Lithium Analysis in An Unquiet Mind

A psychiatric medication derived from the element lithium and most frequently used in the depression of bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness. Kay Redfield Jamison connects much of her struggle against manic-depressive illness to her struggle to find the correct dosage of lithium—and her struggle to remain on top of taking the drug in the face of side effects and stigma. Jamison ultimately credits lithium with saving her life, although she points out that there are many other medications available to sufferers of manic-depressive illness.

Lithium Quotes in An Unquiet Mind

The An Unquiet Mind quotes below are all either spoken by Lithium or refer to Lithium. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

I genuinely believed […] I ought to be able to handle whatever difficulties came my way without having to rely upon crutches such as medication.

I was not the only one who felt this way. When I became ill, my sister was adamant that I should not take lithium... […] She made it clear that she thought I should “weather it through” my depressions and manias, and that my soul would wither if I chose to dampen the intensity and pain of my experiences by using medication. […] One evening, now many years ago, she tore into me for […] “lithiumizing away my feelings.”

Related Characters: Kay Redfield Jamison (speaker), Kay’s Sister (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 99

Explanation and Analysis:

Lithium Term Timeline in An Unquiet Mind

The timeline below shows where the term Lithium appears in An Unquiet Mind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Authenticity in the Professional World Theme Icon

...the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute years later. She writes that, although she believes medications such as lithium and antidepressants are indispensable in treating severe mood disorders—and that to treat these diseases without... (full context)

...confronted with the truth—but she agreed to read up on the illness and its treatments. Lithium, a mood stabilizer, had been approved for use in the management of mania in 1970,... (full context)

...Kay’s psychiatrist told her that she definitely had manic-depressive illness and needed to start on lithium right away (and would likely have to stay on it for life), she tried to... (full context)

...mind to brain.” She began to understand the complexity of her illness—and the combination of lithium, personal will, and self-awareness needed to fight it. (full context)

Jamison writes that now, she cannot imagine a “normal life” without lithium and psychotherapy in combination. Both have helped her to heal, but they each offer separate... (full context)

After Kay began taking lithium, her friends and family, she writes, assumed she’d be happy to finally be “normal”—but Kay... (full context)

Kay was prescribed lithium in the fall of 1974, but by the spring of 1975, she’d gone against her... (full context)

Kay felt embarrassed by her diagnosis and the lithium prescription it required. She attempted to hide it from guests, friends, and lovers by clearing... (full context)

...a stance which both humiliated Kay and validated her own desire to move away from lithium. When Kay’s sister declared that Kay was a “shell of [her] former self,” Kay felt... (full context)

...of the year, Kay continued to see her psychiatrist—but she went on and off of lithium, cycling through manias and severe depressions as she did. Every time the medication made her... (full context)

...American Psychiatric Association, Jamison was giving a talk about the psychological and medical aspects of lithium treatment. She quoted a “patient” of hers suffering from manic-depressive illness—too afraid to share with... (full context)

...last, she knew, would depend entirely on his willingness to comply with the regimen of lithium she’d prescribed. (full context)

Kay Redfield Jamison continues describing the “bitter harvest” she reaped by failing to take lithium for over a year and a half. Though she was miserable each and every day... (full context)

Eventually, Kay resumed her lithium regimen. She continued seeing her psychiatrist several times a week, but nothing seemed to help... (full context)

...before Hyde had taken over completely,” and she proceeded to take a massive overdose of lithium. (full context)

...and destroys.” The fire she felt in her blood, even after she evened out on lithium, would be essential to the next hurdle ahead of her: the pursuit of academic tenure... (full context)

...psychiatric illnesses. She still felt severe fluctuations in mood—even on a steady, healthy dose of lithium—and was often out sick for days at a time. Hers was a “tidal existence,” still... (full context)

...visit the cathedral there. While kneeling to pray, Kay realized she’d forgotten to take her lithium the night before. When she reached into her purse for the bottle, she dropped the... (full context)

...the years of emotional pain she’d suffered recently affect her professional life. She remained on lithium and found that, though her moods were still intense and periods of depression still visited... (full context)

...illness. When she complained to him about feeling frightened to explore a lower dose of lithium, as her psychiatrist had recently suggested, the Englishman urged Kay to try it—he promised to... (full context)

Lowering her lithium dose back in England, Jamison writes, had allowed her to “mind and emotions to sway... (full context)

...a meeting with a Danish psychiatrist named Mogens Schou—the man responsible for the introduction of lithium as a treatment for manic-depressive illness—at an annual meeting of the APA in New Orleans.... (full context)

Jamison still feels the effects of waves of mania and depression, even having been on lithium for decades—she is well for now, but she often cannot stop herself from preparing for... (full context)

...the chance—choose to live her life without manic-depressive illness. She has ultimately decided that if lithium were not available, the answer would be no—but because it is, she says she would... (full context)

Lithium Term Analysis

Lithium Quotes in An Unquiet Mind

Lithium Term Timeline in An Unquiet Mind