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He's all those things apparently and he is still our president and will likely be president for two terms. Considering Democrats have no good candidates, and no message beyond attacking Trump
He also gives his opinion on what he deems the "antiquated" APA Goldwater Rule, which states that mental health professionals should not attempt to diagnose public figures they have not personally treated.
Excerpts from the article:
"Clinically, if we were to look at the checklist for sociopathy, what are some of the indicators that Trump is presenting?
It is people who lie and cheat. Everybody lies some of the time, but in this instance we mean people who lie as a way of being in the world, to manage relationships and also to manage your feelings about yourself. People who cheat and steal from others. People who lack empathy … the lack of empathy is a critical aspect of it. People who are narcissistic.
Trump’s case of narcissism is particularly severe because he also is out of touch with reality whenever he becomes upset. When he says, “I had the largest crowd at an inauguration in history,” it does not matter that you can tell him that it is not true, he still insists on it. Well, that is very troublesome because what it means is that he needs to believe it. He is able to give up reality in exchange for his wished-for belief. Sometimes we call that a delusion. We have not used that word much with Donald Trump because that does get confused with people who think that they are Napoleon. But Trump has a fluid sense of reality, which is a sign of a very sick individual.
Sociopathy itself is a sign of a very sick individual, someone with a lying, cheating and emotional disorder. The intersection of those two occurs in sociopathy. It is not just bad behavior that people have to lie and cheat the way he does, it is an incapacity to treat other people as full human beings. That is why his focus is on humiliating others to aggrandize himself, as he did in the Republican primaries when he was debating and calling people names. The same thing applies to Hispanic immigrants and separating the children from their parents. That is a very, very serious mental and emotional problem. Normal people have normal empathy. It is part of being a human being. Lying and cheating and humiliating others and grinding them into dust in order to triumph is not just bad behavior. It is a serious mental illness."
...
"There is a condition I have been reading about called “oppositional defiance disorder.” It seems to fit Trump perfectly. But it usually applies to children. If this is an accurate diagnosis, what does it mean for the country and world?
“Oppositional defiance disorder” is not a disorder. It is behavior, so you have to look beneath it. I’m not crazy about the term but I take your point. The adult version of that behavior is “antisocial personality disorder,” which I think Trump meets.
The reason that people are reluctant to make a single diagnosis, including me, is because the terms in our field are not wonderful. Because they are trying to capture something that is exceptionally complex and individual, so no term is ever exact. That is why clinicians often use multiple terms to describe people. Then the critics say, “Oh, you are just throwing around names.” Well no, it is not that, it is just that we are trying to describe something that is complicated.
The best diagnosis for Trump is that he is a malignant narcissist. It contains the narcissistic part which is no big deal alone — lots of people are narcissistic — but the malignant part is the sociopathy dimension. These terms suggest that Trump is a very primitive man. He is also a man who has a fundamental, deep psychological defect. It is expressed in his inability to empathize with others and his lack of genuine loyalty to anyone. You will notice that Trump wants everyone to be loyal to him, but he is loyal to nobody."
I have noticed many of these behaviors and recognized them for what they are long ago it really isn't that complicated. But common sense and facts don't matter with his supports they are blinded by ideology and like the entertainment. I have Trump supporters in my family it's a waste of time trying to have a conversation based on facts and common sense with these people political ideology is the new religion. They want to believe this man is their savior.
The problem with this kind of thing is that it’s clearly a function of political ideology, as opposed to sound psychiatric assessment. I’m not even close to being a supporter of Trump, and I’ve called him (as well as Hillary Clinton) a psychopath myself, speaking as a layman and in an informal rhetorical context.
In professional reality, it is virtually impossible to accurately make such a diagnosis without having personal contact with someone, or at least having extensive access to their psychiatric history. Pompously suggesting that one can do so is both unfair and dangerous.
Lies and cheats.
Lacks empathy.
Narcissistic.
Out of touch with reality (eg largest crowd at an inauguration in history).
Delusional.
Humiliates others to aggrandize himself.
Calls people names.
Silly question. Does anyone disagree with any of the above list? Nevermind the clinical diagnosis. Does anyone think any of the items is untrue?
Do you know him personally? No? Neither do I so it's impossible to really know who the real Trump is vs the stage Trump.
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