|
I really don't know. With the caveat that this is just an anecdote, one of my family members is an extremely intelligent and highly accomplished man. He graduated from Yale law, worked at a very high level in the executive branch, and during his professional career, I don't know anyone who questioned his character. Retired, he is now suffering from severe intractible depression. Last month, I drove my relative to a doctor's appointment, and due to his own mistake, he showed up at the wrong time. And on the wrong day. Since I had walked him into the office, I heard his conversation with the receptionist, and then with his doctor, who came out to calm things down. On the ride back to his house, my relative phoned another member of my family and angrily explained what had happened. He blamed everything on the doctor, and made baseless accusations against the doctor and receptionist. My relative's account of the situation wasn't based in reality. And he related his account right in front of me. He truly believed every word he was saying. But it wasn't true. I saw what had happened with my own eyes. I heard it with my own ears. I, fortunately, am well. It wasn't the doctor's fault, nor was it the receptionist's fault. Quite the opposite, my relative had made a mistake. His illness, however, — depression — blinded him to that reality. And his reaction was to sling baseless accusations at his doctor. Like I wrote before, this is a really difficult problem. I don't have a solution. I wish I did. |