Sandy Hook shooting has the potential to further stigmatize mental illness

I,  like so many, are full of sorrow and unyielding emotion from this latest school shooting tragedy. Yes the shooter used his mother’s gun. Yes the shooter has a mental health problem. Yet some people and a wide range of the media quickly blame the mental illness. Do people not understand that the newscasters and reporters are now FURTHER stigmatizing mental illness by narrowing in on that fact?  The people with a mental illness, just like any facet of society,by majority are not violent. Most people with mental illness are, in fact, MORE likely to be victims of violence than the other way around. As a nation and as those who suffer from this affliction, we all mourn this recent tragedy, but perhaps now is the time when we should look at having an open and compassionate dialogue about mental illness? Maybe finally rid the world of the stigma that mental illness has – it is a BRAIN disease.  And just like any other ailment it is indiscriminate and hard to find a cure for.  If we as a nation realize this and not let blind rage dominate the view of a larger percentage of the population, then people would not feel scared or ashamed to get help. Maybe then people would be more likely to reach out to that person. People would be better educated about mental illness, it's prevention, and a real recovery method. Maybe people with mental illness wouldn’t feel so marginalized from mainstream society.

I should add that, of course, guns and other weapons should be more controlled and monitored.

-Heather Sugg 12.17.12