Jamison frequently discusses the genetic component of manic-depressive illness; in “The Troubled Helix,” she wonders what will happen if the gene for the illness is eventually located. To what extent might the eradication of mental illness work to homogenize society, as Jamison fears? To what extent is illness beneficial for society?

Jamison is diagnosed shortly after the approval of lithium as a medication for manic-depressive illness; over the course of the text, our understanding of the illness and its treatments, such as the correct dosage for lithium, evolves. How has our understanding of manic-depressive illness evolved since the book’s publication in 1995? 

To what extent has society’s understanding and treatment of mental illness evolved since the book’s publication? What improvements have been made? What challenges do we, as a society, still face in our understanding or acceptance of mental illness?