From No More Fake News
-- After investigating psychiatry for two decades, I'm confident that, if we could go back and rewrite history, deleting all psychiatrists on the planet, so they'd never exist -- deleting their diagnoses and their drugs -- this would have resulted in a massive upsurge in mental health, moving forward --
The Daily Mail: "A group of leading psychiatrists told a conference that Donald Trump has clear hallmarks of mental illness that compromise his role as president. Twenty-five researchers made a drastic break away from ethical standards by meeting at Yale University on Thursday to discuss evidence questioning the commander-in-chief's mental health."
Psychiatrist Allen Frances, who has played a central role in defining mental disorders, disagrees. He wrote in the NY Times: "Most amateur diagnosticians have mislabeled [Mr. Trump as having] narcissistic personality disorder. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesn't make him mentally ill."
Dr. Frances makes an interesting point. He distinguishes between behavior and earning a badge for having a particular mental disorder.
For example, a person can be sad, but that alone doesn't make him a candidate for the label, "clinical depression." A person can take aggressive actions against authority, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is suffering from Oppositional Defiance Disorder.
Consider the accusation that Trump has Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). What does that mean? What is the official definition of NPD? Here is an excerpt from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the official bible of the American Psychiatric Association. Go ahead, plow through it, it'll only take a minute:
"The definition of NPD states that it comprises of a persistent manner of grandiosity, a continuous desire for admiration, along with a lack of empathy. It starts by early adulthood and occurs in a range of situations, as signified by the existence of any 5 of the next 9 standards (American Psychiatric Association, 2013):
" A grandiose logic of self-importance.
" A fixation with fantasies of infinite success, control, brilliance, beauty, or idyllic love.
" A credence that he or she is extraordinary and exceptional and can only be understood by, or should connect with, other extraordinary or important people or institutions.
" A desire for unwarranted admiration.
" A sense of entitlement.
" Interpersonally oppressive behavior.
" No form of empathy.
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