--- title: "7 Disorder Quotes By Kay Redfield Jamison" description: "7 Disorder quotes by Kay Redfield Jamison. Plus more from Kay Redfield Jamison and more Disorder sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_awareness_one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-an_258736.jpg" --- > [One of things so bad about depression and bipolar disorder is that if you don't have prior awareness, you don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-and-bipolar-disorder-is-that-if/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_awareness_one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-an_258736.jpg) > [I have had manic-depressive illness, also known as bipolar disorder, since I was 18 years old. It is an illness that ensures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also-known-as-bipolar-disorder/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also_846076.jpg) > [Because I teach and write about depression and bipolar illness, I am often asked what is the most important factor in treating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/because-i-teach-and-write-about-depression-and-bipolar-illness-i-am/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_about_because-i-teach-and-write-about-depressi_884155.jpg) > [Far too many doctors-many of them excellent physicians-commit suicide each year; one recent study concluded that, until quite recently, the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/far-too-many-doctors-many-of-them-excellent-physicians-commit-suicide/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_class_far-too-many-doctors-many-of-them-excell_959039.jpg) > [Mood disorders are terribly painful illnesses, and they are isolating illnesses. And they make people feel terrible about themselves when, in fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/mood-disorders-are-terribly-painful-illnesses-and-they-are-isolating/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f7/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_disorder_mood-disorders-are-terribly-painful-illn_1144500.jpg) > [There is no common standard for education about diagnosis. Distinguishing between bipolar depression and major depressive disorder, for example, can be difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/there-is-no-common-standard-for-education-about-diagnosis/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_about_there-is-no-common-standard-for-educatio_1172151.jpg) > [Lithium remains the gold standard, but many drugs now treat bipolar disorder. Medication is critical and should be combined with psychotherapy. Compliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/lithium-remains-the-gold-standard-but-many-drugs-now-treat-bipolar/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_believe_lithium-remains-the-gold-standard-but-ma_1238643.jpg) ## Other authors on Disorder ## More by Kay Redfield Jamison > [ “...even though \[my psychiatrist\] understood mor than anyone how much I felt I was losing--in energy, vivacity, and originality--by taking medication, he never was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/even-though-my-psychiatrist-understood-mor-than-anyone-how-much-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [I think that for thousands of years people have made the observation that there are certain kinds of extreme depressive states that seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-think-that-for-thousands-of-years-people-have-made-the-observation/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Every seventeen minutes in America, someone commits suicide. Mostly, I have been impressed by how little value our society puts on saving the lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/every-seventeen-minutes-in-america-someone-commits-suicide-mostly-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Mother, who has an absolute belief that it is not the cards that one is dealt in life, it is how one plays them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/mother-who-has-an-absolute-belief-that-it-is-not-the-cards-that-one/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“I decided early in graduate school that I needed to do something about my moods. It quickly came down to a choice between seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-decided-early-in-graduate-school-that-i-needed-to-do-something/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [When I'm talking about depression, I'm talking about the more severe forms of depression, and I think that conceptualising as a form of grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-i-m-talking-about-depression-i-m-talking-about-the-more-severe/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [An ardent temperament makes one very vulnerable to dreamkillers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/an-ardent-temperament-makes-one-very-vulnerable-to-dreamkillers/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [the intensity, glory, and absolute assuredness if my mind's flight made it very difficult for me to believe once i was better, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/the-intensity-glory-and-absolute-assuredness-if-my-mind-s-flight-made/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [I wish I could explain it so someone could understand it. I'm afraid it's something I can't put into words. There's just this heavy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-wish-i-could-explain-it-so-someone-could-understand-it-i-m-afraid/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Moods are such an essential part of the substance of life, of one's notion of oneself, that even psychotic extremes in mood and behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/moods-are-such-an-essential-part-of-the-substance-of-life-of-one-s/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [We expect well-informed treatment for cancer or heart disease; it matters no less for depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/we-expect-well-informed-treatment-for-cancer-or-heart-disease-it/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Manic depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/manic-depression-distorts-moods-and-thoughts-incites-dreadful/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [People talk about grief as if it's kind of an unremittingly awful thing, and it is. It is painful, but it's a very, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/people-talk-about-grief-as-if-it-s-kind-of-an-unremittingly-awful/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorder/kay-redfield-jamison/#itemlist", "name": "7 Disorder Quotes By Kay Redfield Jamison", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of things so bad about depression and bipolar disorder is that if you don't have prior awareness, you don't have any idea what hit you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kay Redfield Jamison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-and-bipolar-disorder-is-that-if/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_awareness_one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-an_258736.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_awareness_one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-an_258736.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_awareness_one-of-things-so-bad-about-depression-an_258736.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of things so bad about depression and bipolar disorder is that if you don't have prior awareness, you…” — Kay Redfield Jamison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have had manic-depressive illness, also known as bipolar disorder, since I was 18 years old. It is an illness that ensures that those who have it will experience a frightening, chaotic and emotional ride. It is not a gentle or easy disease.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kay Redfield Jamison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also-known-as-bipolar-disorder/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also_846076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also_846076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also_846076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have had manic-depressive illness, also known as bipolar disorder, since I was 18 years old. 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Most physician suicides are due to depression or manic-depressive illness, both of which are eminently treatable. 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Medications that work well for some forms of depression induce agitation in others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kay Redfield Jamison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/there-is-no-common-standard-for-education-about-diagnosis/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_about_there-is-no-common-standard-for-educatio_1172151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_about_there-is-no-common-standard-for-educatio_1172151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_about_there-is-no-common-standard-for-educatio_1172151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no common standard for education about diagnosis. 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It doesn't work that way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kay Redfield Jamison" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/lithium-remains-the-gold-standard-but-many-drugs-now-treat-bipolar/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_believe_lithium-remains-the-gold-standard-but-ma_1238643.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_believe_lithium-remains-the-gold-standard-but-ma_1238643.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_believe_lithium-remains-the-gold-standard-but-ma_1238643.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lithium remains the gold standard, but many drugs now treat bipolar disorder. 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