Re: "Trump's Magical Fantasy World" — Letters that should have been in the new york times

To the editor:

David Brooks (NYT, 5.25.18, Trump's magical fantasy world) opines we are being seduced into President Trump's fantasy world 'like puppets on a string' dominated by the Trumpian 'soap opera.' He is misunderstanding, in my opinion, the reality of many Americans.

As a psychoanalyst I hear many of my patients describe the feeling of living in a waking nightmare in a reality that is both terrifying and terrorizing because reality itself is under constant attack. This leads, not to seduction, but hypervigilance in an effort to manage a constant feeling of threat. My patients do not feel they are engaged in a 'soap opera;' rather they feel this is like a soap opera (albeit a bad one) and one they should be able to turn off. But they wake up in the morning and ... it is still going on!

I have urged many of my patients to respect their need to be informed without compulsively monitoring the news in a failed effort to reassure themselves they are safe. The evening news does not make for good bedtime reading. For many people some form of activism, an antidote to feeling paralyzed with fear and helplessness, is crucial.

Many mental health experts have argued that President Trump's problem staying in reality impairs his ability to make decisions and raises questions as to his fitness to serve. We are witnessing a metaphorical train crash in slow motion. History will not be kind to those who blindly or knowingly joined our President for the ride.

Respectfully submitted

Larry S. Sandberg