Mixed Nuts

Those who read and watch the news - please don't forget the entertainment section - are aware of people who are suspected of committing crimes or have extreme opinions or who seem to be going bonkers. They are fodder for attention grabbing headlines and conversation even among strangers. What were they thinking, our inquisitive minds want to know! My nursing students, who today were finishing their psych nursing rotation, and I had a discussion about these newsmakers and tried to identify the various psychiatric disorders they possibly have. We talked about antisocial personality (at one time called psychopath), exhibitionism (a paraphilia), bipolar type 1, depression, borderline personality disorder, pedophilia, narcissism, suicidal gestures, gender identity disturbances and anorexia nervosa. Even though the label of the mental illness or problem isn't mentioned, the symptoms make the news especially when well known people exhibit them. And no doubt to the delight of the competing networks. I have noticed that there is not a big a focus when a celebrity has a medical illness - say a urinary tract infection - but let one of them act out psychiatrically and the world knows about it. Common folk and celebrities alike suffer from problems with their feelings, thoughts and behaviors, but the average person is more likely to get help. People who care notice something is wrong and may try to intervene. And charming average Joe turns out to be a wife killer and will eventually get his due. But pity the poor rich celebrities. They have too many people who rely on the income they generate, and they are less likely to be honestly confronted and as a result, treated. Psychiatry. It is all around us.