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Kay Redfield Jamison

Kay Redfield Jamison Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous Kay Redfield Jamison 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
Book:An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
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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
Book:An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
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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.”

MindEndsRealityMovingMadnessAngryIllnessMental IllnessFrightenedGrainCavesUncontrollable
Book:An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
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“the intensity, glory, and absolute assuredness if my mind's flight made it very difficult for me to believe once i was better, that the illness was one i should willingly give up....moods are such an essential part of the substance of life, of one's notion of oneself, that even psychotic extremes in mood and behavior somehow can be seen as temporary, even understandable reactions to what life has dealt....even though the depressions that inevitably followed nearly cost me my life.”

IfsGivingShouldMindBelieveMadeDifficultCostEssentialsDepressionGiving UpBehaviorGloryAbsolutesNotionOneselfIllnessExtremesMoodReactionsFlightMade ItSubstanceTemporaryIntensityPsychotic
Author:Kay Redfield Jamison
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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
Book:An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
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“It is tempting when looking at the life of anyone who has committed suicide to read into the decision to die a vastly complex web of reasons; and, of course, such complexity is warranted. No one illness or event causes suicide; and certainly no one knows all, or perhaps even most, of the motivations behind the killing of the self. But psychopathology is almost always there, and its deadliness is fierce. Love, success, and friendship are not always enough to counter the pain and destructiveness of severe mental illness”

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Author:Kay Redfield Jamison
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“Who would not want an illness that has among its symptoms elevated and expansive mood, inflated self-esteem, abundance of energy, less need for sleep, intensified sexuality, and- most germane to our argument here-"sharpened and unusually creative thinking" and "increased productivity"?”

ThinkingWantNeedsSelfEnergySleepCreativeSelf EsteemArgumentIllnessSexualityProductivityMoodEsteemAbundanceSymptomsCreative Thinking
Book:Touched With Fire
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“But then back on lithium and rotating on the planet at the same pace as everyone else, you find your credit is decimated, your mortification complete: mania is not a luxury one can easily afford. It is devastating to have the illness and aggravating to have to pay for medications, blood tests, and psychotherapy. They, at least, are partially deductible. But money spent while manic doesn't fit into the Internal Revenue Service concept of medical expense or business loss. So after mania, when most depressed, you're given excellent reason to be even more so.”

ReasonGivenLossPayBloodPlanetsFitDepressionConceptsTestsIllnessCreditMedicalLuxuryExcellentInternalsExpensesPaceRevenueMedicationPsychotherapyManicManiaMortificationAggravatingRotatingLithiumBlood Tests
Book:Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent 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
Book:An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
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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.”

WayFirstsBelieveHas BeensBeautifulFoundEnemyDangerousStrangeIllnessComplicatedConquerChineseBeastFascinatingCompanionFinestManicDepressiveDistillation
Book:An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
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