I took my son to see his psychiatrist.

[Ilsa]

She's very good at her job, is Independent, politically, but has known about 45's narcissism from the get-go. Working with so many developmentally disabled children and adults, she is well versed in recognizing signs of cognitive dysfunction. She mentioned to me today that she only watches a little tv, so she doesn't see him regularly.

She recently observed him in a formal setting across from reporters at a press conference. She concluded he's suffering a cognitive delay, perhaps related to a condition like Alzheimers or other neurological disease. She noticed the vague, rudimentary language, the lack of fluidness, how he was unable to opine in depth on any complicated situation, instead offering supportive or hopeful platitudes.

She expressed frustration over the Goldwater Rule, and said there needs to be respect for the authors and cosigners of the psychiatrists' letter to the editor at NYT, 2/13/17. She agreed with me that the Constitution's requirements for president are insufficient, that candidates should be required to divulge current medical annd financial status. Apparently the campaign process doesn't adequately reveal a candidate's real condition when the general public only makes time for soundbites and memes.

It was good to hear her opinion.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Thank you for your enlightened post.

It's good to know what a licensed professional is thinking.

K&R

[ksoze]

2. Do not like armchair medical diagnosis from afar

Fox does it all the time and it reeks, no matter which side it's from. Diagnosing off a single press conference or TV stint is as useful as a guess.

[Ilsa]

3. I realize that. These were her observations, not a diagnosis. NT

[manicraven]

6. I think at some point we can all make at least a judgment call, though.

What do we determine about trump when we see repeated pathological lies, grandiosity ("I alone can fix it." "I have a great brain." "I know more than...&quot , delusional claims (when our own eyes tell us a different story), and obvious inability to focus? It's not like it's hard to detect that he has obvious psychological/behavioral/emotional problems. Not sure what the exact diagnoses might be, but it's not a conspiracy theory, necessarily a diagnosis, or even going out on a limb to say that he's not mentally well. And, I do appreciate hearing from the professionals who work with people day in and day out who are mentally ill, and though they technically can't diagnose him, certainly they can make a bit of an assessment, especially those who read his tweets, watch how he handles himself, hear his wild claims and obvious lies, etc.

[DeadLetterOffice]

10. For mental health professionals, it also violates our...

... respective Codes of Ethics.

That said, my personal (non-professional) opinion (*not* diagnosis) is Asshole + Dementia.
But that's just me.

[colorado_ufo]

12. Truth to power!

[politicat]

26. Yes. I observe behavior consistent with Cluster B, with cognitive and verbal behaviors

Similar to stage 2 dementia. ( he gets stuck in expression loops, attention span is shortening, and his vocabulary seems to have contracted from 20 years ago.)

None of which excuse evil, asshole, or failure to do the job.

Not a diagnosis, just observations.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

33. My diagnosis as a mental health professional is:

he's a "batshit crazy stupid, lying asshole who is not in touch with reality." But seriously, when I have more information about him and his current life, hours and hours of footage/interviews of him, biographies written by people. I know more about him than I do about many of the clients that I see twice a month for 30 minutes to an hour.

I believe that he is actually an obnoxious 5th grader who is dressed up in a suit.

[alarimer]

4. Maybe he's just stupid.

I mean, I'm sure all of that is possible, but he just doesn't seem very smart to me. And he's know in over his head.

[Ilsa]

5. She thought he was

at of normal intelligence, but she was not happy to see that the POTUS has an obvious cognitive delay.

[colorado_ufo]

17. I would also suspect that he is working WAY harder than he is used to.

It takes time to always look perfectly dressed and groomed, and he starts an early day. He is very likely building a sleep deficit that will take its toll, especially at his age.

Expect the work, long hours, and stress to increasingly impair his performance.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Maybe he's just a spoiled man-child, used to being the center of universe and never held accountable

for anything, ever, mixed with a mean streak and a petty vindictive nature. IOW, an asshole.

[ailsagirl]

15. I honestly thought it read "cognitive decay" instead of "cognitive delay"

Either will do

[PoiBoy]

7. I had to look up the Goldwater Rule...

..thank you for your post..!! I learned something new today..!!

She agreed with me that the Constitution's requirements for president are insufficient, that candidates should be required to divulge current medical annd financial status. Apparently the campaign process doesn't adequately reveal a candidate's real condition when the general public only makes time for soundbites and memes.

I totally agree... I can't understand why complete medical and financial audits of all candidates is not mandatory.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. And they must be INDEPENDENT evaluations

Not someone who says an obese 70 year old who takes cholesterol medication is be the most physically fit president in history.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Cognitive Delay? This is first believable tie I've seen between tRump & age-related brain disorders.

Thanks for posting.

However, the only links I'm finding for "cognitive delay" are for developmental delay.

Are you sure you don't mean "cognitive deficit" or "cognitive decline" or "cognitive deCay"?

[Ilsa]

16. She has an accent, so it is

Always possible that I misunderstood her the three or four times she said it. I'm pretty sure she said delay, as in, he can't think clearly on his feet. Maybe she said "decay", but I don't remember a hard c sound.

Yeah, I'm wondering if he has an organic brain syndrome or Alzheimers or some other kind of dementia developing, and when it will become obvious to the casual observer.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. He might have cognitive impairment from chronic lack of sleep.

He thinks he is one of the rare-as-diamonds short sleepers who function well with only four hours sleep a night.

He might be, but it is unlikely, and certainly the public evidence is that he is not functioning well.

[pablo_marmol]

24. For that matter, he may suffer from untreated sleep apnea.

My dad was already in the throes of dementia when I discovered that he had been diagnosed with sleep apnea. His neurologist said that his brain scan displayed capillary death, (don't recall the clinical language) which manifested as sort of a spider-webbing on the image.

I posited that the untreated sleep apnea may have caused this condition, and the neurologist stated that it was a plausible theory, but not the only cause of this type of dementia.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. Another cause of capillary death is fatty food, which the Minority President loves. . . . . nt

[JudyM]

11. I attributed the cognitive delay to his continual self-absorption -- he needs to pry himself out

of that when it's appropriate to speak. I think his money has made him lazily entitled to the point of not feeling the need to engage in common politely connected discourse. Lazy intellect leaves him with less of interest to say, as well. He's a used car salesman (apologies to used car salespeople!) who's only interested in his next deal, which will replenish his ego.

[pnwmom]

13. I think she's right.. He's profoundly narcissistic, PLUS he may be showing some signs

of Alzheimers.

His platitudes do remind me of a relative with Alzheimers. She, on the other hand, just uses her social skills to say nice things that almost always sound appropriate. He uses them for bullying, most of the time.

[nolabels]

19. Maybe it's all the above and all the below

The mind if filled with many things from all different times and circumstances. Once a person has a working model of how they want other to perceive them (through their eyes, as deluded as it might be) they rarely change. Hillary said of the Donald 'what you see is what you get' was spoken from personal experience with him and the life she has lived.

It doesn't take a Ph.D. to figure that out. The nuanced clinical speculation about having a cognitive delay is just a polite way to say he is old and hasn't done much to combat that increasing difficulty he is having communicating in a cogent manner. What the hell, you know the guy is lazy as sin, he cannot even walk up a flight of stairs

[Ilsa]

20. Excellent points. And I recall an article

Posted to DU by a pschiatrist who basically said, "you don't need to be psychologist/psychiatrist to know that trump is a narcissist."

[adigal]

21. I've said Alzheimers for months...he speaks haltingly, and forgets things nt

[Warpy]

22. It's nice when trained people agree with us, isn't it?

I've been shocked this past year by the change in him from about 10 years ago. He used to make a certain amount of sense, even given his obvious personality disorder. Now he perseverates or goes off on tangents and I don't think he's capable of making any sort of a complex sentence.

The Republicans covered for their last president with Alzheimer's back in the 80s and there is no indication they will refuse to do so now. I do have to say that Reagan didn't seem to progress as quickly as Trump has done, so it will be interesting to see what their strategy is, to remove him from public view altogether or to send flacks out to the press when it becomes too obvious for anyone to ignore.

[Ilsa]

28. Either Jared or Ivanka is always with him, I bet.

They're his personal handlers, and I wonder if they are his memory.

[herding cats]

23. First, you scared me.

I thought something was wrong with your child.

Second, I laughed.

[Ilsa]

27. Oh, I'm sorry. It was a routine checkup. NT

[kentuck]

29. Medical and financial requirements should be written into law for the President of the US.

Is it any more obvious?

[tblue37]

31. I have been saying all along that he shows signs of dementia. His father had Alzheimers, and

there is a genetic component to susceptibility.

[Progressive dog]

32. If that psycho in the WH has

a medical condition that would explain his behavior, I do not care.
He should be locked up somewhere to keep other people safe from him.

[Kimchijeon]

34. Thank you for sharing this.

I really feel she is right. K&R