Watching the special news report about the Tucson shootings, I keep wondering if the other part of the tragedy will be covered: the story of our broken mental health care system. Mention was made that Jared Loughner appears to be an emotionally disturbed young man. The sampling of his Internet ramblings shows a person who is seriously mentally ill. Tonight I am filled with sorrow for his parents. Did they know how disturbed he was? Had they tried to intervene? Had he refused treatment? It’s the last question that points to the tragedy behind the tragedy.
I’ll admit right up front that I don’t know anything about Arizona’s mental health laws. I do know, however, that in many states it is nearly impossible to maintain treatment for mentally ill adults without their consent.
At least forty percent of persons suffering from schizophrenia have impaired awareness of their illness. How can a psychotic person be expected to know he or she is psychotic? Without appropriate mental health laws to enforce treatment, many persons with severe mental illness go untreated. Some, like Jared Loughner, end up acting on their delusions.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not excusing his actions. I am not excusing the political vitriol that has spewed forth from all sides in recent times. But I also am not condemning his parents. Perhaps they did their best to get help for their son. Perhaps they did not. But the grim fact remains that, unless Jared himself desired help and voluntarily stayed with a treatment plan, their efforts would be useless anyway. There has to be a way to ensure that those who are ill and do not know it can receive the help they need. Otherwise, tragedies such as these will continue to haunt the USA.
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