An Unquiet Mind is a memoir written by Kay Jamison that describes the manifestations of her manic depression. At first, Jamison struggles to accept she has bipolar disorder and resists treatment, attempts suicide, and has many struggles in her personal life. The author noticed she had intense emotions as a child and in high school she experienced her first manic episode. During this episode she felt as though she was on top of the world, but following this she was unable to concentrate or comprehend, felt exhausted, and was even preoccupied with death. Despite these challenges, Jamison completed graduate work in clinical psychology with the support of her friends and colleagues, therapy, and her own acceptance of illness. Jamison has been …show more content…
Jamison says, “I have often asked myself whether, given the choice, I would choose to have manic-depressive illness. If lithium was not available to me, or didn’t work for me, the answer would be a simple no and it would be an answer laced with terror. But lithium does work for me, and therefore I can afford to pose the question. Strangely enough I think I would choose to have it. It’s complicated. Depression is awful beyond words or sounds or images… So why would I want anything to do with this illness? Because I honestly believe that as a result of it I have felt more things, more deeply; had more experiences, more intensely; loved more, and been more loved; laughed more often for having cried more often; appreciated more the springs, for all the winters… and slowly learned the values of caring, loyalty and seeing things through. …Depressed, I have crawled on my hands and knees in order to get across a room and have done it for month after month. But, normal or manic, I have run faster, thought faster and loved faster than most I know.” Some people may refuse to take lithium due to its side effects, the stigma around medication, or simply because they are addicted to the highs of mania. Through Kay’s journey, and the impact of lithium on the brain, it is evident that with the proper amount and when taken regularly, lithium is effective in improving bipolar