Mental Health Thoughts About Trump - Dick Rauscher
About a year ago, I wrote a Nugget in which I talked about my concern about Trump’s mental health. As an NYS Licensed mental health counselor and a certified Fellow in AAPC with experience treating clients for over twenty years, I was concerned that Trump was mentally ill.
Here is what I said at the time…
President Trump Is Unfit For Public Office
I believe it’s time for the American people and members of Congress to acknowledge that President Trump has a severe Narcissistic Personality Disorder that makes him unfit for public office.
The DSM-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the U.S lists the following characteristics of a severe narcissistic personality disorder……..
A grandiose logic of self-importance
A fixation with fantasies of infinite success, control, brilliance, beauty, or idyllic love
A belief 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
Resentment of others or a conviction that others are resentful of him or her
A display of egotistical and conceited behaviors or attitudes
No reasonable, thinking person could with integrity, ignore the reality that President Trump fits this description.
Our Responsibility As American’s To Act
Our President is mentally ill and needs to be removed from power. We are facing a potential disaster in North Korea. The potential for Kim Jung Un or Trump to act irrationally is extremely high. Both are extreme narcissists. Both need to be admired. Both struggle with very low self-esteem.
When we have overwhelming evidence that the President of our nation has a serious personality disorder we have a responsibility to act and speak up for the impeachment and removal of that President.
No mentally ill person should ever have the power to launch atomic weapons merely to distract the American people from his inability to govern or function responsibly as the head of our nation.
It is no longer a time for political correctness. It’s a time for action. The future of our Nation is at risk, and perhaps even the future of our world if the conflict in North Korea turns into an active military conflict. Trump is not the creator of hatred in our nation, that responsibility goes back many generations. But his rhetoric is fueling hatred in our Nation, and he needs to be held responsible.
Conclusion
I want to end this article with this final thought. I believe that President Trump has a severe narcissistic personality disorder and he has to be experiencing significant pain and suffering when 70% of voters in our nation are vocally critical of the job he is doing as President. His need for admiration is real. And when a severe narcissist fails to get that admiration, it causes that person real and significant pain.
As a retired Mental Health Therapist, I have compassion for that kind of suffering. I spent most of my career helping people heal from that kind of pain. But my fear regarding President Trump is that the pain he has to be feeling can too quickly turn into anger and depression. He is human. And humans project their pain onto others. President Trump is not playing golf seventeen times in his first six months in office because he enjoys golf, he is distracting and removing himself from Washington because it is too painful for him when confronted daily by those who would criticize his performance as President. His emotional well-being depends on being admired. And when that admiration is missing, it creates pain….and that pain is projected by tweets onto those he feels are withholding their “loyalty” and “admiration”.
The last thing we need is an angry, depressed, President looking for ways to project the pain of rejection and lack of admiration into the world. And that threat is very real with President Trump. I believe the most compassionate thing we can do is remove him from office and let him go back to his role as a billionaire CEO where firing people has far less potential to destroy the world.
Our world is increasingly dealing with global crises. Our President is manifesting a severe personality disorder. He is mentally ill. And it’s time we the people acknowledge that frightening reality before it’s too late.”
My Beliefs and Concerns Today
Today I am more concerned than ever that my fears a year ago were justified.
What bothers me even more than Trump’s obvious mental health issues is why our mental health professionals have been so reluctant to stand up and address the sobering reality that we have a mentally ill President.
Are they afraid of retaliation from Trump? That might be a reasonable concern if one were acting alone, but if our mental health organizations were to act collectively, I believe they would have the authority and ability to more responsibly address the seriousness of the issue….and the dangers that our mentally ill President is creating for our country. By standing together and reflecting their professional concerns, they could inform the voters and challenge Congress to address the issue more openly.
I am more convinced than ever that Trump is severely mentally ill. And for those who would say that it’s unprofessional to diagnose a person without having professionally worked with them as a client, I would ask “how much evidence do you need to know or observe before diagnosing that person as clearly reflecting the DSM-5 description of a severe narcissistic mental disorder?”
I believe it’s time for the Mental Health Professionals in our nation to stand up and speak openly about the need to address the fact that our President is mentally ill. We are walking a very slippery slope constitutionally for the future of our country and the future well-being of our planet.
