Tea at Trianon: A New Mental Health Disorder

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, August 15, 2021

A New Mental Health Disorder

From STAT:

Williard sometimes thought that she had ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — though she was never diagnosed — because she had trouble paying attention, but other symptoms, like hyperactivity, didn’t fit her well. As she researched sluggish cognitive tempo, or SCT, online, the symptoms seemed just right: a problem with focusing was there, too, but also daydreaming, slow or “foggy” thinking, and a general lack of energy.

“I was just like, oh, my gosh, that makes so much sense,” Williard said. “Everything just started to fall into place.”

But SCT is not an officially recognized diagnosis. It’s currently what’s called a clinical construct — a term used in psychology to define a group of behaviors. Since its emergence nearly four decades ago, the study of SCT has been led by a small group of researchers, chief among them a controversial psychologist and ADHD expert who is adamant that SCT is a separate disorder potentially affecting millions of children and adults. If SCT became an official diagnosis, proponents argue, it could make it easier for those with symptoms of the construct to get the help they need, whether that be assistance in school or work or a medication that is more likely to work for them. But many researchers say the study of SCT, which is still in its early stages, can’t yet support a formal diagnosis. Critics dismiss the construct as fatally flawed and argue that SCT is an outgrowth of misdiagnosis of ADHD that could result in many being prescribed inappropriate medications. (Read more.)