Thank you both.
The treatment of mental illness in America, (and Europe, and everywhere else for that matter), is perhaps the single greatest cause for shame amongst medical scientists today.
We simply do a lousy job under the best of circumstances, and we are worse than lousy all the rest of the time.
We are understaffed with appropriately trained people at every level, the system does not adequately compensate those who provide the care, and we lack any sophisticated way of isolating those at high risk for offense.
Because we decided more than 5 decades ago to follow the "least restrictive" treatment regimen, we have created a scenario where almost nothing CAN be done until someone wreaks havoc, then we cry, "Someone should have done something!"
Unless you are incarcerated in a mental health institution because of criminal insanity, it is virtually impossible to compel someone to undergo treatment. Treating mentally ill people requires CONSTANT care, and a single breach of consistency in that care can create a disaster like we saw last month.
Meds are not the answer, but they can be a part of it. All the rest is very complex, and our health care system does not like complexity when it comes to mental illness!
I hesitate to point this out, but virtually every single mass shooter is a male aged 16-40, with a few older males thrown in. Can anyone remember a female mass shooter? Maybe the answer is to restrict males from having firearms!
(I kid, I kid!)
The treatment of mental illness in America, (and Europe, and everywhere else for that matter), is perhaps the single greatest cause for shame amongst medical scientists today.
We simply do a lousy job under the best of circumstances, and we are worse than lousy all the rest of the time.
We are understaffed with appropriately trained people at every level, the system does not adequately compensate those who provide the care, and we lack any sophisticated way of isolating those at high risk for offense.
Because we decided more than 5 decades ago to follow the "least restrictive" treatment regimen, we have created a scenario where almost nothing CAN be done until someone wreaks havoc, then we cry, "Someone should have done something!"
Unless you are incarcerated in a mental health institution because of criminal insanity, it is virtually impossible to compel someone to undergo treatment. Treating mentally ill people requires CONSTANT care, and a single breach of consistency in that care can create a disaster like we saw last month.
Meds are not the answer, but they can be a part of it. All the rest is very complex, and our health care system does not like complexity when it comes to mental illness!
I hesitate to point this out, but virtually every single mass shooter is a male aged 16-40, with a few older males thrown in. Can anyone remember a female mass shooter? Maybe the answer is to restrict males from having firearms!
(I kid, I kid!)
You seek escape from pain. We seek the achievement of happiness. You exist for the sake of avoiding punishment. We exist for the sake of earning rewards. Threats will not make us function; fear is not our incentive. It is not death that we wish to avoid, but life that we wish to live. - John Galt