The New York Times is awash with understanding for John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate Candidat. But their sympathy quickly turns to snideness for Herschel Walker’s dissociative identity disorder diagnosis.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg’s Friday edition article on Walker, a football icon, was published under this snide headline “Walker Says He’s Overcome Mental Illness, But Experts Say It’s Not So Simple.”
Stolberg seemed to suggest that Walker was using his mental illness for a convenient excuse.
Herschel Walker was confronted with a barrage o accusations about his personal life, including claims that he threatened women and paid to have an abortion, despite public opposition to the procedure. He has repeatedly invoked his mental illness history in his defense.
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Experts say that Mr. Walker’s claim that he has “overcome the disorder” is simplistic at best. Dissociative identity disorder, like other mental illnesses cannot be treated in the traditional sense. Psychiatrists state that although patients can manage the disorder and live with symptoms for long periods, they are susceptible to recurrences. Stress is often a major trigger.
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Other complicating details are not included in Mr. Walker’s retelling. Experts agree that the disorder doesn’t cause violent behavior. Some episodes, including one in which an ex-girlfriend claimed that Walker had threatened her, occurred after Mr. Walker claimed that he had his disorder under control.
Stolberg relayed Democratic attempts at making Walker’s mental health problems a political problem.
Democrats claim that Mr. Walker’s description about his mental illness is not accurate. Quentin Fulks was Mr. Warnock’s campaign manager and stated that Walker had not given Georgians an honest account of his violent past.
Other candidates have focused on health issues this year. In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman (Democratic candidate for Senate) is being questioned by Republicans about his ability to serve after a stroke. Even Republican strategists believe that Walker should answer similar questions.
Fair enough. Problem is, when Fetterman, an impaired Democrat, was asked questions, the media, including The Times, defended him. Some mainstream media reporters even questioned Fetterman’s fitness to run for office.
The same paper that advocates “Long COVID” surgery for “transgender” teens in order to treat gender dysphoria suddenly regains its skeptical attitude about medical disorders.
The topic of dissociative identity disorder has been a long-standing debate. Some psychiatrists believe it is overdiagnosed and others question its existence.
Strangely, Stolberg later admitted:
Dr. Appelbaum is also a former president of the American Psychiatric Association. He stated that there was a consensus among the field that D.I.D. Dr. Appelbaum said that D.I.D. is “a real phenomenon, and a real disorder.”
Stolberg gave credit to Walker for raising awareness.
However, Fetterman’s cardiomyopathy condition was covered in the Times, which was sympathetic to the Democrat but hostile to Dr. Mehmet Oz, his Republican opponent.
The impaired Fetterman received other positive headlines: “Fetterman Hopes To Return to Campaign Trail Soon, As His Recovery Continues”; and “Fetterman Says Stroke Issues Haven’t Slowed Down a ‘Normal Campaign’.”
