From the National Association of Mental Illness factsheet:
Quote
Although military members comprise less than 1 percent of the U.S. population,veterans represent 20 percent of suicides nationally. Each day, about 22 veterans die from suicide.
http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdfWe don't want to oversimplify the situation and say that this guy shot a bunch of people because he was mentally ill. Nobody can make that claim yet. But there is definitely something rotten. We can't even place the blame on the military because chances are if this guy was mentally ill and untreated, he remained untreated because of the stigma associated with mental illness, which prevents many men from seeking help. Mental health isn't viewed like physical health, but it should be, because it fluctuates and gets better and worse just like it.
It is just going to get worse until societal attitudes change. As long as the mentally ill are looked down upon and while prison is the default mental health care facility in the United States, this will keep happening.
It is no wonder people associate mental illness with badness, the government closed all their community care facilities, replaces them with nothing, and started throwing crazy people into for-profit prisons.
Quote (balrog66 @ Apr 3 2014 06:47am)
Can't you put some blame of the stigma on the military? Military culture seems to reinforce the whole "strong man without weaknesses, doesn't cry and doesn't flinch at the sight of violence" stereotype.
That attitude is a reflection of our society as a whole, just exaggerated.
This post was edited by Skinned on Apr 3 2014 05:49am