--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anybody who's had to contend with mental…" description: "\"Anybody who's had to contend with mental illness - whether it's depression, bipolar illness or severe anxiety, whatever - actually has a fair amount of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_amount_anybody-who-s-had-to-contend-with-mental_1927318.jpg" --- # Anybody who's had to contend with mental illness - whether… ![“Anybody who's had to contend with mental illness - whether it's depression, bipolar illness or severe anxiety, whatever - actually has a fair amount of resilience in the sense that they've had to deal with suffering already, personal suffering.” quote by Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_amount_anybody-who-s-had-to-contend-with-mental_1927318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_amount_anybody-who-s-had-to-contend-with-mental_1927318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_amount_anybody-who-s-had-to-contend-with-mental_1927318.jpg) > “Anybody who's had to contend with mental illness - whether it's depression, bipolar illness or severe anxiety, whatever - actually has a fair amount of resilience in the sense that they've had to deal with suffering already, personal suffering.” [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living with mental illness often builds hidden resilience because individuals confront deep personal suffering. **In simple terms:** Mental illness can foster resilience through confronting suffering. Key Takeaway Recognize and harness the resilience you’ve already developed. Themes mental health resilience personal growth Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - self‑care routines - career challenges Key Concepts psychology coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel past suffering into current strength? - What support helps transform pain into resilience? A Different Perspective Resilience may be uneven and not all individuals experience growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Bipolar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Resilience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resilience/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [I think one thing is that anybody who's had to contend with mental illness - whether it's depression, bipolar illness or severe anxiety, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-think-one-thing-is-that-anybody-who-s-had-to-contend-with-mental/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“... the roots of security and resilience are to be found in the sense of being understood by and having the sense of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/the-roots-of-security-and-resilience-are-to-be-found-in-the-sense-of/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [“The roots of resilience . . . are to be found in the sense of being understood by and existing in the mind and heart of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bessel-a-van-der-kolk/the-roots-of-resilience-are-to-be-found-in-the-sense-of-being/) [Bessel A. van der Kolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bessel-a-van-der-kolk/) > [Now, bipolar disorder, it goes on a spectrum. There's very severe conditions of it and there are milder ones. I'm lucky enough that it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/now-bipolar-disorder-it-goes-on-a-spectrum-there-s-very-severe/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I think Hell exists on Earth. It's a psychological state, or it can be a physical state. People who have severe mental illness are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/i-think-hell-exists-on-earth-it-s-a-psychological-state-or-it-can-be/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [For bipolar in adults, I think there's pretty good agreement about what this looks like. For bipolar in children, there is some considerable debate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-r-insel/for-bipolar-in-adults-i-think-there-s-pretty-good-agreement-about/) [Thomas R. Insel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-r-insel/) > [National partition is a sorrow that touches all Koreans, but for me it is brought to the fore by unimaginable personal suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-geun-hye/national-partition-is-a-sorrow-that-touches-all-koreans-but-for-me-it/) [Park Geun-hye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-geun-hye/) > [Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/use-what-seems-like-poison-as-medicine-use-your-personal-suffering-as/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [ “\[T\]he self “is not an unmitigated blessing,”6 writes Duke University psychologist Mark Leary in his aptly titled book, The Curse of the Self. “It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-kotler/t-he-self-is-not-an-unmitigated-blessing-6-writes-duke-university/) [Steven Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-kotler/) > [“He had lost the capacity of personal suffering, or he thought he had, and could only be hurt truly by what happened to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-had-lost-the-capacity-of-personal-suffering-or-he-thought-he-had/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [We have lost close friends and relatives to cancer and Parkinson's disease, and the level of personal suffering inflicted on patients and their families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/we-have-lost-close-friends-and-relatives-to-cancer-and-parkinson-s/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [Tonglen practice begins to dissolve the illusion that each of us is alone with this personal suffering that no one else can understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/tonglen-practice-begins-to-dissolve-the-illusion-that-each-of-us-is/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [What many fail to realize is that being attached to what we think we want and don't have while resisting what is happening in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-l-jampolsky/what-many-fail-to-realize-is-that-being-attached-to-what-we-think-we/) [Lee L Jampolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-l-jampolsky/) > [The more people anticipate the elimination of suffering the less strength they have actually to oppose it. Whoever deals with his personal suffering only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothee-solle/the-more-people-anticipate-the-elimination-of-suffering-the-less/) [Dorothee Solle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothee-solle/) > [I tend not to attempt to describe pain. I don't feel I can comprehend or re-create the personal suffering of others, so I simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-tend-not-to-attempt-to-describe-pain-i-don-t-feel-i-can-comprehend/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) ## 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. 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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. 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