Violence and Mental Illness

As I was reading these articles, I noticed several connections among them, as well as connections to other materials we've studied in this class. One common theme in these articles is the debate about guns-- particularly mentally ill people owning them. "Guns and Mental Illness" talks about recent shootings that have happened, including Aurora and Newtown. These shootings have sparked debate throughout America over gun control laws. Nocera believes that we need a combination of gun regulations and more treatment for mental illness to avoid these shootings in the future. In “Please Take Away My Right to a Gun,” Wendy Button takes a more personal stance on the issue of guns. She has struggled with depression and thought of this as she considered buying a gun. Button believes that mentally ill people should not have access to guns, not because they might hurt others, but because they might hurt themselves.

Another connection I found in these texts was the issues with treatment for mentally ill people. “Guns and Mental Illness” and “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother” both mention this. There is a huge lack of treatment options for many people with mental illnesses. An increasing number are being put into prisons, because there are very few hospitals where they could get actual treatment. This was also talked about in “The New Asylums,” which we watched earlier this quarter.

Finally, I found a few connections to the memoir I’m reading, Hurry Down Sunshine. This relates most closely to Liza Long’s article, “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother.” In the memoir, the author’s daughter struggles with bipolar disorder and often has violent fits of mania that involve hitting and kicking. Long also has a child with a mental illness, and her son acts violently as well. What surprised me was that Long was told that she would need to have her son charged with a crime to get him treatment. In Hurry Down Sunshine, Sally was able to get treatment fairly easily.