Listen to a segment of interview:
This is what Huffington Post wrote:
Donald Trump now claims that he doesn’t actually enjoy using Twitter.
As for my title.
I’m not calling the man who will be our president on Friday a sociopath. As a therapist who has concluded that he fits into other diagnostic categories, I do not think he suffers from an anti-social personality disorder (aka sociopath).
I am saying that that blaming someone else for bad behavior is a trait of sociopaths, and sometimes an excuse for committing violent crimes against women from battering to rape.
I’m not suggesting, just for example, that a man who grabbed women without their consent would say as an excuse that they shouldn’t have dressed so provocatively.
I am saying that Trump is excusing his reactive, defensive, impulsive reactions to being criticized. He’s often called thin skinned as it’s just one degree worse than being easily irritated. This is an understatement.
I’ve already gone into full-bore shrink mode in numerous stories here. Suffice to say that extreme narcissists are often sensitive to what psychology calls “narcissistic insult” and this can lead to anger, and in its most severe and dangerous form, narcissistic rage episodes.
Read, for starters:
Saturday, Aug 26, 2017 · 8:32:45 PM +00:00 · HalBrown
Reconsidering whether Trump fits the diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder (aka sociopath) considering his behavior since I wrote this, I’d say that in addition to meeting the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, he also is an anti-social personality; This is from the DSM-5 with my highlights and italics as applied to Trump.
To diagnose antisocial personalitydisorder, the following criteria must be met:
A. Significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by:
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Impairments in self functioning (a or b):
a.Identity: Ego-centrism; self-esteem derived from personal gain, power, or pleasure.
b.Self-direction: Goal-setting based on personal gratification; absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful (his business dealings) or culturally normative ethical behavior.
AND
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Impairments in interpersonal functioning (a or b): — Definitely a, possibly b as well)
a.Empathy: Lack of concern for feelings, needs, or suffering of others; lack of remorse after hurting or mistreating another. (To the point of sadism, i.e., taking pleasure in hurting others)
b.Intimacy: Incapacity for mutually intimate relationships, as exploitation is a primary means of relating to others, including by deceit and coercion; use of dominance or intimidation to control others.
B. Pathological personality traits in the following domains:
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Antagonism, characterized by: (All of these)
a. Manipulativeness: Frequent use of subterfuge to influence or control others; use of seduction, charm, glibness, or ingratiation to achieve one’s ends.
b. Deceitfulness: Dishonesty and fraudulence; misrepresentation of self; embellishment or fabrication when relating events.
c. Callousness: Lack of concern for feelings orproblems of others; lack of guilt or remorse aboutthe negative or harmful effects of one’s actions onothers; aggression; sadism.
d. Hostility: Persistent or frequent angry feelings;anger or irritability in response to minor slights and insults; mean, nasty, or vengeful behavior.
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Disinhibition, characterized by:
a. Irresponsibility: Disregard for – and failure to honor – financial and other obligations orcommitments; lack of respect for – and lack of follow through on – agreements and promises.
b. Impulsivity: Acting on the spur of the moment inresponse to immediate stimuli; acting on a momentary basis without a plan or considerationof outcomes; difficulty establishing and following plans.
c.Risk taking: Engagement in dangerous, risky, and potentially self-damaging activities, unnecessarily and without regard for consequences; boredom proneness and thoughtless initiation of activities to counter boredom; lack of concern for ones limitations and denial of the reality of personal danger (Manifest in his Tweets)
C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual’s personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations. (With Trump he’s actually gotten worse over time)
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The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟spersonality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual’s developmental stage or socio-cultural environment.
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The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟spersonality trait expression are not solely due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse,medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe headtrauma).
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The individual is at least age 18 years.