Category: Self Examination

Looking beneath the surface to understand why we do what we do

POTUS AND PROPECIA, WHY IT’S IMPORTANT, by Art Smukler, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Bullying, Politics, Psychiatry, Self Examination, World events, a psychological view

Dr. Harold Bornstein MD is now Trump’s enemy. He admitted that his 35-year-long patient, Donald Trump, used Propecia to keep his orange locks robust and healthy. Given the situation, most of us would shrug, take out our Fonzi combs, and slick back our manes (Or what was left of them). Well, the president’s reaction was a little different. He nixed Bornstein’s White House appointment and recently had his henchmen break into the hirsute doctor’s office to remove all his (Trump’s) personal records, when really, all he needed to do was ask for them.

It is wrong of Bornstein to say anything about any patient’s private info. Period! But setting that aside, let’s theorize why all this National Enquirer stuff matters? Why does this guy who sits either in the oval office or in a golf cart or on top of his 10 billion dollars, need to always be right — all the time?

Examples:
There were more people at my inauguration than Obama’s.
I’m smarter than any other president.
I was cheated out of winning the popular vote.
My hair is real! Here, feel it!
I know more than the generals.
I know more than my chief of staff.
I am so healthy I’ll live 200 years.
Everyone’s lying. Russia is a witch hunt! There is no collusion or obstruction or whatever you call it. None! A witch hunt.
I want to talk to Mueller, but I may have to fire him.
I AM THE PRESIDENT! Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya
Blah, Blah, Blah

I remember an incident when I was 16 years old and a new driver. I was driving my date across town using a “back way” that made me feel really smart and really cool. Well, after we got where we were going, my date casually mentioned that it might have been faster to just take the main road instead of taking all the turns down small darkened streets. I remember nodding, but thinking I WILL NEVER EVER TAKE HER OUT AGAIN! HOW DARE SHE POINT OUT THAT SHE’S SMARTER THAN ME! WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? I AM RIGHT AND SHE IS WRONG!

Well, I did take her out again and I really liked her. I can’t remember her name or exactly how long we dated, but I do remember and continue to remember how being wrong is no big deal. What’s more important is getting good and correct information, whoever’s right. It’s a relief being surrounded by smart people. It helps us make good and well thought out decisions.

Back to Trump. The fragility of his self-worth must be off the self-worth charts. He has to be right, because if he isn’t right he falls apart inside. Just read his immature, silly tweets.

For a 70 plus year-old man to be so insecure is sad. For him to be the leader of the free world is absolutely terrifying. What is so terrifying is that Trump cares more for his hair and himself than he cares for the country that he swore to defend and protect. He overtly lies whenever he feels threatened even if it could endanger our very existence.

Trump vowed to “Drain the Swamp” and has instead created a swamp filled with a man so insecure that he’d rather swim in Propecia than treat a long-term friend and physician with any modicum of respect. No surprise, he calls everyone a name who disagrees or challenges him.

That’s why Propecia is important. It’s a clear symbol of how scary it is to have a man who “must be right” in charge of our country, and how all the cowards in congress are determined to keep bowing to this narcissist.

If you enjoyed reading, Inside the Mind of a Psychiatrist, you might also enjoy Dr. Smukler’s novels, Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.

THROUGH THE WORMHOLE TO 1972 – THE STATE HOSPITAL IS BACK! by Art Smukler MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Politics, Psychiatry, Self Examination, World events, a psychological view

My morning bike ride, on the bike path between Santa Monica and Venice, CA, was especially poignant, but not for the obvious reasons.

Interspersed among fellow bike riders, hardy girls in bikinis (It was a nippy 62), hardcore volleyballers, walkers and joggers, surfers, riders of the Bird (the new rage electric scooter) and philosophers — strolling with their cups of coffee and addressing the human condition, were hundreds (YES HUNDREDS) of Street People — arranging their numerous bags filled with gathered treasures, curled up on the sand under dirty blankets, screaming obscenities easily heard from blocks away, taking care of swollen bladders against the walls of buildings, wild-eyed and staring into oblivion, making comments (Thinks he’s so hot! Asshole! You won’t put poison in my body! Come near me and the devil will finish you off!), wrapped in sheets and blankets.

The Street People, of which at least 1/3 are psychotic, were my constant companions as a young psychiatric resident in Philadelphia. The training ground was PGH (Philadelphia General Hospital), founded in 1729 and closed in 1977. Now these unfortunates, who used to fill the beds of hundreds of state hospitals, roam the streets all over the United States. Back in the seventies Community Mental Health was the new rage. It would solve the problem of housing thousands of psychiatrically ill people and save us billions of dollars.

Initially it all worked quite well. There were numerous mental health facilities, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and mental health workers. Then the federal and state money dissolved into other programs and the mentally ill followed their illnesses into the streets.

Do-gooders support the rights of the homeless, but they ignore the fact that these people need food and a safe place to deposit their bodily waste. Fouling the streets is more of a problem than just aesthetics. There is truly the potential to infect many people with bacteria that can easily be picked up by rodents and other disease-carrying-animals and birds. Also, a paranoid person really believes he is being attacked. The streets can be dangerous!

So here I am, remembering “The good old days” when I was a young psychiatrist. In just a few minutes I’ll be having my morning cup of coffee at one of my favorite cafes and reading all about the economy, Trump’s latest brag, a new movie or TV series to see, a great book to read, and how we need to do something about the problem of the homeless. Well, it’s not just a problem; it’s an epidemic!

Luckily a lot has been accomplished since the seventies — new meds, new approaches to mental illness, and a significant reduction in the stigma of mental illness. Taking care of the mentally ill on our streets is also taking care of ourselves. Even selfish people can get behind making changes and investing in the mentally ill and ourselves. Housing, hospitals, medication and mental health workers are expensive. Who better to spend it on than ourselves. Improving the condition of millions of street people will “Make America Great”. Even narcissists sometimes come up with a good tagline.

If you enjoyed reading, Inside the Mind of a Psychiatrist, you might also enjoy Dr. Smukler’s novels, Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.