Like other epidemic health problems, such as obesity, chronic kidney disease, asthma, and autism, once mental illness is advanced enough to be diagnosed, it is rarely curable. It’s a dangerous delusion to behave like such a deeply troubled child can be referred to social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists and be “fixed.”
To create a culture with fewer adolescent murderers, we must create a culture with more parents who prioritize their children, and more people in the community who support parents in doing so. Over half a century of “no-fault” divorce laws, rapidly changing household economics, and destigmatized infidelity, child abandonment, and infant neglect have rendered a majority of children victims of traumatic events in childhood.
Let us be clear: we are not necessarily talking about mental illness in the form of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
The vast majority of mental health issues in this country revolve around various levels of depression, often triggered by a degree of emotional trauma. They are fundamentally challenges of behavior.
This is something that can be resolved. PTSD can be mitigated. Even borderline personality disorder can be mitigated.
Yes, we need better parenting inside the home. We need more caring and compassion in the community and especially in the schools. We need to cultivate everywhere a culture that celebrates the individual rather than trying to obliterate him or her.
Geddy Lee, in an interview with Dan Rather, made a telling observation about when he first picked up a guitar and took up music. In his words "it was the first thing I was really good at."
Geddy Lee was not a star athlete in high school, and he was not a brilliant academic. What he was--and what he has been since picking up first the guitar and then the bass--is one of the most phenomenal musical talents of the modern era, whose virtuoso talents have not only produced a mammoth discography of musical masterpieces but have also influenced countless other musicians.
We need a culture where individuals can find their individual talents and pursue their individual successes. We've lost what little aspect of such a culture we've had, and we need to get it back.
I am convinced that when we start seeing individuals again and not just members of this or that demographic cohort, when we stop processing people as mere statistics, then we will see meaningful change in the overall state of mental and emotional health in our society.
Question that could be answered. Was Colt on SSRIs. ? A common element of these sprees. Serotonin is not the happy molecule the medical community promotes but is highly dangerous but highly lucrative making Doctors and pHarma rich. We are sacrificing our children in so many ways.
At the time of writing, that had not been reported, although that is an excellent question.
What so many refuse to acknowledge is that the mental health "treatments" that have been popularized in recent decades are not producing an overall improvement in mental health.
One thing I believe is absolutely certain: we need to rethink how we are approaching our mental health and how we are treating mental health problems in this country.
indeed, the tragedy surrounding Colt Gray is not merely a one-off incident, but a symptom of a much larger systemic failure in addressing the mental health needs of our youth. As you so astutely observed, it’s a societal responsibility to prioritise and support the emotional well-being of children, particularly those exhibiting signs of distress.
Your article’s emphasis on recognising and responding to warning signs is critical. However, this task is often easier said than done.
I'm an engineer. That's been my profession for a quarter century. As an engineer I have this naive notion that where there are problems we should focus on solutions.
What happened in Georgia is tragic. Colt Gray made an evil choice, and must endure the consequences of that evil choice.
We can't save Colt Gray from the choices he has made, but surely we can save other children from the evil choices they are on the path to making. As they are children, surely it is our duty to do all that we can to steer them into a better path, to a brighter future.
We have a problem. Our children have problems. Whatever we think we're doing it solve that problem is either not working or is not enough.
I don't know what the solution is. I just know we need to find it
You are spot on on your analysis. Unfortunately the media and politicians don't address the mental health issues that are probably there in 99% of these shootings. They would rather defer to their agenda of gun control ( which is just another method of control of the populace ) than face the real problem. They never look at the psychotic drugs many of these shooters take, as that would affect donations from big pharma to their campaigns!!
Mental health is a difficult issue for adults and children. Unfortunately, one cannot just call "someone" (police, whoever) and say, "Hey, I think this guy is doing really badly and may shoot up a school". As you see in this case, that was done, yet a year later, it still happened. It is VERY difficult to force someone, even a minor, to get help. There are limits on what you can do. You can send them to a psychiatrist, but if they don't want to go, you can't really make them. And even if you do, you can't force them to cooperate. You may be able to have them committed for a very short time, but they will get out in a couple days at most. Even parents have little control over the situation, but those who aren't parents have almost none. Until and unless you "catch" someone performing an illegal act, the police cannot come and take them away. Such things happen all the time. You see ex-spouses and ex-girlfriends getting threatened or beaten, they get a restraining order, the guy comes back and kills them, then gets arrested. I don't know what the answer is. Recognizing a problem and being able to eliminate it are two very different things. Probably the best thing is prevention. This means better family life, better diet, less gaming and internet, more outdoor activity, more physical education, and less glorification of violence by the same Hollywood people who claim we need "gun control" to reduce violence.
I’ve grappled with childhood PTSD for most of my life and I’m STILL grappling with it.
I get that it’s not easy.
But something has got to change. If we want this sort of thing to not happen again, yeah, our society has got to change.
Right now it seems like our society really sucks at giving a damn. At the very least we suck at translating the giving of damns into effective action.
I don’t pretend to have even some of the answers. But when I read in the media quotes from his classmates that “he fit the description of a school shooter”, how people can say such things and not think “hey, this person needs help, I should reach out to him.”?
I know in my own life what has made the difference has been the people who have simply said, without judgment, “can I help you?”
Nowhere in the media reporting did I read anywhere people saying “we tried to reach out to him.”
Like other epidemic health problems, such as obesity, chronic kidney disease, asthma, and autism, once mental illness is advanced enough to be diagnosed, it is rarely curable. It’s a dangerous delusion to behave like such a deeply troubled child can be referred to social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists and be “fixed.”
To create a culture with fewer adolescent murderers, we must create a culture with more parents who prioritize their children, and more people in the community who support parents in doing so. Over half a century of “no-fault” divorce laws, rapidly changing household economics, and destigmatized infidelity, child abandonment, and infant neglect have rendered a majority of children victims of traumatic events in childhood.
Let us be clear: we are not necessarily talking about mental illness in the form of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
The vast majority of mental health issues in this country revolve around various levels of depression, often triggered by a degree of emotional trauma. They are fundamentally challenges of behavior.
This is something that can be resolved. PTSD can be mitigated. Even borderline personality disorder can be mitigated.
Yes, we need better parenting inside the home. We need more caring and compassion in the community and especially in the schools. We need to cultivate everywhere a culture that celebrates the individual rather than trying to obliterate him or her.
Geddy Lee, in an interview with Dan Rather, made a telling observation about when he first picked up a guitar and took up music. In his words "it was the first thing I was really good at."
Geddy Lee was not a star athlete in high school, and he was not a brilliant academic. What he was--and what he has been since picking up first the guitar and then the bass--is one of the most phenomenal musical talents of the modern era, whose virtuoso talents have not only produced a mammoth discography of musical masterpieces but have also influenced countless other musicians.
We need a culture where individuals can find their individual talents and pursue their individual successes. We've lost what little aspect of such a culture we've had, and we need to get it back.
I am convinced that when we start seeing individuals again and not just members of this or that demographic cohort, when we stop processing people as mere statistics, then we will see meaningful change in the overall state of mental and emotional health in our society.
Question that could be answered. Was Colt on SSRIs. ? A common element of these sprees. Serotonin is not the happy molecule the medical community promotes but is highly dangerous but highly lucrative making Doctors and pHarma rich. We are sacrificing our children in so many ways.
At the time of writing, that had not been reported, although that is an excellent question.
What so many refuse to acknowledge is that the mental health "treatments" that have been popularized in recent decades are not producing an overall improvement in mental health.
https://newsletter.allfactsmatter.us/p/are-antidepressants-the-wrong-answer
One thing I believe is absolutely certain: we need to rethink how we are approaching our mental health and how we are treating mental health problems in this country.
indeed, the tragedy surrounding Colt Gray is not merely a one-off incident, but a symptom of a much larger systemic failure in addressing the mental health needs of our youth. As you so astutely observed, it’s a societal responsibility to prioritise and support the emotional well-being of children, particularly those exhibiting signs of distress.
Your article’s emphasis on recognising and responding to warning signs is critical. However, this task is often easier said than done.
All the more reason to put our energy there.
I'm an engineer. That's been my profession for a quarter century. As an engineer I have this naive notion that where there are problems we should focus on solutions.
What happened in Georgia is tragic. Colt Gray made an evil choice, and must endure the consequences of that evil choice.
We can't save Colt Gray from the choices he has made, but surely we can save other children from the evil choices they are on the path to making. As they are children, surely it is our duty to do all that we can to steer them into a better path, to a brighter future.
We have a problem. Our children have problems. Whatever we think we're doing it solve that problem is either not working or is not enough.
I don't know what the solution is. I just know we need to find it
You are spot on on your analysis. Unfortunately the media and politicians don't address the mental health issues that are probably there in 99% of these shootings. They would rather defer to their agenda of gun control ( which is just another method of control of the populace ) than face the real problem. They never look at the psychotic drugs many of these shooters take, as that would affect donations from big pharma to their campaigns!!
Mental health is a difficult issue for adults and children. Unfortunately, one cannot just call "someone" (police, whoever) and say, "Hey, I think this guy is doing really badly and may shoot up a school". As you see in this case, that was done, yet a year later, it still happened. It is VERY difficult to force someone, even a minor, to get help. There are limits on what you can do. You can send them to a psychiatrist, but if they don't want to go, you can't really make them. And even if you do, you can't force them to cooperate. You may be able to have them committed for a very short time, but they will get out in a couple days at most. Even parents have little control over the situation, but those who aren't parents have almost none. Until and unless you "catch" someone performing an illegal act, the police cannot come and take them away. Such things happen all the time. You see ex-spouses and ex-girlfriends getting threatened or beaten, they get a restraining order, the guy comes back and kills them, then gets arrested. I don't know what the answer is. Recognizing a problem and being able to eliminate it are two very different things. Probably the best thing is prevention. This means better family life, better diet, less gaming and internet, more outdoor activity, more physical education, and less glorification of violence by the same Hollywood people who claim we need "gun control" to reduce violence.
No, there are no easy solutions.
I’ve grappled with childhood PTSD for most of my life and I’m STILL grappling with it.
I get that it’s not easy.
But something has got to change. If we want this sort of thing to not happen again, yeah, our society has got to change.
Right now it seems like our society really sucks at giving a damn. At the very least we suck at translating the giving of damns into effective action.
I don’t pretend to have even some of the answers. But when I read in the media quotes from his classmates that “he fit the description of a school shooter”, how people can say such things and not think “hey, this person needs help, I should reach out to him.”?
I know in my own life what has made the difference has been the people who have simply said, without judgment, “can I help you?”
Nowhere in the media reporting did I read anywhere people saying “we tried to reach out to him.”
That’s not okay.