Serious question: have we had a mentally ill president before?

[mwb970]

I have become convinced that George W. Bush has personality disorders so severe as to qualify as mental illness. Prominent among them are his narcissistic arrogance and his firm, resolute denial of the reality that is all around him. His words and behavior are decidedly "not normal". We've all noticed it.

Hence, my question. Help me out, DU historians! Has there been a Chief Executive among the other 42 who was officially determined to be mentally ill, either during his time in office or afterwards? I'm not talking about "Nixon was crazy" (like a fox) type evaluations. I am looking for an actual diagnosis of an definite mental disorder in a previous president.

Or are we lucky enough to be living through a "first"?

[xultar]

1. Ray-Gun

[hobbit709]

3. Ray-Gun was senile

Nixon was paranoid but at least he knew what planet he was on. I'm not sure that shrub is even in the same space-time continuum as the rest of us.

[maine_raptor]

2. I don't think there has ever been one

"officially declared" nuts. But there was a number of people who felt the LBJ was loosing it during his last days in office. I can't recall the name of the book (someone help me out here), but recently there was a book that espoused that theme, blaming his breakdown on Johnson's guilt over the Vietnam war. Then, of course there's Nixon.............

[MethuenProgressive]

4. Nixon - Paranoia, LBJ - Depression, alcoholism

[H2O Man]

5. Two presidents in recent

history had episodes that were of great concern to those closest to them. They were LBJ in late '67 and '68, and Nixon during the months before his resignation. Both men had symptoms including paranoia, depression, and at least Nixon had serious substance abuse issues at the time.

[demnan]

6. Lincoln was known to suffer from depression

or melancholia, as they called it back then. But he may also have had syphilis, which he passed on to his wife and she went mad. Also I believe at least 2 of his children died while he was in the White House.

In spite of his problems, he was a great President.

[hiaasenrocks]

7. Nixon - anxiety issues & paranoia; Clinton - sexual addiction and

compulsive liar; LBJ was an alcoholic, I've read.

[madokie]

16. compulsive liar;

:shrug:

[Felinity]

17. Source?

I don't think Clinton was a compulsive liar. You must have him comfused with B*

[Ganja Ninja]

18. Clinton was a compulsive liar?

How about citing some examples other than his lying about an extramarital affair.

[Bridget Burke]

20. Where are your sources on Clinton & LBJ?

Books published by Regnery don't count.

[liberal hypnotist]

8. crazy like a fox?

Him and his crew have siphoned multi-millions out of this war.

[Botany]

9. Not like this one

Wilson Had a stroke and his final months he couldn't do anything and his wife & Sec. of State
ran the show.

Reagan Was not all there and early Alzheimer's might have started.

Buchanan Refused to see the upcoming civil war.

FDR Could not do more than 2 hours of work per day towards the end.

Lincoln had depression, guilt, and a Bat Shit Crazy wife.

But this is the first time in the modern era when the Joint Chiefs of Staff have all said
that a military option was bad and the President refused to go along.

[Tanuki]

10. Woodrow Wilson became mentally impaired

after suffering a massive stroke in his second term.

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-7968/Woodrow-Wilson

"The strain, both mental and physical, was too much for him. He had a near breakdown on September 25, after which his doctor canceled the rest of the tour and rushed him back to Washington. On October 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a massive stroke that left him partially paralyzed on his left side. His intellectual capacity was not affected, but his emotional balance and judgment were badly impaired.

This was the worst crisis of presidential disability in American history, and it was handled badly. No one seriously suggested that Wilson resign. His wife, Edith, controlled access to him, made decisions by default, and engineered a cover-up of his condition, which included misleadingly optimistic reports from his doctors. Although he gradually recovered from the worst effects of the stroke, Wilson never again fully functioned as president. "

[kskiska]

29. But despite being bedridden and mentally impaired,

Wilson's wife and supporters wanted to run him for a third term! He didn't receive the nomination from his party, however.

[madrchsod]

11. lincoln was a emotional basket case

today he would have been hospitalized or on some serious meds

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. check out the Lincoln museum in Springfield, Illinois

a fascinating place, with a perfectly good library attached.
truly, it is worth a special trip. the performances they have are incredible, educational and emotional. If you don't get choked up in the first scene, then you probably have the same emotional maturity as W.

[madrchsod]

22. been there

the latest program i have seen about lincoln pointed out that he suffered from depression over the loss of his first true and only love and his marriage was nothing short of a disaster. he suffered from uncontrollable crying over the deaths of the soldiers during the war. today fox,cnn,and every hack radio talker would be calling for him to resign because he was`t a man.
the problem does`t lie with me my friend but with those who see emotion in a man as a sign of weakness. real men cry

[H2O Man]

25. You, however, did write post #11

which called him an "emotional basket case," and made other speculative claims that can only be attributed to you, rather than Fox, CNN, etc.

[madrchsod]

32. bad choice of words

[Virginia Dare]

26. Yes, and Lincoln was full of humanity...

he had real, raw human emotion and remorse. The psychopath in the White House right now, has none of that.

[mwb970]

28. I had forgotten about Lincoln's depression.

I remember reading about it now that you mention it. But did it cause him to actually do bad things, or did he just feel bad?

[madrchsod]

30. no it did`t cause him to do bad things

during the southern campaign grant lost 50,000 men and was reported that he wept uncontrollably in public. he knew what war was and he knew brave people were dieing on both sides. unlike the thing that runs our country now, lincoln showed his humanity and compassion for those who were dieing for him and their country. bush never cries

[HereSince1628]

12. IMO, political jobs often attract people with mental problems.

Lots of them have issues with money, sex, authority, solipsism, and self-righteousness.

These common human failings leave them open to be played by Machiavellian staffers and advisors of which Cheney is the most vile I've ever seen, However, Dick Morris, and Gordon Liddy certainly are in the running as first-rate practicioners of manipulation from behind the curtain.

Bush may be the first President to have filled the majority of available appointments using only the membership roster of the League of Evil Doers.

[Eugene]

14. Nixon - paranoia, mood swings, depression

Insiders say that he was incapacitated during the 1973 Israel-Arab conflict
leaving Henry Kissinger to run things.

[BeyondThePale]

15. I believe that Coolidge was depressed after his son's death

My recollection is that he was quite depressed during the later half of his presidency

[Norquist Nemesis]

31. Same with Lincoln

and he had a crazy as a loon wife to contend with, too.

[madokie]

19. one crazy as a bed bug, naw we ain't

give me a one

[bdamomma]

21. all the more reason these Presidents should have

psychological and psychiatric assessments before they take office, and also they are not "born again", but in Bush's case he turned to God (that remains to be seen) instead of turning to AA for his alcohol and drug abuse.

[LeftishBrit]

24. Problem is, who'd organize the assessments?

E.g. I could well imagine that an incumbent president, who has been defeated at the polls, might use his powers to arrange a declaration that his opponent is mentally unfit to take over. It would have to be monitored very carefully.

[noonwitch]

27. Most psychological tests are bs, anyways

Anyone who wants to, could fake their way into getting labelled healthy. I have an on-going argument with my mom's boyfriend about the validity of the MMPI (he gave her one as a "getting to know you" exercise-which is highly unethical). I told him that there is only so much you can find out about people from a standardized test, and further, that there are people out there who can manipulate the results if they know how to respond to the questions.

[LeftishBrit]

23. Don't know how you define 'mental illness' here...

but I believe that at least two presidents may not have been fully mentally competent to hold office by the end of their terms: Woodrow Wilson after having a stroke, and Ronald Reagan who on hindsight was already showing symptoms of early Alzheimers.