The APA has also stated that “psychiatrists are medical doctors evaluating mental illness is no less thorough than diagnosing diabetes or heart disease.” That’s true - but what might a cardiologist say if a public figure kept having heart attacks? Would he need to be subjected to a “thorough” diagnostic regimen for a doctor to speculate that there might be an underlying heart condition? If the person who kept having heart attacks was a pilot who refused to seek medical attention, wouldn’t it be malpractice not to speak out? It is not an exaggeration to say that Donald has exhibited pathological behavior that is equally alarming - as evidenced most recently by his callous disregard for his own health and the well-being of those around him when he left Walter Reed hospital while still shedding coronavirus, or when he holds rallies and encourages thousands of people to attend without wearing masks or social distancing in order to prop up his ego. It is one thing to declare definitively that a person has anti-social personality disorder (a specific diagnostic term) it is another to point to behaviors - such as deliberately putting other people in harm’s way for no discernible reason (for example, abandoning our Kurdish allies) beyond one’s own self-interest - and express the general conclusion that it is dangerous to have somebody in the Oval Office who is incapable of empathy. While psychiatric diagnosis is a technical process, it is entirely within bounds to draw conclusions based on observable behavior. "It's the particular constellation of diagnoses that Donald Trump has that makes him so dangerous," Partland told AFP.This is absurd on its face and has potentially serious consequences for the safety of the American people. The film suggests Abraham Lincoln struggled with depression, which was an asset during the suffering of the Civil War, and Bill Clinton has hypomania, a key to his charisma. These include short-lived White House communications boss Anthony Scaramucci, and George Conway - whose wife, Kellyanne, recently announced she was stepping down as the president's long-standing advisor.Īccording to director Dan Partland, "plenty" of politicians "have psychological diagnoses that are not dangerous." The US president memorably hit back at allegations of mental health problems by declaring himself a "very stable genius."Īs well as psychologists, the movie interviews lawyers, historians, academics, former intelligence officers and - most prominently - noted Trump critics. personality disorder, psychopath, paranoid personality, and neurotic all have overlapping symptoms and behaviors. Trump's psychologist niece Mary Trump recently published an unflattering tome on her uncle, while the president's own "Art of the Deal" co-author has said their book should be re-titled "The Sociopath." "But he has the same diagnosis as Hitler."ĭiagnosing Trump has long been a popular tactic for his opponents. According to DSM criteria, Donald Trump suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. "It's not that he's as bad as Hitler, or that he's the equivalent of Hitler," Gartner says. However, Gartner argues the rise of observation-based diagnosis over traditional Freudian psychoanalysis - and the wealth of public data about Trump's behavior - makes that rule outdated.Īnd the film highlights another rule that compels mental health professionals to speak out when a patient's disorder imperils others - in this case, the US public. The psychiatric community later ruled that offering a professional opinion without an in-person examination is unethical. Republican candidate Barry Goldwater successfully sued a magazine after it published a damning survey of psychiatrists speculating about his mental health during his failed 1964 run. "What is so strange is that we're not used to seeing this type of leader in America."īut the film's central premise of professionally diagnosing a public figure from afar is contentious. "This type of leader pops up all throughout history, and they're always extraordinarily disruptive," Gartner told AFP, noting that the same label has been applied to Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. The film interviews several psychologists who argue they have a medical duty to warn the US public about Trump's alleged mental state.Īccording to psychologist John Gartner, Trump clearly exhibits four key symptoms of malignant narcissism - the "most destructive" personality type - including paranoia, narcissism, antisocial personality disorder and sadism. "Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump" - released on streaming platforms Tuesday - claims not to be politically motivated. As battle lines are drawn ahead of Donald Trump's bid for re-election, a new documentary based on the testimony of mental health professionals has labeled the US president a "malignant narcissist."
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