--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am by temperament an optimist, and I…" description: "\"I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the beginning that there was much to be written about suicide that was strangely heartening.\" — Kay..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg" --- # I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the… ![“I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the beginning that there was much to be written about suicide that was strangely heartening.” quote by Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg) > “I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the beginning that there was much to be written about suicide that was strangely heartening.” [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. Optimism can coexist with confronting dark topics, revealing unexpected hope in painful subjects. **In simple terms:** Optimism can find hope even in grim topics. Key Takeaway Seek hope while discussing difficult issues. Themes mental health optimism suicide awareness Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - public health campaigns Key Concepts psychology resilience hope Questions to Reflect On - How can optimism be balanced with realism? - What role does hope play in mental health discourse? A Different Perspective Hope may overlook the depth of suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bipolar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) [Optimist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament/) ## Related quotes > [“A follow-up letter is best when not written on the back of a suicide note. Remember this next time you’re at a networking event,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-follow-up-letter-is-best-when-not-written-on-the-back-of-a-suicide/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“When I was a boy there were two curious men running about who were called the optimist and the pessimist. I constantly used the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/when-i-was-a-boy-there-were-two-curious-men-running-about-who-were/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [I came to the conclusion that the optimist thought everything good except the pessimist, and that the pessimist thought everything bad, except himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/i-came-to-the-conclusion-that-the-optimist-thought-everything-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Nothing in life now ever seems to end. Chemists tell you matter is never completely destroyed, and mathematicians tell you that if you halve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/nothing-in-life-now-ever-seems-to-end-chemists-tell-you-matter-is/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Mania can be as terrifying as it gets. 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The red balls told her when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/her-parents-she-said-has-put-a-pinball-machine-inside-her-head-when/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [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…](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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## 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. 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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. 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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/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Flippin up my phone, touch screen motorola. They figured I was bipolar the way I sipped that syrup and soda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riff-raff/flippin-up-my-phone-touch-screen-motorola-they-figured-i-was-bipolar/) [Riff Raff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riff-raff/) > [“Creativity is closely associated with bipolar disorder. This condition is unique . Many famous historical figures and artists have had this. 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Back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lovelace/in-our-family-whim-wham-is-code-a-defanged-reference-to-any-number-of/) [David Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lovelace/) [Browse all 373 Bipolar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the beginning that there was much to be written about suicide that was strangely heartening.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kay Redfield Jamison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-thought-from-the-beginning-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bipolar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-thought-from-the-beginning-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-th_3141739.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am by temperament an optimist, and I thought from the beginning that there was much to be written about…” — Kay Redfield Jamison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kay Redfield Jamison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am by temperament an optimist,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-thought-from-the-beginning-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-am-by-temperament-an-optimist-and-i-thought-from-the-beginning-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```