Analysis Of To Know Depression By Kay Redfield Jamison

When trying to determine the cause of suicide, most people are going to conclude that the cause was something such as stress, marital problems, or unemployment. Usually there are more complicated reasons that can be the cause for suicide. In her article “To know Depression,” Kay Redfield Jamison discusses mental illnesses and how they contribute to suicide. Jamison believes that by treating the mental illness, this can aid in the prevention of suicides. Jamison, a professor in psychiatry and a sufferer of bipolar disorder, knows firsthand how dangerous mental illnesses can be. Even though some words are not clearly defined, through the use of the Barton example, her description of depression, medical knowledge, and personal experience, Jamison

She says that Ralph Barton was a famous artist in the 1920s and he chose to kill himself. Jamison uses this example to try and get an emotional response from the reader. Jamison knows that the reader will try to sympathize with Barton because he seemed to be living a good life and still chose to take his own life. She uses the phrases from the suicide note that he left behind in order to try and highlight the symptoms that Barton was feeling. Barton wrote that he was battling a kind of sadness that turned into “definite symptoms of manic-depressive insanity”; this is supposed to show that Barton suffered from depression. Jamison states that suicide can be attributed to everyday problems such as work, money, marital problems, but the most important risk factors that should be considered are mental illnesses; especially depression and bipolar

Jamison admits even before trying to define depression, that there are no words that could possibly even come close to truly describe suicidal depression. In her attempt, Jamison uses words like “agitated horror,” “no hope,” and “no nothing.” She uses these words in an attempt to make the reader understand how someone with depression feels like. Jamison hopes that the reader can see the problems that this mental illness can cause. With the expectation that the reader has an understanding of the feelings people suffer with depression, Jamison can now move on to the next part of her argument, where she stresses the importance of correctly treating mental illnesses. Jamison states that there are many professionals that can treat depression. These professionals vary from doctors trained in psychology and psychiatry to doctors that are trained in gynecology. Even social workers can treat depression and there is where the problem lies. Jamison knows that with different levels of “competence,” there can be many diagnoses. Here she uses her knowledge of mental illness to describe some of the methods that can be used to treat them. The examples she uses are lithium, psychotherapy, and ECT. She states that lithium has proven to work for people with mood disorder such as bipolar disorder, but it is not used as much as it should be. Psychotherapy works but many