An Unquiet Mind Reflection Paper Example

An Unquiet Mind Reflection Paper
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An Unquiet Mind Reflection Paper
Introduction
Mental health disorders make for various psychosocial challenges facing patients across the social, political, and economic divides with equally negative impacts on the overall well-being of the victims. Depression, for instance, is characteristic of diverse manifestations among patients or victims and thus demanding equally distinct treatment and management interventions. Among the characteristic manifestation of depression in patients includes manic depression, commonly known as bipolar disorder. Manic depression is characteristic of mood swings or wild mood swings, abnormal shifts in concentration and energy, and reduced ability to carry out daily duties and responsibilities. The achievement of positive patient outcomes for people with bipolar disorder requires understanding the factors causing the mental health problem. Kay Redfield Jamison research in psychology makes for one of the scholarly works seeking to find effective interventional measures for managing and treating bipolar disorder. Jamison’s memoir, An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, provides an excellent platform for understanding the complex nature of the interaction of genetic, biological, and environmental factors in the genesis and manifestation of bipolar disorder. The author breaks down the integration of factors across the outlined dimensions into three main areas of influence, including medication or treatment for bipolar disorder, impact on creativity, and the societal perception of individuals living with bipolar disorder through the lens of her experiences as a patient. Provided herein is a reflection on Jamison’s experiences as a patient with bipolar disorder and its correlation with the genetic, biological and environmental factors with their diverse impacts on treatment and management of the mental disorder.
Jamison traces her first episode of mental instability to her teenagehood in the first part of the book and reveals the genetic influence on her condition indicated by her father’s unusual shift in moods and energy upon moving to California CITATION Jam95 \l 1033 (Jamison, 1995). Jamison recounts her experiences with manic depression characterized by a restless mind with rushing thoughts, impulsiveness, hopelessness, guilt, and despair leading to suicidal thoughts. Jamison’s interest in the medical field begun at an early age and was supported by her loving parents. Her father’s episodes of manic depression and Jamison’s experiences with the first manic episode at 18 years old appears to have triggered her interest in pursuing psychology as a career at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) CITATION Jam95 \l 1033 (Jamison, 1995). Jamison sought to understand the causes behind her mental turmoil that reflected in her father’s episodes of ‘black’ depression. In essence, Kay Redfield recognizes the genetic background of a bipolar patient as one of the factors causing the mental problem and thus urging an evaluation of the same towards developing an effective management and treatment intervention. An assessment and evaluation of the patient after showcasing the first symptoms of manic depression, as indicated by Redfield’s mood swings as a teenager, should also include their close family members of caregivers towards developing an inclusive treatment and management approach for positive patient outcomes CITATION Har19 \l 1033 (Harvard Medical School, 2019). Redfield’s denial of her mental health disorder reflects her knowledge of the similarities in her father's conditions. She acquaints herself with the signs and symptoms of the mental illness from her studies and practice as a clinical psychiatrist, which further heightens her denial of the problem she faces. A psychosocial family intervention upon the collective assessment and evaluation would establish genetic background as one of the factors behind her mental health problem, enhancing the treatment and management approach adopted CITATION Har19 \l 1033 (Harvard Medical School, 2019).
Jamison’s denial of her mental health problem prompts her to develop a strong but misleading belief that she can separate the influences of her unquiet mind from her body. She attempts to control the influences of her unstable mental state on her body, stating that she should control her mood swings that were becoming increasingly violent CITATION Jam95 \l 1033 (Jamison, 1995). Biological factors such as abnormal changes in energy characterize patients with bipolar disorders, making it impossible to control its influence on normal bodily functions. Jamison’s manages to control her mood swings by focusing on her academic and career objectives while undergoing cyclic episodes of man...