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Report: Looking At Charlie Sheen’s Behavior in Radio and TV Interviews, a Psychiatrist and Two Psychologists Offer Their Opinions on What’s Up with Sheen

Mar 1, 2011  •  Post A Comment

A psychiatrist and two psychologists offer their opinions about Charle Sheen based on Sheen’s  recent spate of interviews, USA Today reports.

According to the article, Sheen’s recent appearances and language "go far beyond the norm, even for colorful actors, doctors say. The behavior ‘strongly resembles a classic manic episode,’ says psychiatrist Paul Ragan of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, who has no personal knowledge of the case."

Ragan continues in the story: " ‘What do we mean by a manic episode?’ Ragan asks. ‘This constant pressure to speak, the giving of numerous interviews, the increased goal-directed activities, irritability, lack of impulse control, what we call the ‘flight of ideas’ — skipping from topic to topic, clearly the lack of judgment about his own issues. There’s the aggressiveness, the hostility.’ "

The article also quotes Alan Hilfer, the chief psychologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, and Jeffrey Parsons, professor of psychology at Hunter College in Manhattan. Neither man has personally examined Sheen.

Hilfer told USA Today, ""There’s a grandiosity to his statements that would worry most in the mental health care profession."

Parsons told the paper: "My hypothesis is that it’s one of two things: It’s either an underlying bipolar disorder (a mental illness in which people cycle from depressive lows to euphoric highs) or it’s the result of long-term substance abuse and addiction."

The article also notes that "Sheen was directly asked by ABC’s Andrea Canning whether he has bipolar disorder. His answer was bizarre, but he seemed to deny it. ‘Not gonna happen,’ he said. ‘I’m bi-winning. I win here. I win there.’ "

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