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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event September 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- A petition signed by 350 psychiatrists and other mental health professionals is to be submitted to Congress Thursday, warning that President Donald Trump's mental health is deteriorating rapidly amid impeachment.
- "We are convinced that, as the time of possible impeachment approaches, Donald Trump has the real potential to become ever more dangerous, a threat to the safety of our nation," Yale psychiatrist Dr Bandy Lee, and former CIA profiler Jerrold Post wrote.
- The petition was first reported by British outlet The Independent.
- They claim that Trump is doubling down on falsehoods and conspiracy theories - which they diagnose as clear signs of delusion.
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A group of 350 psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are to submit a petition to Congress warning that President Donald Trump's mental health is rapidly deteriorating amid the pressures of impeachment.
"We are speaking out at this time because we are convinced that, as the time of possible impeachment approaches, Donald Trump has the real potential to become ever more dangerous, a threat to the safety of our nation," wrote Yale psychiatrist Dr Brandy Lee and former CIA profiler Jerrold Post in a statement accompanying the petition, which was first reported by British outlet The Independent.
"Failing to monitor or to understand the psychological aspects [of impeachment on Mr Trump], or discounting them, could lead to catastrophic outcomes," they write.
They outline the facets of Trump's personality that have prompted them to speak out:
"What makes Donald Trump so dangerous is the brittleness of his sense of worth. Any slight or criticism is experienced as a humiliation and degradation. To cope with the resultant hollow and empty feeling, he reacts with what is referred to as narcissistic rage.
"He is unable to take responsibility for any error, mistake, or failing. His default in that situation is to blame others and to attack the perceived source of his humiliation. These attacks of narcissistic rage can be brutal and destructive."
In the petition, they say that three psychiatrists are prepared to testify before Congress about the impact of impeachment on the president's mental health.
"We implore Congress to take these danger signs seriously and to constrain his destructive impulses. We and many others are available to give important relevant recommendations as well as to educate the public so that we can maximise our collective safety," the psychiatrists write.
Business Insider has reached out to Dr Lee for further comment, but had not heard back at the time of publication.
Lee first spoke out with concerns about Trump's mental health shortly after he took office in January 2017.
The move was controversial as it violated the so-called Goldwater Rule, a rule followed by the American Psychiatric Association, which states that psychiatrists should not make public statements about the mental health of public figures unless they have personally examined them.
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Republican senator Barry Goldwater, who ran for president in 1964, losing to Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson.
The rule was adopted after a controversial Fact magazine article in 1964, in which several leading psychiatrists claimed that then Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was not mentally fit to become president.
The petitioners claim they are not breaking the Goldwater rule, as by speaking out they are encouraging "psychiatrists to educate the public when asked about a public figure, so that we may improve the community and better public health."
It is not just medical professionals who have voiced concern about Trump's mental health.
A recent book by an anonymous Trump administration official claims that staff are concerned about the president's mental acuity, and the president "stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity."
In comments to The Independent, Lee said that she expected that Republicans would dismiss the petition as colored by partisan bias, but insisted it was based on expert diagnosis of Trump's observed behavior and accounts of his behavior.
She said that Trump "is ramping up his conspiracy theories" and "showing a great deal of cruelty and vindictiveness" in his "accelerated, repetitive tweets," which she explained are signs that he is "doubling and a tripling down on his delusions".
"I believe that they fit the pattern of delusions rather than just plain lies," she continued