Acting early to avoid disaster
As part of my research for a new novel I'm writing, I've been reading into many sad, painful moments in history when disturbed individuals went on rampages, killing many innocent people. The one striking thing that is common in most of these stories is the clear fact that the person responsible was suffering from some kind of mental health problem. Many of them were relatively normal people, who seemed to gradually lapse into a troubled mental state that progressively got worse and worse until it reached the point that they had to lash out in some abhorrent act of violence. In many cases after the incident people will reflect on how in the time leading up to the attacks they had noticed changes in the perpetrator, but only thought it significant after the fact.
It makes me wonder how many of these acts could have been averted if someone had just stepped in and realised that something wasn't right and sought out some professional help for these people that were obviously so badly in need of it. As someone who has a lot of experience with mental health I know that it really can affect anyone. Whilst some individuals may have something in their genetic make up that put them more at risk of developing a mental health problem, it is not a sign of weakness or a result of any wrongdoing, and it's good to see the growing number of public campaigns for better mental health awareness.
Often instead of getting help people become growingly withdrawn and isolated, and that can often be the single worst thing for them, only worsening the symptoms and furthering the cycle of suffering. Those who are losing touch with reality have only their own delusions and paranoia to focus on, causing them to further distance themselves from the real word; those who are depressed have only their own negative thoughts to keep them company, which only worsens their outlook on life.
Of course, killing sprees are an extreme example of what can happen if someone goes untreated, 99.9% of people who suffer from a psychological affliction will not go on to commit any acts of violence, but the principle is the same and whilst many will thankfully never find themselves in a situation where they either have to try and prompt someone into making a positive change or sit back and watch that person go on a murderous rampage, these examples do highlight the need for better everyday practices in the way we treat mental health.
If some of these people who went on to commit horrendous acts had felt they were able to speak up and tell someone about their problems, or if the people around them had the insight to notice the significance of the changes in personality or the unusual activities of the person in question, then these people may have been able to get help, and these tragedies may have been avoided.
It's crucial that we change our attitude towards mental health problems. If someone who is suffering continues to do so in silence and without support, things will usually only get harder for them. Some people do manage to pull themselves out of the slump they are in by themselves, and commonly with things like anxiety and depression people often do find the strength to seek help eventually, but with more severe traumas of the mind, sufferers can be far too lost to realise they need help. With any mental illness, from the more common to the more frightful, many sufferers try to hide from their issues out of embarrassment or fear of judgement, instead of reaching out for support and trying to seek out professional help.
Whether people miss out on help because they are too afraid to ask for it, or because the people around them do not see the signs, it's everyone's responsibility to take on a more accepting and supportive approach to mental health. We need to rid ourselves of the stigma associated with mental health, so that when someone around us is in need they do not feel too frightened to speak up and ask for our help, and we need to make ourselves more aware of the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems, so that we can step in and try to make a difference when other's don't have the confidence or awareness to reach out themselves.
