An Unquiet Mind

...

The last chief theme present within Jamison's piece was that of ignorance. Jamison herself expresses how she has shown ignorance regarding her own disease, “What on earth could I have been thinking.... Why didn’t I see how absurd my defiance really was?” (page 100) As seen from Jamison's life, it often takes people far too long to finally come to the conclusion that they are being affected by such a hazardous and unfortunate disease. Kay talks how it is much easier to diagnose someone else than to yourself, primarily because it is so hellish and awkward to admit that you have a serious problem. Most of the ignorance existent within the book comes from acquaintances and fellow colleagues. One of her colleagues even went to an almost unimaginable level of vulgarity after hearing of her manic depression and attempted suicide. This man, who she thought was her friend, was a psychoanalyst named Mouseheart. After she tells him of her problems for the first time, he says, with tears running down his face, that he was “deeply disappointed”in her (page 200). This awful conversation led to the development of what Jamison calls the “Mouseheart factor.” This factor represents her reluctance to come forth and tell people of her life experiences because of the “cruelty” whether being “intentional or otherwise” that she has had to endure from friends and colleagues (page 199). This cruelty comes from unnecessary stigmas that are obviously existing in today's society; even with those like Mouseheart, who are supposed to be well-versed with the ins and outs of this manic-depressive disorder. Stories like this are important to show the necessity to begin to support people with these type of conditions in order to remove the awful stigmas that are currently associated with these illnesses.

Jamison's extremely graphic and descriptive method of telling her story was a mightily effective one. She almost forces the understanding of the seductiveness and precariousness associated with bipolar disorder. The vivid descriptions of the mood swings that Jamison supplies give the reader a perspective on the devastating illness that no textbook or journal can challenge. My understanding of the disease was definitely advanced from the memoir. It is unbelievable that a disease like bipolar disorder can cause such dramatic changes in daily activities. The fact that the illness can cause influence the purchase of expensive products and even deplete one's urge for sexual encounters, even making sexual encounters frightening and displeasing seems crazy. Examples like these that Jamison presents just go on to show how much people affected by these illnesses have to go through on a daily basis. Kay also makes sure the reader is cognizant of the fact that bipolar disorder has genetic predispositions in hope that earlier detections of the disease will become more common, so treatment can allow for a lesser amount of sufferers. An Unquiet Mind is definitely a valuable teaching tool that has and will continue to mature the public's comprehension of bipolar disorder, along with eliminating people's fallacious, arbitrary influences regarding the illness.