Opinion: Questioning Trump’s mental health is not an insult to mentally ill people

To the editor: As a person with first-hand experience of mental health issues, I do not feel insulted by the suggestion that President Trump may be mentally ill. (“President Trump is a ‘world class narcissist,’ but he’s not mentally ill, says the psychiatrist who helped define narcissism,” Feb. 19)

There are many different kinds and degrees of mental illness. I think most people can distinguish between major depression or schizophrenia and narcissistic personality disorder. I actually find it more difficult to dislike Trump for the distress he is causing if I consider the possibility that he might be mentally ill. It would be no disrespect to depressed people to say that a person with major depression, unresponsive to therapy, couldn’t function as president.

Finally, I wonder how psychiatrist Allen Francis can be so confident that Trump does not have narcissistic personality disorder without having examined him. How does he know that Trump doesn’t suffer? Trump’s wealth could have shielded him from failure up until now, but he could still “crash” as president, something that ought to concern everyone.

Carol Wuenschell, Arcadia

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To the editor: Frances is making the claim that Trump is not mentally ill without having interviewed him or assessed him.

I take issue with his statement that associating Trump with the mentally ill is an insult to mentally ill people. In my experience, not all mentally ill people are nice and well mannered — you encounter a range of human personalities.

Theresa McGowan, Santa Monica

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