Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Yesterday and Today

I started the day in total innocence, not a bad thought in sight. As usual I read blogs, Facebook, and Twitter first thing. All was well until I got to Twitter where I came across a message from our soon to be president saying "Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!"

I immediately Googled to see how many of our presidents have suffered mental illness. According to an article in Psychology Today, that would be half our presidents.

Some 24% met the diagnostic criteria for depression, including James Madison, John Quincy Adams,  Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, and Calvin Coolidge.

Anxiety disorders ( social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder) came in at 8%, including Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, Coolidge, and Woodrow Wilson.

Bipolar disorder was also 8%, including Lyndon Johnson and Theodore Roosevelt.

Another 8% exhibited evidence of alcohol abuse or dependence. Pierce died of cirrhosis of the liver; Grant was once allegedly so drunk he fell off his horse during a military parade in New Orleans; and Nixon was once unable to take a rather important phone call from the British Prime Minister because he was "loaded."

"Numerous other presidents had physical conditions that can have a severe impact on psychological functioning. Taft, for example, had sleep apnea, which is associated with declines in cognitive functioning across the board, and most famously, some scholars now believe that Ronald Reagan showed early signs of Alzheimer's while still in office." 

Somewhere in this list I think we could include JFK who suffered from Addison's disease as well as a severe back injury that necessitated a lot of drugs.

While we ask candidates for the presidency to disclose their medical histories we have no mechanism to evaluate their past and present mental health. Should we?


I had these socks on the needles for months but did get enough knitting mojo going to finish them while daughter was here knitting.

19 comments:

  1. Not sure at the moment whether I'm comforted or alarmed by your roster of Presidents, although I can say with certainty that in January we'll be able to add one more to the list.
    Those socks are brilliant! Speaking of mental acuity, it takes a sharp mind to crank those out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Every day my concern grows. The socks are actually simple because the yarn comes dyed to make the color pattern.

      Delete
  2. I wonder how many of these mental illnesses Drumpf has? Your socks are beautiful. Love those colors! Best wishes to you and Bob in 2017.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Every day my concern increases. The sock yarn is Opal.

      Delete
  3. Cool socks!
    That tweet is disturbing in so many ways. The pres-elect has a serious personality disorder which has been well noted. Everything he does just confirms the narcissism. That people would want him as our leader in spite of this is confounding and fear inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm wrestling with how to deal with this presidency. How can we be expected to respect a man who's so disrespectful of people, all people. He has absolutely no regard for civil or human rights, none.

      Delete
  4. Old my gosh, those socks are wonderful! Four needles? What weight yarn and do you have a special source for it?

    Our soon-to-Mr. Trump---I can't say the name yet---is SO petty and vindictive. I can't imagine how we're going to get through the next four years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I use five needles when knitting socks like the Germans. The English use four needles. This pair was actually made on circular needles using the 'magic loop' technique. The yarn is Opal brand sock yarn. The yarn is dyed to make the pattern so there was no work on my part to create the design. I use size 1 needles for making socks.

      It's hard to be treated with such disrespect. Not since Dick Chaney have we endured such scorn and disrespect.

      Delete
    2. I am so impressed with the skill it takes to make socks!

      I will only show Trump respect when he's earned it and so far he hasn't.

      Delete
    3. Just watched a video of working on the magic loop. That looks easier than the 4-5 needles which I could never master.

      Delete
  5. Trump will have to be one of the most bizarre presidents. His tweets are Looney tunes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's looney tunes! I actually think we may be better off with him than VP Pense. I think he will just keep The Republican Party in such turmoil they won't know which way is up. Pense could solidify the party into something hard right that might be even harder to deal with.

      Delete
  6. I love the socks. That yarn is such a treat!

    As for our tweeter-elect -- still can't get my head around it. I have always thought we all needed to respect the office even if the person wasn't our pick, but now I really don't know what to think. I do kind of agree with your assessment of Pence though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm struggling with the same issue, how to respect the office when I don't respect the man. Because I respect the office I feel it would be wrong not to hold Trump accountable when he lies and shows no respect for civil rights or human rights. I'm not going to call him out on policy issues unless they affect civil rights and human rights. On those issues I intend to speak out.

      Delete
  7. I love the yarn. Great socks. Thanks for the info. I never really thought about presidents with mental illness but I think I will be dwelling on it a lot the next four years!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Something more interesting would be the sexual indiscretions of past presidents and congress. Clinton might come away looking pretty good if we had information to compare.

      Delete
  8. I have often thought to even want to be president indicated a bit of mental imbalance. Just look at the stresses of the job and knowing they will never please even a third of the world's people. To willingly jump into that flaming pit shows they are a bit off the rails to start with but I guess we should be grateful that some continue to chose the worlds worst job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought the same thing as I was reading the article. You've got to have an enormous ego to even consider the job. I never thought George W. had a lot of passion for the job and I thought the Clintons had too much passion for the job.

      Delete
  9. Your socks are amazing! I am in awe!

    ReplyDelete