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Misleading fear about mental health

Bainbridge Islander
Mar 09, 2018

When we wrongly attribute violence to mental illness, it only serves to further stigmatize those living with this disease and may even be a barrier for those who could benefit from seeking treatment services in the first place.

In the wake of any horrific tragedy, such as the one that claimed the lives of 17 people in Parkland, Florida, many in the media and the general public are quick to conflate mental illness with violence.

It's not hard to understand why this happens. After all, movies and crime dramas often portray those living with mental illness as scary, unpredictable and violent. And, yes, mental illness was in fact a driving factor in several mass shootings in recent years, including Sandy Hook and Tucson. Unfortunately these facts can lead people to conclude that all people living with mental illness are inherently violent, a conclusion that is not only wrong, it is harmful.

Mental Illness is a disease of the brain, just as diabetes is a disease of the pancreas or COPD is a disease of the lungs. The fact is mental illness is very common in our society. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one in five American adults experience a mental health issue, one in ten young people experience a period of major depression, and one in 25 Americans live with a serious mental illness, such a schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. Locally, Kitsap Mental Health Services provided treatment and recovery services for 6,873 adults and children in our community living with severe mental illness. Rather than lashing out in violence toward others, the violence is more likely to be turned on those with severe mental illness. Suicide is the tenth-leading cause of death in the United States, and claimed the 41,000 American lives last year, 34 of which were in Kitsap County.

Ultimately, no one knows what causes people to commit such horrible violent acts. According to a Columbia University study of 350 mass killers going back more than a century, about 20 percent were likely psychotic or delusional. But, that leaves 80 percent caused by other factors. Research has demonstrated that mass shooters are more likely to be driven by rage, jealousy and a sense of being wronged, than by random acts of violence. They are often disgruntled and aggrieved, their anger builds over time, eventually they respond with violence in response to some perceived humiliation. (Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response.)

Given the sheer numbers of people living with mental illness in our society, the overwhelming majority of people are not violent. In fact, only 4 percent of any type of violence in the United States is attributable to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or depression. (J.W. Swanson et. al., 2015) And actually, due to the vulnerabilities that often accompany this disease such as homelessness and poverty, research has shown that people living with severe mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis are actually two and half times more likely to be attacked, raped, or mugged than the general population. (Hiday, et al., 1999)

When we wrongly attribute violence to mental illness, it only serves to further stigmatize those living with this disease and may even be a barrier for those who could benefit from seeking treatment services in the first place. It would be far more beneficial to encourage people living with untreated mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, major depression, bi-polar disorders to access treatment services that actually help people recover enabling them to live, work, learn and contribute to their community.

The appropriate response to those living with mental illness is not fear. Rather, as a community, let us offer them our compassion in their struggle, encouragement in their recovery, and a reason to hope that, with help, their lives can get better.

Joe Roszak is the executive director of Kitsap Mental Health Services, a not-for-profit community clinic in Bremerton for mental health and behavioral health care services. Contact him at joer@kmhs.org.

When we wrongly attribute violence to mental illness, it only serves to further stigmatize those living with this disease and may even be a barrier for those who could benefit from seeking treatment services in the first place.

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