American psychiatrists are pushing to have bitterness classified as a mental illness.
The proposed “post-traumatic embitterment disorder” (we’re not making this up) is modeled after post-traumatic stress disorder, and would cover people who a “seething for revenge” after a trauma.
“They feel the world has treated them unfairly. It’s one step more complex than anger. They’re angry plus helpless,” Dr. Michael Linden told the L.A. Times . “Embitterment is a violation of basic beliefs,…It causes a very severe emotional reaction. . . . We are always coping with negative life events. It’s the reaction that varies.”
According to the report, around 1% to 2% of all Americans suffer from post-traumatic embitterment disorder.
(via Slashdot )
