11/12/09

LIES, INCONSISTENCIES, AND CONTRADICTIONS, WE CALL IT NEWS

Whew, I’m dizzy. Sometimes the room starts to spin when I read or watch the news, it’s from the spin they put on everything.


From NPR:

Starting in the spring of 2008, key officials from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences held a series of meetings and conversations, in part about Maj. Nidal Hasan, the man accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens of others last week during a shooting spree at Fort Hood. One of the questions they pondered: Was Hasan psychotic?
I really find it hard to believe they would have allowed a psychotic man to continue to practice medicine. They make these meetings sound as if they were specially called. They were the usual and regular evaluations that are done on all doctors in the program he was in.

This really got to me: His supervisors at Walter Reed had even reprimanded him for telling at least one patient that "Islam can save your soul." I think I may have heard something similar to that somewhere, let me think, Oh yes, Jesus can save your soul. Of course it should be inappropriate for either of those two statements to be used in the workplace, but we all know the military is full of dominionist evangelical right wing radicals who say that crap all the time. Are they reprimanded? Does that mean they are unstable too or possibly psychotic? I once had a doctor who by the way was psychotic tell a Jewish woman who was dying to get herself right with Jesus. It did not go over well as you can imagine. Fortunately I was close and heard it. I promptly said, “Why would you say that to a Jewish woman, you idiot”. He was immediately fired from her case. We wrote him up until there was a clear picture he needed help and he left to get it.


Their story about wondering if he was psychotic and not doing anything is a load of crap. There is no way a psychotic person could have held up to perform at all in the program he was in. This information that they thought he was psychotic is really insane in light of the fact they had decided to deploy him. This could be an indication that his commanding officer was psychotic also.   How would that conversation have gone? I think he’s psychotic, but once the trauma sets in on the battlefield and the soldiers start having psychotic symptoms from the PTSD he’ll fit in with them, it should work out, no one will probably notice. Oh, I believe he was deteriorating slowly over a long period of time and may have become psychotic at the end, but I smell a cover up and planted informants. This is Walter Reed Army Medical Center for heavens sake, come on. The only other explanation for deploying a doctor that they thought was psychotic would be they wanted to completely shatter the man. If that was the plan, it worked.

The media is really starting to get on my nerves. Their illogical uneducated assumptions to try and sensationalize are unbelievable. On MSNBC’s website today they had an article with this paragraph which comes from the above NPR piece.

The sources told NPR that both fellow students and faculty were deeply troubled by Hasan's behavior, which they variously described as disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent and "schizoid."
I doubt this reporter or the person supplying this so called information knows what schizoid even means. He just thought it sounded like a really crazy person. I am assuming they are referring to schizoid personality disorder and they are not evil people as the writer of this article seems to be saying. I once had a schizoid patient who found out he would be confined in a psychiatric hospital the rest of his life walk into a lake and dround himself because he couldn't stand all the people. This informant sounds like someone with little experience and I would find it hard to believe it is a psychiatrist. If the information we have so far that has been verified by more than one source about Hasan is true there is no way he has schizoid personality disorder. We all have characteristics of personality disorders. I have a lot of traits of obsessive compulsive personality disorder which is often found in very highly successful people, but I don’t have enough characteristics for a complete diagnosis of obsessive compulsive PD. The paranoid factor was probably hypervigilence from PTSD which is simply a normal protective mechanism which is very primitive. Those who do not understand it may interpret it as paranoia.


Schizoid Personality Disorder

Know that people with schizoid personality disorder show little or no desire for social involvement. They are sometimes referred to as "loners" and have few, if any, friends. The detachment from social relationships and activities begins in early adulthood.

There are many diagnoses who are considered loners and have few friends. There has recently been some research that shows it is actually a normal variant in the population to be a loner. Schizoid Personality Disorder is one of the options I thought of as I heard trickles of information about Dr. Hasan. I rejected it almost immediately for several reasons. I originally thought I had Schizoid Personality Disorder when I was young. I asked several psychiatrists and psychologists about it because it did not really fit, but I had characteristics of it. They all thought it was funny that I thought I had it because 1) a Schizoid would never think there was anything abnormal about themselves and 2) would not be working in a psychiatric hospital like I was. Dr. Hasan was looking for a wife, most schizoids don‘t marry or have a desire to have sex(with other people), nor would they be working intensely with people. The desire to have a wife and not being able to figure out how to get one is indicative of poor social skills, but not probably not Schizoid PD.

We do not know if Dr. Hasan knew he was having issues or if he knew why. We did know he desperately tried to get out of the military. He went to medical school and then he picked the most social specialty. A schizoid MD would pick pathology, radiology, or surgery so they would not have as much social interaction. But, I really think it would be rare indeed that one of them would want to go to medical school to begin with. Schizoids tend to pick a niche where they can do their own thing, alone, no other people, by themselves, if you get my point.

Realize that people with schizoid personality disorder often function well in their daily lives and can even work well in a job setting. Individuals with this personality disorder often excel in jobs where they are left alone to complete a task.

Recognize that people with schizoid personality disorder do not have a desire to form meaningful relationships with others. There is a lack of interest or desire for sexual intimacy with others.

Dr. Hasan was looking for a wife, although he did not seem to have relationships with others. Having a close relationship with only first degree relatives could be a sign of schizoid personality disorder. He had a close relationship with his parents and seemed to deteriorate when they died, but that happens to a lot of people. He also seemed to have relationships with non-first degree relatives in at least an email or phone way and even visited some in the middle east.The Telegraph has a post up that Dr. Hasan was witnessed a few times at a pole dancing club, that doesn't sound very schizoid to me(if it is true).  Being isolated can also be a symptom of PTSD due to not trusting people.

Understand that the people with this disorder may seem cold or aloof as evidenced by their lack of genuine feelings for others and their indifference to criticism or praise. People with the disorder often form attachments with pets and avoid meaningful human interactions.

A schizoid would probably not be calling their relatives and expressing anguish over the horrible things he was seeing or hearing. Patients have come forward and said he helped them a lot. At least one member of the staff called him an asset. He would also not be very upset about a poor job evaluation or the harassment about his religion. The concern about a conflict with middle eastern individuals in combat in the middle east also does not indicate Schizoid PD.

NPR and MSM are your sources simply made up or are you talking to some technician, social worker, or a new grad nurse? I would find it very difficult to believe this would come from a psychiatrist, as it makes no sense at all. There is a reason why it takes a long time to become a psychiatrist. Psychiatry can be quite complicated.

There is a diagnosis that seems to fit here, but I do not have enough evidence yet to clearly propose that one as the probable issue because Dr. Hasan's situation is very complex. Much information is needed. I am reluctant to mention it because of all the misinformation flowing through the news media. I don’t want people thinking they are violent because they are not. This diagnosis I am thinking of is not a mental illness. There are lots of psychologists who have it, some psychiatrists, actually lots of doctors and other health professionals. They also make good professors, engineers, and scientists. They are often bullied starting in childhood and it often continues into adulthood causing PTSD. They have problems with social interactions and missing nonverbal clues from people. They have a high suicide rate especially with the bullying. A high percentage of them are very intelligent. They like to do research like Dr. Hasan did and talk incessantly about their favorite obsession or obsessions which irritates some people. They have routines which can be ritualistic and often eat the same foods everyday. Dr. Hasan went to the same place everyday and had hash browns for breakfast. They would freak out because of these routines if they were pulled out of their living situation. Dr. Hasan had recently been moved and then was about to be deployed. Certain people feel threatened by someone with this disorder because the person would be blunt, factual, and possibly argumentative, this makes them feel stupid, but it is not what was intended. It would be difficult to win an argument with him because he would always have more information than anyone else. He would be interpreted as arrogant by some because of this, but that is not his intention. They are physically awkward and uncoordinated. These people have the same feelings as others, but can have a difficult time expressing them. They are usually very mild mannered, but can have issues with anger due to frustrations with miscommunications and bullying. Rather than not be affected by criticism like Schizoid PD they get very upset about criticism. They spend a great deal of time on the internet because they do better communicating that way, less non-verbal clues and they love to constantly do research. They have a very strong sense of justice and may be described as not being a team player. They can have relationships and successful marriages. They usually have a witty or odd sense of humor. The medical community thinks this disorder is rare, but it is widespread, just rarely diagnosed. It used to be misdiagnosed frequently as Schizoid Personality Disorder. It is misdiagnosed as a multitude of things now, especially if PTSD is in the mix.

...Walter Reed and most medical institutions have a cumbersome and lengthy process for expelling doctors, involving hearings and potential legal battles. As a result, sources say, key decision-makers decided it would be too difficult, if not unfeasible, to put Hasan on probation and possibly expel him from the program.
I'm sorry, but this is BS. Many doctors are removed from institutions, yes there might be paperwork and hearings, but the army thinking it is just too much trouble is total BS. If they had evidence of incompetence or other issues it would have not been that difficult.  The man had been trying for a long period of time to get them to release him, he offered to pay them back for his education if only they would let him leave. He hired an attorney to fight for his release and they just would not allow it. Why? Why? Why did you not let him leave. If he had the gay you would have bounced his ass out in a second.


I think the real story here is Army psychiatrists who should be the world experts on PTSD failed to recognize a case of most likely complex PTSD and get one of their own the help he needed. The result was disasterous. This would explain a lot about the lack of treatment for veterans with PTSD. No wonder they want it covered up. Notice all of these people who they get information from are unnamed sources.

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