Declaration For Greater Independence

George III was the son of Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. From his parents and their entourage, the young George imbibed an unreasonable dislike of his grandfather, King George II, and of all his policies. George was a child of strong feelings but of slow mental development. This unequal growth of brain and heart made him difficult to teach and too easy to command and produced in him an appearance of apathy; he could not read properly until he was 11. His affection for his immediate family circle dominated his life.

Let us now look at some of George's later life (extracted from a larger article) and wonder if it will be a script as a general premonition of that to come in Trump's administration, by taking into account the differences of time and place:

George realized too late that his clumsiness had destroyed one political combination and made any other difficult to assemble. He turned to George Grenville, to his uncle, William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, to Pitt, and to the 3rd duke of Grafton for help. All failed him. The first decade of the reign was one of such ministerial instability that little was done to solve the basic financial difficulties of the crown, made serious by the expense of the Seven Years' War. Overseas trade expanded, but the riches of the East India Company made no significant contribution to the state. The attempt to make the American colonists meet their own administrative costs only aroused them to resistance. Nor was there consistency in British colonial policy. The Stamp Act (1765) passed by Grenville was repealed by Lord Rockingham in 1766. Indirect taxes, in the form of the Townshend Acts (1767), were imposed without calculation of their probable yield and then repealed (except for that on tea) as a maneuver in home politics.

George III was personally blamed for this instability. According to the Whig statesman Edmund Burke and his friends, the king could not keep a ministry because he was faithless and intrigued with friends “behind the curtain.” Burke's remedy was to urge that solidity should be given to a cabinet by the building up of party loyalty: the king as a binding agent was to be replaced by the organization of groups upon agreed principles. Thus the early years of George III produced, inadvertently, the germ of modern party politics. In truth, however, the king was not guilty of causing chaos by intrigue. He had no political contact with Bute after 1766; the so-called king's friends were not his agents but rather those who looked to him for leadership such as his predecessors had given. The king's failure lay in his tactlessness and inexperience, and it was not his fault that no one group was strong enough to control the Commons.

By 1770, however, George III had learned a good deal. He was still as obstinate as ever and still felt an intense duty to guide the country, but now he reckoned with political reality. He no longer scorned to make use of executive power for winning elections nor did he withhold his official blessing from those of whose characters he disapproved.

George loved his children possessively and with that hysterical force that he had always shown in relations with those close to him. He was depressed by the prince of Wales's coming of age in 1783 as it meant emancipation from the family. The king's ruefulness was soon converted into rage. The prince associated politically with Fox's Whigs and socially with Fox's gaming friends. In contrast to George III's rather strait-laced court, the prince's circle was lively and dissolute. As his sons escaped him, one by one, George oscillated between excitement and despair. In the crises of his reign he frequently talked of abdication; but in 1788 it was announced that it was his reason that had fled its throne.

The stresses endured by this hard-working man seemed sufficient to account for his violent breakdown. Twentieth-century medical investigation, in fact, suggested that the king had an inherited defect in his metabolism known as porphyria. An excess in purple-red pigments in the blood intoxicated all parts of the nervous system, producing the agonizing pain, excited overactivity, paralysis, and delirium that the king suffered in an acute form at least four times during his reign. The porphyria diagnosis, however, is not universally accepted by medical opinion.

The king's incapacity produced a political storm. But while Pitt and Fox battled over the powers that the prince of Wales should enjoy as regent, the king suddenly recovered in 1789. He was left with the fear that he might again collapse into the nightmare of madness. For the last decade of the 18th century, he was bothered more about the details than about the main lines of policy. Pitt, whose policies contented him more and more, gradually absorbed in his own following most of North's old following and even some of Fox's. After the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France in 1793, all but the most radical Whigs joined the government, leaving Fox in hopeless, if eloquent, opposition.

The war with France seemed to most of the aristocracy and the upper middle class to be waged for national survival. The old king, an object of compassion in his collapse and obviously a well-meaning man, was soon a symbol of the old English order for which the country was fighting. Although his potential power in politics was greatly increased, his will to wield it was enfeebled. George enjoyed himself in encouraging farmers to grow more food; or he talked for hours (ending his sentences rhetorically and fussily with the repeated words “what, what, what?”) about past conflicts, or military tactics, or even of the shortcomings of Shakespeare; or he played to himself on his harpsichord; or he regulated the lives of his daughters, who found it so much less easy to escape than did his sons. From such quiet occupations he was aroused to activity by Pitt's Irish policy at the turn of the century.

Much of the remainder of the king's lifetime was a living death. The death of his youngest child and frequent companion, Princess Amelia, in 1810, was a bitter blow; she had, in part, consoled him for his disappointment about his sons. Worse still was the return of the king's illness. In 1811 it was acknowledged that he was violently insane. The doctors continued to hope for recovery, but Parliament enacted the regency of the prince of Wales (the future George IV) and decreed that the queen should have the custody of her husband. He remained insane, with intervals of senile lucidity, until his death at Windsor Castle. George III's reign, on its personal side, was the tragedy of a well-intentioned man who was faced with problems too great for him to solve but from which his conscience prevented any attempt at escape.

Psychosis (plural psychoses)

Introduction

Any of several major mental illnesses that can cause delusions, hallucinations, serious defects in judgment and other cognitive processes, and the inability to evaluate reality objectively.

The term psychosis is derived from the Greek psyche, meaning “soul,” “mind,” or “breath.” The ancient Greeks believed that the breath was the animating force of life and that when the breath left the body, as happened in death, the soul left the body. Because words that contain the root psyche (e.g., psychiatrist, psychiatry, etc.) are associated with the essence of life (usually related to the soul or human spirit) psychosis has come to mean that a person has lost the essence of life—that he or she has developed a private view of the world or a private reality not shared by others.

It is difficult to clearly demarcate psychoses from the class of less-severe mental disorders known as psychoneuroses (commonly called neuroses) because a neurosis may be so severe, disabling, or disorganizing in its effects that it actually constitutes a psychosis. However, in general, patients suffering from the recognized psychotic illnesses exhibit a disturbed sense of reality and a disorganization of personality that sets them apart from neurotics. Such patients also frequently believe that nothing is wrong with them, despite the palpable evidence to the contrary as evinced by their confused or bizarre behaviour. Psychotics may require hospitalization because they cannot take care of themselves or because they may constitute a danger to themselves or to others.

The major defining symptoms of psychosis are hallucinations and delusions. A hallucination is a sensory perception experienced only by the affected person; it is not shared by others. For example, persons experiencing hallucinations may hear a voice telling them to commit suicide or to cut themselves, but no one else can hear this voice. A delusion is a belief not credible to others. The belief expressed by the affected person usually has little basis in the person's past. For example, a casually religious person who is experiencing a psychosis may suddenly begin to tell other people that he is Christ, Muhammad, or Buddha or that he has been selected by God for some special task. There is no evidence that would make anyone else share this belief. A person can experience both hallucinations and delusions or just one or the other. Hallucinations and delusions are most often caused by a disturbance or change in brain function.

Psychoses may be divided into two categories: organic and functional. Organic psychoses are characterized by abnormal brain function that is caused by a known physical abnormality, which in most cases is some organic disease of the brain. However, altered brain function that precipitates hallucinations and delusions is more often associated with specific psychiatric disorders, which are categorized as functional psychoses.

Dementia

Chronic, usually progressive deterioration of intellectual capacity associated with the widespread loss of nerve cells and the shrinkage of brain tissue. Dementia is most commonly seen in the elderly (senile dementia), though it is not part of the normal aging process and can affect persons of any age. In 2005 researchers reported that some 24.3 million people worldwide were living with dementia. In 2010 this figure rose to an estimated 35.6 million, a number that was expected to double by 2030, in part because of anticipated increases in life expectancy in many countries.

The most common irreversible dementia is Alzheimer disease. This condition often begins with memory loss or with subtle impairments in other cognitive functions. These changes may manifest initially as simple absentmindedness or forgetfulness or as minor problems with judgment, language, or perception. As dementia progresses, memory loss and cognitive impairment broaden in scope until the individual can no longer remember basic social and survival skills or function independently. Language, spatial or temporal orientation, judgment, perception, and other cognitive capacities decline, and personality changes may occur. Dementia is also present in other degenerative brain diseases, including Pick disease and Parkinson disease.

The second most common cause of dementia is hypertension (high blood pressure) or other vascular conditions. This type of dementia, called multi-infarct, or vascular, dementia results from a series of small strokes that progressively destroy the brain. Dementia can also be caused by Huntington disease, syphilis, multiple sclerosis, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and some types of encephalitis. Treatable dementias occur in hypothyroidism, other metabolic diseases, and some malignant tumours. Treatment of the underlying disease in these cases may inhibit the progress of dementia but usually does not reverse it.

Neurosis (psychoneurosis, plural psychoneuroses or neuroses)

Neuroses, or psychoneuroses, are less-serious disorders in which people may experience negative feelings such as anxiety or depression. Their functioning may be significantly impaired, but personality remains relatively intact, the capacity to recognize and objectively evaluate reality is maintained, and they are basically able to function in everyday life. In contrast to people with psychoses, neurotic patients know or can be made to realize that they are ill, and they usually want to get well and return to a normal state. Their chances for recovery are better than those of persons with psychoses. The symptoms of neurosis may sometimes resemble the coping mechanisms used in everyday life by most people, but in neurotics these defensive reactions are inappropriately severe or prolonged in response to an external stress. Anxiety disorders, phobic disorder (exhibited as unrealistic fear or dread), conversion disorder (formerly known as hysteria), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depressive disorders have been traditionally classified as neuroses.

Introduction

(Neurosis or Psychoneurosis is a) mental disorder that causes a sense of distress and deficit in functioning.

Neuroses are characterized by anxiety, depression, or other feelings of unhappiness or distress that are out of proportion to the circumstances of a person's life. They may impair a person's functioning in virtually any area of his life, relationships, or external affairs, but they are not severe enough to incapacitate the person. Neurotic patients generally do not suffer from the loss of the sense of reality seen in persons with psychoses.

Psychiatrists first used the term neurosis in the mid-19th century to categorize symptoms thought to be neurological in origin; the prefix “psycho-” was added some decades later when it became clear that mental and emotional factors were important in the etiology of these disorders. The terms are now used interchangeably, although the shorter word is more common. Both terms, however, lack the precision required for psychological diagnosis and are no longer used for that purpose.

Theories

An influential view held by the psychoanalytic tradition is that neuroses arise from intrapsychic conflict (conflict between different drives, impulses, and motives held within various components of the mind). Central to psychoanalytic theory, which was founded by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, is the postulated existence of an unconscious part of the mind which, among other functions, acts as a repository for repressed thoughts, feelings, and memories that are disturbing or otherwise unacceptable to the conscious mind. These repressed mental contents are typically sexual or aggressive urges or painful memories of an emotional loss or an unsatisfied longing dating from childhood. Anxiety arises when these unacceptable and repressed drives threaten to enter consciousness; prompted by anxiety, the conscious part of the mind (the ego) tries to deflect the emergence into consciousness of the repressed mental contents through the use of defense mechanisms such as repression, denial, or reaction formation. Neurotic symptoms often begin when a previously impermeable defense mechanism breaks down and a forbidden drive or impulse threatens to enter consciousness. See also psychoanalysis.

While the psychoanalytic theory of neurosis has continued to be influential, another prominent view, associated with behavioral psychology, represents neurosis as a learned, inappropriate response to stress that can be unlearned. A third view, stemming from cognitive theory, emphasizes the way in which maladaptive thinking—such as the fear of possible punishment—promotes an inaccurate perception of the self and surrounding events.

Types

• Obsessive-compulsive disorders are characterized by the irresistible entry of unwanted ideas, thoughts, or feelings into consciousness or by the need to repeatedly perform ritualistic actions that the sufferer perceives as unnecessary or unwarranted. Obsessive ideas may include recurrent violent or obscene thoughts; compulsive behaviour includes rituals such as repetitive hand washing or door locking. The drug clomipramine has proved effective in treating many patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders.
  
  
• Somatoform disorders, which include the so-called hysterical, or conversion, neuroses, manifest themselves in physical symptoms, such as blindness, paralysis, or deafness that are not caused by organic disease. Hysteria was among the earliest syndromes to be understood and treated by psychoanalysts, who believe that such symptoms result from fixations or arrested stages in an individual's early psychosexual development. (See conversion disorder.)
  
  

In anxiety disorders, anxiety is the principal feature, manifesting itself either in relatively short, acute anxiety attacks or in a chronic sense of nameless dread. Persons undergoing anxiety attacks may suffer from digestive upsets, excessive perspiration, headaches, heart palpitations, restlessness, insomnia, disturbances in appetite, and impaired concentration. Phobia, a type of anxiety disorder, is represented by inappropriate fears that are triggered by specific situations or objects. Some common objects of phobias are open or closed spaces, fire, high places, dirt, and bacteria.



Depression

, when neither excessively severe nor prolonged, is regarded as a neurosis. A depressed person feels sad, hopeless, and pessimistic and may be listless, easily fatigued, slow in thought and action, and have a reduced appetite and difficulty in sleeping.



Post-traumatic stress disorder is a syndrome appearing in people who have endured some highly traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, torture, or incarceration in a concentration camp. The symptoms include nightmares, a diffuse anxiety, and guilt over having survived when others perished.



Depersonalization disorder consists of the experiencing of the world or oneself as strange, altered, unreal, or mechanical in quality.




Treatment




Psychiatrists and psychologists treat neuroses in a variety of ways. The psychoanalytic approach involves helping the patient to become aware of the repressed impulses, feelings, and traumatic memories that underlie his symptoms, thereby enabling him to achieve personality growth through a better and deeper self-understanding. Those who hold that neuroses are the result of learned responses may recondition a neurotic patient through a process known as desensitization: a patient afraid of heights, for example, would be gradually exposed to progressively greater heights over several weeks. Other learning approaches include modeling more effective behaviour, wherein the patient learns by example. Cognitive and interpersonal approaches include discussing thoughts and perceptions that contribute to a patient's neurotic symptoms, eventually replacing them with more realistic interpretations of external events and the patient's internal responses to them. Many psychiatrists prefer physical approaches, such as psychotropic drugs (including anti-anxiety agents and anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs) and electroconvulsive (shock) therapy. Many psychiatrists advocate combinations of these approaches, the exact nature of which depend on the patient and his complaint.


Source: "Psychoneurosis." Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, 2013.