Did William Shatner Diagnose George Takei With Psychosis?
November 3, 2008 by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
First of all, I love William Shatner. Well, not so much William Shatner, as I don’t really know the man (as if that’s stopped me before), but William Shatner as Denny Crane.
So, let me rephrase: I love Denny Crane.
Given my love for Denny Crane, and my sadness over this being the final season of Boston Legal, it was no surprise William Shatner’s name in this week’s TV Guide caught my eye. (Actually, given the blah factor of this week’s Brothers & Sisters, it was no surprise I was sitting on the couch perusing this week’s episode of TV Guide. But, I digress.) Anyway, I saw Shatner’s name in an article about a YouTube video Shatner made (what?! William Shatner has a YouTube account?! Tres cool) discussing George Takei’s failure to invite Shatner to his wedding.
Blah blah blah.
What held my attention to the article was TV Guide’s statement that, during the YouTube video, Shatner diagnosed Takei with psychosis.
Now we’re cookin’ with hot grease! William Shatner, who is clearly not a doctor, is diagnosing a former castmate with a mental disorder?
Well, not really. I jumped on YouTube and watched the video. What Shatner actually says is, “[...] there’s a psychosis there.” 37 seconds into a video that’s over four minutes long, that’s the one and only mention of psychosis.
Hmm.
Was Shatner diagnosing Takei with psychosis? I don’t think so. I think he was merely suggesting that whatever grudges Takei was holding against him suggested he had false ideas about the reality of their relationship. That Takei had perhaps saw or heard things – perceived things – that Shatner may not (or may, who knows? I’ve never been a Trekkie) have done.
So, after watching the video, it seems to me that TV Guide’s comment might have just been an attempt to fan the flames of this apparently ongoing cat fight. You be the judge:
And, if you want some legit information about psychosis, check out:
- WebMD’s definitions of psychosis.
- PsychCentral’s Schizophrenia and Psychosis
- Dr. Christopher Pelic’s podcast Psychosis: What is Psychosis?
