Donald Trump… The most controversial president in recent history, a man who has put our country in a state of panic. He’s dividing us more and more every day, encouraging us to use physical violence against one another, promoting racism and taking rights and assistance away from those who need them most. During election season, when those opposed to Trump were asked why they held such strong hatred of him, a common response was “Because he’s CRAZY!” or “He’s insane!” While these allegations very well may be true, it’s essential that we take a look at the effects of normalizing Trump as a “crazy man.”
The most common mental illness discussed in regard to Donald Trump is Narcissistic Personality Disorder. First of all, I would like to point out that having Narcissistic Personality Disorder is far different than just having narcissistic traits. The only person qualified to diagnose Trump with any mental illness is a psychiatrist or psychologist who has conducted a thorough examination of him. That’s not only my opinion, but also a rule, the Goldwater Rule, in the American Psychiatric Association’s Principles of Medical Ethics.
On top of that, there is still a stigma surrounding mental illness, and we are all a part of it. While this has steadily decreased over the last hundred years, it’s definitely still here. Our society still looks at those with mental illness as broken or incapable of living life without insane obstacles. If your argument against Donald Trump was that “he’s mentally unfit to be the President,” then does that mean anyone with mental illness is unfit to be the president? To serve in any public office? Would you tell your 14 year old sister who has depression that she couldn’t be the president one day? Are you telling 1 in 5 Americans – that’s 43.8 million people – who experience mental illness that they aren’t fit for employment?
Mental illness is not a reason to impeach Trump. Mental illness can be treated, managed and overcome. It’s essentially the same thing as being born with diabetes or nine fingers, as silly as that seems. It doesn’t inhibit you from living your life like everyone else, it just means you have to learn how to do things slightly differently than them.
I’m perfectly guilty of calling Trump a lunatic, crazy and a few more names that are completely inappropriate. He’s done a lot of things that aren’t very rational, but this doesn’t make him crazy. His polices are wacky just like his hair, but until he is properly diagnosed with an illness by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, leave your own diagnosis filed away in your brain. Go to rallies, protest his policies, but don’t put those 43.8 million Americans who have a mental illness down. Using “crazy” as an insult is never productive.