Wow! When I started this thread it was a question, a hot one I knew might get people talking but never to the degree it has. This is a good thing though. I stay out of gun control arguements. Not because I don't have an opinion, I very much do but my focus is on mental health and always has been and will continue to be until the day I die!
We NEED proper mental health care. We NEED it to be available and accessible to everyone and anyone that needs it. We NEED to have good continuity of care across systems and agencies. We NEED it to be affordable. We NEED NOT to have the stigma attached to it from years past, present and going into the future that has been placed there not only by the media coverage in how they handle stories but also the politicians that bad talk it and every and any other source that has done so!
There are so many of us here, on this board. Some of us post, some of us don't (they lurk and read but they are here and we know it!
) I have always made an effort to "educate where I'm at with what I know" as much as possible and I know many of you do as well. It is a very hard thing to do sometimes as we run into opposition. Opposition from our friends (or so called friends it turns out at times), family, schools, doctors, agencies, etc. It is a daunting task I know but in the end it is so worth it. Over the years this task has, and I know we've discussed this too, has caused PTSD due to the repercussions I alone have encountered with certain "people" within these stated groups. We as parents often get blamed for our children's problems when all we were doing to begin with is trying to get help for our children from the get go. Does this happen all the time? No but it does happen and that is not helpful.
Some of our kids are in such states that we worry that something like this could potentially happen now or in the future so we work very hard to access the services and supports to help them and us. Does it make us/them a target? Maybe but at least we TRY to do the right thing because we DON'T want to see this happen to them or to others. I know I don't want to have to be the one explaining to ANYONE why one of mine might have done this or to be apologizing to families either. I would be devastated. I don't know how I could live with myself (assuming difficult child's didn't take me out too) anyway. Any you know what, I'm not even just talking about killing. I'm talking about harm in ANY way because some of our kids can harm kids in other ways too.
So what do we also do? We ISOLATE ourselves from others as well because we know interactions are painful with neighbors, family, friends, etc. Why is this? Oh, it's because of this same JUDGEMENTS of others due to the stigma that has been built up of mental illness because the world at large is not fully educated on it and let's face it, in reality even IF we could educate everyone properly there will still be those who will and do deny that mental health exist to this day. I know some people like that! I believe that in general we are progressing towards education of the world in general but not enough, quick enough and I don't think properly. There is a lot of MISINFORMATION going on out there too. Who's to blame for this? Media? Who?
The other thing that annoys me is that the DSM criteria changes. I know it needs to be updated but to change completely at times? Really? For example this year's change of taking Aspergers out. Why? If we can't rely on the DSM to be consistent at the very least then how are we ever going to have any firm basis of which to go on? I understand that it needs to be update and new things added or changed but to completely take some things out when they are real? THAT I just don't understand!
There are many good organizations out there like NAMI, NMH, FFMH, etc. But I wonder, if we could combine all of these into 1 world organization wouldn't the efforts be better, more focused and the money the spent/collect/get granted be better served? I mean often each of these organizations are doubling or tripling the same focus or efforts on something.
I don't know. These are just my thoughts.