The secret link between Bush and psychotic behavior! (spam on subject)

[fable]

It's found here. What's interesting is that while it raises a good laugh, there are also some serious issues about accountability, information, paranoia, and authoritarianism involved.

Oh, and the study of 69 psychiatric outpatients was done by an admitted "Reagan revolution fanatic."

[dragon wench]

Very, very interesting..

Quote:

Our study shows that psychotic patients prefer an authoritative leader,” Lohse says. “If your world is very mixed up, there’s something very comforting about someone telling you, ‘This is how it’s going to be

This actually makes a lot of sense to me. I would hardly consider myself psychotic, but I do know that when my world feels as though it is falling apart, I crave some sort of seemingly stable anchor that I can grab in the sea of chaos.

Now, of course, in such circumstances my rational (and somewhat rebellious) side always kicks in and screams "It's a crock, don't believe it!"
But.. I can definitely understand the appeal

[Magrus]

Being that my medical file says I am psychotic, and I wouldn't vote for him, I am curious what pills these patients are on and what they were hospitalized for to be honest. "Psychotic" covers a broad range of symptoms, thought patterns and behavioral traits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psychosis 1. a mental disorder characterized by symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, that indicate impaired contact with reality. 2. any severe form of mental disorder, as schizophrenia or paranoia.

That can be any severe form of mental disorder, and given that it was taken in the US, and their take on "mental disorders" and how to treat them, anywhere from having a fear of hang nails to a homosexual way of life to be brutally honest.

Still, I would be interested in seeing what a complete psychiatric evaluation for all of Congress, the VP, President, head of the FBI, etc would lead to. It would probably terrify this country into redoing the government completely.

[fable]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magrus Still, I would be interested in seeing what a complete psychiatric evaluation for all of Congress, the VP, President, head of the FBI, etc would lead to. It would probably terrify this country into redoing the government completely.

Not at all. The American public would do what it has always done best: put its collective head in the sand, and whistle loudly while spitting out quartz dust.

I would be curious to see what they meant by psychotic, too. It's a very broad, almost pop-med word, a sort of collective fill in the blank term used when people don't understand specifically what they mean. That said, it's amusing that Dubya was the madmen's selection du jour. He's been written about time and again by insiders as having a dictatorial mentality. And he's about as flexible as granite. (I seem to be doing mineral similes, today.) A good person to use when you need a choice, however bad the choice invariably will be.

[Magrus]

All true. I was slapped with the label because my version of reality contradicted with the head docs. Why it contradicted? His version of reality stated sane people didn't ever think violent thoughts when angered. Mine included violent thoughts when hit or attacked. Hence, I am psychotic. The nurses and doctor intern all agreed with me too.

I'd say the test is bogus, no matter whether a "medical professional" says it is legitimate or not. The use of that word alone makes it so. That's like when the pizza place near me that is dirt cheap says "Voted best pizza in 2002, 2003, 2005 amongst college students!". The vote was for how many ordered through that place, not how good the pizza was. Of course broke drunken students will order the cheap stuff.

Actually, to be honest, I wouldn't trust any test done with psych patients. Most are drugged up so much they can barely see or feed themselves in this country. Thats like going to the ghetto and asking someone obviously on crack what they want to do with their lives.

[Chimaera182]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Das Artikel “Our study shows that psychotic patients prefer an authoritative leader,” Lohse says. “If your world is very mixed up, there’s something very comforting about someone telling you, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’”

Even for a non-psychotic, there is sometimes a kind of comfort from this sort of thing. If you are stressed out over other things and someone came along and said, "This is how this thing is going to be," that would be weight off your shoulders. It's something you don't have to worry about right away. It's a rather alluring prospect.

Speaking as someone who could probably qualify for the psychotic, though, I can say that although my need for order and strong leadership are definitely present, I would never vote for Bush. In fact, if you ask me, I always saw him as more of an object of disorder more than anything else (and see what's come of the world since he's been in office).

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon wench This actually makes a lot of sense to me. I would hardly consider myself psychotic, but I do know that when my world feels as though it is falling apart, I crave some sort of seemingly stable anchor that I can grab in the sea of chaos.

It totally makes sense for me, too. If your world is falling apart, or you are so busy with so many other immdiate concerns like I said earlier, that kind of thing appeals to you. People feel this innate need for stability, so when someone offers it to you, it's something a lot of people will grab on to, even if just by reflex.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magrus Being that my medical file says I am psychotic, and I wouldn't vote for him, I am curious what pills these patients are on and what they were hospitalized for to be honest. "Psychotic" covers a broad range of symptoms, thought patterns and behavioral traits. ... That can be any severe form of mental disorder, and given that it was taken in the US, and their take on "mental disorders" and how to treat them, anywhere from having a fear of hang nails to a homosexual way of life to be brutally honest. Still, I would be interested in seeing what a complete psychiatric evaluation for all of Congress, the VP, President, head of the FBI, etc would lead to. It would probably terrify this country into redoing the government completely.

Someone can be labelled psychotic by the masses and still not display any genuine symptoms of any real kind of psychosis. Being "psychotic" is very much a subjective thing, as you point out, especially in the U.S.

I have to agree with fable on that one; the American people would more likely ignore what such a study said, just so long as it didn't interfere in their everyday lives. If the president is insane but the trains still run on time (which is of course not his responsibility), then the people aren't going to care. Of course, if an insane president or Congress got us into a war that wound up with the majority of the country bombed into oblivion, that would change. Of course, I figured you were being facetious anyway.

[Magrus]

Blah, I don't take well to be ordered around unless it's something which I will be paid decently for, or by a pretty girl. That's just me though. Probably why I don't like the government much. I am forced to pay THEM, and they neither help me, nor are they attractive females.