Random ramblings from my beer soaked melon about politics, religion, sex, stupidities, nature, and any other subject that penetrates the haze. Sometimes crude and not for the faint of heart or people with normal intelligence, or an abundance of common sense.
Friday, February 17, 2006
LONELY LOONS
I read an interesting story by Benedict Carey of the New York Times.

Using  presidential papers and biographies three Doctors from Duke University Medical Center determined that almost half of the presidents between 1789 and 1974 suffered from a mental illness at some point in his life.
As a young man Abraham Lincoln had bouts of despair so profound that his friends thought he might commit suicide.
Grant often avoided social occasions and turned to drink. Sounds a lot like me.
Teddy Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson showed symptoms of manic energy typical of bipolar disorder.
William H. Taft seems to have had sleep apnea.
Calvin Coolidge went into deep depression after his teenage son died of an infection.
Nixon drank heavily during the Watergate scandal.

They say that the percentage of presidents suffering mental illness matches the national average. They also said that it was encouraging that people suffering from mental illness can still function at a presidential level, if not at their best.
They also caution against judging troubled people too early, Madison, Hayes, Grant and Wilson appeared to do very little with their lives when they were younger.

They didn’t talk about any presidents after Nixon, but I would venture a guess that it may have raised the percentage.
I guess they really are average Americans.
 
posted by Nit Wit at 5:17 AM | Permalink |


3 Comments:


  • At 8:02 AM, Blogger Cassandra

    Further proof that I can take over the world...
    Ya, I thought the peeker had gone away too, but nope.. they came back. Annoying.
    Why is everyone now requesting my roaches? Before, no one wanted any! Hmph!

     
  • At 1:59 AM, Blogger Cassandra

    hehehe
    Eight Legged Freaks was a great movie. Me and my horror movie bud went to see that one in the theater. We wanted to see the spiders giant sized on the big screen!

     
  • At 7:29 PM, Blogger yellowdoggranny

    im sure that forest gump is a walking case of mental problems..some we dont even have names for yet..like assholeitis, consuptiverompingdickheadedness,and tri-polar where he bounces from asshole, to dickhead to fucked up.