the textbooks that present the information are stale, clinical, and primarily fact based. Reading a personal account of mental illness injects an understanding and clarity that cannot be replicated anywhere else. Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in the stigmatization of mental illness because it is hard to grasp or understand if a person has no prior experience with it. Being confronted with the reality, emotions, and details of a person who has actually struggled with mental illness is so important in furthering the general public’s understanding of these type of illnesses. In short, it puts a human face on the issue. There is no doubt that this book should be read by as many people as possible, especially those who are interested in psychology as Dr. Jamison is a qualified expert who not only know what she is talking about because of her extensive education, but also because she has lived with mental illness for her entire life and has managed to find a way to survive and thrive. References Jamison, K. R. (1995). An unquiet mind. New York: A.A. Knopf. Read More