If a person has a first degree relative who suffers from bipolar disorder or depression they are significant risk for having a mood disorder themselves, as we see in the cases of Beverly and Kay Redfield Jameson. Stephen Hinshaw talks about wonderin...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison explains that "manic-depressive illness" is a more exact and descriptive term than "bipolar disorder." Dr. Jamison acknowledges, however, that some people prefer to use the term "bipolar" becau...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison talks about the confusion that sometimes occurs during attempts to diagnose or characterize psychiatric illnesses. "The evidence has been clear for a long time," Dr. Jamison explains, "that the...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison talks about her decision to stop seeing patients after her book was published and she went public about her illness. "I had written a very personal book," Dr. Jamison says, "and I felt very str...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison makes a number of suggestions about what to do if someone is talking about suicide or appears to be suicidal. "Just be direct," Dr. Jamison advises. "Talk openly in a practical, down to earth m...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison explains that getting someone with a psychiatric disorder into treatment is very hard, and keeping them there can be even harder. A related challenge, Dr. Jamison notes, is convincing patients ...
More than anything, families with loved ones who are mentally ill need information and support. Too often psychological disorders are still considered a source of shame. The public at large as well as family members need to know that these are commo...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison talks about the ten percent of the population who are exuberant. Although Dr. Jamison says she can't precisely define the term, she explains that those who are exuberant are risk-takers who are...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison talks about the link between exuberance and curiosity. "...One of the endearing qualities of exuberance," Dr. Jamison notes, "...is that people are able to entertain themselves almost endlessly...
Professor of psychiatry and author Kay Redfield Jamison says that there isn't really a relationship between happiness and exuberance, because happiness has "a certain static quality about it and a certain contented quality to it." Dr. Jamison explai...