Not sure I can agree with you - Trump has done exceptionally well to get elected president of the USA twice - you'd have to argue that the 50% of Americans who voted for him all have a delusion disorder otherwise. Very dangerous of course but not obviously demented in the way Joe Biden was. Anyway I want to ask - delusion disorders are very common - if we include everyone who was believing very weird things about the covid vaccines for instance - up to 10% of population were convinced it was going to kill those of us who took it. Also what about erotomanic type delusions - again they seem quite common - I'm particularly interested on your take on erotomania type delusions - how do they arise and how is this different from what is probably quite common in young men and women in mild form, but less so in older women and men?
Have to disagree on a number of points. 1. He did not do well to get reelected, the system is so open to manipulation that his minders in the DRC were able to wriggle him through, also the opposition was hopeless, disorganised, no message, no spirit at all.
2: 72million voted for him, about 35% of eligible voters. They are not deluded, they have been fooled, led up the garden path, cheated, as all the soybean farmers are finding out. The real question is this: Why did so many people give their vote to a proven liar and cheat and sex criminal? What did they think would happen? That he would keep his promises? That's the real question: How can so many apparently healthy, intelligent, reasonably educated people allow themselves to be taken in by a charlatan? I do not know, only they can answer that.
3. People believe what makes them feel comfortable. We have to be trained to accept an unpleasant truth and that is an uncomfortable process. I have talked about this in the book "Theories in psychiatry," chapter on Donald Davidson. The 10% who were sure they would die with Covid immunisation didn't actually believe it, you can't believe anything about the future, they simply feared it may be true. They were anxious, but not deluded.
4. Erotomania: the real thing is actually quite rare. The true delusions have a complex origin in the subject's mental state, memories of the past, present needs, future fears. In young people, and in far too many older people, it's simply an overvalued idea. Sexual conquests become the source of self-assurance in a person with low self-esteem. I see the dominance in sexuality as more important, there can't be sex without dominance. Cheers, JMcL
The dominance comes first and persists long after the sexual drive has died, look at Trump. Anybody facing a competition or test of any sort experiences a surge of testosterone; for the winner, it goes up further but the loser shows a sudden drop and he slinks off. However, the winner doesn't get to ravish the loser on the centre court. All sport is domination without sex, and 90% of politics, business, war, etc.
The drive to dominate is powered by testosterone in both sexes but, unsurprisingly, much stronger in males and females. The overwhelming majority of surges in this highly responsive hormone are due to the sense of competition, the urge to dominate people, probably 10 times as common as sexual stimulus and, crucially, it does not wear off like (fortunately) the sexual stimulus does. Once in play, the drive to dominate keeps going until the subject either wins or is defeated. Wars are not prosecuted by an urge that builds up, lasts a few minutes and then fades out completely for the next 6-12hrs (the pattern of young adult males, who do most of the fighting).
Re 4: aware of young woman whose overvalued idea led to suspension from workplace, then sacking, then criminal charges for stalking.... with each step insomnia leading to acute psychotic episodes.... that's a lot for an over valued idea.
That's what over-valued ideas do, they lead deeper and deeper into the morass until the person finally loses contact with reality. That is one of the typical paths in a psychological explanation of psychosis. But the essential point is the personality factor of refusing to admit error. They would rather cut their tongues off with a rusty knife than admit they were wrong. This relates directly to self-esteem: person with poor self-esteem sets himself up as right on a particular point and then can't back down when shown to be wrong. Andrew Wakefield, classic case, also Margaret Thatcher. Trump of course, but he wriggles out by saying "I didn't say that, it's fake news."
Re 3: some of them really did believe that the vaccine would kill. I know a specialist doctor who was sacked from hospital for telling patients that the vaccines would kill them and not to take them. This doctor then worked as a cleaner in a local café- and told me that s/he was sorry for me as I was going to die- and scanned me with "their" phone to show I had a microchip inserted in my arm with the vaccine. Music teacher from Steiner school also same belief. A social worker i knew again believed this- lost "their" job and had to live in a caravan in a rubbish dump for 2 years as couldn't afford anything else....
You cannot believe anything about the future. You can be certain, but that's not belief. And they were wrong. Typically, they refused to admit they were wrong. It's that point, that they will not back down, that separates normality from the paranoid stance. You should go back to the cafe and say "Hey, I''m still here. Does that mean you were wrong?" You will not get an admission of error, as a personality factor, they are incapable of admitting when they are wrong.
Re 2: i think the opposition so hopeless, and Trump actually didn't pretend to be anything but what he is - an immoral megalomaniac. It had become a refreshing approach, due to extreme hypocrisy of other politicians.
Trump lied 30,573 times in 4rs, tried to overthrow the government (but was incapable of organising more than a disorganised mob), convicted on dozens of charges, proven tax cheat, grotesquely corrupt, treats women like dirt, almost certainly guilty of major sex offences against minors, and still 77million people voted for him. Now they've found out everything he said in the campaign was a lie, and they're surprised. The system is broken. It allowed this known crook with absolutely no experience at all to sweep in on black money and snatch the prize. And now he's dementing.
I agree with you. However I believe his belief that he is a very stable genius is delusional.
Further I would argue that his blurting out the truth of what he is doing comes from a lack of moral compass. He does not consider what he is doing is bad or wrong and this stems from him not being programs to learn from his mistakes which in turn means he does create a moral code. Anyway he has no sense of shame so can lie and announce his intentions without care of what others think.
I'd have to say I don't think Trump has any firm beliefs. He just spouts whatever bit of drivel enters his head, largely determined by what he can get out of something or what he can use to bignote himself. Trouble is, he has spent his entire life acting on whatever he liked, his niece, Mary Trump PhD describes him as totally overindulged, he could have whatever he liked, so he does. Greenland? Hey, what a good idea, that'd look nice with Trump written over it, I think I'll have it. Women? They're objects, grab 'em by the privates and roll 'em over then forget 'em. He doesn't have a sense of right or wrong, only a sense of what he can get. He has never had to learn from his mistakes, somebody else paid for them, no sense of shame, certainly no concept of guilt, just a shell of a human being.
But he has only got to where he is because a lot of powerful and wealthy people weighed it up and decided they could use him to their advantage. And they are, they're laughing all the way to the offshore bank. Same scenario as with a certain Adolf Schickelgruber in the 1930s.
Trump is simply out of touch with anything like reality as we understand it. Look at him when that woman gave him her medal, he really thought he'd made it, he'd won the auction and now he had equalled his mortal enemy, Obama. I saw that as consistent with his rapidly progressing dementia. I'm still taking bets that he'll be out of office by end of this year. Cheers, JMcL
Excellent description of Trump
Not sure I can agree with you - Trump has done exceptionally well to get elected president of the USA twice - you'd have to argue that the 50% of Americans who voted for him all have a delusion disorder otherwise. Very dangerous of course but not obviously demented in the way Joe Biden was. Anyway I want to ask - delusion disorders are very common - if we include everyone who was believing very weird things about the covid vaccines for instance - up to 10% of population were convinced it was going to kill those of us who took it. Also what about erotomanic type delusions - again they seem quite common - I'm particularly interested on your take on erotomania type delusions - how do they arise and how is this different from what is probably quite common in young men and women in mild form, but less so in older women and men?
Have to disagree on a number of points. 1. He did not do well to get reelected, the system is so open to manipulation that his minders in the DRC were able to wriggle him through, also the opposition was hopeless, disorganised, no message, no spirit at all.
2: 72million voted for him, about 35% of eligible voters. They are not deluded, they have been fooled, led up the garden path, cheated, as all the soybean farmers are finding out. The real question is this: Why did so many people give their vote to a proven liar and cheat and sex criminal? What did they think would happen? That he would keep his promises? That's the real question: How can so many apparently healthy, intelligent, reasonably educated people allow themselves to be taken in by a charlatan? I do not know, only they can answer that.
3. People believe what makes them feel comfortable. We have to be trained to accept an unpleasant truth and that is an uncomfortable process. I have talked about this in the book "Theories in psychiatry," chapter on Donald Davidson. The 10% who were sure they would die with Covid immunisation didn't actually believe it, you can't believe anything about the future, they simply feared it may be true. They were anxious, but not deluded.
4. Erotomania: the real thing is actually quite rare. The true delusions have a complex origin in the subject's mental state, memories of the past, present needs, future fears. In young people, and in far too many older people, it's simply an overvalued idea. Sexual conquests become the source of self-assurance in a person with low self-esteem. I see the dominance in sexuality as more important, there can't be sex without dominance. Cheers, JMcL
4 B don't agree no sex without dominance unless the person(s) is into S&M.....
The dominance comes first and persists long after the sexual drive has died, look at Trump. Anybody facing a competition or test of any sort experiences a surge of testosterone; for the winner, it goes up further but the loser shows a sudden drop and he slinks off. However, the winner doesn't get to ravish the loser on the centre court. All sport is domination without sex, and 90% of politics, business, war, etc.
The drive to dominate is powered by testosterone in both sexes but, unsurprisingly, much stronger in males and females. The overwhelming majority of surges in this highly responsive hormone are due to the sense of competition, the urge to dominate people, probably 10 times as common as sexual stimulus and, crucially, it does not wear off like (fortunately) the sexual stimulus does. Once in play, the drive to dominate keeps going until the subject either wins or is defeated. Wars are not prosecuted by an urge that builds up, lasts a few minutes and then fades out completely for the next 6-12hrs (the pattern of young adult males, who do most of the fighting).
Re 4: aware of young woman whose overvalued idea led to suspension from workplace, then sacking, then criminal charges for stalking.... with each step insomnia leading to acute psychotic episodes.... that's a lot for an over valued idea.
That's what over-valued ideas do, they lead deeper and deeper into the morass until the person finally loses contact with reality. That is one of the typical paths in a psychological explanation of psychosis. But the essential point is the personality factor of refusing to admit error. They would rather cut their tongues off with a rusty knife than admit they were wrong. This relates directly to self-esteem: person with poor self-esteem sets himself up as right on a particular point and then can't back down when shown to be wrong. Andrew Wakefield, classic case, also Margaret Thatcher. Trump of course, but he wriggles out by saying "I didn't say that, it's fake news."
Re 3: some of them really did believe that the vaccine would kill. I know a specialist doctor who was sacked from hospital for telling patients that the vaccines would kill them and not to take them. This doctor then worked as a cleaner in a local café- and told me that s/he was sorry for me as I was going to die- and scanned me with "their" phone to show I had a microchip inserted in my arm with the vaccine. Music teacher from Steiner school also same belief. A social worker i knew again believed this- lost "their" job and had to live in a caravan in a rubbish dump for 2 years as couldn't afford anything else....
You cannot believe anything about the future. You can be certain, but that's not belief. And they were wrong. Typically, they refused to admit they were wrong. It's that point, that they will not back down, that separates normality from the paranoid stance. You should go back to the cafe and say "Hey, I''m still here. Does that mean you were wrong?" You will not get an admission of error, as a personality factor, they are incapable of admitting when they are wrong.
Re 2: i think the opposition so hopeless, and Trump actually didn't pretend to be anything but what he is - an immoral megalomaniac. It had become a refreshing approach, due to extreme hypocrisy of other politicians.
Then the electorate deserve what they get, e.g. all the farmers who voted for him who are now on verge of bankruptcy. FAFO.
You don't think he did well to become the President of the USA for a second term, after losing an election??? Come on, get real!
Trump lied 30,573 times in 4rs, tried to overthrow the government (but was incapable of organising more than a disorganised mob), convicted on dozens of charges, proven tax cheat, grotesquely corrupt, treats women like dirt, almost certainly guilty of major sex offences against minors, and still 77million people voted for him. Now they've found out everything he said in the campaign was a lie, and they're surprised. The system is broken. It allowed this known crook with absolutely no experience at all to sweep in on black money and snatch the prize. And now he's dementing.
I agree with you. However I believe his belief that he is a very stable genius is delusional.
Further I would argue that his blurting out the truth of what he is doing comes from a lack of moral compass. He does not consider what he is doing is bad or wrong and this stems from him not being programs to learn from his mistakes which in turn means he does create a moral code. Anyway he has no sense of shame so can lie and announce his intentions without care of what others think.
I'd have to say I don't think Trump has any firm beliefs. He just spouts whatever bit of drivel enters his head, largely determined by what he can get out of something or what he can use to bignote himself. Trouble is, he has spent his entire life acting on whatever he liked, his niece, Mary Trump PhD describes him as totally overindulged, he could have whatever he liked, so he does. Greenland? Hey, what a good idea, that'd look nice with Trump written over it, I think I'll have it. Women? They're objects, grab 'em by the privates and roll 'em over then forget 'em. He doesn't have a sense of right or wrong, only a sense of what he can get. He has never had to learn from his mistakes, somebody else paid for them, no sense of shame, certainly no concept of guilt, just a shell of a human being.
But he has only got to where he is because a lot of powerful and wealthy people weighed it up and decided they could use him to their advantage. And they are, they're laughing all the way to the offshore bank. Same scenario as with a certain Adolf Schickelgruber in the 1930s.
Trump is simply out of touch with anything like reality as we understand it. Look at him when that woman gave him her medal, he really thought he'd made it, he'd won the auction and now he had equalled his mortal enemy, Obama. I saw that as consistent with his rapidly progressing dementia. I'm still taking bets that he'll be out of office by end of this year. Cheers, JMcL