EXCLUSIVE: Dr Cornelia Gibson urged Donald Trump’s inner circle to encourage him to ‘seek help’ as she claimed the 79-year-old president is exhibiting symptoms of ‘mania’
05:30 ET, 23 Apr 2026Updated 05:31 ET, 23 Apr 2026
Dr Cornelia claimed Trump is showing symptoms of ‘mania'(Image: AP)
A mental health expert has claimed that Donald Trump meets the criteria for someone currently experiencing “mania” as she listed all of the symptoms the president is allegedly showing.
Mania, which is often associated with bipolar disorder, is a “distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood AND abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy,” Dr Cornelia, the Executive Director of The Agape Counseling Center, told The Mirror US.
She notes that it lasts at least one week and is “present most of the day, nearly every day.” Dr Cornelia Gibson, who has a Doctor of Education in Counselling Psychology, explained that therapists use The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as the universal diagnosing tool for mania, which she notes “largely takes away diagnosing based on subjective findings.”
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There are seven types of symptoms a person experiencing mania could show. In order for a diagnosis, three or more must be present to a “significant degree,” she said.
According to Dr Cornelia, Trump is well surpassing this threshold. She highlighted how the president could be exhibiting every single symptom, pointing to many of his recent social media posts as evidence.
1. Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
Dr Cornelia pointed to an array of recent Truth Social posts from Trump that indicate he has an inflated self-esteem.
“As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person,” the president posted on his social media platform on Wednesday, Dr Cornelia noted. She also highlighted several posts from Trump the previous day.
He has been rampant on Truth Social(Image: Truth Social)
“I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to ‘kiss my a–,’” he wrote in one. “My Administration just delivered a BIG WIN for the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which I love, and WON by the largest margin in History,” the president boasted in another.
Trump’s inflated self-esteem or grandiosity could also be seen in the way he talks about his war with Iran, according to Dr Cornelia.
“If a Deal happens under ‘TRUMP,’ it will guarantee Peace, Security, and Safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America, and everywhere else. It will be something that the entire World will be proud of, instead of the years of Embarrassment and Humiliation that we have been forced to suffer due to incompetent and cowardly leadership,” Trump declared on Monday.
“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included,” Trump wrote the next day.
2. Decreased need for sleep
Trump could temporarily override sleep deprivation, but this wouldn’t prevent the impacts (Image: Getty Images)
Dr Cornelia said that decreased need for sleep, which she explained is when someone “feels rested after only three hours,” is another symptom of mania.
“Donald Trump posts on social media during the night,” she notes. Trump’s rampant social media activity indicates that the president is regularly awake until the early hours of the morning, while rising early as he usually begins posting again at around 7am.
However, Dr Cornelia explains that more information about the president’s sleep schedule is needed to determine whether he is definitely exhibiting this symptom. “Perhaps he gets sleep during the day. More information is needed to render an objective finding,” she said.
3. More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
A person experiencing mania can also be more talkative than usual or feel as though there is a pressure to keep talking, Dr Cornelia said.
She claimed Trump’s social media history also acts as evidence of this. “A deep dive into President Trump’s recent and previous social media posts could offer an objective finding,” she said.
4. Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
Someone experiencing mania could have racing thoughts or a sudden flight of ideas. Dr Cornelia claimed that Trump recently showed this during another Truth Social post last week.
The president wrote in a post on April 16 about how he was heading to Las Vegas to talk about his no tax on tips policy before going on a tangent, attacking Fox News host Jessica Tarlov and then boasting about his poll numbers.
“I’m on Air Force One heading to Las Vegas and Arizona for Greetings and Speeches on NO TAX ON TIPS, a WINDFALL for our Great American Citizens,” the president wrote. He continued: “I am watching one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television, Jessica Tarlov. Her voice is so grating and terrible, I had to ‘turn her off!’ Her Democrat soundbites are FAKE. She makes up ‘Poll Numbers,’ and nobody challenges her, because she is so boring. I have among the best Poll Numbers I have ever had, and why shouldn’t I, ALL THE COUNTRY DOES IS WIN. ”
5. Distractibility
Distractibility is another symptom of mania, this is when “attention is too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli,” Dr Cornelia explains.
She noted Trump’s recent attacks on Democrats and the media amid the chaos of his war with Iran as evidence of this.
Dr Cornelia specifically pointed to one of Trump’s Truth Social posts on Tuesday, in which he raged: “Never allow the Traitor Democrats like Low IQ person Hakeem Jeffries, or Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, or the totally corrupt Fake News Media such as the phony and decaying Wall Street Journal, the Failing New York Times (Subscriptions way down!), or dying ’60 Minutes,’ to demean or criticize Operation Midnight Hammer, which totally obliterated the Nuclear Dust locations to the point where bloodthirsty Iran has been unable to get to it, or dig it out.”
The president continued ranting: “Space Force has cameras on every inch of the 3 sites that were so brilliantly hit last June! Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”
Dr Cornelia also highlighted others posts on the same day, in which Trump hit out at “An Idiot on The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board,” and “Wacko James Carville.”
6. Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation
Dr Cornelia explained that an increase in goal-directed activity, which she said could be “either socially, at work or school, or sexually,” or psychomotor agitation is also a symptom of mania.
She claimed there are many clear examples of this in Trump’s recent behavior as she noted the president often shows signs of “fidgeting and agitation.”
“Many social media posts already mentioned, as well as a deeper dive into his posts, as well as on camera appearances could be used as criteria in this area and could point what appears to be fidgeting and agitation,” she said.
7. Excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences
(Image: @realDonaldTrump)
The final symptom of mania that Dr Cornelia highlighted is excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences, which she explained could include “buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, foolish business investments.”
She pointed to Trump’s extreme threats against Iran as evidence of this. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done,” Trump warned on Sunday.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” the president threatened in another post earlier this month.
Trump’s inner circle urged to encourage him to ‘seek help’
In order to meet the severity criteria for a mania diagnosis, Dr Cornelia explains that the mood disturbance must be “severe enough to cause marked impairment in social or occupational functioning, to require hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others, or there are psychotic features.”
She warned that if left untreated, symptoms of mania can increase in frequency and intensity, leading to “insurmountable financial, legal, personal, and interpersonal relationship conflicts.”
“When someone holds a position of power the symptoms impact many others both directly and indirectly,” Dr Cornelia said.
She explained that treatment includes psychotropic medication such as a mood stabilizer, an anti-psychotic, or a short-term sedative in conjunction with talk therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
“Other treatment approaches include family and group therapy,” she said. The mental health expert called on the president’s inner circle to encourage him to get help.
“In the case of the President and other people holding great power, it is highly unlikely they will seek therapy on their own,” she said. “It is incumbent on people in their inner circle to be supportive while also pointing out the importance of seeking help rather than condoning behavior.”