Eminent Psychiatrist :Calling Trump Mentally Ill is an Insult to the Mentally Ill

[Science Friction]

As MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin says, “this is quite the letter to the editor.” It comes from a man who argues that Trump “is bad, not mad” and “crazy only like a fox.”

 

It was written by Allen Frances, M.D., professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavior sciences at Duke University Medical Center. He happens to have also been on the task force that wrote the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (D.S.M.-IV).

 

In a letter to the editor of The New York Times, Dr. Frances notes that Donald Trump is not mentally ill and “causes distress rather than experiencing it,” and that it is “a stigmatizing insult to the mentally ill (who are mostly well behaved and well meaning) to be lumped with Mr. Trump (who is neither).

 

He says that “bad behavior is rarely a sign of mental illness” and cites Trump’s “grandiosity, self-absorption and lack of empathy.”

 

“He can, and should, be appropriately denounced for his ignorance, incompetence, impulsivity and pursuit of dictatorial powers.”

 

The antidote to “a dystopic Trumpean dark age is political, not psychological.”

 

Eminent Psychiatrist Says it's an Insult to Mentally Ill to Call Trump Mentally Ill

[Science Friction]

Here's Dr. Frances' letter in its entirety:

 

To the Editor:

 

Fevered media speculation about Donald Trump’s psychological motivations and psychiatric diagnosis has recently encouraged mental health professionals to disregard the usual ethical constraints against diagnosing public figures at a distance. They have sponsored several petitions and a Feb. 14 letter to The New York Times suggesting that Mr. Trump is incapable, on psychiatric grounds, of serving as president.

 

Most amateur diagnosticians have mislabeled President Trump with the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder. I wrote the criteria that define this disorder, and Mr. Trump doesn’t meet them. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesn’t make him mentally ill, because he does not suffer from the distress and impairment required to diagnose mental disorder.

 

Mr. Trump causes severe distress rather than experiencing it and has been richly rewarded, rather than punished, for his grandiosity, self-absorption and lack of empathy. It is a stigmatizing insult to the mentally ill (who are mostly well behaved and well meaning) to be lumped with Mr. Trump (who is neither).

 

Bad behavior is rarely a sign of mental illness, and the mentally ill behave badly only rarely. Psychiatric name-calling is a misguided way of countering Mr. Trump’s attack on democracy. He can, and should, be appropriately denounced for his ignorance, incompetence, impulsivity and pursuit of dictatorial powers.

 

His psychological motivations are too obvious to be interesting, and analyzing them will not halt his headlong power grab. The antidote to a dystopic Trumpean dark age is political, not psychological.

 

ALLEN FRANCES

[B-Ball-fan]

Saw that his press conference was on TV today and thought that I'd do my very best to give him the benefit of the doubt, and try to listen with respect. I was seriously hoping that I could spot sense in the man that could prove to myself that I've been over reacting to him, and to all of the things I can't stand about him.

 

Well... no matter how hard I tried listening to him it very quickly became painful. His behavior and delivery is one that lacks any class and tact.

 

I'm not telling anyone who's being honest about him anything that they didn't already know.

 

His exaggerations of his accomplishments make me nauseous. He forever dodges questions, or answers them illogically. Not once could I say "Well, he made sense there.", or "Well, that was a rational thought"... no not once.

 

How anyone can listen to him and think that he's so swell is beyond me. I get that he's unorthodox, and why the people want that, but we certainly could have had an entirely different character give us that kind of change without him/her being a pompous, undiplomatic, insufferable idiot.

 

Please don't even try to compare him to Obama and say that you felt the same way. If you didn't agree with Obama that was one thing, but you can't say that he didn't behave himself with a sense of class and diplomacy. For you he might've been difficult to swallow it you disagreed with him, but there's absolutely no comparing their character and how Trump is just downright ridiculous.

 

If you are offended by what I have said please do take it personally because I can't help but to think that anyone who champions this guy and thinks he's so wonderful can't be half nuts themselves.

 

Whatever the hell is in your kool-aid you need to stop drinking it, and like now...good grief.

[Science Friction]

Saw that his press conference was on TV today and thought that I'd do my very best to give him the benefit of the doubt, and try to listen with respect. I was seriously hoping that I could spot sense in the man that could prove to myself that I've been over reacting to him, and to all of the things I can't stand about him.

 

Well... no matter how hard I tried listening to him it very quickly became painful. His behavior and delivery is one that lacks any class and tact.

 

I'm not telling anyone who's being honest about him anything that they didn't already know.

 

His exaggerations of his accomplishments make me nauseous. He forever dodges questions, or answers them illogically. Not once could I say "Well, he made sense there.", or "Well, that was a rational thought"... no not once.

 

How anyone can listen to him and think that he's so swell is beyond me. I get that he's unorthodox, and why the people want that, but we certainly could have had an entirely different character give us that kind of change without him/her being a pompous, undiplomatic, insufferable idiot.

 

Please don't even try to compare him to Obama and say that you felt the same way. If you didn't agree with Obama that was one thing, but you can't say that he didn't behave himself with a sense of class and diplomacy. For you he might've been difficult to swallow it you disagreed with him, but there's absolutely no comparing their character and how Trump is just downright ridiculous.

 

If you are offended by what I have said please do take it personally because I can't help but to think that anyone who champions this guy and thinks he's so wonderful can't be half nuts themselves.

 

Whatever the hell is in your kool-aid you need to stop drinking it, and like now...good grief.

 

I simply don't get it , either. I've tried to understand. I get that there was a lot of hate for the opposition . What I don't get is how one can watch this man speak and think that he is what's right for this country. My mother(granted, she is not an intellectual heavyweight when it comes to politics) is one who thinks this man is the Savior. It's almost like they have been brainwashed and can't see past the edge of their delusions. All I can say is what I tell mom--- you voted for him, now deal with him for four years!!!

[B-Ball-fan]

I simply don't get it , either. I've tried to understand. I get that there was a lot of hate for the opposition . What I don't get is how one can watch this man speak and think that he is what's right for this country. My mother(granted, she is not an intellectual heavyweight when it comes to politics) is one who thinks this man is the Savior. It's almost like they have been brainwashed and can't see past the edge of their delusions. All I can say is what I tell mom--- you voted for him, now deal with him for four years!!!

 

For starters I'm glad it's not me... but it is frustrating to swallow that I'm surrounded by so many of these people. It's like some crazy movie or dream. They'll try to compare him to Obama and say they had to deal with him for 8 years like it is even at all anywhere near a close comparison. Like you said I get that they hated the opposition, but how does that translate to him being a hero? They're gone man...they're long gone...

[StickerMann]

Shocking that this diagnosis could come from liberal academia????

[TAC]

Duke sucks!