Thought provoking... story by a mother of a mentally ill child

[iguanadon]

This is what the country is up against... mental illness, not guns.

'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother': A Mom's Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Brad426]

Wow. That was depressing.

[Cold Shot]

It seems to me like addressing the mental health issue is far more complex than the gun argument (i.e. make guns harder to get, no I obviously don't agree with this, but that's the argument) and rights could just as easily be trampled on.

I would rather have a ban on magazine capacities over XX than to have federal or state government taking gun rights from citizens who have not been committed and who have not committed felonies. The mental health issue is a slippery slope, and possibly more so than we think.

Seriously, lots of people are treated for depression. Sometimes they go on meds and talk to professionals about it. Do you really want the government keeping track of that stuff?

I don't have an answer for the mass shooting problems. If somebody wants to shoot me, and this could be in my home, a movie theater, a shopping mall, or whatever, I'll deal with it. I don't need the nanny state messing more stuff up.

Freedom, guys. We either try to preserve our slowly eroding "free" society, or we don't.

[RonM0710]

This is what the country is up against... mental illness, not guns.

'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother': A Mom's Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America

Thanks for that post Iggy. It is scary, but I think you are right. This is where we should be focusing on.

[Doghandler]

Too many homes like this. It's only a matter of degree. We need to do what we can to increase social bonds and decrease social barriers to assist these people in getting the care and support they need.

...
The problem with the world is grown-ups behaving like unsupervised children.

[niks]

The question is what is causing these severe cases of mental illness in our children. Is it more prevalent than yrs. ago or is the media just more focused on it? Is it because of nutrition or vaccines or prevalence of behavioral drugs? Hollywood and video games? God and family?Or is it the same per capita numbers of affected children as it was 50 or 100 yrs. ago? If it is more widespread now, then we need to address and try to solve the causes.JMHO

[oneshot]

Doesn't say if there is a husband in the story.
Bet not.
This is part of the problem I feel, is that without a good solid father figure in the home, these kids are running amok.
They feel they can sass back and disrespect their mother, and mom, most likely is a "working mom", so she's exhausted and doesn't want to deal with it.
Then the kid gets older, and the problem is out of control.
Kids feel like they are being ignored with as busy as the household is, and they are lashing out, and threatening suicide if they don't get their way.

OTOH, sometimes people are just plain nutso-kooko.

[OldVet]

From a woman who has come to realize the plain and simple truth. Years ago a lot of people like this would be locked away in a mental institution. But in our kinder and gentler world we have released them, only to ask "Why' when all goes wrong.

[TX expat]

Doesn't say if there is a husband in the story.
Bet not.
This is part of the problem I feel, is that without a good solid father figure in the home, these kids are running amok.
They feel they can sass back and disrespect their mother, and mom, most likely is a "working mom", so she's exhausted and doesn't want to deal with it.
Then the kid gets older, and the problem is out of control.
Kids feel like they are being ignored with as busy as the household is, and they are lashing out, and threatening suicide if they don't get their way.

OTOH, sometimes people are just plain nutso-kooko.

I disagree, at least in part. I know a child like this, although much younger but probably headed down this path, and the parents are the most caring, loving and at-their-wits-end couple that you could imagine. They've been to more doctors than I can count and getting help is always one failed bit after the next. I most certainly don't know what the "cause" is, but I do know it's not one singular box to be checked off. Could be a combination of multiple different factors (each being specific to the individual case), but I doubt it's ever a one cause fits all type of thing.

As the picture of the Adam Lanza becomes more clear, we'll probably see what he was, but I doubt we'll ever understand how he got there.

[mr.stuart]

Doesn't say if there is a husband in the story.
Bet not.
This is part of the problem I feel, is that without a good solid father figure in the home, these kids are running amok.
They feel they can sass back and disrespect their mother, and mom, most likely is a "working mom", so she's exhausted and doesn't want to deal with it.
Then the kid gets older, and the problem is out of control.
Kids feel like they are being ignored with as busy as the household is, and they are lashing out, and threatening suicide if they don't get their way.

OTOH, sometimes people are just plain nutso-kooko.

Very true. One thing that stands out in this story,the boy was upset when she was taking him to the mental hospital. My wife worked for years with the mentally ill and mentally retarded. Some of them have a manic phase and then go back to normal,but it sounds like the boy was scared.So is it really mental illness? I never saw many who were scared when they were in a 'phase'. One of my ex-stepdaughters was in and out of mental hospitals. Never had a problem with me,just with her mother.So is it mental illness or something else. Maybe namby pamby parents?

[BuckNekkid]

Thankfully I do not have a similar story about my son, but it was close, and it was chemically induced. His behavior in 2nd grade was enough to annoy his teacher, who recommended evaluation for ADHD, so we did. Our pediatrician told us she saw nothing outside of the teacher's opinion to indicate ADHD, but we went along with her suggestion that we try Adderall (sp?) which we did, after I confirmed with a USMC recruiter that we were not removing future options with the papertrail of mood-altering prescriptions. Anyway, his behavior at school improved, but his grades tanked, and he was an absolute monster at home, completely without control, similar to the child in the story above. We formally appealed to the school for a different teacher and got it, and informed them we would be removing his medication no matter what they decided. We buried them with spreadsheets and charts of his grades before and during the treatment. He never caused any issues, real or perceicved, in his new class. Draw your own conclusions. Even now if he needs to take a pill he asks "This isn't going to change me, is it?" Mental health is a scary topic no doubt.
FYI, military recruiters (for now) will accept applicants who took ADHD medication prior to turning 12 only.

[aceakarick]

Thank you for this link. I've dealt with my cousin that is just like the "Michael" in the story. I'm a good bit bigger, older, wiser, and smarter then that cousin, but he scares the you know what outta me. When he was living beside us, I was always worried if today was going to be the day he snaps. He has since moved away, just a few miles and because of some legal issues with him, I'm still worried. (Hence one of the reasons for me getting my CCL.).
IMO I don't know if following the mental health path would amount to anything that would make the "all guns are evil" crowd happy. I do believe though, we are looking at some dark days ahead for guns, gun owners, and the 2A.
Just my two pennies.


Ace aka Ricky

[Spirit51]

Here is one thing to think about. The shooter's mother should have never taken a kid like that to the range and had weapons at his disposal. I know she had her 2nd Amendment Rights, but society has a right to not have this type of mental defective inflicted on them. If there is a person in the home that is even close to this problem....weapons should not be in that same home. I know there are people who will not agree with this and I really feel for people dealing with this kind of problem, but it should not be a problem for others to deal with.

Will this stop these incidents? No, but dealing with the mental problems will do more than taking law abiding citizens gun rights away.

[oneshot]

I disagree, at least in part. I know a child like this, although much younger but probably headed down this path, and the parents are the most caring, loving and at-their-wits-end couple that you could imagine. They've been to more doctors than I can count and getting help is always one failed bit after the next. I most certainly don't know what the "cause" is, but I do know it's not one singular box to be checked off. Could be a combination of multiple different factors (each being specific to the individual case), but I doubt it's ever a one cause fits all type of thing.

As the picture of the Adam Lanza becomes more clear, we'll probably see what he was, but I doubt we'll ever understand how he got there.

^^^^^^^I agree with you^^^^^^^^^

TX, as far as when an individual has some wires crossed upstairs for whatever reason.
Not someone mentally handicaped, but someone who is, for some reason just going to turn out plain evil from whatever they are influenced by in life, be it drugs, friends aquaintances or education/gangs/other evil people they come into contact with.

They can have the most loving parents, who do everything right so to speak, and that person turns out to be a "bad seed".
These individuals have been in society for all its existence, but with all the psycho-babble that's been injected into our lives in the past 50 years, society is being convinced, I believe that if somehow they are not instantly satisfied, or if somebody pisses in their Wheaties, then its OK to blow a gasket.

[Hopyard]

I just read the article and I truly despair because we really don't know how to deal with these problems.
Not even close.

Jail is the wrong answer. So, ----- In the mid 1960s I worked in a pediatric section of a huge
mental health facility. Overall, it was a disgusting place. The pediatric wing the more so.

Places like that needed to be shuttered, but now 50 years on we still have not found our way.

Childhood schizophrenia was being actively studied then, and it is actively studied today. Yet, as with
much of cancer or other severe illnesses, we've made lots less progress than we like to think.

One thing is for sure though. Back then, folks didn't have access to 30 round magazines. If they had access
to a military style weapon it was a Garand, in 30.06 with 8 rounds, and that by itself limited the capacity for the types
of mass murder we've seen recently. If they got their hands on a handgun, it was a six shooter, or perhaps a
"Saturday Night Special" in .25, and that too limited their capacity for destruction.

We've always had the crazies and always will. Presently I'm afraid we are making it just a little too easy for
the sickest amongst us to do more damage than in the past.