This story just keeps on going, and going, like the Energizer Bunny. Now Rush is involved:

Cooperman, whose professional practice is based in Delray Beach, said the election-related symptoms she sees in the Kerry supporters more than quality [sic] PEST as “a legitimate syndrome or disorder within the trauma spectrum,” according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

“Rush Limbaugh has no clinical qualifications to counsel anyone,” Cooperman said. “He’s not only minimizing PEST, but he’s bastardizing the entire psychological field and our clinical expertise.”

Rob Gordon, AHA executive director, said Limbaugh’s radio musings caused the charity to receive hundreds of calls and letters from gloating Republicans. But he said he also received a small batch of letters and e-mails from people who said they understood why some Kerry voters would need therapy.

A man named Paul wrote to AHA, “I too was very depressed, and I knew a lot people who felt the same way. You have to understand that to many of us, this was the key election about the future of our country, and with a Bush win that future is pretty much destroyed. Naturally, there’s going to be some significant grief.”

“The people here in Palm Beach County now in therapy or support groups are the canaries in the mine shaft,” Gordon said. “There could be thousands of others, even Republicans, who need to be in therapy over this election.”

It amazes me that these folks can use the acronym "PEST" with a straight face. I continue to remain powerless to spoof this story. I don't think that the best writers at The Onion could top it. I just wish that it weren't happening in my new home town. It's truly embarrassing.

I tried to get to Boca Raton News website, and got "Sorry, server busy, try again later" message. I wonder how many people are trying to access the PEST story?

What gets me about this whole nonsense is how these people can view a single election as so earthshattering. Sure, it is important. I felt it was important too. I would have been bummed about it if Kerry had won, and a bit concerned about how things would go during his presidency, but I wouldn't have collapsed in a heap moaning about how the future of our country is now "pretty much destroyed." How can they say that in country that has stood through so much for 220 years, through good presidents and bad? Frankly, I agree they need therapy, but not for the depression from losing the election. They need it for the twisted worldview they have in the first place.

I dunno if you should be embarrased about anything. Anybody can open up their local paper and find a silly story or two.

Therapists are paid to care about a person's perceived problems regardless of their own personal opinions. Hand over a check and any of them will give you a caring nod and tell you the road to recovery is to start building a support system that will help reinforce the feelings that everything will be okay. I mean nobody goes to therapy just be told to suck it up and quit being a baby.

Although we will know if this issue really has hit the absurd level if Dr. Phil does a special episode about post election trauma. Dr. Phil, "You know, where I come from....we got the sense to know who to vote for."

Well, they should be concerned. The world is in trouble.

Sorry for the shameless plug, Rand. Or shameful, depending on your view of the content. I'm still not quite to the same level of Rand or Lileks, my apologies.

Josh,

"I mean nobody goes to therapy just be told to suck it up and quit being a baby."

I'm reminded of Denis Leary (I think it was him anyway) and his notion of therapy. You come in, you tell him your problem and he says, "Get over it! Next!" Possibly that approach would help these folks.

I don't feel contempt for the patients. Why a man gets depressed is always highly individual, and I am not comfortable judging those internals. No one knows what's it like on the inside. That some of them make laughably absurd statements is only to be expected, when their worldview has been given a bad knock and their judgment is askew.

But I do have contempt for the professionals and media involved. None of them have internal problems that impair their judgment. And I think it's highly unethical to exploit those who do for professional or political gain, or to have an amusing story for the 6 o'clock news.

I find it astonishing that Cooperman lacks the professional integrity to keep her God-damned opinions about her patients to himself, whether or not those patients themselves embarass themselves in public. I can only imagine she sees it as free advertising or advancing her own political influence, either of which is unethical and despicable. And the behaviour of the media reminds me of their circus exploitation of Nick Berg's dad, who said a load of rubbish while out of his mind with sorrow.

The right thing for the media to do in these cases is just what any of us would do if someone at the office, unhinged with grief over the recent death of his wife, suddenly started relating inappropriately personal details of their relationship. They should just look at their collective shoes and pass over these folks' moment of weakness in gracious silence. Sometimes a man will say stupid things any reasonable person will soon have cause to regret -- I expect we've all been there -- but it is uncivil for the rest of us to provide him with a stage and megaphone so he can really make an ass out of himself.

I wonder if any of these folks is going to sue over their mental distress... I hear there's a real shyster of a trial lawyer that's looking for work. Maybe he could channel their thoughts so we could all understand how deeply disturbed they are... ;-)

- Eric.

John Breen: Hmm, that's not quite what my copy of the Handbook of World Domination says. I probably have an old version. I'll have to contact the RNC for the latest one. :)

I do have contempt for those whiners. I can understand some dismay at losing the election, but the extremity of this Bush Derangement Syndrome is entirely of their own making. For no reason I can see, they've whipped themselves into an unjustified frenzy of hysteria and paranoia (with some outside assistance, I speculate).

I'd also recommend Denis Leary's therapy.

I'd also recommend Denis Leary's therapy.

I'm not sure I would -- it seems not to include the essential step of bitchslapping a half an ounce of sense into the patient. Without that initial phase, telling them to get over it just doesn't seem to have much effect.

I'm probably disqualifying myself as a Republican who voted Kerry, but I'll have to say I agree with the Leary Method outlined above for people who are getting too bent outta shape about the election.

Sure, I think it's a bad thing that Bush won. OBVIOUSLY I do, I voted for the other guy! :) Get over it, and if you think things are that bad, then fight, dammit! Don't just bellyache and complain that you're running away to sweden or someplace. Fight the good fight as best you can. If you lose, you learn from it, get back up and try again. History has a name for people who stop fighting for what they believe in. They're History. *grin*

It'd like the Bush administration saying Americans live with fear now, after 9/11, conveniently forgetting, somehow, that we lived with far greater fear before OBL and his merry band of losers came along (I'll take lunatics in trucks with nukes in them over thousands of multi-warhead ballistic missiles any day), and we survived. We lived through 9/11, we lived through the cold war, I certainly think we'll live through four more years.

The obvious solution to this is so, well, obvious given the socitel forces unleashed by the recent election.

Know Jesus, Know Peace. No Jesus, No Peace.

Pass the soma and all will be well.

:-)

= = =

Personally, I am thrilled that Bill Maher and Jon Stewart are going to have four more years of terrific source material.

I think Carl nails it. Yeah it's bizarre for someone to be depressed to the point of needing treatment because of the election results. However, it seems to be the case, and personally I can think of only two reasons for it: They have other pyschotic problems that also need treatment or their environment is disturbing them into falsly believing that doom is inevitable with Bush's re-election. Either case, those people really do need treatment and should seek it.
I have no problem with the ridicule. It's a fact of life. It is simply one more thing those seeking help need help in over-coming.
Now those people providing the help don't need to be sharing the problems of their patients with the world. Sure, they say "we're just trying to draw attention to a real problem". Why? Doing so brings unwanted scrutiny to your patients and their motives. If the patient finds you, treat them and protect their confidence in you. Depression is a well known pyschological problem. It doesn't need a specialized acronym like PEST because the depression is caused by a new kind of trigger. The only value in identifying the trigger is trying to eliminate it. Sorry Doc, 60 million people are not going to give up their vote to help a few people out of depression. That's just plain looney.