Now THIS is Scary!

Terrifying actually…

 

This is a list of symptoms that define a serious mental illness:

  • Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
  • Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it.
  • Exaggerating your achievements and talents.
  • Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate.
  • Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people.
  • Requiring constant admiration.
  • Having a sense of entitlement.
  • Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations.
  • Taking advantage of others to get what you want.
  • Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others.
  • Being envious of others and believing others envy you.
  • Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner.

Those are the 12 features used by mental health professionals to diagnose Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a mental illness that usually requires long-term therapy.

Patients that display even 5 of these features are likely to suffer from NPD. Five!

If you have narcissistic personality disorder, you may come across as conceited, boastful or pretentious.”

You often monopolize conversations. You may belittle or look down on people you perceive as inferior.”

“You may feel a sense of entitlement — and when you don’t receive special treatment, you may become impatient or angry.”

“You may insist on having “the best” of everything — for instance, the best car, athletic club or medical care.”

At the same time, you have trouble handling anything that may be perceived as criticism.”

“You may have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and humiliation. To feel better, you may react with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make yourself appear superior.”

These are not my criteria. These are not my definitions.

These are quotes on the Mayo Clinic’s website and are taken from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, to diagnose mental conditions.

Then there’s this, from “…George Simon, a clinical psychologist who conducts seminars on manipulative behavior, and who says Trump is ‘so classic that I’m archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because there’s no better example’ of narcissism.”

When, in the summer of 1999, he stood up to offer remarks at his father’s funeral, Trump spoke mainly about himself. It was the toughest day of his own life, Trump began. He went on to talk about Fred Trump’s greatest achievement: raising a brilliant and renowned son.

Both of those quotes are from The Mind of Donald Trump, in The Atlantic magazine.

We don’t need someone with a clear mental illness one impulse away from retribution in the most powerful position in the world.

Our world is scary enough as it is.