Treat mental illness seriously
This is an extremely difficult editorial to write, because there aren’t words.
There aren’t words to describe the sorrow that not only the nation, but the world, feels for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. There aren’t words that can make us feel totally safe sending our children to school locally. There aren’t words to comfort the families and friends of the victims. And, there aren’t words to help heal the terrible emotional wounds left behind.
This is not an issue of gun control. While stricter guidelines should indeed be put in place, if someone wants to obtain an illegal weapon, there are ways to do it.
This is not an issue of censorship when it comes to music or video games. It can be said that violent video games desensitize people, making it easier for them to act out what they are doing on screen. But, sane, mentally stable people realize the difference between fantasy and reality, and right and wrong, despite playing such games.
This is not a political issue. It is not a time to be Republican or Democrat, or say that if Congress had extended the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, this wouldn’t have happened – it may have made the guns that the shooter used more difficult to obtain, but, as stated above, there are ways.
No, what this is is an issue of recognizing the signs of mental illness early on and taking steps to treat it. Like any other illness, if not treated, there can be dire consequences. In “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother: When Parents Are Afraid of Their Children,” Lisa Long writes of living in fear of her 13-year-old son, who while sometimes bright and happy, has threatened to kill himself and his family on multiple occasions. Long takes the threats so seriously that the boy’s siblings, her other children, have been trained to lock themselves in the car when he is having an episode. She also writes that her son calms down in the emergency room, in essence manipulating the doctors. He is on antipsychotic and mood altering medicines, as well as a slew of behavioral plans, yet nothing seems to work. The author was told that the best thing to do is to have her son charged with a crime, to start a paper trail so that as his behavior escalates, people will pay attention.
One has to wonder if there was less of a stigma about mental illness and more information available, more treatment plans, and most importantly, more treatment facilities, if things could be different. Locally, the closings of Mayview State Hospital in 2008 and Western Center in 2000 have left voids in the number of beds available to treat people with mental disorders. In an era where doctors offices and hospitals are understaffed and filled to capacity and budget cuts are rampant, something needs to be done. These disorders need to be treated regardless if the patient has health insurance or not, and follow up after the initial emergency room or mental hospital visit is key. Treating mental illness should not boil down to money, staff, budgets or insurance. As evidenced with the tragic events last week, innocent lives are at stake.