Hitting Rock Bottom

Over the edge of the green precipice lays the blue ocean

I’ve been thinking on this a lot lately, as the issue has arisen in various clinical situations. We do many things as caregivers (clinicians, providers, physicians, friends and family members) in an effort to help another person. Sometime it seems that if only this person could get a little help, they’d do so much better. And that is absolutely true, some of the time. On the other hand I’m meeting many people who actively sabotage their own improvement. Maybe they do this by burning bridges with family or friends. Maybe they do this via drugs or alcohol. As this happens

Is Walter White a Psychopath?

Breaking Bad Poster

 Walt’s pathological and Machiavellian level of manipulation of others, even those who might describe him as a friend, makes us question who the real Walter White is. Is he a psychopath? Is he a guy who suppressed his basic needs so much during his life that that now he’s just having a narcissistic tirade to prove he’s all-powerful as he approaches death? As a psychiatrist, I view the evidence that points in one direction vs. another. As a writer, I see the brilliance in how we’re led into watching his dark side unfold, while still empathizing with him. Modern psychiatry