Kay Jamison’s Early Life behind Bipolar Disorder
Kay Jamison, the author of “An Unquiet Mind,” is a vital figure and an influencer in the world and sphere of manic-depression and mental disorders. “I am tired of hiding, tired of misspent and knotted energies, tired of the hypocrisy, and tired of acting as though I have something to hide.”(Jamison 7) Her story and life with bipolar disorder is uncovered to her readers through telling and examining her bipolar illness, revealing both its terrors and the cruel fascination that at times prompted her to resist taking medication. Bipolar disorder is caused by unusual shifts in energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. It is also characterized by profound mood symptoms that include episodes of mania and depression. Bipolar disorder is classified to different types, Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Bipolar I disorder is having manic symptoms that are so severe and that the depressive episodes occur and last for at least 2 weeks. On the other hand, …show more content…
Jamison begins her book by telling a horrible memory of her childhood of the time she was a second grader. She is playing in the playground when the military jet roars overhead. It crashes into a row of trees where the pilot is burned to death. All the moms are reassuring their children that it was not their father in the plane and that their father is safe at home. “I never again looked at the sky and saw only vastness and beauty. From that afternoon on I saw that death was there.” (Jamison 13) The plane crash she witnessed as a child has definitely contributed to the development of her manic- depression stage. It is a tough situation to face as a child, as it was the first thing Jamison mentions in her book, it explains how it marked a reminiscence in her mind and has played an important role in affecting her
Kay Jamison, the author of “An Unquiet Mind,” is a vital figure and an influencer in the world and sphere of manic-depression and mental disorders. “I am tired of hiding, tired of misspent and knotted energies, tired of the hypocrisy, and tired of acting as though I have something to hide.”(Jamison 7) Her story and life with bipolar disorder is uncovered to her readers through telling and examining her bipolar illness, revealing both its terrors and the cruel fascination that at times prompted her to resist taking medication. Bipolar disorder is caused by unusual shifts in energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. It is also characterized by profound mood symptoms that include episodes of mania and depression. Bipolar disorder is classified to different types, Bipolar I and Bipolar II. Bipolar I disorder is having manic symptoms that are so severe and that the depressive episodes occur and last for at least 2 weeks. On the other hand, …show more content…
Jamison begins her book by telling a horrible memory of her childhood of the time she was a second grader. She is playing in the playground when the military jet roars overhead. It crashes into a row of trees where the pilot is burned to death. All the moms are reassuring their children that it was not their father in the plane and that their father is safe at home. “I never again looked at the sky and saw only vastness and beauty. From that afternoon on I saw that death was there.” (Jamison 13) The plane crash she witnessed as a child has definitely contributed to the development of her manic- depression stage. It is a tough situation to face as a child, as it was the first thing Jamison mentions in her book, it explains how it marked a reminiscence in her mind and has played an important role in affecting her