Mental Health Crisis in America: what do we do?

[depotoo]

I am so glad for you. Be sure to listen to loved ones if they ever suspect something isn't quite right. It takes a lot of guts to be able to do that. My ex loved the highs of his manic depression too much. What he failed to remember is eventually paranoia/ schizophrenia would set in when he topped out. He became dangerous to himself, myself, the kids, and others then. And he refused to accept the responsibility of taking his meds.

Took me 10 years of trial and error to find the drugs that worked for me. They don't solve all my problems but they allow me to handle my problems. I can't work though but I am not in and out of the hospital all the time. I still had the problem initially with not wanting to take medication but the meds work and after a few months of seeing them work I am pretty good at taking them. I have stopped a few times but I feel myself slipping back into the same condition so start taking them again before I lose it completely.

 

[Jackson]

I read the report of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter the other day. It tells of a mother who refused to participate n the mental health concerns of her son and instead thought of him as gifted.

He was so mentally ill that he could not go to schools for a while and his mother did not see that he took his medication. Since he came from an affluent family, the school did not press the issue.

The full report is in this article.

Report on Newtown s Adam Lanza finds missed chances - CNN.com

Many lessons to be learned here.

 

[Jackson]

Those that haven't dealt with the mentally ill don'-t understand that normal to the seriously mentally ill is when they are off their meds. On their meds feels abnormal to them, thus they find any way they can not to take it.

Meds really haven't helped my child anyway.

Maybe, they just haven't come up with the right formula.

 

[depotoo]

Thank you. That was very interesting.

I read the report of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter the other day. It tells of a mother who refused to participate n the mental health concerns of her son and instead thought of him as gifted.

He was so mentally ill that he could not go to schools for a while and his mother did not see that he took his medication. Since he came from an affluent family, the school did not press the issue.

The full report is in this article.

Report on Newtown s Adam Lanza finds missed chances - CNN.com

Many lessons to be learned here.

 

[Politico]

So lets face it. We have a mental health crisis. Parents calling the cops on their mentally fudged up children. Drug companies prescribing pills for every damn thing imagineable. Mass shootingz.

How do we fix it?

Quit doing all that crap and stop screwing up your kids.

 

[Disir]

I read the report of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter the other day. It tells of a mother who refused to participate n the mental health concerns of her son and instead thought of him as gifted.

He was so mentally ill that he could not go to schools for a while and his mother did not see that he took his medication. Since he came from an affluent family, the school did not press the issue.

The full report is in this article.

Report on Newtown s Adam Lanza finds missed chances - CNN.com

Many lessons to be learned here.

The actual report indicates that there was only one organization that had correctly diagnosed his mental health issues. One. I know that it is fun to crack on mom. She's dead. Last I checked, she had been trying to acquire adult guardianship of him because legally she could do nothing.

 

[Iceweasel]

I think the issue comes up more now for many reasons. The states don't want to pay for permanent care and there is an air of non-judgementalism like it could happen to anyone so it's cruel to lock people up. And mental institutes did have some issues. The lobotomies and electric shock therapies didn't help the public image.

Some people party too hard and too long and destroy their brains. If they are too far gone they need to be off the streets. Those that want help should get it and could be treated in an outpatient basis.

I also think the computer age/games/entertainment help make some kids very short on attention span. Classrooms probably are like watching grass grow to some of them. Parents should be on top of it.

 

[TrueMan]

The US is experiencing an epidemic of crippling mental illness. That's true. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans suffers from this disease each year. We should help them get services that they need. It's really hard in our country, you know.

 

[Jackson]

I read the report of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter the other day. It tells of a mother who refused to participate n the mental health concerns of her son and instead thought of him as gifted.

He was so mentally ill that he could not go to schools for a while and his mother did not see that he took his medication. Since he came from an affluent family, the school did not press the issue.

The full report is in this article.

Report on Newtown s Adam Lanza finds missed chances - CNN.com

Many lessons to be learned here.

The actual report indicates that there was only one organization that had correctly diagnosed his mental health issues. One. I know that it is fun to crack on mom. She's dead. Last I checked, she had been trying to acquire adult guardianship of him because legally she could do nothing.

No. it's not fun. It's reality. And there she was with all the guns and ammo in the house knowing her son had serious mental issues.

He was part of a web site community that focused on mass murder and other violent topics. He had anorexia. That happens over time. She went along with him ignoring his medication.

Did you read the names of all the young children who were killed by him? Read the report again.

 

[Disir]

I read the report of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter the other day. It tells of a mother who refused to participate n the mental health concerns of her son and instead thought of him as gifted.

He was so mentally ill that he could not go to schools for a while and his mother did not see that he took his medication. Since he came from an affluent family, the school did not press the issue.

The full report is in this article.

Report on Newtown s Adam Lanza finds missed chances - CNN.com

Many lessons to be learned here.

The actual report indicates that there was only one organization that had correctly diagnosed his mental health issues. One. I know that it is fun to crack on mom. She's dead. Last I checked, she had been trying to acquire adult guardianship of him because legally she could do nothing.

No. it's not fun. It's reality. And there she was with all the guns and ammo in the house knowing her son had serious mental issues.

He was part of a web site community that focused on mass murder and other violent topics. He had anorexia. That happens over time. She went along with him ignoring his medication.

Did you read the names of all the young children who were killed by him? Read the report again.

Key Findings
1. AL presented with significant developmental challenges from earliest childhood, including
communication and sensory difficulties, socialization delays,
and repetitive behaviors. He was seen by the New Hampshire “Birth to Three” intervention program
when he was almost three years old and referred for special education preschool services.
2.The Newtown Public Schools also provided some special education services to AL when he
was in elementary school, but services were limited and providers did not identify any communication or social emotional deficits
3. AL’s social-emotional challenges increased after fourth grade.
4. There were early indications of AL’s preoccupation with violence, depicted by extremely
graphic writings that appeared to have been largely unaddressed by schools and possibly by parents.
5. AL’s anxiety began to further impact his ability to attend school and in 8th grade he was placed on “homebound” status through his education plan—a placement for children that
are too disabled, even with supports and accommodations, to attend school.
6. AL had several sessions with a community psychiatrist between age 13 and 15, though there
are no medical records regarding this physician’s treatment. Through brief correspondence
with the school the psychiatrist supported Mrs. Lanza’s desire to withdraw AL from the school setting in
8th grade..
7.The district provided little surveillance of AL’s homebound status, which lasted an entire
school year.
8.Recommendations from the Yale Child Study Center, where AL was evaluated at age 14
(AL’s 9th grade year), offered prescient observations that withdrawal from school and a
strategy of accommodating AL, rather than addressing his underlying needs, would lead to a
deteriorating life of dysfunction and isolation.
9. Medical and education records reflect repeated reference to AL’s diagnosis of Autism
Spectrum Disorder, Anxiety, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
10. Records indicate that Mr. Lanza made efforts after the Yale Child Study evaluation to seek
treatment, appropriate care coordination, and education planning for AL.
11. Yale’s recommendations for extensive special education supports, ongoing expert
consultation, and rigorous therapeutic supports embedded into AL’s daily life went largely
unheeded.
12. AL’s resistance to medication recommended for treatment of his Anxiety and Obsessive
Compulsive Disorders appeared to be reinforced by his mother. According to records, AL
disagreed with his Asperger’s diagnosis and may not have understood the benefit of
individual therapy.
13. Once AL was diagnosed,AL’s education plan did not appropriately classify his disabilities
and did not adhere to applicable guidelines regarding education for students with either
Autism Spectrum Disorders or Emotional Disturbance.
14. Though AL showed initial progress in 10th grade with the school’s plan to incrementally
return him to the school environment, his progress was short-lived. By the spring of that
year, AL had again withdrawn from most of his classes and had reverted to working on his
own or with tutors.
15.AL’s parents (and the school) appeared to conceptualize him as intellectual
ly gifted, and much of AL’s high school experience catered to his curricular needs. In actuality,
psychological testing performed by the school district in high school indicated AL’s
cognitive abilities were average.
16. AL completed high school through a combination of independent study, tutoring,and
classes at a local college.
17. Records indicate that the school system cared about AL’s success but also unwittingly
enabled Mrs. Lanza’s preference to accommodate and appease AL through the educational
plan’s lack of attention to social-emotional support, failure to provide related services, and
agreement to AL’s plan of independent study and early graduation at age 17.
18. AL and his parents did not appear to seek or participate in any mental health treatment aft
er 2008. No sustained input from any mental health provider is documented in AL’s
educational record or medical record after 2006.
19. Though AL was profoundly impaired by anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, his
parents may not have understood the depth or implications of his disabilities, including his
need for ongoing support.
20. AL’s pediatric records from age 13 to 17 note his obsessive compulsive behaviors, markedly ,
and repeated homebound or independent study, but records don’t clearly address AL’s need for mental health treatment, and often note during high school years that no medication or psychiatric treatment was being provided.
21.AL’s adult medical records do not reflect awareness or diagnosis of ongoing mental health issues.
22. AL progressively deteriorated in the last years of his life, eventually living in virtual social isolation.
23. AL stopped communicating with his father in 2010 and did not respond to numerous
emails Mr. Lanza sent between 2010 and 2012 seeking to spend time with him.
24. AL became increasingly preoccupied with mass murder, encouraged by a cyber -
community–a micro society of mass murder enthusiasts with whom he was in email communication.
25.Examination of AL’s communications during this time, while suggesting depression and, at
times, suicidal ideation, does not suggest the presence of psychosis (loss of contact with
reality)
26.AL, who over the years engaged in recreational shooting activities with both of his parents,
retained access to numerous firearms and high capacity ammunition magazines even as his
mental health deteriorated in late adolescence.
27. In the waning months of AL’s life, when his mother noted that he would not leave the house
and seemed despondent, it is not clear that any measures were taken to curtail his access to
guns or whether the family considered AL’s potential for suicide.
28. AL was anorexic at the time of his death measuring 6 feet tall and weighing only 112 pounds. Authors cannot determine what concerns were raised by his mother regarding his eating ability or habits, or his
continued emaciation during this time.
29.In the wake of Mrs.Lanza’s stated plan to move out of Sandy Hook in 2012, and perhaps
stimulated by fears of leaving the “comfort zone” of his home, AL planned and executed the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
30. In the course of AL’s entire life, minimal mental health evaluation and treatment (in relation
to his apparent need) was obtained. Of the couple of providers that saw AL, only one—the
Yale Child Study Center—seemed to appreciate the gravity of AL’s presentation, his need
for extensive mental health and special education supports, and the critical need for
medication to ease his obsessive - compulsive symptoms.
31. This report suggests the role that weaknesses and lapses in the educational and healthcare
systems’ response and untreated mental illness played in AL’s deterioration.
No direct line of causation can be drawn from these to the horrific mass murder at Sandy Hook.
32.The dynamics presented in this report reflect common concerns over siloed systems of
education, physical health, and mental health care for children.
33. Findings in the report strongly implicate the need to assist parents with understanding and addressing the needs of the needs of children with complex developmental and mental health disorders.
34. Relevant to this report is that a multi-state review conducted by the federal government
confirmed that many states struggle with a dramatic lack of effective services for transition-
age youthdiagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.
35. While this report focuses on educational, physical and mental health issues, the authors
recognize the significant role that assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips play
in mass murder.That AL had ready access to them cannot be ignored as a critical factor in
this tragedy. Assault weapons are thesingle most common denominator in mass shootings
in the United States and as such, their ready availability must be considered a critical public
health issue.
36. The likelihood of an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder or severe problems with
anxiety and obsessive compulsive tendencies committing an act of pre-meditated violence,
much lessone of AL’s magnitude, is rare. Individuals with those mental health or
developmental disorders are more likely to internalize (that is, to feel distressed emotionally
or to be confused, socially inappropriate or inept, and sometimes to harm themselves
inadvertently or intentionally) than to externalize (that is, to act out aggressively so as to
harm others). In AL’s case, his severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems
were combined with an atypical preoccupation with violence.Combined with access to
deadly weapons, this proved a recipe for mass murder. Autism Spectrum Disorder or other
psychiatric problems neither caused nor led to his murderous acts.
37. While authors describe the predisposing factors and compounding stresses in AL’s life,
authors do not conclude that they add up to an inevitable arc leading to mass murder.
There is no way to adequately explain why AL was obsessed with mass shootings and how
or why he came to act on this obsession. In the end, only he, and he alone, bears
responsibility for this monstrous act.


I wish parents were omniscient.

 

[bucs90]

So basically our population is going bat shit crazy. We dont have an answer for it. The medical industry just wants to profit from it. The cops are sick and tired of being called on to act as mental health counselors. And some parents jusg dont give a fuck if their shitbag son is suicidal and with access to guns.

Yeah. This will end well.

 

[Disir]

Bring back the State hospitals.

That's it.

They are no more crazier now then they ever were.

So basically our population is going bat shit crazy. We dont have an answer for it. The medical industry just wants to profit from it. The cops are sick and tired of being called on to act as mental health counselors. And some parents jusg dont give a fuck if their shitbag son is suicidal and with access to guns.

Yeah. This will end well.