Bipolarity and Attention Perception based on AN UNQUIET MIND by Kay Redfield Jamison
Bipolarity and Attention Since ancient times, genius and achievement have coincided with some form of madness. ... This is relevant to the book, An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. ... The basis for the research came from the reading of Jamison’s book. Jamison began feeling the effects of her disease in her senior year of high school, beginning with mania, then to depression and continued that way through college until she was a graduate psychology student and was finally diagnosed at the beginning term as faculty at UCLA. ... Jamison first became aware of her condition, when in high school she began to have manic episodes until she came to what she calls “a grinding halt. ... Jamison’s account of her illness sparked some interest in the area of attention. Whether, in manic or depressive states, some theories on the mind do not seem to fit in with what happens to those with bipolar disorder. The theory of attention explains that the mind is limited in how much attention can be spent, therefore we need to allocate attention as we see fit. I plan to argue that attention is does not run within certain parameters, but rather, is flexible within those who suffer from bipolar disorder. I also plan to argue that perception does not always show the world as it truly exists; the anecdote that “what you see is what you get” is wrong and sometimes, especially in manic patients, the anecdote should be “what you see is more than what you get.