Mental Education And Mass Shootings

The public has programmed many to perceive those with mental illnesses as more dangerous. According to the New Yorker, a study done in 2013 showcased that forty-six percent of respondents believe that people suffering from a mental illness pose a greater danger to society than those without. Furthermore, two recent Gallup polls, from 2011 and 2013, demonstrated that more people believe that mass shootings transpire because of a failure in the mental health system, not due to the easy access of guns. In the cases of Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck, Virginia Tech, and more, teachers, students, parents, and most importantly, the public, automatically assumed only insanity could cause the performance of those acts. Of course, mental illness can play an immense factor in a person’s likelihood to commit violent acts, but pinpointing it as the paramount reason for them should not happen. After lengthy analyses of data that discusses the correlation of gun violence and mental disorders, Jeffrey Swanson, a medical sociologist and professor of psychiatry at Duke University concluded that mental illness became a risk factor for gun violence in four percent of cases. Although the presented facts disclose the almost non-existent connection between mental illness and gun violence, many continue believing the opposite.

In Psychology, there are perspectives and approaches that are looked into when trying to understand how the intricate human mind works. These perspectives are respectfully derived from different ideas and time periods, exemplifying different ways of thinking. These perspectives include: sociocultural, biopsychological, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive, and humanism. These approaches are critically essential in solving something as serious as murder, or simply even why someone acts the way they do. There are many instances where there will be shocking news stories about people committing murders—people that are so unexpected to do such harm. However, when the six

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the relation between gun violence and mental disorders and/or diseases. Within we will find if the violence in society is truly an issue, or if the real issue is the mental health and sanity of our society.

In the past decade mass shootings and domestic violence has become a topic frequently talked about in America's society. In America it is a popular belief that mass shootings are a product of mental illness or because there are an abundance of guns. A part of mass shootings occur because of mental illness, but not in the way many people believe. Drugs that are prescribed to people that have a mental illness or are depressed are affecting people's brains and the things that cross their minds. America's crisis on mass shootings and domestic violence is due to the prescription of psychotropic, psychiatric and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs, commonly referred to as antidepressants, from trusted psychiatrists.

Table 1, provided by ifoplease (2015) gives details of shool shooting with over two deaths occuring in america over the last decade. It helps to put context just how deadly these events can be.

Has the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill led to the increase of mass shootings experienced in the US? According to Lankford, several reports suggest that up to 60% of offenders of mass shootings in the US since 1970, exhibited symptoms including depression, delusions, and acute paranoia prior to the commission of their crimes. Further statistics have shown that since 1982, there have been at least 71 public mass shooting across the country; with 34 of these mass shooting having occurred since 2006. A recent analysis of the database by researchers at Harvard University corroborated by a recent FBI study concluded that mass shootings have been on the rise. More than half of the cases involve school or workplace shootings, 12 and 20

Furthermore, mental illness is turning out to be a major cause of gun violence, in order to reduce gun crimes and instead of creating more laws and stipulations, steps must be taken. A professor at the University of Virginia and clinical psychologist, Dewey G. Cornell stated, ''We need to focus on prevention more broadly, before the violence, to have a real impact.'' (qtd. In Broader Approach). Some interpret that as, Americans need to stop focusing on the laws, and start realizing that dangerous situations, such as a mass shooting, can be prevented by recognizing the signs. Countless individuals are beginning to share his feelings. Some mentally ill people are starting to have a major part in mass shootings and those

In “Talking About Mental Health After a Mass Shootings is a Cop-out” (2017), Fareed Zakaria justifies the idea that the main issue causing mass shootings is a “cop-out”. Zakaria elucidates this assertion by explaining that mass shootings are unjustly blamed on mental health rather than guns or the intentions of the person, as well as providing data that supports the idea that “gun violence across the United States find a similarly tight correlation” (6). He uses facts derived from reliable data, that observe the relation of gun violence to gun laws, in order to convince the audience of the real issue, leading people to start blaming the real problem rather than mental health. Zakaria addresses those who unreasonably blame mental health because

In “Psychiatrists Can’t Stop Mass Killers” from The New York Times, Richard Friedman writes about the inefficiency of mental health care in preventing mass killings. The piece is in response to the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Friedman disagrees with the claims of politicians that think that mental health care can help detect mass killers. Health care would be ineffective because mass murderers are intent on murdering people, not seeking help. Friedman also says that “the mentally ill contribute very little to overall violence in this country” and so, mental help would do little to lower the crime rate. Since human aggression cannot be predicted, Friedman believes that the best solution is to deprive mass killers of weapons.

The documentary, “Pathway to Violence”, delves into the topic of mass murders, especially school shootings. Citing crimes such as those that took place at Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Virginia Tech, viewers are shown the inside view of the perpetrators. It is shown that offenders often display warning signs, which are commonly missed. The documentary offers not only a look at the perpetrators themselves, but also at the reformations that are necessary to potentially prevent these tragedies before they happen.

With mental illness identified as a very probable cause of these shootings, it is critical that the evidently poor and ineffective clinical help for mental disorders be reevaluated. A theoretical explanation for the modern prevalence of mental illness could be the increasingly optional nature of treatment: therapy is a choice, and checking into a facility or institution is

Since then there have been lots of books about serial killers, lots of brain research and many more mass shootings. There are MRIs and talk about high levels of neurotransmitters like dopamine and plunging levels of serotonin. There's research into the limbic system, a primitive part of the brain that controls emotions and behavior. New medications have revolutionized psychiatric care for depression, even psychotics.

Senator Creigh Deeds story is just one of many that end in tragedy because of a mental health system that has failed. While the major proportion of people living with mental illness are not violent, they can become a victim of violence. According to the latest statistics from the American Psychological Association one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in twenty-four has a serious mental disorder (SMI), and people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent that people without mental illness (Association, American Psychiatric, 2016). Untreated mental health care is characteristic of the violent crimes that we see happening today. Some of the reasons behind these untreated individuals are the unmet needs of people not having a financial means to pay for services, lack of insurance, knowledge about how to access care, embarrassment about having the need for services, and those that needed care but experienced delays in accessing care (Jones et al., 2014).

Since the late 1970’s, there has been a strong correlation between mental health disorders and the perpetrators of mass shootings. “Up to 60% of the perpetrators have displayed symptoms including acute paranoia, delusions and depression before committing their crimes” (Metzl & Macleish, 2015). In the case of Adam Lanza, infamously known for the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the history of his mental illnesses is quite extensive. However, it has been discovered that when it comes to mental illnesses, it is not influenced by one factor, but rather many factors that have integrated into the individual’s life (Sue, 2014). These factors began affecting Lanza’s life at only two years old, continuing throughout his lifetime until his heinous act of murder at the age of twenty. Throughout his

This Ted Talk is presented by Sue Klebold, the mother of Dylan Klebold who was one of the shooters from the 1999 Columbine Shooting. For the greater part of the talk, Sue discusses how her son was suffering from some sort of mental illness prior to the shooting. One of Sue’s main points was that people with mental illnesses do not always act out in a violent way however, Sue mentiones that as suicide rates increase, murder suicides will increase as well. Unfortunately, her son was a part of the small percentage of people with a mental illness who acted out in a violent way by murdering many people before taking his own life. I chose this TED Talk because I would like to learn more about mental health issues and I feel as if these issues are not taken seriously so I’d like to learn more about the surrounding issues. This video was one of the best TED talks I have seen and really delivered a good message to those watching. Sue Klebold was also a very good speaker and the examples she used accurately reflected her main points. She was also very passionate about the topic of mental health because she suffered from a mental illness after her son commited the massacre.