SNOW

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Monday, December 31, 2012

Shameful!

It has been over a year & a half since I've blogged! I have established a place for my own little soapbox and I've neglected this sacred space!

On December 14, 2012 the US was blind sighted with a horrific event.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-201_162-10014902.html

The shooting at Sandy Hook School brought two emotionally charged topics to the table;
1. Gun control
2. Mental Health support

I have mixed feelings on gun control and many interesting viewpoints need to be evaluated. I know that I could not have a firearm of any kind in my home at this point in my life.

In respect to mental health support, we as a nation essentially suck at this. Not sure if it is has to do with the stigma of having a mental illness (I think we all have some form of MI (mental illness) embedded in our DNA.... just watch cable!)or the mental health system structure itself.  It has been suggested that included in an annual physical exam, a psychological assessment could be done at the same time. Hmmm? You're there in the office anyway. Would your physician use a standardized questionnaire or ask you a series of questions and create a narrative of your responses and body language cues?  I don't see this scenario feasible in today's health care field.

We, as a nation, need to get on the PRO active side of this conversation rather than the RE active side that we've been filling up the airwaves after each subsequent tragedy.Just this weekend a woman in New York was brought in for phsychological testing after pushing a man in front of a subway train.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/29/justice/new-york-subway-death/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

I've recently subscribed to the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to keep this issue in view to keep the discussion going.... we need to do SOMEthing, now!


FYI : NAMI link
http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=your_local_nami

1 comment:

Laura Lynn said...

If this incident doesn't spark a conversation about mental illness and why on earth people need civilian m-16s, nothing will. The US people need to get their head out of the sand and figure out why we're such a violent society. Maddening.