An Unquiet Mind

A detailed Summary of An Unquiet Mind


Everywhere you turn the prevalence of mood disorders is staggering. It is not uncommon to come into contact with one or several people in your lifetime, which suffer from or have suffered from, some type of mood disorder. Personally, I have come to know several people who have manic-depressive illness. It is for this reason that I have taken a particular interest in Kay Jamison's An Unquiet Mind.

Although I have had contact with several manic-depressive individuals, during both manic and depressed states, many aspects of the disorder still remained unclear. The knowledge I have gained through Jamison's first hand experiences is invaluable and has helped me attain a clearer understanding of this illness. She allowed her readers to understand how her mind worked and to get a true feel of the disorder itself.

Most of the manic-depressive individuals that I know are married with children and living normal lives. However, like Jamison, it took them many expansive highs followed by detrimental lows before medical help was sought. As in Jamison's case (her father and other relatives on his side of the family), there appears that a predisposition to this disorder is genetically transmitted. One would thi


Jamison's depiction of her mood swings provides her readers with a perspective of her illness that no textbook or journal can offer. She explained how her episodes of mania were impulsive, wild, and energetic and how it made her feel totally "in control." Although textbooks provide you with symptoms of manic behavior, they do not illustrate, by far, the seductive and addicting power these episodes have upon the individual. Jamison described her manic moods as follows; "When you're high it's tremendous... Feelings of ease, intensity, power, well-being, financial omnipotence, and euphoria pervade one's marrow... But, somewhere this changes... you are irritable, angry, frightened, uncontrollable, and enmeshed totally in the blackest caves of the mind" (p.67).

There are several messages I believe Jamison is trying to convey in her memoir. Primarily, one can live a productive life with manic-depressive illness through medication and therapy. Secondly, the importance of support and understanding from family and friends. This includes the importance of becoming educated about the disorder. Furthermore, that although love is not a cure for this illness, it can give you back the sense of

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Approximate Word count = 807
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science

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