49% of US Presidents suffered mental illness in Duke study

The Chronicle ^ | February, 2006 | Haley Hoffman

[uglybiker]

49%?

That means that 21.07%

The real debate is which president was 0.07% mentally ill.

[Cyclopean Squid]

Psycho-history is lame. But it's sure a heck of a lot better than socio-cultural history.

[M. Espinola]

[spyone]

Well said, Professer!

[Rte66]

Thom Jefferson spent all his time thinking ... reading, writing, inventing, planning, creating ... who can do that with a bunch of people around wanting to party?

[beyond the sea]

49% of US Presidents suffered mental illness in Duke study

100% of LIBERALS are nuts.

[beyond the sea]

Does Clinton count twice for being a pathological liar AND a sexual deviant? ---

****

LOL

[beyond the sea]

proving once again why psychiatry is a useless field of study

agreed

[thoughtomator]

Elect Hillary and get an even 50%.

[rlmorel]

Projection is the refuge of the self-absorbed Liberals

There. I fixed it. But, very well put!

[Clock King]

Just more verbal diarrhea from the "I hate America" crowd. Ignore them or shout them down, it doesn't matter, because they are not adults, hate their own lives, hate freedom, and want to die. I wish they'd just do it and leave the rest of us in peace.

[rlmorel]

Yes. 49%. We all really just need to talk about our problems. It will help us become "adjusted".

Effing Liberals. I have one for all of you:

Liberalism is a mental illness. Therefore, 100% of all Liberals are mentally ill.

[7thson]

I think they are stretching a bit with the sleep apnea. That is more of a physical condition mostly due to being overweight. I can understand this in Taft.

I guess it is true what they say - you have to be crazy to want that job! I wonder how many of these presidents became depressed after becoming president. I just finished John Adams. The description of Jefferson is of a frigging nutcase.

[7thson]

We have a winner! Good one!

[CatoRenasci]

This article says far more about the silliness of modern definitions of mental illness than it does about our former presidents.

That said, Freud and William Bullitt wrote quite the fascinating psychoanalysis of Wilson: Thomas Woodrow Wilson which was distinctly unfavorable to Professor Wilson. Since I dislike Wilson intensely, I've always enjoyed it. Erik Ericson also did an interesting psychobiography of Luther: Young Man Luther that was very popular back in the '60s and '70s.

[bkepley]

My guess is the percentage of professors of psychiatry who qualify as mentally ill is much higher.

[blam]

"Are they now going to say Bush is crazy?"

That's probably where this is headed.

[Sir_Humphrey]

The extensiveness of Richard Nixon's alcohol abuse was pretty remarkable and alarming, given the authority he had," Swartz said.

Another reason to cast a suspicious eye at this "study". From the accounts of those who knew and observed Nixon privately, he a social drinker not the drunk that his haters like to portray him as.

[Sam Cree]

I think this is kind of like asking what percentage of the American population is criminal. The answer is that most all of us are, because our stuped lawmakers have written so many laws that nobody can move without breaking one. Same thing with mental illness, academics will attribute so many types of behavior to it, that no one can move without being accused of mental illness. For instance, I note that shyness is now categorized as "social phobia."

That being said, I have always thought that the desire to be president indicated a certain degree of mental illness in itself. And if you told me that half the population was mentally ill, I wouldn't be surprised. How else to explain all those people who vote for Democrats?

[jmaroneps37]

Didn't read this, but let me guess the party of those they said were mentally ill.