The Mental Health of U.S. Public Officials
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
21-4-2017 1:30 PM
End Date
21-4-2017 2:45 PM
Keywords
Mental health, public office, United States
Biography
Senior Political Science major with a minor in Constitutional Democracy. President of the National Honors Society of Collegiate Scholars. Will be attending law school at the University of Florida in the fall of 2017. Interested in humanitarian, immigration, and family law. Loves to travel, spent 6 months living abroad in Bulgaria.
Major
Political Science
Advisor for this project
Jamie Warner
Abstract
The 2016 election was filled with hysteria about Donald Trump and many scholars, journalists, and citizens seriously questioned his mental health. In this new age of science, technology, and medicine, stigma against mental illness has decreased, but is still largely prevalent, especially among our public figures. We tend to regard these people as being “larger than life,” but when it comes down to it they all share one commonality—being human. Humans are all fully susceptible to biological illnesses and disorders, particularly under high stress environmental conditions. So, why is it so surprising that even presidents suffer from common illnesses? Is this something voters should actually be concerned about? In this paper, I will explore these questions and examine the implications of their answers.
The Mental Health of U.S. Public Officials
The 2016 election was filled with hysteria about Donald Trump and many scholars, journalists, and citizens seriously questioned his mental health. In this new age of science, technology, and medicine, stigma against mental illness has decreased, but is still largely prevalent, especially among our public figures. We tend to regard these people as being “larger than life,” but when it comes down to it they all share one commonality—being human. Humans are all fully susceptible to biological illnesses and disorders, particularly under high stress environmental conditions. So, why is it so surprising that even presidents suffer from common illnesses? Is this something voters should actually be concerned about? In this paper, I will explore these questions and examine the implications of their answers.
