El informe psiquiátrico [1961] que la CIA hizo de Fidel Castro

ABC.es

Un líder neurótico, narcisista y cuya única prioridad es «mantenerse en el poder». Así es como definía un equipo de psiquiatras de la CIA hace 53 años a Fidel Castro en un curioso informe que este martes ha sacado a relucir el diario «Clarín». Y es que, a pesar de que fue elaborado en 1961, muestra de forma clara las tensiones que existían entonces entre el bloque capitalista y comunista –unas tiranteces que, según explicó la pasada semana el presidente norteamericano Barack Obama, serán poco a poco sustituidas por un acercamiento de posturas y una eliminación paulatina del embargo.

La Agencia Central de Inteligencia elaboró este informe en octubre de 1961. Apenas dos veranos después de que finalizara la revolución en la región y seis meses después de que las tropas exiliadas cubanas trataran (sin éxito) de invadir con la ayuda de Estados Unidos y de John F. Kennedy la Bahía de Cochinos. A su vez, está fechado únicamente diez meses antes de que se iniciara la crisis de los misiles de Cuba.

En el documento (que tiene una extensión de aproximadamente tres caras de folio), la CIA explica en primer lugar que Fidel Castro no está en ningún caso loco, aunque cuenta con una personalidad inestable vulnerable a la presión psicológica. Destaca también que adora sentirse adulado por las masas, cuenta con grandes ansias de permanecer en el poder y necesita enfrentarse a un adversario para entender que su existencia es perfecta.

Neurótico

La CIA hace hincapié además en que Castro es inestable y necesita los halagos de sus congéneres para sentirse pleno: «Excepcionales elementos neuróticos de su personalidad son el hambre de poder y su necesidad de reconocimiento y adulación por las masas: es incapaz de obtener completa satisfacción de cualquier otra fuente». Algo así le sucedía con el Che Guevara, de quien el estudio afirma que era totalmente dependiente: «Su estabilidad emocional sufriría si el Che no mantuviera una actitud firme y positiva hacia él», destaca el texto.

En este sentido, el informe también señala que, si el líder fuese odiado por aquellos a quienes pide aprobación, «el resultado sería un desorden en su personalidad, su ineficacia política e, incluso, una enfermedad emocional clínica como la depresión». A su vez, el equipo psicológico afirmaba que cualquier crítica lo vuelve inestable y hace que pierda el contacto con la realidad.

Egoísta y con miedo a la pasividad

Entre los rasgos que más definen la personalidad de Castro, el equipo señala que uno de los más claros es su absoluto egoísmo (característica que llegan a considerar como su «Talón de Aquiles». «Narcisista al extremo, en la victoria debe controlarlo todo, sin delegar autoridad. Cuando se enfrenta a la derrota, su primera preocupación es retirarse para reagrupar sus recursos», completa el texto.

A su vez, los expertos también consideraban por entonces que Castro contaba un miedo atroz a las desgracias que le pudieran suceder debido a su pasividad (entre ellas, perder el poder por no haber sabido reconocer a tiempo los peligros que le atacaban). Esta característica se relaciona con su necesidad psicológica de encontrarse siempre en la cima, controlando a la sociedad y velando por ella como si estuviera formada por menores de edad.

En este sentido, los psiquiatras de la Agencia Estatal de Inteligencia también entendían que, «pese a depender de las masas para su sostén (…) no confía en ellas lo suficiente como para llamar a elecciones Su prioridad es mantenerse en el poder. Él probablemente destruiría a ambos, a sí mismo y al pueblo cubano, para preservar este estatus». Con todo, el documento destacaba también la gran capacidad intelectual de Fidel Castro y sus dotes como «líder revolucionario y agitador»-.

Assisted Suicide 'Out of Control' in Netherlands

breitbart

By Nick Hallett 

www.dailymail.co.uk

The number of mentally ill people who have been killed through euthanasia in the Netherlands has trebled in a single year, according to new figures.

The Daily Mail reports that in 2012, 14 people with "severe psychiatric problems" were killed by lethal injection, a figure that rose to 42 in 2013.

There had also been a 15 percent overall rise in assisted dying over the past year, with the number of cases increasing from 4,188 to 4,829.

Deaths from euthanasia have risen by a total of 151 percent in a period of just seven years, with most cases involving cancer sufferers. However, there were also 97 people who were killed by their doctors because they had dementia.

The figures do not include "terminal sedation", where the patient is sedated and then has food and fluids withdrawn. If they did, however, euthanasia would account for one in eight of all deaths in the Netherlands.

Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship told the Daily Mail that euthanasia in the Netherlands is "way out of control", saying that it proves that assisted dying is impossible to regulate.

"The House of Lords calculated in 2005 that with a Dutch-type law in Britain we would be seeing over 13,000 cases of euthanasia per year," he added.

"On the basis of how Dutch euthanasia deaths have risen since this may prove to be a gross underestimate.

"What we are seeing in the Netherlands is 'incremental extension', the steady intentional escalation of numbers with a gradual widening of the categories of patients to be included.

"The lessons are clear. Once you relax the law on euthanasia or assisted suicide steady extension will follow as night follows day."

In Britain, a bill that would legalise assisted dying received its second reading in the House of Lords in July and will continue to the next legislative stage in November.

Earlier this year, Dutch regulator Theo Boer told the British Parliament "Don't go there" when asked about the British proposals.

Nuevo escándalo de maltratos y violaciones en hospital psiquiátrico

CON EL MACHETE EN LA MANO

El periodista independiente Vladimir Turró informó desde La Habana que varios pacientes del hospital psiquiátrico de Mazorra (Eduardo Bernabé Ordaz) en el municipio Rancho Boyeros de la Ciudad de La Habana, han sido maltratados y violados sexualmente por trabajadores del centro, según explicó Humberto Vial Marrero, asistente de rehabilitación del hospital al periodista.

Vial Marrero narró que las violaciones sexuales son llevadas a cabo en la sala Castellano por oficiales del Ministerio del Interior, quienes custodian el pabellón destinado exclusivamente a reclusos condenados por diferentes causas. Según Marrero, primero les inyectan medicamentos para dejarlos atontados, son violados y le aplican electroshock para borrarles los últimos recuerdos.

Otro testimonio ofrecido por Luis Manuel Fumero García, el cual pudo presenciar en una reciente visita al hospital, como un asistente golpeaba a los enfermos en la sala Córdova para que dejaran de gritar. Además, el asistente de rehabilitación Humberto, aseguró que la alimentación de la institución es de pésima calidad y carece de higiene. Los alimentos son transportados en tanques y recipientes plásticos destapados desde la cocina hasta los distintos pabellones.

Los pacientes están encerrados como perros en pequeñas celdas y los pacientes de rehabilitación mental, no disponen 

en los calabozos de agua potable ni de baño para sus necesidades fisiológicas, por lo que defecan en el piso de la habitación donde se encuentran hacinados, de acuerdo a la información obtenida del asistente de rehabilitación Vial Marrero.

 Entre la noche del 11 y la mañana del 12 de enero del 2010, murieron de frío 26 pacientes de este hospital siquiátrico. Fueron acusados por negligencias y condenados a prisión varios empleados, enfermeros, asistentes y médicos. Ningún funcionario de alto nivel del Ministerio de Salud fue acusado de este crimen.

Funcionarios del hospital que fueron consultados por el periodista, negaron que estén ocurriendo nuevamente estos maltratos y violaciones, las fotos lo desmienten.

Vladimir Turró, Periodista Independiente
Fuente: Información y fotos del Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos/Redacción El Correo de Cuba

Bodily maps of emotions

Bodily topography of basic (Upper) and nonbasic (Lower) emotions associated with words. The body maps show regions whose activation increased (warm colors) or decreased (cool colors) when feeling each emotion. (Credit: Lauri Nummenmaa et al./PNAS)

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Top 10 jobs that attract most psychopaths

WND/ Joe Kovacs

articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

In today’s turbulent world, many people may wonder if the person with whom they work just might be the next psychopath to make news headlines.

According to the author of a new book, there are actually some professions that attract psychopaths more than others, and civil servants (including politicians), lawyers and TV and radio people are among those ranking very high.

Psychologist Kevin Dutton, author of “The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success,” has created a top 10 list for the most attractive and least attractive professions for psychopaths.

The Journal of Abnormal Psychology notes that psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by anti-social behavior, selfishness, egocentricity, callousness, manipulativeness and lack of empathy.

But in an interview with Smithsonian.com, Dutton said one of the reasons he wrote his book was to debunk two myths about psychopaths: that they’re either all “mad or bad,” and secondly, that psychopathy is an all-or-nothing thing, that you’re either a psychopath or you’re not.

“When psychologists talk about psychopaths, what we’re referring to are people who have a distinct set of personality characteristics, which include things like ruthlessness, fearlessness, mental toughness, charm, persuasiveness and a lack of conscience and empathy. Imagine that you tick the box for all of those characteristics,” Dutton explained.

“You also happen to be violent and stupid. It’s not going to be long before you smack a bottle over someone’s head in a bar and get locked up for a long time in prison. But if you tick the box for all of those characteristics, and you happen to be intelligent and not naturally violent, then it’s a different story altogether. Then you’re more likely to make a killing in the market rather than anywhere else.”

Dutton claims the professions that seem to have the most psychopaths are:

1. Chief executive officer
2. Lawyer
3. Media (Television/Radio)
4. Salesperson
5. Surgeon
6. Journalist
7. Police officer
8. Clergy person
9. Chef
10. Civil servant

Dutton also lists the following professions as least attractive to psychopaths:

1. Care aide
2. Nurse
3. Therapist
4. Craftsperson
5. Beautician or stylist
6. Charity worker
7. Teacher
8. Creative artist
9. Doctor
10. Accountant

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/top-10-jobs-that-attract-most-psychopaths/#QL83H7AA1LrodDZv.99

Calls for mental health reform grow after Newtown massacre

Strange New Details Emerge About Newtown Murderer

Jason Howerton

NEWTOWN, Conn. (TheBlaze/AP) — As the nation paused for the one-week anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, new details emerged Friday about the gunman.

Acquaintances recalled that Adam Lanza was able to take apart and reassemble a computer in a matter of minutes but rarely spoke to anyone.

Daniel Frost took a computer class with Lanza in high school. He said Lanza used to slither through the hallways wearing the same green shirt and khaki pants day after day.

A loner, Lanza hardly ever talked to classmates and once gave a presentation entirely by computer, never uttering a single word.

A week ago, Lanza fatally shot his mother before blasting his way into the Connecticut school and killing 20 children and six teachers. As police approached, he fatally shot himself in the head.

Media & Politicians Stir Up Frenzy But Won’t Report Educational “Child Find” Law That Could Have Prevented Newtown, CT Massacre

NoisyRoom

In light of the recent massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, we learn today that, “The Newtown school gunman’s mother was so angry at education chiefs for failing her son, she thought ‘screw them’ and refused to stop dealing with them anymore, a relative has claimed. Nancy Lanza pleaded for better services for her disturbed son Adam, but was apparently rebuffed so many times, she took it upon herself to home school him.”

One can imagine there isn’t a Special Education Director who isn’t wondering if they could do more to identify students with mental health disorders. In fact, there are some who know they can do more – *and the law requires them to do it. However, the administrative apparatus of the public school system is managed in a way that restricts access to the supports and services needed by children with mental illness or disabilities.

Too often, pressure from school Superintendents require Special Education Directors to reduce their budgets, thus leaving Directors no choice but to purposely deny eligibility, interventions, appropriate services and/or supports to children who need them. In essence, school districts claim these children are fine or they’re “cured” because they really don’t need interventions or services despite clear warning signs that something’s very wrong.

Adam Lanza was no exception. Educational professionals report they saw Adam Lanza’s problems as early as 9th grade. At Newtown High School, he was often having episodes and the protocol used by the school was to call his mother, Nancy Lanza, and have her come in to diffuse each crisis.

The head of security for the school district at the time, Richard Novia, told AP reporter Adam Geller, “He would have an episode and she’d have to return or come to the high school and deal with it.”

While Nancy Lanza suffered in silence and rarely spoke of the seriousness of Adam’s problems, the indicators of her son’s severe mental illness were there. Nancy Lanza’s friends knew Adam had switched schools more than once and that Nancy tried home schooling him.

John Tambascio said, “I always said that I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. But I thought, “Wow. She holds it well.”” Russell Hanoman said Adam was “clearly a troubled child.” Ryan Kraft, who babysat Adam when he was younger, said, “His mom Nancy had always instructed me to keep an eye on him at all times, never turn my back or even go to the bathroom or anything like that. Which I found odd, but I really didn’t ask; it wasn’t any of my business.”

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) includes a legal mandate requiring school districts, under the “Child Find” provision, to seek out and find children who exhibit significant problems at school, to include developmental and functional problems; not just academic problems. Most parents aren’t aware of this and the media and politicians won’t tell you about it, but all school districts know.

Under IDEA, anyone concerned about an individual can refer the student, confidentially, to the school district for assessment.

Usually, it is a teacher who refers a student for assessment. Unfortunately, due to the nationwide “budget constraint” mantra from the educational system, we are told that teachers are discouraged by their districts in the referral of students with suspected disorders and that “it’s a big waste of time as districts take no forward motion” according to one teacher who has asked to remain anonymous.

Did Lanza’s school district follow the Child Find law? Did they refer him for a psycho-educational assessment and provide the interventions and services needed? As we now know, they did not.

You may wonder, “Why at school?” Children with mental illness or disabilities experience the majority of their difficulties within and because of school. The random, unpredictable and social dynamics and demands of all school campuses generally intensify the manifestations of a child’s disorder.

Their inability to properly navigate the school environment is the first warning sign that, without proper interventions and supports, they will be unable to navigate in the real world when they reach adulthood.

Unfortunately for parents, their distraught and possibly violent child is often denied an assessment by the school district or, if given an assessment, they’re denied Special Education eligibility and/or appropriate supports and services, especially if the child is demonstrating “adequate academic progress.” Parents are often pleading and begging for help from the school.

This is where school districts misinterpret the law. Clearly, IDEA legislation requires that students who demonstrate issues of functional, social, and/or emotional development are to be assessed and the needed interventions, supports and services must be provided.
If Adam Lanza’s school district had followed the law, they would have requested Nancy Lanza’s consent to conduct a psycho-educational assessment in all areas of suspected disability, which includes mental health, in order to get to the bottom of his mental illness, thus enabling them to determine the interventions and services he needed (to include institutionalization if necessary). In addition, he would have been closely monitored via an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Adam Lanza’s problems were no secret; his brother told reporters that Adam suffered from a “personality disorder” (the clinical term is usually “sociopath” or “psychopath”). Adam Lanza’s mental illness was evident and Nancy Lanza’s problems with the school district have been reported.

Ask yourself… could things have been different if the school district had followed the law just a few short years ago? Would it have revealed the severity of his mental illness? Would interventions have been provided that may have prevented the murder of 27 innocents? We’ll never know the real answer to that question now.

But we do know his mother, Nancy Lanza, suffered in silence, was murdered by her son and friends and educators knew something was seriously wrong with Adam Lanza.

Often, when a parent is struggling at home with a child who has a mental illness or disability, they are completely overwhelmed and very few can understand this unless they walk in the parent’s shoes. More often than not, parents are not aware of the laws and provisions of IDEA and rarely do they have the energy or resources to fight the educational apparatus’ complex, bureaucratic and lengthy legal process. Not all school districts create barriers such as what is described in this article, but the problem is that the vast majority do.

Like Nancy Lanza, many parents end up pulling their children out of school and implementing a home school program. Consequently, removed from the social world, the child’s problems may appear to diminish somewhat… but those problems re-emerge when they are adults and attempt to re-enter mainstream society.

Did you know that twelve children commit suicide every day in the US? Everyday. One must ask what educators knew and what they did or didn’t do while those children were in their care.

Adam Lanza became an evil killer and educators saw signs of trouble as early as the 9th grade. One must ask what educators knew and what they did or didn’t do while he was in their care.

For parents of children with autism, it’s important to correct the media’s unsubstantiated reference to Asperger’s Syndrome with regard to Adam Lanza. Although Adam Lanza’s brother said “somewhat autistic,” if reporters had done their due diligence, they would have learned that an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not a mental illness and it was not in any way related to what Adam Lanza did.

Keep reading  Here >>

Shooter risk factor: rejection

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Thinking the Unthinkable: "I live with a son who is mentally ill"

anarchistsoccermom

Michael holding a butterfly

In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.

We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.

At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off. 

Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.

The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”

“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”

His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”

That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.

“Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”

“You know where we are going,” I replied.

“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”

I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”

Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork—“Were there any difficulties with....at what age did your child....were there any problems with...has your child ever experienced...does your child have....” 

At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

For days, my son insisted that I was lying—that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.

On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”

And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.

I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map). Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do.

When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”

I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise—in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population. (http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/09/05/us-number-mentally-ill-prisons-quadrupled)

With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill—Rikers Island, the LA County Jail, and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011 (http://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/140167676/nations-jails-struggle-with-mentally-ill-prisoners)

 No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.

God help me. God help Michael. God help us all.
------------------------------------------
This story was first published online by the Blue Review. Read more on current events at www.thebluereview.org

Peak Oil Oppositional Disorder: Neurosis or Psychosis?

ClubOrlov/

The latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has grown to include 297 disorders, but it seems that there is always room for one more.

Richard Heinberg recently published an article that addresses various recent claims that Peak Oil is no longer a concern. His term for the phenomenon is “peak denial.” It sounds good, and dovetails nicely with Richard's overall theme of “peak everything.” It's a thoughtful piece that does a thorough job of exposing the surreal nature of the optimists' projections, and I have no issues with his argument. I do, however, have an issue with his terminology. First, since denial does not happen to be a nonrenewable resource with a characterizable depletion profile, its peak, should we detect one, is not particularly meaningful, because it could just as easily peak again tomorrow and then again next century. Second, I suspect that “denial” is no longer the right word to describe the social phenomenon we are currently observing. I think that Ugo Bardi pointed us in the right direction: in his article reacting to George Monbiot's assertion that "We were wrong about peak oil, there is enough to fry us all," Ugo characterized Monbiot's approach to Peak Oil using another word: “delusion.”

If you feel that the distinction between denial and delusion is just a minor, innocuous terminological difference—a gratuitous splitting of hairs on my part—then pardon me while I whip out my Sigmund Freud: in The Loss of Reality in Neurosis and Psychosis [1924] he wrote the following: “Neurosis does not disavow the reality, it ignores it; psychosis disavows it and tries to replace it.” [p. 185] What psychosis replaces reality with is delusion.

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Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive

Top Documentary Films

Stephen Fry presents this documentary exploring the disease of manic depression; a little understood but potentially devastating condition affecting an estimated two percent of the population.Stephen embarks on an emotional journey to meet fellow sufferers, and discuss the literal highs and lows of being bi-polar.
Celebrities such as Carrie Fisher and Richard Dreyfuss invite the comedian into their home to relate their stories.
Plus Stephen looks into the lives of ordinary people trying to deal with the illness at work and home, and of course to the people studying manic depression in an effort to better control it. A fascinating, moving and ultimately very entertaining Emmy Award-winning programme.