Mental Healthcare and Violence

I wanted to open this topic up for discussion because for starters its something near and dear to me and also because of the recent mass shooting at Ft. Hood Its something that really needs to be looked at and discussed.

There are many kids/young adults that are falling through the cracks and NOT getting the help they need when a crisis arrives.

My link [if I knew how to] would be the comment section in a Yahoo article from the Peter Lanza interview [the one with over 3,000]
The MANY parents and loved ones who came out of the woodwork to describe the hell they have gone through with the system.

I googled...mental healthcare crisis in the U.S. and had all kinds of articles and vidioes from MSM on down.

And last but not least the varios yahoo articles relating to the ft. hood shootings where people came out about their healthcare crisis issues.

Its not just guns, Its not just meds, its the stigma associated and the lack of care plus laws that react rather than prevent.

I worked in the field in the late 80's/early 90's and what I see is NOTHING comprarble to the care provided back then.

How do we prevent another Fort Hood, Columbine, Thurston, Sandy Hook.? Or the local stories of kids/adults who 'jump the cliff' and take others with them?


I am new at this so please don't beat me up for not posting links to what I have read. I am not good at that which is why I don't like to post let alone start threads. I am doing this for someone I love very much cause I want answers as to why the system is failing him.

Thank you for reading.

reply to post by palmalBlue2


Far from beating you up, I am applauding you for your topic of choice for discussion.

There are varying degrees of mental illness across a broad spectrum of degrees at which it manifests. I remember being five years old and simply wanting to die. Not because my home life was a total disaster, it was just THERE. No demons, no coercion because I kept it a secret until I was 35 after numerous attempts at taking my own life. I have a malady that is very treatable with medication and counseling.
I'm lucky in this regard. Many others do not have the access to treatment and hold in negativity and rage toward themselves and ultimately it manifests by hhurting those around them.

Only recently has it been okay to say "I have a problem and I cant control it myself". Especially for men. We are pressured into a "suck it up, wimp", "go cry about it sissy", compartmentalization.

I do posit my own question...since approximately 1 in 10 experience some form of mental ailment...what is normal? Is the normal of those who would criticize those with depression or anxiety, schizophrenia, autism, etc. Are THEY the ones who are ill since they are becoming the minority? Food for thought....

reply to post by the owlbear


"Normal" is only a setting on the washing machine, I always say.

And...

It's only the crazy ones who believe they are sane...

It is sad when the norm of society is broken homes, familial abuse, bullying, rejection by peers and loved ones, and much more. Dysfunctionality is becoming the norm. Not planning for the future of your potential children and just having them for the hell of it and then calling them "accidents," is the norm. If that's normal then please count me out. I may have a mental illness myself, but I was actually too responsible to have kids, and hopefully will continue that either until menopause or until I find a suitable mate with a situation which allows me to grant a better life for my kids than I had. I find that attitude is not "normal" here in America. Most guys plead for me to have sex with them without thought for the consequences. "Have fun," they say. "You only live once," they say. I say: "No way."

I think it would be cool to redefine a government that not only is governed mainly by the people itself, but also encourages discipline among the people too. We've had our run with being allowed to practically run rampant. Look where it's gotten us? Soon someone is going to end that trend.

reply to post by AsherahoftheSea


When I was fifteen I wrote this down and have meditated on it since DSM's be damned.

"If only the sane can define the insane, does that mean only the insane can define God (the Universe)?"