More on Trump and mental health.

So the other day I asked for feedback on this topic and had a few exchanges with family and friends about the subject. Then earlier today I read this opinion piece from Patrick Kennedy of the Kennedy Forum. As he writes in the piece:

Is Donald Trump experiencing a mental illness? That’s the question making the rounds these days. The answer is: I don’t know. And neither do the commentators, tweeters and psychiatrists — both licensed and armchair — who’ve diagnosed him from afar as “crazy,” a “psychopath,” not “sane,” having “narcissistic personality disorder” and a “screw loose.”

What I do know is that we ought to stop casually throwing around terms like “crazy” in this campaign and our daily lives. The president of the American Psychiatric Association has said that even for professionals, these sorts of diagnoses, made from afar, are “unethical” and “irresponsible.” And they only serve to demean and undercut people.

So this morning I went out to my car and peeled off the bumper sticker I had on it.

So I’ve had this sticker on my car for a few days, and thought it was good for a laugh and to emphasize how dangerous I think the Orange Buffoon is. But doing some more thinking about mental health stereotypes, stigma, and the dangers of armchair diagnosis I decided to take it off. Believe me, I am still #NeverTrump and continue to think he’s a dangerous racist and an ignorant fool unfit for the presidency. But when we use words like sane/insane, crazy, etc. to describe him we’re perpetuating stereotypes and hurting those who actually struggle with mental health issues.

A photo posted by Paul Banuski (@paulsletters) on Aug 8, 2016 at 7:35am PDT

So that’s where I am now on this issue.