Listen to Dr. Julia Sherman, nationally-known psychologist and author, interviewed by John C. Scott on KVOI radio AM 1030. She identifies Trump as bipolar, narcissistic, delusional and mentally unfit for office.
Is Trump mentally ill? In a new book, Beating Depression and Bipolar Disorder without Drugs: A Memoir of Survival in a Male-Dominated World, Dr. Julia Sherman speaks out in agreement with well-known Manhattan psychiatrist, Dr. Ronald Fieve: Trump suffers from bipolar disorder. He’s manic, delusional, and paranoid. “He’s a megalomaniac,” she says.
“He doesn’t sleep. That sounds like maybe it’s good, but it’s not normal. It’s a characteristic of a manic,” she says. “Sleeping only three hours a night is not normal. The way he talks and he talks and he talks. He can’t stay on point. He has real trouble. He comes out with a word salad half the time.”
“He’s also delusional,” she says of Trump. “Remember when he said that he was being wiretapped? There was no evidence for this. The guy is delusional. Or when he was saying how Obama was born in Africa? Remember how he stuck to that? It was a delusion of his. Nothing would shake him. He kept repeating it and repeating it.”
Sherman, an expert on bipolar disorder, presents an exciting new theory that these mood swings derive from an ancient people (Neanderthal) who developed a hibernation-like state (depression) to survive the long, severe Ice Age winters, with summer speed up (hypomania, mania) to “make hay while the sun shines.” Sherman explains how this knowledge can be used to manage mood swings without dangerous, ineffective psychiatric drugs.
Regarding Trump, she added, “He’s paranoid. And it’s very frightening and very bad for our nation. I am not at all surprised that the Justice Department considered invoking the 25th Amendment,” which provides that the president can be declared unable to discharge his duties and be removed.
Scientific memoir
Her analysis of Trump is just one nugget in a fascinating memoir. Sherman brings scientific evidence to bear on the issue of traumatic memories: Unlike ordinary memories, they are indelibly recorded, especially for women. This means that if Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the memory of his face would be clearly etched in her brain, and she could easily identify him, despite the passage of time.
“Absolutely she could remember Kavanaugh’s face, and I’m sure she did. It’s too bad this information did not come out at the hearing, because it would help the public understand,” she says.
She almost titled the book, her 4th, as “The Personal is Political,” drawing on a catchphrase from the women’s movement. “Your personal experience when you are suffering and having a hard time — you’ve got to think about it in political terms. This is not just personal,” she says.
“Today when people are anxious, they can’t pay their bills, will they have healthcare, can they pay off their school debt — these issues are personal but also are political.”
The way to solve them is not by suffering personally by yourself but by taking political action. The way to solve these problems is not by taking so-called ‘antidepressants.’ It’s doing it by taking political action,” she says.
More info about the book is online. Please visit the Beating Depression Facebook Page to discuss topics in the book at https://www.facebook.com/BeatingDepressionandBipolar.