Reply to Family of six killed by depressed and suicidal 19-year-old

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is some great information about studies of mental illness and violent behavior here: https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/3633-risk-factors-for-violence-in-serious-mental-illness

This is also an organization that is working on reform of the civil commitment laws to enable better interventions before unstable mentally ill patients engage in violence in the community.

The short answer is that while the vast majority of persons suffering from mental illness are not violent, a very substantial percentage are - and the critical factors are being UNSTABLE (i.e., untreated) and having a co-occuring substance abuse diagnosis, which is incredibly common among untreated mentally ill persons. [/quote]

All of the studies at the link are of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders or serious untreated mental illness. These are not studies of all people with mental health problems, and certainly not studies of the more than 17 million Americans who have experienced depressive episodes.

Depression does not make you a murderer. Some people who kill or harm others have depression. But as you yourself point out, they are unstable (untreated) and often have substance abuse problems. Those are serious complicating factors! Substance abuse is a major cause of violence in this country.

And the great irony here is that the more we stigmatize mental health issues, the more people will remain untreated because of fear of stigma. Stop stigmatizing mental illness. You are making the problem worse.[/quote]

No, you stop. You obviously didn’t read all that is posted there, you saw schizophrenia listed and assumed the rest.

I have repeatedly said UNSTABLE mental illness which is untreated mental illness which is most of the people we are talking about and most people in this country who aren’t being diagnosed or treated. People like Andrea Yates who had post partum depression with psychosis and murdered all her children.

I am not stigmatizing people with mental illness. I AM A PERSON WITH MENTAL ILLNESS! I have struggled with it for FORTY YEARS. People with mental illness DO ENGAGE IN VIOLENT BEHAVIOR. You can’t magically tell who will and who won’t. And you are not helping anyone with your mantra that mental illness is harmless. It is neither harmless to the people suffering with it, their loved ones who suffer from the effects on the family, nor the victims of crimes that are carried out by some people with mental illness. Far more than the ‘less than one percent’ BULLSHIT you keep spouting.

YOU are not helping. YOU. [/quote]

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