Why do Mothers Kill their Children? | Jerm Warfare

Jerm (0:30)

My name is Jerm, this is Jerm Warfare, the Battle of Ideas. Peter Breggin, thank you for joining me in The Trenches.

Peter Breggin (0:39)

We're ready to go.

My personal trainer has decided the best training he has for me is teaching me to box, he's a boxer. And it's to recover from my left-sided weakness from my stroke and my in-coordination of left and right. He's got me doing...

Jerm (1:02)

Tell me a little bit about that if you don't mind, the stroke.

Peter Breggin (1:05)

Well, the stroke, I had a stroke in my external capsule of my thalamus, which is a control center. It can hurt everything. You name it, doesn't matter what, whatever you can think of, eating habits, sexuality, thinking, breathing. And it's unpredictable from, could easily have ended up with a complete left-sided paralysis, but I didn't, I got weakness on my left side.

And almost none on my right. And, aphasia. I even get aphasia when I can't speak. And I had that, that was my dominant symptom. Started with my speech was getting interfered with. And very quickly, I couldn't talk anymore. And people around me realized I must have had a stroke. I'm still looking at my doctor, so didn't know what was going on. And my wife decided that the most important thing she could do would be to save me. She took me out AMA against medical advice from the doctors. Very brave of her. I watched it with an amazement because I couldn't do anything. I just sat in a wheelchair and took me to Florida, where I had three months of intensive post-stroke treatment that was really quite extraordinary. I'd talk about the place, but it closed immediately after I got finished. She must have marshaled a band of angels and gotten me there and gotten me taken in. Got me the main part of the treatment, which was hyperbaric oxygen. Very intense, two hours a day. And that was surrounded by occupational therapy, physical therapy of all kinds.

Aimed at strengthening my weaknesses. If you want to be frustrated, have somebody figure out what your weaknesses are mentally and test them by giving you puzzles that you're not prepared to do well. That was really hard.

And I got a lot better. People who have seen me before and after can't believe how well I'm doing medical people. And my PT is more than a physical therapist. He's actually, I think his basic identity is a personal trainer.

And I told them one of my concerns was that I'm sort of a very protective man and I couldn't protect myself or anybody else right now. So he said, well, I'm a former kickboxer. He said, I think it might help you a lot if I touch a box. So the way he does that is he has these gloves that he blocks me with. You may see have seen this on TV when guys are warming up for their fights. So I'm in there practicing my one, two punches and making my hooks and my uppercuts some more systematic and better produced, and throwing in an occasional kick.

And he reminds me, any fighting outside a ring is dirty fighting, and you better be prepared to do it.

Jerm (4:53)

Who in your view is the greatest boxer of all time?

Peter Breggin (4:59)

Oh, he and I think Mike Tyson.

Jerm (5:01)

I think you're right.

Peter Breggin (5:02)

And he would like me to, he'd like me to fight like Mike.

Jerm (5:07)

Muhammad Ali was pretty good too.

Peter Breggin (5:10)

Who?

Jerm (5:10)

Muhammad Ali.

Peter Breggin (5:13)

Oh my god, yeah, of course. But probably the most interesting one I watched in recent years was Tyson, and he's showing me Mike's moves.

He says, you know, you go one, two, and then when the guy doubles up a little bit, you just get in there very, very close and bring that uppercut in. Of course, Mike was ten times stronger than me and quite a bit bigger too. So was my trainer.

Jerm (5:42)

You're one of the most prolific psychiatrists, I think, in American history. Born in, if I got this right, 1936 That means you're 90 years old or 90 years young.

Peter Breggin (5:55)

I am 90 years old. And I've been married. I first met Ginger 50 years ago.

Fifty years ago, and we've been married for, what's the latest count love?

Ginger Breggin (6:09)

We've been married for 42 and a half years.

Peter Breggin (6:11)

42 and a half years.

Jerm (6:12)

What is your secret?

Peter Breggin (6:16)

Well, right now, my secret is Ginger.

Jerm (6:23)

Now, what I meant was, what is your secret to being married so long?