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
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
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the importance of both medication and therapy in managing mental health issues.
Kay Redfield Jamison emphasizes that addressing mental health concerns requires a holistic approach that combines medication and psychotherapy. She illustrates the complexities of living with mental illness, acknowledging that neither treatment alone is sufficient, and suggests that a synergistic relationship between medication and therapy creates a deeper understanding of oneself.
Themes
Mental HealthPsychotherapyMedicationTreatmentDepressionMania
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about managing mental health, one might say, 'As Kay Redfield Jamison wisely noted, no pill can help me deal with the problem of not wanting to take pills; we must recognize the need for a comprehensive approach to mental health that includes both medication and therapy.'
More from Kay Redfield Jamison
All quotes →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
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.
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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I had a mental breakdown while doing my Ph.D. at Cambridge, soon after I cut off contact with my parents, and I started seeing the university counsellor, one of the best decisions I ever made. There's something very nourishing in setting aside an hour a week to talk.
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Depression isn't just being a bit sad. It's feeling nothing. It's not wanting to be alive anymore.
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