The conversation surrounding mental illness and gun violence is broken
Originally posted February 22, 2018.
I haven't really figured out how to talk about this. But since I was in and out of fitful sleep last night as the words of NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch during last night's town hall--words that she used to call those with mental illness "nuts," "crazy people," "mentally insane"1--echoed through both my thoughts and dreams, I'm going to give it a go.
In the conversation regarding violent crimes, and in all conversations about anything, those who battle mental illness deserve dignity. Pointing the finger at a group of people who you then label with harmful and offensive phrases is classic scapegoating. To hear the president address the issue yesterday was to hear clear undertones of a man who wants to lock up mentally ill people in institutions, not reform the broken and inadequate mental health system in our country. These institutions Trump refers to, the ones the government shut down decades ago, were shut down in the first place because of the dehumanizing conditions and lack of agency provided to patients for actual care, often times resembling unlawful prisons and not hospitals.
To further the narrative of violent crimes being laid at the feet of people who fight mental illness is to push further the stigma built against those people, and worsen the issue dramatically. Already in this country, the conversation about mental illness is either an unhealthy one or one that doesn't occur at all. People are often uncomfortable to talk about what they or their loved ones deal with, leading people to seek help less readily. And seeking help and treatment is critical for anyone dealing with a mental illness or disorder--it's the first huge step. Demonizing these people will only make the conversation retreat further to the periphery, allowing for it to be socially acceptable to bully and dismiss those who are open with their fight to get well.
For those of you that are less empathetic, there are also the facts that people who fight a mental illness are much more likely to be a victim of gun violence than to carry out gun violence against others. The 2016 study I've linked at the bottom of this post goes into extreme depth, and I encourage you to read all of it. To get you started, here's one take-home message:
"Even if one assumes a direct association between violence against others and serious mental illness, the focus must be narrowed to the population of individuals with serious mental illness associated with less than 3% of all violence (Fazel and Grann 2006). Furthermore, current research suggests that in general there is a minimal relationship between psychiatric disorders and violence in the absence of substance abuse (Martone et al. 2013). Thus, the assumption that all persons with mental illness are a 'high-risk' population relative to violence generally and gun violence in particular lacks supportive evidence. The likelihood of error and oversimplification is substantial when mental illness is considered on 'the aggregate level' such that a 'vast and diverse population of persons diagnosed
with psychiatric conditions' is considered to uniformly represent people who are at risk of committing gun violence against others."
So how are those who fight mental illness more likely to be a victim of gun violence? Well, a vast majority of gun-related deaths are suicides (over 60%). And the leading method of suicide, at nearly 50%, is through use of a gun. The lack of gun control in our country is specifically and dramatically harming those with mental disorders at a greater rate than anyone else.
I'll be honest with you all. I'm really angry and upset about this on a deeply personal level. Those who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder--as I am--have a suicide rate of 15%, and a 50% attempted suicide rate. As you've heard, it's most likely that those suicides are being carried out with guns, and guns are by far the most lethal method to attempt, with more than 82% of attempted suicides by guns resulting in death. Having gun laws similar to other countries could cut the number of suicides in America by 38%, this report from The Washington Post believes.
So. What does all of that mean? It means we should ABSOLUTELY have gun control, for all people. Less access to guns will mean fewer deaths by guns. It also means we should ABSOLUTELY invest into real health care reform for mental disorders, providing greater access to mental health care professionals than currently exists in most places in our country. No more 4-8 month stretches for people who are hurting and wanting help, with no access to a way to get better.
It means stop calling people "crazy," "nuts," "insane." Using harmful language like that makes it less likely for the stigma surrounding mental illness to disappear, making it less likely for those who deal with disorders to seek the treatment they desperately need to survive.
DO something about guns. DO something about the pathetic mental health system in America. DON'T scapegoat a portion of the population because it's easy.
https://psychiatryonline.org/.../appi.books.9781615371099
Teen Vogue with some hard-hitting commentary here. Actually.