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An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness

Book by Kay Redfield Jamison · 7 quotes · Bipolar, Manic, Illness

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An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness Quotes

“Far too many doctors-many of them excellent physicians-commit suicide each year; one recent study concluded that, until quite recently, the United States lost annually the equivalent of a medium-sized medical school class from suicide alone. Most physician suicides are due to depression or manic-depressive illness, both of which are eminently treatable. Physicians, unfortunately, not only suffer from a higher rate of mood disorders than the general population, they also have a greater access to very effective means of suicide.”

YearsMeanStatesSchoolSufferingLostUnitedClassUnited StatesStudyGreaterHigherDoctorsSuicideRatePopulationIllnessDuesAccessMedicalMoodCommitMediumsExcellentDisorderPhysiciansManicMedical SchoolDepressiveYear OneMood Disorders
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“Others imply that they know what it is like to be depressed because they have gone through a divorce, lost a job, or broken up with someone. But these experiences carry with them feelings. Depression, instead, is flat, hollow, and unendurable. ... You're frightened, and you're frightening, and you're 'not at all like yourself but will be soon,' but you know you won't.”

KnowsFeelingsJobsLostGoneLike YouBrokenDepressionIllnessDivorceMental IllnessFlatsFrightenedFrighteningHollowBroken UpLike YourselfUnendurableClinical Depression
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“Everything previously moving with the grain is now against - you are irritable, angry, frightened, uncontrollable, and enmeshed totally in the blackest caves of the mind. You never knew those caves were there. It will never end, for madness carves its own reality.”

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“Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it, an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide.”

FeelsDesireSufferingPleasureBehaviorUniqueAdvantageBasesSuicideIllnessMoodRationalPsychologicalBipolarManicErodeWill To LiveRational ThoughtUnendurableManic Depression
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“I have often asked myself whether, given the choice, I would choose to have manic-depressive illness. If lithium were 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.”

IfsThinkingDoeI CanEnoughWould BeChoicesGivenSimpleAnswersIllnessTerrorAvailableComplicatedBipolarManicDepressiveLithium
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“The Chinese believe that before you can conquer a beast you first must make it beautiful. In some strange way, I have tried to do that with manic-depressive illness. It has been a fascinating, albeit deadly, enemy and companion; I have found it to be seductively complicated, a distillation both of what is finest in our natures, and of what is most dangerous.”

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