Customer Reviews

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This is an alright book. I bought it after a few years of thinking that I probably have bipolar disorder. Kay Redfield Jamison's writing is clear, accurate and interesting, though I would not call it beautiful. The book was great about breaking down the specifics of the illness and after finishing I felt I had a better understanding of the illness, felt positive that I was bipolar, and ultimately felt I had a better understanding of why I feel certain ways at certain times.

My beef with the book is that she doesn't acknowledge how exceptional her access to resources is. Like when she talks about running up her bills too high (I also have this problem) she just has her brother loan her the money to fix it. When she feels really sick, she has the best psychologist/psychiatrists watching her round the clock. It really doesn't work like that for most people. I am a 22 year-old boy supporting myself totally in NYC. I am broke, have no health insurence and no family members who will financially support me. I'll be lucky to afford seeing a shrink and paying for my medication, while she, on the other hand, had people calling her, watching her, making sure she wouldn't cause herself harm. It almost seems at parts of the book as if treatment sought her, instead of the other way around. if only i should be so lucky. I find it funny that she doesn't bring up how different another patients struggle might be without the priviledges she's had. So, it was kind of frustrating.

Every word rings eerily true. It was deeply emotional, and had a stunningly visual vocabulary. This book isnt just for people who are suffering with manic-depressive disorder. I think anyone, with another mental illness or not, can take something from it. I know I'll never look at mental illness the same again.

I purchased this book when it first was published. I had seen Kay Redfield Jamison interviewed on Larry King and became very interested in her as a person, more so than her condition. At the time I had a few minor problems.

It just totally amazed me that with her severe Bipolar I and absolutely crippling mania, she was able to excel in her studies to finally become Prof. of Psychiatry at John Hopkins. Another reviewer mentioned that working in that arena she had all the resources at hand. That's very true, but even so I'm still blown away that she excelled. Interesting to note that so many doctors of psychiatry suffer from this disorder too.

Years later when I developed more problems....NOTHING like Ms. Redfield Jamison though, I had forgotten I had the book and read it again. I gained even more insight into the highest phase of Bipolar.

Really great book for people with this disorder and for family or friends of people suffering. Actually, anyone can really get into this book.

I absolutely loved this book. For those who want to have an understanding of bipolar, it is a mind-opening experience. I totally recommend it! I read it before starting my internship in a psychiatric hospital working with bipolar patients, and it helped me tremendously to understand the bipolar illness and how it affects people suffering from it. I also appreciated the writing style, very intense and poetic, the book is a delight to read.

Kay Redfield Jamison's book, An Unquiet Mind, is a profoundly captivating and moving memoir of her life and career as both a clinical expert and lifetime sufferer of manic-depressive illness, or as it presently referred to as, Bipolar Disorder (BD). In a detailed and vivid account of her life before and after being diagnosed with BD, Jamison writes from the dual perspectives of clinician and client, providing readers with valuable insight into both the clinical nature and personal experience of living with BD. With great clarity and a rich vocabulary, Jamison addresses several important, and indeed controversial, issues regarding BD, such as the current classification of BD in the DSM; how BD should be treated; the seduction and allure of mania and how it relates to medication adherence; and whether clinicians with BD, or any other mental disorder, should be granted clinical privileges. An Unquiet Mind is a must read for anyone interested in or suffering from BD.

As someone who has seen firsthand the kaleidoscopic mood swings of BD and its destructive nature to the patient and their family, I can attest to the importance of BD patients taking their medication. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to avoiding relapse in BD, or any other mental disorder for that matter, is medication adherence. Forgetting to take one's medication is not so much the problem as believing that one no longer needs to take it. After a couple months of taking medication and an absence of mood swings, many people with BD, Jamison included, feel as though they no longer need to be on medication and consequently discontinue it. It's easy for a clinician or a family member of a BD patient to state the obvious, "you need to take your medication", but if one has never had a mental illness, let alone one that needs to be medicated with a potentially lethal drug such as lithium, they cannot understand why someone with a serious and life-threatening illness would refuse to take their medication.

Jamison, however, who understood the importance of taking medication from both a clinical and personal perspective, was able to provide insight into why so many people with BD are resistant to consistently taking medication. In addition to the unpleasant side effects of lithium, Jamison stated that she was reluctant to take her medication because she feared that she would lose touch with her "old" self. She had always been a curious, intelligent, exciting and charismatic person and she was scared that taking lithium would dull and "mellow" out her exuberant personality. Moreover, she knew that she owed much of her academic success and professional tenure to her wild, ecstatic--and in some cases psychotic--manias, during which she was most productive. In retrospect, she realized that she wrote most, if not all, of her journals, papers, books and conducted most of her experiments when she was manic. Treating her manias would affect not only her personality but her profession as well. Before Jamison was on the right dose of lithium, she experienced difficulty reading and comprehending information, a task that was of the utmost importance to her profession as both a researcher and clinician. Fear and reluctance, rather than recalcitrance and stubbornness, were the reasons for which Jamison refused to take her medication. Clinicians need to go beyond admonishing their patients from discontinuing their medication and try to understand why they may be reluctant to stay medicated and address any fears or concerns they may have.

In the literature, researchers refer to what Jamison and others with BD experience as "grievance of self", whereby patients with BD, who are intimately attached to and extremely proud of their personalities, fear that taking medication will transform them into a different person. Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of Jamison's book is her lucid description of the irresistible allure and appeal of manic episodes. There is a sharp disconnection between how clinicians and patients describe, conceptualize, and speak about manic episodes. To a clinician and to the family members of someone with BD, a manic episode is destructive and dangerous, and the person experiencing one is referred to as being "sick". Indisputably, the consequences of a manic episode can be catastrophic. However, for the people experiencing manias, they feel as if they are "on top of the world" and often lack foresight to their inappropriate and potentially dangerous actions, which can include foolish and excessive spending, drug abuse, and sexual indiscretions. People in a manic episode are extremely confident about themselves and if you were to ask them while manic if they thought that they were "sick", they would assure you, in about 100 words spoken so rapidly that they were barely discernable, that they were anything but sick and have never felt more alive, energetic, and productive in their life. During Jamison's trip to Scotland, which she indicated was the most memorable moment of her life, she was unequivocally manic. Although in retrospect she fully realizes this, during the trip she felt that she was having the time of her life. The seduction of mania is yet another formidable barrier to medication adherence in BD patients and one that clinicians need to address as well.

After many wild and ecstatic manias and the dark and suicidal depressions by which the highs were inevitably and invariably followed, Jamison finally acknowledged the importance of continuing to take her medication despite any fears or regrets she may have. She knew, and had known all along, that if she didn't take lithium the illness would eventually take her life, as it had done to so many others with BD. Suddenly discontinuing one's medication could lead to the onset of a full-blown manic episode which would be inevitably followed by a dark period of depression and bleakness. During one of these episodes of depression is when Jamison tried to take her own life by overdosing on lithium. Such unconditional acceptance and acknowledgement of one's mental disorder and the necessary life changes is absolutely imperative to successfully managing BD, or any other mental disorder for that matter. Unfortunately, these important facts about the illness cannot be taught, but rather, they must be learnt through years of experience of living with the disorder.

I found it interesting that Jamison refused to refer to her illness as Bipolar Disorder (BD), which is the official diagnostic label employed by the DSM, and to instead use the historic term manic-depressive illness. Initially, I reckoned that the book was written before the DSM changed its nomenclature for the disorder, but then Jamison addressed the topic in a later chapter. Although she recognized the importance of using precise, objective language when referring to mental disorders, she personally found the term "bipolar disorder" extremely offensive and a complete misrepresentation of the disorder. Interestingly, she argued that splitting mood disorders into two separate categories--unipolar and bipolar--presupposes that depression and manic-depressive illness are qualitatively distinct conditions, both clinically and etiologically, which, she points out, science has failed to corroborate. She also posits that the term BD, unlike manic-depressive illness, undermines the importance of mixed manic and depressive episodes, which are extremely common in people with BD and important for understanding the clinical and theoretical issues underlying BD.

Jamison's success story of being a psychiatrist who treats, studies, and suffers from BD is a controversy in and of itself. Towards the end of the book, Jamison addresses the issue of whether clinicians who suffer from mental disorders should be allowed to practice therapy. To be honest, I find it somewhat hypocritical that the medical community, who has fought to protect the rights of people with mental disorders, would steadfastly disapprove of a mentally ill clinician treating patients. What message do these opinions and views send to patients with BD in specific and the public in general? The medical community might as well openly state that, "We, as therapists and clinicians who treat people with mental disorders, condemn job discrimination and stigmatization of mental disorders so long as those afflicted with the illnesses do not seek employment in our field of work". I find this utterly appalling and despicable. I fully acknowledge the severity of BD and the impact it can have on the person's life as well as the lives of those around the person (my father has bipolar so I am quite familiar with the illness and its potentially destructive nature), but to deny a person clinical privileges solely because they have BD is to directly question the ability and competence of any person with BD in any field of work.

I can't help but wonder that had Jamison not had such a loving, caring, and supportive brother and psychiatrist, to whom she was able to turn when distressed, she may have ended up losing her practice, professional tenure, or, even worse, her life. Kay Redfield Jamison's book, The Unquiet Mind, is an attestation to the importance of accepting responsibility for one's mental disorder, having a strong and unconditional support system, and appreciating the knowledge that people with mental disorders have to offer about their condition. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Jamison's work.

This book is wonderfully written. A great read for anybody interested in, or suffering from Bipolar.

This is a wonderful book about a Bipolar woman!

If you want the inside track on Bipolar Disorder this is the book to get,Well written.

This is an informative read about manic depressive illness, especially for someone who knows little about the illness. It is seemingly hard to look down upon a well written memoir such as this due to its raw passion and detail. Jamison leaves you with a solid message that a combination of taking medication and psychotherapy are what make it possible to live with manic depression.

This is an incredibly informative book, especially for those who know very little about manic-depressive illness. It is seemingly difficult to look down upon a well written memoir due to it's raw passion and honesty. Jamison tells the interesting life she has had through manic depression and conveys a strong message; a combination of medication and psychotherapy have made life possible for her.