Choices Quote by Kay Redfield Jamison
“I, quite literally, woke up from a coma, from having tried to kill myself and it was very clear to me what my psychiatrist had been saying for years. The choice is not between a drug that has side effects or not, life is not ideal. Yes, your drug has side effects and yes if you don't take it you're going to die.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Madness of Depression, 2015
A near‑death experience clarified the harsh reality that medication choices involve trade‑offs between side effects and survival.
In simple terms: Medication choices are a trade‑off between side effects and survival.
Key Takeaway
Accept the necessity of treatment despite imperfections.
Themes
mental health
choice
risk
survival
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
advice
personal narrative
When to use this quote
- clinical decision making
- patient counseling
- support groups
Key Concepts
psychiatry
pharmacology
existential realism
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you weigh side effects against life‑saving benefits?
- What alternatives exist beyond medication?
A Different Perspective
Medication may not address underlying causes and can cause dependence.
![“...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 seduced into losing sight of the overall perspective of how costly, damaging, and life threatening my illness was. He was at ease with…” quote by Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/57f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_life_even-though-my-psychiatrist-understood-m_3399.jpg)
