shootings and mental health

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Does anyone else agree that the USA needs to get their act together on all issues of mental health? The lastest shooting could have been prevented if only the perpretrator could have been treated properly. He refused, and no one could do a thing about it due to his rights. Well he violated 33 peoples rights to live when he snapped. What can we do as health professionals to educate the public and change some laws in the favor of treating these troubled souls.

Mental illness remains a "closet illness".

[quote=spacenurse;2164750

By Helen Thomas, I remember reading this. It is hard to believe these crooks that ran our country were such dishonest cruel men. - http://www.maebrussell.com/Watergate/Helen%20Thomas.html

For a seriously eye-opening, "aha" read, go to http://www.iamthewitness.com. It is really shocking, might be deemed offensive, but very, very interesting. Be mature and strong of heart if you plan to go there, not easily offended. Go with an open mind.

Cho, in this case, was able to get his guns legally, but from what I've read over the years about cases like this - even if the safeguards had been in place, and he hadn't been able to purchase them from a gunshop - he would have gotten them somehow, he was on a mission.

Hindsight is always better than foresight in these cases - whenever tragedies like this happen, we're always able to point at things that should have tipped us off, or things that we should have done.

The fact of the matter is he killed 32 innocent people, and injured 15 others who were supposed to be in a 'gun-safe' zone. Gun control didn't work in this situation because like most times it then left the innocent at the mercy of a crazy person.

The police can't be everywhere, all the time. I just thank God that my granddaughter who lives in Virginia wasn't at that campus.

Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
... at the mercy of a crazy person...

It's "mentally ill". This man needed help.

Sorry, the term crazy just bugs me and I know you aren't the only one who uses it.

Did He Buy the Guns Legally?

A federal background check cleared Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui to buy weapons. It should have stopped him cold.

April 19, 2007 - The disclosure that Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui was once involuntary detained for mental illness may change the typical debate over gun control that inevitably follows gun-related tragedies….

… the same 1968 federal gun law that bars convicted criminals from buying firearms (passed in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy) also prohibits gun purchases by those who have a history of mental illness. Indeed, when Cho bought the guns, he had to answer the following question on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Form 4473: “Have you ever been adjudicated mentally defective or … committed to a mental institution?” Cho answered “no.”…

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18217741/site/newsweek/

It's easy to blame a lack of gun control for this tragedy. However, there are many ways to kill a number of people without firing a shot. Timothy McVeigh made a bomb. Others have used cars and airplanes. I'm sure that some have used poisons and fire. Granted some of this has been done by terrorist extremists but that doesn't make them any less insane than Cho.

We need to step back and take the time to know our neighbors. Become friends. There are alot of lonely people in this country. Just think how this could have turned out if someone would have taken the time to learn about Cho. Sure he was referrred to counselling but than everything stopped. I'll bet no one ever invited him to a party, out to lunch, or other social event. This guy had been teased and ridiculed for most of his life because he was different in some way.

The same thing happened to me all the way through grade school, junior high, and high school. (Columbine could have happened 20 years before it did at my high school because I had dreams about doing it). I was a very shy, angry, and intense person when I started college. I was going to hurt them before I got hurt because it was the only way that I could win. In fact, I was almost kicked out not because of grades but because of my actions. The only thing that kept me from doing an evil deed like this was someone took the time to become a friend.

My friend not only recommended counselling but made sure that I got there. He taught me that my peers could be kind even to people who were weird. He taught me some social skills which helped me get over my profound shyness and fears. This person has made me what I am now...confident, fairly outgoing, successful. I still have problems especially when something like this happens as it just brings up all those terrible memories.

Thanks Friend,

Fuzzy

Specializes in ER.

People that come to our ER and ask for help face a 3-4 hour wait before a crisis worker shows up. They need to relinquish their clothes and personal belongings and sit in a stripped down room with nothing to do. Even if he went for help it's not a very welcoming or efficient system.

It's easy to blame a lack of gun control for this tragedy. However, there are many ways to kill a number of people without firing a shot. Timothy McVeigh made a bomb. Others have used cars and airplanes. I'm sure that some have used poisons and fire. Granted some of this has been done by terrorist extremists but that doesn't make them any less insane than Cho.

We need to step back and take the time to know our neighbors. Become friends. There are alot of lonely people in this country. Just think how this could have turned out if someone would have taken the time to learn about Cho. Sure he was referrred to counselling but than everything stopped. I'll bet no one ever invited him to a party, out to lunch, or other social event. This guy had been teased and ridiculed for most of his life because he was different in some way.

The same thing happened to me all the way through grade school, junior high, and high school. (Columbine could have happened 20 years before it did at my high school because I had dreams about doing it). I was a very shy, angry, and intense person when I started college. I was going to hurt them before I got hurt because it was the only way that I could win. In fact, I was almost kicked out not because of grades but because of my actions. The only thing that kept me from doing an evil deed like this was someone took the time to become a friend.

My friend not only recommended counselling but made sure that I got there. He taught me that my peers could be kind even to people who were weird. He taught me some social skills which helped me get over my profound shyness and fears. This person has made me what I am now...confident, fairly outgoing, successful. I still have problems especially when something like this happens as it just brings up all those terrible memories.

Thanks Friend,

Fuzzy

Thank you, Fuzzy, for sharing your story. I'm so glad that your friend took the time to BE a friend and reach out to you. The world can be a very cold place to those who, for whatever reason, feel that they don't fit in. It might help if we could all remember that those who need help/love/friendship most are those who seem to deserve it the least. I say, "seem to," because it isn't about deserving but needing. There isn't anyone walking the planet who doesn't need connection. Some have disqualified themselves from receiving it or have placed themselves out of reach, but they still need it.

The laws set up to protect the mentally ill often doom them to a lonely existence without the treatment they need to even begin to make rational decisions. I'm not talking about living conventional lives. I'm talking about survival. We're so terrified of trampling on people's rights that we don't even recognize the absurdity of allowing seriously disturbed people to make harmful choices until a tragedy occurs. We aren't even allowed to inform families and friends who might be able to intercede and offer help.

We went from too many restrictions and too much potential for abuse to almost no restrictions and too much potential for self-destruction and horrendous violence. Surely, there is something in between.

Thank you, Fuzzy, for sharing your story. I'm so glad that your friend took the time to BE a friend and reach out to you. The world can be a very cold place to those who, for whatever reason, feel that they don't fit in. It might help if we could all remember that those who need help/love/friendship most are those who seem to deserve it the least. I say, "seem to," because it isn't about deserving but needing. There isn't anyone walking the planet who doesn't need connection. Some have disqualified themselves from receiving it or have placed themselves out of reach, but they still need it.

The laws set up to protect the mentally ill often doom them to a lonely existence without the treatment they need to even begin to make rational decisions. I'm not talking about living conventional lives. I'm talking about survival. We're so terrified of trampling on people's rights that we don't even recognize the absurdity of allowing seriously disturbed people to make harmful choices until a tragedy occurs. We aren't even allowed to inform families and friends who might be able to intercede and offer help.

We went from too many restrictions and too much potential for abuse to almost no restrictions and too much potential for self-destruction and horrendous violence. Surely, there is something in between.

You write it so well. Thank you!

Questions unanswered 8 years after Columbine

Littleton families question judge's decision to seal information about killers

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18226635/

"I didn't know him," said the student. "He was quiet." But a roommate who had known Cho in high school in Chantilly suggested during their sophomore year that they ought to try to bring Cho out of his funk. "We'd try to talk to him. but he'd barely respond. So one day my roommate challenged himself to get him to talk to us. We told him a joke." Cho did laugh that day, according to the student.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1611548,00.html

People that come to our ER and ask for help face a 3-4 hour wait before a crisis worker shows up. They need to relinquish their clothes and personal belongings and sit in a stripped down room with nothing to do. Even if he went for help it's not a very welcoming or efficient system.

I live in Wyoming. We are number 1 in suicides. Finally the state is trying to do something about the problem. After all #1 in coal production is good for business. Number 1 in suicides shows a lack of services big time. In fact there have been 3 suicides (that I have known about) in this county (pop. 25,000) since the first of the year.

If a person goes to our hospital ER with a mental problem, the same thing happens as Canoehead stated. I was forced into that room nearly 10 years ago because life was bad. I was put in a paper gown, no TV, no reading material, a small cold room with a lock on the door. There was also a "sitter" outside. I was freaked out!! Once in awhile a harried nurse would come in with some ativan. I was in there for 3 days while waiting for my ride to the state hospital. I had little or no human interaction. Granted I was suicidal and homicidal when I went in, but a "normal" person would have become homicidal/suicidal if they were in that room under those conditions for 3 days. H*** a normal person would have sued and won. If I would have become violent, they would have put me in jail. But hey at least there would have been clothing, a TV, something to read, and possibly some social interaction. If I get this way again, I hope that I can go to jail.

Our legislators blame the problem on the lack of services and stigma which are true. However, I also blame the problem on the knowledge that people have of the system should they ask or are forced into "help". There are people in this community who will die first before they are incarcerated in that room again. I think that it's the intial treatment that we receive that increases the state's suicide rate. It's not nice--not nice at all.

Fuzzy

I live in Wyoming. We are number 1 in suicides. Finally the state is trying to do something about the problem. After all #1 in coal production is good for business. Number 1 in suicides shows a lack of services big time. In fact there have been 3 suicides (that I have known about) in this county (pop. 25,000) since the first of the year.

If a person goes to our hospital ER with a mental problem, the same thing happens as Canoehead stated. I was forced into that room nearly 10 years ago because life was bad. I was put in a paper gown, no TV, no reading material, a small cold room with a lock on the door. There was also a "sitter" outside. I was freaked out!! Once in awhile a harried nurse would come in with some ativan. I was in there for 3 days while waiting for my ride to the state hospital. I had little or no human interaction. Granted I was suicidal and homicidal when I went in, but a "normal" person would have become homicidal/suicidal if they were in that room under those conditions for 3 days. H*** a normal person would have sued and won. If I would have become violent, they would have put me in jail. But hey at least there would have been clothing, a TV, something to read, and possibly some social interaction. If I get this way again, I hope that I can go to jail.

Our legislators blame the problem on the lack of services and stigma which are true. However, I also blame the problem on the knowledge that people have of the system should they ask or are forced into "help". There are people in this community who will die first before they are incarcerated in that room again. I think that it's the intial treatment that we receive that increases the state's suicide rate. It's not nice--not nice at all.

Fuzzy

Thank you for this!

It seems CARING for all people still needs advancement. We still have a long way to go since the reforms of Dorothea Dix in the early 18 hundreds:

http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dorotheadix.html

RE: Shootings and Mental Health

On a general scale--USA do not advertise for Psy: Nurses-correct me if i am wrong.For the amount of hostage taking and many more mental issues which need Psy: nurses; the police alone cannot deal with such matters only, you need Psychiatrist, Mental Nurses ,who could work within the communities----this is within the whole country.They should be follow up from all schools leading to uiversities and all information should show the type of human being you are dealing you are dealing with.Then on interviews or universities on your panel, have present, The Community Nurse, the or A Psychicologist along withe the rest of the panel.You now have to look at Safety for everyone within the environment of the whole System.

May I ask this question-- Why do all Americas need a gun? why are people so scared; what happened way back then to cause such. All persons who carry a gun, should carry information about themselves to say exactly what they are protecting.

Coral - I agree. Why do people need guns in the "land of the free"?

One day I was discussing gun ownership with the unit coordinator and an LPN at work, who both admitted to having guns in the house. I couldn't understand why. They lived in the town... (no wild bears to fend off). They had kids living with them...accidents happen.

They continued to discuss various cases whereby several people had accidentally shot themselves (including a pt) or others, even killing people by mistake. If it happens by mistake, no wonder it happens on purpose.

Gun ownership laws need reforming.

I never allow my child to play at houses where there are guns (or any weapons).

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