Brief Review Of Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind
In her candid, insightful, and emotionally-charged memoir, An Unquiet Mind, Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison describes her personal struggles with manic-depressive illness (now known as bipolar mood disorder) revealing both the catastrophic depressions and the exhilarating manic highs that at times prompted her to resist taking medication. Dr. Kay Jamison, a clinical psychologist, writer, and a professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, has learned to manage her disorder and has been able to utilize her personal experiences to become one of the foremost authorities on bipolar disorders. I will be using the Multipath Model of Mental Disorders which encompasses biological, psychological, social, and sociocultural dimensions
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As in Dr. Jamison’s case (her father also had bipolar disorder), there appears to be a very strong genetic component, which is why bipolar disorders are predominantly considered neurobiological disorders (Jamison, 2015). Bipolar disorders are said to occur in a specific area of the brain due to a malfunction of three specific neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, which may also be why people with bipolar disorders don’t respond to medications used to treat depressive disorders (Sue et. al, 2016). In addition, evidence from neuroimaging studies has shown that individuals like Dr. Jamison, who have bipolar I disorder, have functional and anatomical irregularities in brain regions associated with experiencing and regulating emotions, which may help explain the onset of mania and the chronic condition of bipolar disorders (Sue et. al, 2016). Psychological, social, and sociocultural factors can also influence the development and progression of bipolar disorders; for example, bipolar disorders may lie dormant until they are triggered by a major stressful event or a strained social relationship. For Dr. Jamison (2015), she recalled being at times “intensely emotional as a child” (p.4); however, it wasn’t until her senior year at a new high school that she first experienced “a light lovely tincture of true mania” (p. 37) which was followed by difficulties concentrating, feelings of exhaustion, and ruminations about death. Although bipolar disorder is primarily biological in its origins, the onset and progression of the illness likely result from a complex interplay
As in Dr. Jamison’s case (her father also had bipolar disorder), there appears to be a very strong genetic component, which is why bipolar disorders are predominantly considered neurobiological disorders (Jamison, 2015). Bipolar disorders are said to occur in a specific area of the brain due to a malfunction of three specific neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, which may also be why people with bipolar disorders don’t respond to medications used to treat depressive disorders (Sue et. al, 2016). In addition, evidence from neuroimaging studies has shown that individuals like Dr. Jamison, who have bipolar I disorder, have functional and anatomical irregularities in brain regions associated with experiencing and regulating emotions, which may help explain the onset of mania and the chronic condition of bipolar disorders (Sue et. al, 2016). Psychological, social, and sociocultural factors can also influence the development and progression of bipolar disorders; for example, bipolar disorders may lie dormant until they are triggered by a major stressful event or a strained social relationship. For Dr. Jamison (2015), she recalled being at times “intensely emotional as a child” (p.4); however, it wasn’t until her senior year at a new high school that she first experienced “a light lovely tincture of true mania” (p. 37) which was followed by difficulties concentrating, feelings of exhaustion, and ruminations about death. Although bipolar disorder is primarily biological in its origins, the onset and progression of the illness likely result from a complex interplay