Posted on 09/27/2005 8:01:08 PM PDT by april15Bendovr
Question to My colleagues in the Mental Health Field?
As a Counselor I ask this question of my colleagues in my field because we live, eat, breath and excrete liberalism every day.
I haven't read Michael Savage's book "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" yet but it does sound like an interesting diagnosis.
If so what are the criterias that would make up the illness?
Conservatives in our field could come up with some very interesting answers and I would like your input to add or reinforce my point.
First would be to look at the self explanatory quote "Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has not heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains." - Sir Winston Churchill.
Second can liberalism be a disease like alcoholism or drug addiction where people echo the patterns of their parents? They know they are liberals but cant tell you why or how they got that way? They can tell you their parents were Democrats. Sound Familiar? They also seem to have the same denial coping mechanisms that cloud their reality that their life is a mess. I guess you could also use Public Schools and College Professors as an example similarity to the gateway drug of indoctrination.
Can liberalism be just like an Axis 2 personality disorder where they like their illness so much they couldn't possibly part with the symptoms due to secondary gain? Like Borderline Personality and Cutting?
I like diagnosing liberals with a form of Munchausen's Syndrome or Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. In many ways in the larger scheme of things they perform these symptoms on society rather than on a child our themselves (picture entitlement programs). Its really more of a metaphor than a diagnosis I am presenting here so don't take me completely serious.
Definitions
Munchausen's Syndrome refers to a psychiatric disorder where patients pretend to have illnesses, and therefore are subjected to many medical tests and surgical procedures. Of course, these would never have been performed if the patient had not tried to fabricate them. However, the most notorious patients have often had dozens of surgical procedures for factitious (false) symptoms. Thus, this is a form of self-mutilation.
Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy (MSP) is a parenting disorder where parents, usually the mother, fabricate symptoms in their children, thus subjecting the child to unnecessary medical tests and/or surgical procedures. In some cases, the parents also inflict injury and can kill their children in the process. MSP is not rare in Apnea Programs. Apnea is the perfect disorder for MSP, because infants appear normal between episodes. Therefore, a parent can bring her baby to a medical facility, fabricate a history of an apparent life threatening event, and the baby will be admitted, many tests performed, sometimes even surgery (such as tracheostomomies) are performed. MSP parents can be quite good at this, often switching from doctor to doctor so that it is difficult for one individual to put it all together. There have been documented cases of MSP in apnea clinics. However, these are much rare than "true" infant apnea.
I witness liberals dividing society by Race, Religion, Economic Class and Gender under the auspice of implementing socialism and using a hidden agenda. The tools they use are Fear, Anger, Manipulation and Intimidation. Ends Justify the means.
We have all heard the quote "give a man a fish and you have fed him for the day teach him how to fish you have fed him for life." I know I am being drastic here but we know working in this field as a helping hand is better than being a hand out care-taking enabling liberal. Thats the difference for us.
Fascinating topic. Can lay people weigh in?
Example, is there a term, if not a diagnosis, of "magical thinking?" Of the lefties I know, the further left they are, the more they seem to exist in a fantasy world of their own. One friend in particular was so VERY into fairy tales as a little girl, and when she grew up, the Disney stories were replaced by, well, liberalism. Things are "true" because she believes them to be so. Her emotional comfort level = the degree of "truth," and any evidence contrarty to her fantasy doesn't seem to even register, as if it isn't even seen or heard.
Other lefties I've known are flat out Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and these seem to be the ones who thirst for power over others. Yes I know, non professionals should not be rubber stamping diagnoses, but sometimess sharing an office 40 hrs a week with one makes it unavoidable.
Does the right side of the brain interfere with recognizing danger (terrorism) and encourage always being on the wrong side of history?
"Magical thinking" is a great contribution to the diagnosis. Thank you
Ping! Check out 10 above. Sounds logical from my experiences with them.
I just read an article (within the last couple of weeks) I can't remember the exact terms used, I will keep looking for the article though, the researcher used the word 'dysesthesia' to describe the Liberals inability to "get it" that they constantly have to accept this wide range of "special beliefs" in order for their 'liberalism' to be viable.
I wish I could remember how he likened all of this to the more conventional meaning of dysesthesia, but I can't. Only that it was incontrollable impulsive urges, leading to self-destructive / destructive thought patterns. That the normal functions of rationalization were impeded by this inability to perceive the recklessness of the thoughts. I took a feeble shot at it, but I will hunt that article down, it was a good'n.
Everything but potty training.
N.B.
I have no clinical standing either, -but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night ;>
BTTT
Isn't that the truth. I agree that so many liberal traits on parade would make a fairly complete compendium of all mental illnesses. Maybe the question should be "what mental illnesses can you have and still be a conservative?" My guess is that list is much shorter. I know two individuals, both stark raving mad, one is a (lip service) conservative, one is a flaming liberal.
Remember, Christopher Reeve would be walking today if Al Gore or John Kerry had been elected President! [IRONY/SARCASM ALERT]
I am fervantly searching coming up with nothing, the article was brilliant and the guy showed his work.
It's a recent article, and I think it was closer to peer reviewable than 'blog' but I sure can't find it now.
It'd be funny if it was Savage that wrote it.
If I find it, I'll ping you.
Thanks. I'm sure its not anything published. He would be treated like Salman Rushdie
How does that prevent liberals from copulating as they please in modern America?
It's pretty obvious that some type of masturbation anxiety explains the delusional and paranoid panic of secular humanist liberals fixated on genital politics.
Cindy Sheehan seems to meet all the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
For a nanosecond I wondered if I didn't just read that in NEJM or JAMA. -but only for a nanosecond ;> Since it doesn't turn up in my text searches, I'm thinking it may -have- been something Savage said.
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