Another Day After . . .

So here we are again trying to make sense of the tragedy that unfolded yesterday in Washington.  As I was glued to the television, I kept wondering when the shooter’s mental health history would be a topic of discussion.  And sure enough less than 24 hours after the tragedy, it was revealed that Aaron Alexis had sought out psychiatric treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder.  We are still learning many of the details but it has been repeatedly reported that he heard voices, sought help from two different VA hospitals and had access to guns.  All indications are that Aaron Alexis was seriously ill.  And again we are picking up the pieces of destruction from a troubled soul.

We have tiptoed around key issues long enough so let’s get it out there for real this time.  People with mental health issues should never have access to guns.  I don’t care if you are a republican, a democrat, or partial to the tea party; and I don’t care whether or not you believe in the right to bear arms.

Let me say it again . . . PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES SHOULD NEVER HAVE ACCESS TO GUNS.

We have gotten so hung up on politicizing each atrocity that as a society, we can’t even think straight.  Have we totally lost our ability to have a rational discussion, to focus on the real crisis at hand and move forward guided by common sense? 

Political noise has prevented us from acting logically.

As a victim of gun violence by someone with a mental health backstory, I am infuriated by what I see continually taking place. 

The mental health community so often practices in a vacuum and this is causing more harm than good.   The discipline of mental health is arguably the most subjective medicinal practice we have today and yet the one that has the fewest checks and balances.   Many in the profession say that it is because of the “stigma” that mental health invokes and then go on to use buzzwords such as Confidentiality, Privacy and Hippa.   Now I believe in a patient’s right to privacy and in the purpose of Hippa but not at the expense of innocent lives.

And I beg to ask when there is a tragedy and the media starts digging, what parts of confidentiality and privacy are ultimately respected and revered?  This holds true for the perpetrator, the victims and the extended families of both.

The system as we know it, is broken.  The violence that results from mentally unhealthy people who have access to guns is of epidemic proportion.

Mental Health needs to practice what it preaches and spend some serious time devoted to self-analysis.  Perhaps it is time for a “group therapy” session in conjunction with law enforcement, the judicial system, mental health providers, the caregivers and the patient.  It’s time to grow up, have a relevant dialogue and identify and implement policies that promote safety, wellness and healing.

But if we don’t alter the way with which we deal with mental illness then the advancements that we have seen thus far will be eroded. The pendulum of progress is about to make a violent swing in the wrong direction due to the backlash that will inevitably occur from these continuous, senseless and tragic acts.