is our society making psychopaths?

today there seems to be a lot of questioning about things like shooting/murder sprees. a lot of us have been asking why. some people put the blame squarely on inanimate objects such as guns. others are thinking that the problem is caused by violence portrayed in entertainment media such as violence in movies and on tv shows, ultra violent video games etc.

it is something that is becoming a serious problem seemingly world wide. we have the us school shootings. mall shootings in both Canada and in the us. school knifing sprees in china. and many others that we are hearing about. where someone goes on a rampage killing as many people and or kids as they can before generally killing themselves. i am not referring to the standard terrorist attacks like people who like to strap bombs on themselves and blow themselves up, as that type of thing normally seems to have some sort of organization behind it and so is a different thing altogether. what i am referring to is the ones becoming so common where normally ONE individual seems to go off their rocker and goes on a rampage.

counting an inanimate tool such as a gun or knife as the problem is just silly. sure in the states where guns are not only readily available to a lot of people, are fairly easy to use AND glorified in media and video games, they are the weapon of choice for these crimes. but other weapons CAN be used as well, as such guns are really NOT the problem. the problem is WHY people are acting in this way, with such seemingly increasing numbers.

violence in media MAY be a contributing factor. the fact that you are rewarded for killing in games. and the seeming glory attached to killing in other media. but violence in media goes back a very long way. from old pirate tales and dime store novels through to movies and now tv. so while being a possible contributing factor i again don't believe that it is the real problem, otherwise such things would have been happening all along.

then we come to mental illness. i think THIS is a part of the problem, but not in the way that most people would think. again if that were the case it would have been happening virtually forever since mental illness has also been around forever. don't get me wrong mental illness HAS been a factor in violence, and is likely a part of what has been going on.

now before i get to what i think may be at least a big part of the problem, lets look at psychopaths. i have heard what really makes a psychopath is the inability to empithise.

Psychopathy (/saɪˈkɒpəθi/[1][2] is a personality disorder that has been variously characterized by shallow emotions (including reduced fear, a lack of empathy, and stress tolerance), coldheartedness, egocentricity, superficial charm, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, impulsivity, criminality, antisocial behavior, a lack of remorse, and a parasitic lifestyle. However, there is no consensus about the symptom criteria and there are ongoing debates regarding issues such as essential features, causes, and the possibility of treatment.[3]

en.wikipedia.org...

i think the key parts are shallow emotions (including reduced fear, a lack of empathy[i], and stress tolerance). i think this is a definite key to understanding the problem. i would think most of us would agree that Psychopathy plays a huge part in the problem.

now what has really changed in the way "mental disorders" and even so called "social disorder" are treated today? we no longer just lock them up, give them electro shock therapy etc (this is a good thing). in post cases any more you don't even really talk to a pycologist about the problem and how to deal with it. no instead most likely you will be put onto medication. i think that THAT is likely where the main issue may come from. one of the forms of medication they give you is called SSRI.

what IS SSRI?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor[1] (SSRIs) are a class of compounds typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders.

en.wikipedia.org...

some side effects that i think are particularly disturbing

Nervousness, agitation or restlessness Reduced sexual desire or difficulty reaching orgasm Inability to maintain an erection (erectile dysfunction)

www.mayoclinic.com...

extremely vivid or strange dreams

increased feelings of depression and anxiety (which may sometimes provoke panic attacks) mania and psychotic disorders

suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide)

en.wikipedia.org...

from personal experience you also seem to LOOSE most EMOTION. things that SHOULD bother you DO NOT for example. now looking back at Psychopathy, we see shallow emotions and lack of empathy (yet another EMOTION) are part of the problem, as we can see by some of the "listed" side effects that emotions are rather suppressed by this drug, then add on "thoughts of suicide" this is deeply trubleing. is it really that much of a stretch to think that perhaps these DRUGS being used, as a "quick fix" instead of trying to help the person sort out their truble, may be a MAJOR factor of the problem?

then add in the glorification of killing through things like entertainment and video games on top of that. what in most people STOPS people from committing such acts is EMOTIONS like empathy, pity, remorse, etc. added with a drug that PURGES such emotions is it any wonder that we have the problem we are facing?

edit on Fri Jan 4 2013 by DontTreadOnMe because: fixed color code