Santa Barbara Massacre: To Hell With Facts

[-CraZed-]

sethnintendo said:

Mr Khan said:

The second point is of prominent importance. All this hammers home is the continuing need for better mental health support in this country, both in the form of a better-staffed, publically-funded infrastructure, and a culture which encourages family members to know the signs of mental illness, and to de-stigmatize the treatment of mental illness so that family members or individuals who are mentally ill aren't passively encouraged to bury their problems for the sake of propriety.

Way we deal with mental health in USA?  Give them drugs that will probably give them worse side effects than their condition.

As a nurse who has spent 3 years working in mental health after I got out of the military I can tell you that drugs are about the best thing we have in dealing with the mentally ill. Adjusting brain chemistry is often necessary to allow those suffering from mental illness to engage in therapies like counseling etc. Of all the things we give people medications for, mental illness is probably the area where it is most effective. Medications aren't with out their drawbacks but I have personally witnessed first hand how much the right medications can have a positive impact in the lives of those who are mentally ill.

What is lacking in mental health is enough willing people to offer personal engagement on top of the drug therapies. Mental health costs a lot of money to implement and when you have what little resources there are overwhelmed with mentally ill people you will have those that slip through the cracks. Then there are those who simply cannot be helped. Not to mention there is still very much we don't know about how the brain works.