Never once, during any of my bouts of depression, had I been inclined or able to pick up a telephone and ask a friend for help. It wasn't in me.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
Because I teach and write about depression and bipolar illness, I am often asked what is the most important factor in treating bipolar disorder. My answer is competence. Empathy is important, but competence is essential.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The key to treating bipolar disorder lies in having the necessary skills and knowledge, while empathy plays a supportive role.
In the context of treating bipolar disorder, Kay Redfield Jamison emphasizes that while empathy is valuable, the fundamental aspect that truly makes a difference in treatment is the professional's competence. This highlights the necessity for practitioners to possess the right expertise to effectively address complex mental health issues, suggesting that understanding and skill are paramount in providing treatment.
Themes
CompetenceEmpathyBipolar DisorderTreatmentMental Health
In practice
Example use cases
In a mental health seminar discussing treatment methodologies, this quote can highlight the importance of professional training.
More from Kay Redfield Jamison
All quotes →No pill can help me deal with the problem of not wanting to take pills; likewise, no amount of psychotherapy alone can prevent my manias and depressions. I need both. It is an odd thing, owing life to pills, one's own quirks and tenacities, and this unique, strange, and ultimately profound relationship called psychotherapy
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
Mood disorders are terribly painful illnesses, and they are isolating illnesses. And they make people feel terrible about themselves when, in fact, they can be treated.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental domain. The future cannot be separated from the present, and the present is painful beyond solace. ‘This is my last experiment,’ wrote a young chemist in his suicide note. ‘If there is any eternal torment worse than mine I’ll have to be shown.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
When public figures remain silent about depression, there is a cost to the rest of society. Silence contributes to the misperception that successful people do not get depressed, and it keeps the public from seeing that treatment allows many individuals to return to competitive professional lives.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
I decided early in graduate school that I needed to do something about my moods. It quickly came down to a choice between seeing a psychiatrist or buying a horse. Since almost everyone I knew was seeing a psychiatrist, and since I had an absolute belief that I should be able to handle my own problems, I naturally bought a horse.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
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