Most Mentally Ill Are NOT Violent...

Most mentally ill people are NOT violent!

I won't provide a cite, because this information is all over the internet. (Do your own internet search. And please, research the topic thoroughly.)

And BTW, this includes schizophrenics too. As long as they stay on their medication, and don't take drugs (please look this item up too), they should be alright. In fact even when schizophrenics are actively psychotic, they tend more to just withdraw into themselves--in other words, they are LESS LIKELY to be violent!

Yeah, I have personal knowledge/a personal stake in this because my father (God rest his soul) was bi-polar. And he was the nicest person you could have ever met by far. He was never violent (although one time when he became really manic, he was a little "combative").

So why should we discriminate against them then?

(BTW, please tell me if you never knew this. I'd be interested to know. And tell me if you always knew this--I'd much rather hear that anyways.)

:love:

 

My cousin's uncle (not sure how we would be related because he's by marriage and I'm really not sure about that part of the family tree)..... is schizophrenic. He was always very peaceful until he took a steel wool brillo pad to his face. He said Satan had been talking to him, and a voice told him to cleanse himself. I'm not sure what compelled him to do this as I thought schizophrenics only heard voices but weren't necessarily influenced to enact violent or self destructive behavior.

 

JimBee, you're right- the problem is that people are scared of what they do not know or do not understand, and the will villify and victimize such because of that same ignorance.

Now it's the mentally ill. Years ago it was the physically disabled. Before that it was...you name it. It has shown itself over and over again.

And people wonder why extra-terrestrials don't want contact with the "common folk"? They will be villified and victimized, that's why! And they know it! Hollywierd has done well with that already.

 

I wouldn't trust a mentally ill person with something like a gun. No offense meant to the mentally ill but that's how I feel.

 

Violent or not, they should be eliminated from the gene pool.

 

I have a heart for mentally ill... but there have been a few in the last year who have pushed people into oncoming subway trains for no good reason. When ever I see a crazy person (hell when ever I see anyone too close) I back away and give zero trust.

 

One of mt best friends is bi-polar. We've been friends for over 20 years and I know he is never going to change. I've tried to help him so many times but he just is who he is. He can't seem to hold a job. He's homeless most of the time (staying with people). He used to go in and out of prison and jail. The world is just a different place for him.

Quick story.....I don't know if I'm proud of this or not but I'll just lay it out there.


When my friend is off his meds he is a handful and I'm one of the only people who can handle him. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm one of the only people he trusts. A few years ago he was off his meds and in a really bad place mentally. I had him staying at my house just for his own safety. His dad called me and said if I couldn't get him back on his meds in a day or two he was going to have him committed for a 72 hr. evaluation to get him back on the meds. I couldn't get it done. What scared the hell out of me was that the cops in my town had just shot and killed someone in exactly this same scenario. They were going to pick him up and they fucking killed him! The same thing happened in another place in my state a few weeks earlier.

I know my friend and I knew he wouldn't go easily. At the very least, he would run. At the worst, who knows? One way or another, they are coming for him and nothing would change that. So I told his dad that I would have him on my back deck at a precise time. There would be nowhere for him to run and I would be right there next to him.

The police basically surrounded my house. They knew who they were dealing with and seemed to send the entire damn police force to get him. Once my friend realized what was going on he looked at me, not knowing I had anything to do with it. I could see in his eyes that he was ready to run or fight. I was just like....relax..please...they're going to let you out.

I know that sounds shitty but he was going anyway and I had to make sure those trigger happy cops had no reason to shoot him. I wanted to be standing right next to him when this shit went down. But he got back on his meds and was ok after that for a while.

Edit to say...I also had my wife leave with our daughter. No way did I want her to see whatever was about to go down.

 

For all the mentally ill people you interact with everyday, the likelihood of you encountering one like you described, is less than .5%...Half of 1%. And it may be even less than that.

Sometimes all they need is for someone to smile to them and say "Hello! How are you today?"

 

What is "mentally ill" defined as anyway, and who defines it? Does it entail not being able/wanting to function in the "real world"? Sounds like some moronic blanket label if you ask me. I am sure there are a lot of mentally ill people out there (they could be schizophrenic, bipolar, or just depressed) who are more in-tuned with reality than many "normal" people. Pretty soon the term "mentally ill" will be used by the government to demonize and go after people with their own views and beliefs, who don't conform to what the system wants.

 

Violent people can be unpleasant and unpredictable but that doesn't makes a person automatically mentally ill either.

 

We shouldn't. The media puts a lot of attention on the mentally ill people who are violent. I suppose we just receive the message that there are a lot more violent crazy people than their actually are.

Mentally ill is a pretty liberal term. The way we handle mental illness diagnosis, we are all probably diagnosable with something.

 

Exactly. I mean, there are plenty of violent people who are not mentally ill but just as dangerous because of a flaw in their character. What about the violence waged by governments everyday? Why is that never seen as some sort of mass mental illness? It's a label thrown on lone individuals who don't/can't conform to a sick society. That's how I see it. However, I realize there are some forms of mental illness that truly do pose problems and are really mental illnesses. I just don't like how the term has come to be applied over the years.

 

Mental illness does not guarantee violence. Likewise being violent does not mean the are mentally ill.
Well, look at Jodi Arias. Ok, so she killed her BF, but look at the lengths she'd go to to be with him. Where I'm from we call that loyalty & dedication!

 

I remember one of the first points the professor made in an early psych class...it was X% of the population will experience depression, X% will experience this or that at some point in their lives. The list went on and when he was done he added up the percentages and it was something like 290% of the population. The point being that at some point everyone goes through something that fits one definition or another of some mental condition.

 

More readily available resources need to be directed to those with mental issues. The wait time for those who require and wish help are ridiculous.

Most illness is not understood by the public in general or the person afflicted with it. There is still a stigma attached to not only the illness but the person with the illness. Sad as you would think with all the funds spent to educate the public that it would not be that way.

 

You're right its sad we don't put funds toward helping people like this in need versus wars that we don't even want to be in.

One issue is the subject's denial of illness. Some ill people are willing to accept that they're sick, another group of people aren't. They live in denial and refuse treatment. There is a law here in New York (called Kendra's Law) that was passed to create involuntary outpatient treatment. If the person misses a step, whether prescription renewal (which is probably regulated in a way that doctors can monitor effectiveness to a greater degree- i.e. more frequent check-ins), counseling-whatever.. they are placed on a 72 hold. This law was enacted because in 1999 a mentally ill patient who was not on meds and not being treated, pushed a young woman in front of the train. Several other similar deaths by mentally ill patients occurred shortly after. Then within the last year, two mentally ill have pushed people to their deaths. It's just really scary. When I say pushed, I mean "pushers" who literally push people in front of trains. It's so easy to do, there is a noteworthy level of respect that everyone gives each other on the train platform. Anyway again the only problem with regulating Kendra's law is the manpower and funding. We just can't afford to adequately treat people and keep everyone safe.

To Wizardofodd

I don't think you did anything wrong in helping your friend. Especially after another life was lost in a similar situation. Sometimes tough love is the best way to go. In this case you knew he could face imminent danger, and posed a threat to himself. Making the capture as safe as possible was a good move on your part.

 

so, did anyone ever say that most mentally ill people ARE violent?

 

Maybe the cops who shoot them.

 

Oh you mean like they did up to the 60s, when they would lobotomize people for not 'fitting in'

I have a BA in psych and think there is some truth to the whole mess, but also think a lot is bullshit. Some of the stuff in those textbooks was outright hilarious and off base from reality.

Personally I think there is a difference between a disorder, an emotional disorder like depression or anxiety and full blown mental illness. Mental illness to me is someone who is just crazy for lack of a better word. Full out insane outbursts over nothing, tendency to hurt themselves, others, or animals. Someone with a gross lack of impulse control.

 

^Makes me want to smash my computer…Cannot articulate my consternation.