Conference of psychiatrists at Yale University: Trump has 'dangerous mental illness'.

[DetlefK]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-dangerous-mental-illness-yale-psychiatrist-conference-us-president-unfit-james-gartner-a7694316.html

Speaking at the conference at Yale’s School of Medicine on Thursday, one of the mental health professionals, Dr John Gartner, a practising psychotherapist who advised psychiatric residents at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, said: “We have an ethical responsibility to warn the public about Donald Trump's dangerous mental illness.”

...

“Worse than just being a liar or a narcissist, in addition he is paranoid, delusional and grandiose thinking and he proved that to the country the first day he was President. If Donald Trump really believes he had the largest crowd size in history, that’s delusional,” he added.

...

James Gilligan, a psychiatrist and professor at New York University, told the conference he had worked some of the “most dangerous people in society”, including murderers and rapists — but that he was convinced by the “dangerousness” of Mr Trump.

“I’ve worked with some of the most dangerous people our society produces, directing mental health programmes in prisons,” he said.

“I’ve worked with murderers and rapists. I can recognise dangerousness from a mile away. You don’t have to be an expert on dangerousness or spend fifty years studying it like I have in order to know how dangerous this man is.”

...

The petition has so far garnered more than 41,000 signatures.

It states: “We, the undersigned mental health professionals (please state your degree), believe in our professional judgment that Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States.

“And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article 4 of the 25th amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office'."

...

Responding to the criticism, Dr Gartner said: “This notion that you need to personally interview someone to form a diagnosis actually doesn’t make a whole lotta sense. For one thing, research shows that the psychiatric interview is the least statistical reliable way to make a diagnosis.”

[Portland_Anni]

1. Trump associates in Indonesia are involved in a coup attempt there

According to Democracy Now. According to the story they are involved with ISIS movement folks. The danger and craziness of the Trump saga is a bottomless pit of dangerousness and crazy. We should throw the bastard into the bottomless pit of impeachment.

[Perseus]

11. Please, be reminded that he is not alone

He was put there for those who are crazy but do not show dementia symptoms like Trump does, he was put there to do the dirty work of signing. I agree that we need to get rid of Trump, but Paul Ryan, McConell, Lindsey Graham, Pence, are more dangerous, they work behind the scenes, and they are evil. Trump doesn't understand the consequences of anything he signs, but the others do.

Those people who have remorse for having voted for Trump should understand that Trump doesn't read anything that comes to his desk, it is those who write the evil plans whom they should not vote for next time, we need to get rid of the lot of them.

[tenorly]

13. Hear, hear.

I think you just described the modern GOP in three sentences.

[Amaryllis]

35. Crazy is relative and there are different kinds of crazy.

Last edited Fri Apr 21, 2017, 05:30 PM - Edit history (1)

“Worse than just being a liar or a narcissist, in addition he is paranoid and delusional..." Many who put him there are sociopaths, and Putin maybe even a psychopath, but not paranoid and delusional, IMHO. I am not, however, a mental health professional...but just saying.

[Portland_Anni]

49. I agree profoundly about the need to get rid of those cretins, and the Gerrymandered districts that

are essentially a blatant theft and manipulation of the intents of voters.

[BSdetect]

2. His stupidity alone could kill us all.

[whathehell]

7. This has been my main fear about him. n/t

[zentrum]

3. It's about time

...that the Psychiatrists who write the DSM would define racism as a mental disorder.

Because the people who voted for Trump are mentally ill as well.

[Lucky Luciano]

5. Isn't racism a learned behavior though?

I would think that a learned behavior is not a mental illness, but I am no psychologist.

[whathehell]

8. That's only one of his issues..

He has many more...The mind boggles..
.

[erronis]

16. But tribalism is probably innate

And what is racism other than another form of "you aren't part of my family"?

But, IANAP (thank god.) [P: psycho----]

[zentrum]

42. That's distinct

....from inflicting harm on the non-tribe members. We don't get to treat non-family members in any violent way we want just because they aren't family. Is it truly necessary as a species to de-humanize every non-tribal member?

One of the main differences to me between liberals and Republicans is that, for instance, we want them to have health care too, even though they are trying to defeat the ACA; we want their kids to be educated and debt free too, even though they are perfectly willing for us to suffer in every way.

Maybe the entire Republican party is a mental illness. Hahaha.

In any event, I think it's time for the mental health community to take a look at how un-empathetic and sociopathic racism and its effects are.

Can sociopathy be learned? Maybe. I don't know. But I think it's time to take a look at it.

[erronis]

50. Only a few thousand years separate us from tribes that didn't have these fine distinctions

When you and I met in the savanna or jungle 80-100 millennia ago, would we have sat over a cappuccino (no not the monkey capucin's brains) and asked about liberalism/repuglicanism? No, we would have gone into a defensive/aggressive stance and been prepared to kill or be killed.

We haven't evolved much beyond that point. Our first, primal/innate/gut, reactions are to distrust/hate "others". Some of us have evolved a bit more where we can override that disgust/fear/hatred.

Obviously those that have only "evolved" from Adam and Eve in 7,000 years have had a lot less of a chance to learn to be a cooperative species.

Strange that the religious zealots of the world - Christian or Muslim or Hindu or whatever, seem to have the primeval view of distrust of the "other". Strange that the repuglican party attracts this non-evolved creatures.

Yes, sociopathy and empathy can be learned, but it sure helps to start in a nurturing environment that encourages the desired results!

[not fooled]

17. Perhaps the propensity

towards fear and hatred of others without just cause is a mental problem.

[Lucky Luciano]

31. True, but children when they are unexposed to racism...

...are usually not racist - right? when they grow older and are indoctrinated with racism, they can become racist. I guess someone who didn't learn racism, but was racist anyway would have a mental illness of sorts- a kind of irrational fear.

[zentrum]

39. The cruelty to other

...human beings makes it an aspect of sociopathy I think.

[Bradical79]

28. Racism isn't his mental disability

Though, his mental disability could contribute to his racism. His dad taught him to be racist, but his mental disability causes him to think he's superior to everyone else anyway.

[Lucky Luciano]

32. No doubt. nt

[zentrum]

38. Yes. I was in a hurry this

...morning and should have said more. It is learned.

And also, I would never want to stigmatize mentally ill people, who have no choice, by equating them with racists, who do have choice, whether they realize it or not.

I also think that a diagnosis as racist could give racists an escape clause--"I was sick, I couldn't help it."

But what I'm trying to get at is that it should be listed as a trait of sociopathy because it's so cruel to other people and lacking in empathy. I think it's time the professional psychotherapy community stepped up and said something that "de-normalizes" it, that makes racists suspect as being not normal.

This is complicated to get right but it's definitely time to start talking about it as a form of sociopathy. Which is also completely supported by the system. It's bigger than individuals, but it should be addressed on all levels.

[Chemisse]

30. It's not his racism that makes him mentally ill.

And I disagree that racism is a mental illness at all. You can't just label 1/4 of the country as mentally ill because they have loathsome attitudes.

[Portland_Anni]

4. This all is going to end in chaos, incrimination and disaster

We first and most importantly need an honest straight talking person. Then said individual absolutely has to be up to speed in ability and knowledge of the job. A cowbird invading another bird species nest so they can hatch and raise her young as they typically do remind me of Trump. Especially seeing how the usually larger chick oftend pushes the legitimate chicks out of the nest to their ruin and death. We need to get rid of this insane asshole.

[annabanana]

45. Cow bird.. good analogy

I also like the "hostile takeover" analogy.

[oasis]

6. Good thing for our planet, Trump has grandkids to think about

before starting WWIII.

[sdfernando]

9. He doesn't care about grandkids.

Hell, I don't even think he really cares about Baron, his own son.

[elmac]

24. he only cares about self gratification

at the cost of anything or anyone, even kids.

[JudyM]

34. At his first signing ceremony he had his grandkids at the table, right? And basically ignored them.

[annabanana]

46. his whole family are just accessories. . . . . .n/t

[PatSeg]

10. And it leads one to ask

What kind of people follow someone who is clearly suffering from "dangerous mental illness"? What does it say about the mental state and judgment of the people in his administration or supporters in congress? It is not like Trump cleverly disguised his apparent condition.

[erronis]

19. Opportunists?

Same type of people that would gladly fleece a grandmother out of her life savings.

[PatSeg]

40. Ah yes

There are those. Who knew there were so many!

[ginnyinWI]

22. willful ignorance and naivety, along with

a feeling of complacency because the Obama years were relatively stable. Figuring that Donnie would maintain that and improve on it, not tear it to shreds!

And not to mention a complicit media--cable news I'm speaking to you--which only cared about ratings, not truth.

[PatSeg]

41. It is true

that complacency can cause people to want to shake things up. You can only watch so much cheesy reality TV I suppose.

Cable news was absolutely awful!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

12. Then the enablers around him are what, scientifically speaking? n/t

[tblue37]

23. Ponerists. nt

[annabanana]

47. (a branch of theology dealing with the doctrine of evil ).. Merriam Webster

So.. not so "scientifically" speaking maybe

[defacto7]

14. K&R bigtime. nt

[ProfessorPlum]

15. holy crap

that kind of underlines where we are at these days.... a recognizably unhinged lunatic is at the wheel.

[Jarqui]

18. I agree with them and have for a long time

But what stops Trump et al from ignoring such a petition? Nothing.

[Fast Walker 52]

20. this has been clear for quite some time, yet he was elected POTUS

so, does this mean the US has a widespread mental illness too?

[lpbk2713]

21. Not only that ...

but he's FU in the head as well.

[tiptonic]

25. All the above

With all the above said, he also just gives me the creeps.

[PsychoBabble]

29. Talk about "classical conditioning"

.. just seeing his face on TV, or hearing his voice (especially for my wife) makes our skin crawl.

I felt the "creep" factor long before he ran for president ... I love golf, and even stopped watching any golf show with him in it for that very reason.

Why in the hell others DON'T perceive this creep factor is beyond me.

[Stellar]

26. Love this!

[onetexan]

27. OK, what can be done now to remove this dangerous mentally ill man from the highest office

time for a vote of no confidence on the part of Congress to get him out as quickly as possible before he does more harm. The '100 days of horrror' headline by the NYT is enough to send shudders down our backs.

"Dr Gartner started an online petition earlier this year on calling for Mr Trump to be removed from office, which claims that he is 'psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President' "

[world wide wally]

33. This has been such an obvious fact.

Of course you don't have to interview a person to detect a mental illness. I am not even sure you need to be "qualified'. Just look at his facial expressions and the things he says and anyone can tell he is fucking nuts.

[fescuerescue]

36. That is awesome!

How many signatures are needed?

Glad to see that the medical community is stepping up to take action.

[bucolic_frolic]

37. What worries me lately

is he is making an effort to appear reasonable on some issues.

I had a narcissistic friend. After awhile I knew that once she went one way
on something, it was safe to start looking for the rebound with the exact
opposite position. I think half her fun was thinking how good she was at
disguising her game.

[burrowowl]

43. K&R

Not even CIA involvement just rump and company.

[L. Coyote]

44. Maxine knows:

[moondust]

48. But where does the crazy stop

and the deliberate totalitarian assault on truth, reason, and freedom begin?

I have little confidence that today's Republicans can take control of all three branches of the federal government and 32-33 state governments and avoid sliding into something resembling totalitarianism. I don't think that kind of restraint is part of their nature. The attacks on the free, adversarial press are but one symptom. Allowing (uncompetitive) ISPs to circulate their customers' private browsing history is something Hitler and Stalin would have used to identify and eliminate their political "enemies."

[saidsimplesimon]

51. Thank you

imo, impeachment will come when Republicans decide to dump the anchor around their necks. On the other hand, going down with the ship would better reflect their claims of loyalty to the mad man.

I take no joy in even the prospect of impeachment. It would rule the news cycles. There is no guarantee it would result in a better outcome for progressives. Wannabe king in waiting, Pence is perhaps more dangerous to the safety, security and peace in the world.

Any meager donation I can afford will be spent to help candidates or voter initiatives in my state. We need to rid ourselves of Dark Money influence and republican bigots.