At first I didn’t plan on blogging about this horrible tragedy for 2 reasons;
1. Hasn’t everyone had enough of this? The victims - countless. The shooter “glorified.”
2. This is a very personal subject for me.
It is actually the latter that eventually prompted me to write about what I honestly feel is an epidemic in our nation.
So, please let me start by offering my prayers and condolensces to all of those affected by this tragedy and all others before it similar in kind. My condolensces also go out to anyone who was ever affected by depression, suicide, or homicide.
And that is the purpose of my bringing up this topic.
The state of the mental health care system in this country.
I make absolutely no claim that I am an authority on this, but to me it seems plain commen sense.
I have never heard of anyone who hurt themselves or others that didn’t have “a long history of mental illness.”
Depression and Multiple Sclerosis almost go hand in hand, and the lack of treatment for mental health from the get go is poor at best.
Long gone are the days of spending a few weeks in a mental hospital with intense therapy. The time has past when Doctor’s released a patient only when mentally stable. The patient was then followed up with intense outpatient therapy, gradually getting better, or at least maintained.
Nowadays, it is usually your primary care physician who prescribes any medication. In addition, it is a LONG road from depression to suicide. Unfortunately the line between suicide and homicide is a VERY fine one.
I never understood suicide until I went down an 11 month path downhill. Often times, MS can seem hopeless, and that is exactly what a suicidal thought feeds on, and once fed, it grows like a weed.
Nine months ago, my Oncologist had me committed against my will to a local ER that takes mental patients. They used to have 3 nice hospitals in my area, but they have all closed.
Though my brief, 11 hour stay was one I would love to erase from my memory, I was lucky. I got in touch with a terrific therapist. But you must understand that I fought hard against the suicidal feelings. I was lucky that there was an iota of “me” left, and that I actually pursued the help offered at that point - most don’t make it.
Nine months later, after intense therapy as well as medication, it is still hard for me to get through each day.
Hands down, this is the HARDEST obstacle I have had to overcome.
The day after the VA Tech shootings, I said the same thing to my friend. There were too many signs. NO ONE just wakes up one day and hurts himself or others. It is truly an illness in and of itself.
It appals me how the science of Psychiatry/Psycology has seemed to deteriorate over the past 15 years rather than move foward as we have in other areas of science.
If, G-d forbid you were diagnosed with a brain tumor and the doctor said, “Here’s some medication. Take it and come back in 6 months. In fact, here is a one month supply of free samples!” Would that be acceptable to you or anyone who loves you?
There has been all the (geez, I can’t believe I’m about to say this…) “normal” controversy over this tragedy. Guns? Who should have them, be allowed to carry them, etc. Did the University do the right thing that morning?
I don’t know. But what I do know is that we won’t ever lose our right to bear aqrms in this country - whether or not you agree. This is a free country, and though we might not agree with all freedoms, if we enjoy other liberties, we oftentimes have to tolerate others. So, for me the whole gun thing is a waste of good breathe.
Mental illness on the other hand is something that, unfortunately, most of us will have to deal with in one way or another - be it within our own minds or by way of someone we love.
It is sad, unfortunate and needless, and it can be changed. Please G-d let this be the last time a tragedy of this nature occurs. Think of all the lost potential of those murdered. Maybe one of them could have found a cure for MS or any other plague. Is that enough for you to scream?
Think about the shooter and the torturous hell that this brilliant young man had to live with for so long. Too long, and too late.
You can’t escape your mind. It is sad, and I do have just as much pity for him as I do the other victims.
I don’t in anyway agree or support his actions, but I do understand. I understand because I was “there” in my own head, and it was nothing less than torture. My outrage is toward the degregation of our mental health system. Want to blame someone? Blame the doctors he saw.