Let's play one of my favorite games -- what in the world is wrong with President Trump?
No, I don't mean his policies, his opinions or his tasteless tweeting habits. I mean medically -- what in the world is wrong with him? You can almost play bingo with his many mentally unhealthy behaviors. There are so many theories about his instability that they range from the sad -- dementia -- to the conspiratorial -- he's being poisoned by his hair loss medication.
Considering he has control of our nuclear power and seems to enjoy provoking North Korea -- which can now hit mainland US with missiles -- it seems like a good time to bring up the topic (or stockpile bottled water and buy a Geiger counter).
In the '80s and '90s, Trump appeared on TV interviews and made late night appearances. He used to be a better public speaker. He used to use bigger words, complete sentences, and make logically sound points. In short, he used to talk like an adult instead of a petulant child. Now when he speaks, his sentences are fragmented. He repeats or interrupts himself. He displays no impulse control, belligerence and a lack of empathy. These are all signs of dementia. If you take it a step further, he could have Alzheimer's disease -- like his father did. Mental decline is one of the more difficult potential challenges people face as they age. After all, he is the oldest person to be elected to the presidential office.
Living with dementiaor Alzheimer's is not easy, and those who are on the path often surround themselves with their loved ones, who they rely on for support. They can become aggravated, hostile and difficult to handle.
Syphilis
Syphilis goes through a handful of phases, from the initial sores to rashes, fever, and swollen glands. But the really spectacularly insane part of syphilis is the final phase, in which it does bad things to your brain. Specifically, it causes irritability, delusional thinking and grandiosity while it impairs concentration. Memory and judgement can be problematic, too. Sound familiar? Perhaps a little something like a president who now says the famous recording of him threatening to grab women by a spot he shouldn't go anywhere near is fake.
So does Trump have the third phase of syphilis, called neurosyphilis? At least one doctor thinks so, and chalks it up to his wild oat-sowing times in the '80s. Syphilis is particularly insidiousas it is often asymptomatic and can lie dormant for years. He could have had it for a long time and not known.
Among the psychology/psychiatry community, there is growing concern that Trump is an antisocial personality -- more specifically, he is somewhere on the narcissistic/psychopath spectrum. Among the behaviors that serve as indicators for these two personality disorders is an inflated sense of their own importance, combined with fragile self-esteem -- e.g., Trump's claims that he is the best at everything and his barely controlled rage at press criticism. There's also a lack of empathy and paranoia. Psychopaths have the ability to be charming but are ultimately utterly lacking in human kindness.
While mental health professionals don't frequently diagnose public figures without actually treating them (especially politicians -- thanks Barry Goldwater!), more and more are speculating on his potential mental illness -- some with a timetable of his mental decline coinciding with his rise to fame.
If you read the medical report from Trump's doctor, you'd see a prescription for a hair loss medication called Finasteride. While certainly giggle-worthy, as his hair is one of the easiest things to mock in a highly mockable persona, Finasteride has a whole host of potential side effects, including impotence, impaired memory and poor decision making.
The scariest thing about this drug is that the side effects don't always go away with discontinued use. So even if his hair medication is the cause, he might not be able to recover any potentially lost faculties.
Between the late night Twitter frenzies, the broken speech patterns and the inability to follow legal advice, Trump's behavior could be written off as odd and curious - if he didn't have the ability to destroy national landmarks, the healthcare system and a free internet. If he is suffering from a disorder, what does that mean for the US?
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